2014 day 7 合欢山， 地震教育园区

The sky was clear and sunny. We decided we might as well go back to He huan Shan to see the top of the mountain again.

地震教育园区

This was the remnant of the school that suffered terribly during a major earthquake in Sept 21, 1999. It is now a museum of sorts. One get to learn about plate tectonics, fault lines and what kind of buildings can be strengthened to reduce damage in an earthquake.

2014 day 6 清境农场， 奥万大森林园区

The sun was peeping out so it was a good time to visit the farm to see sheep, horses and get a great view of the whole place.

Recycling bin

Pygmy horses

sheep's milk cookies

奥万大森林园区

This protected place used to limit the number of visitors who flocked to this area just before winter to see the Liquidambar formosana (楓香). The leaves turn red just before they are shed and turn many parts of the mountain red. We managed to see some still in various parts of Taiwan but hardly any at Ao Wan Da itself. Be warned that to get to the interior, one has to scale down 488 steps and back up again to exit. Other parts were gentle slopes up or down with some steps. 

2014 day 5 日月潭， 伊达邵市集， 九族文化村

Weather was grey and everything was shrouded by clouds. So we changed our itinerary and went to sun moon lake instead.

At least we were beneath the clouds. The ferry brings us to the opposite side where there is a buddha and a place that sells 阿婆茶叶蛋。 It was supposed to be one of the best eggs boiled in tea leaves. However, since it was so crowded, we decided to stay on the catamaran and go to the next stop which leads to the old street 伊达邵市集.

This stall is famous for its deboned drumstick filled with glutinous rice. The chilli is really something, not for the faint-hearted. Next to it is a deep-fried prawn that has been stretched and packed with cucumber, wasabi and spices. I preferred the prawn to the drumstick.

There were many street food stalls. Some had long queues. One stall had only the cook and the one who packed the fillings. It was a deep-friend bun that has lots of vegetables packed within. Both the cook and the packer were so busy so each customer has to pay his or her own money, get the change, get the plastic bag and collect the bun. All DIY. I presume the stall holder is sharp enough to know that people paid for their buns or not.

九族文化村

To get to this aboriginal village, one has to take the cable car. By the cable car station are ginkgo trees. It is the first time I see live ginkgo trees. The leaves have turned to a golden yellow hue due to winter.

Sun moon lake was formed artificially by two lakes. During the Japanese occupation, they raised the water level so that both lakes merged together and it was meant to be a reservoir and hydro-electric plant. http://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/English/AboutSMLEng/Historical/Historical02.htm

the Tao tribe (they must have had alien encounters in the past :-))

I must say the replicas are very well made. Some of the chieftan's house were moved to this village. Others were replicas.

The 9 tribes were represented and we could see the different styles of buildings. Each tribe has a chieftain's home, granaries, chicken coops and shamans in action. Very interesting. 

Unfortunately, many of the tribes are going extinct. Their population size is on the decline and much of their traditional knowledge has been lost. Such a pity. 

2014 day 4 合欢山，纸箱王， 鲁山， 塔洛湾

歐鄉美邸

This was our second B&B. Unlike the previous B&B, beds were much softer and the room was warmer and dryer. 

Morning view from our room:

Property view around the B&B

合欢山

This is the most accessible mountain that can be reached by car. A few steps up and one can reach its peak. Needless to say, it was too cold to do this in this weather. The water that came out of the tap turned to ice in the basin.

Weather got steadily worse. The soft drizzle turned into rain. Clouds were gathering and we couldn't see much.  

So we came down hill and went to 纸箱王

These are cool products made of carton paper. Don't you agree?

鲁山

For lunch, we had another type of freshwater fish and the fish was sliced into two halves and each half was done in a different style. This place was much better. This restaurant was the first one on the left after crossing a bridge by foot. 

The owner let us try the tea grown in her farm. The tea itself was fragrant. The owner was 60+ years old but she looked like she was in her early forties. Amazing what clean air, cool weather, hot spring spa and outdoor work do to her body. 

Since the weather was so miserable, we decided to try the hot spring. At 鲁山, the hot spring doesn't smell of sulphur. There were many, many hot spring spas and some were closed by the government as it tried to control their numbers. So the place looked a bit like a ghost town. The spa that we tried was about 20+ years old and it was a bit run down. 

After the hot spring, we decided to hike a little since the sun came out. Again, there were many bryophytes. However, they were different from La La Shan.

After the hike, we visited an award winning 87 year old weaver. Every part of her wall was covered with pictures of her posing with presidents and VIPS. She played an instrument (passed down from her mother) for us. It sure required a lot of effort to get the thin sliver of bamboo made into a fork to produce sound by pulling a string and by blowing and sucking in air. 

塔洛湾

This restaurant was burnt down a year ago and it has been rebuilt again. We were in time to try their baked chicken, Asplenium fern, stream prawns, egg omelette and mushrooms. The soup was so-so. It was all a set meal and we managed to exchange the cabbage with Asplenium fern. Anything is possible, you just need to ask. We were really quite sick of cabbage by now.

Another vegetable that one must try is the longxuchai龙须菜. It is the leaf and tendrils of Chayote (Sechium edule). It is the one on the left. Crunchy and can be cooked in any style.