A few years ago, I viewed a documentary on Taiwan on the TLC channel. Besides showing the urban sprawl of Taipei, they also featured a journey to the highlands of Nantou county, where the magical Sun Moon Lake.
The images from the documentary remained etched in my mind. My fascination about this water-body grew as I read travelogues about Taiwan on the internet. And then we made a failed attempt to visit Taiwan alongwith China in 2013, but a paucity of time made us skip Taiwan.
But this time, when we finally made it to Taiwan, we had to, we really had to visit the Sun Moon Lake.
And so we boarded a bus from Taichung HSR station to head to the Sun Moon Lake. The weather wasn't all that great. The winds were strong. Rain was heavy, but we had to make our pilgrimage to the Sun Moon Lake.
As we were leaving Taichung HSR, we noticed a couple of kids performing...
Their songs were melodious...
We took the highway as we made our way from the Changhua County into Nantou County...
Parts of the highway were scenic....
The clouds made it even more scenic...
As we approached the lake, the weather worsened...
The first sight of the Sun Moon Lake from our bus...
The Sun Moon trail...
The magical lush green hills of Nantou county...
And finally we reached the Sun Moon Lake...
Located in the Yuchi township of the Nantou county, the Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) or Zintun in the language of the Thao, the local aboriginal tribals, while the British called the lake Candidius, named after a 17th century Dutch preacher. The lake is the largest body of water in Taiwan, which make it an ideal getaway for the Taiwanese. The east side of the lake is shaped like the sun while the west side resembles a moon, and these features give the lake its evocative name.
The lake also has a tiny island called Lalu, which is a holy ground for the Thao people. Legend has it that Thao hunters discovered Sun Moon Lake while chasing a white deer through the surrounding mountains. The deer led the hunters to the lake, which they found incredibly beautiful and abundant with fish. Today, this legend is immortalized as a marble statue on Lalu Island.
As most conquerors do, the Japanese colonials renamed Lalu Island the Jade Island. However Chiang Kai-shek's government renamed the island Kuang Hua (or Glorious China). However, increasing recognition of aboriginal rights resulted in the adoption of the original name of Lalu in 1999.
The weather was stormy. We ended holed up in a Starbucks overlooking the lake, unable to venture out...
And that's when we heard the news that the high speed rail service between Taipei, Taichung and Zuoying in Kaohsiung would be curtailed due to the incoming Typhoon Dujuan. The last train would operate from Taichung HSR towards Kaohsiung at 5 PM. We still could afford to relax a bit here and enjoy the rain pummeling down...
The mist on the lake looked magic, just like a veil waiting to be lifted...
Waiting for our coffees...
Coffee, egg tart and apple pie...
...by the lakeside. Indeed sipping a hot beverage in this weather is much like living through a blessing!
The Sun Moon Lake has had more than its share of controversy than it actually deserves. In 2012, the Mainland introduced a new series of passports featuring a picture of the lake. This drew a lot of protests from Taiwan!
Oops, our camera lens gets wet...
The wind is really strong...
After our coffee, we took one last look at the lake, wished the weather hadn't been this back, promised to be back soon and headed out to catch our bus to head back to Taichung HSR!
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