Mountain Top Home Stay

Our accommodation in Cingjing is Starry Home, one of the few home stays at the top of the mountain.

The owner, Mr Lee, is very hospitable, flexible and friendly. He offered guests pick up and drop off at places of attraction and also can arrange for local trips if required. We have steamboat dinner for the two nights we put up there, and he receives many tourists from Malaysia and Singapore.

It was quite high up in the mountains, come summer the view from the top will be great. When we visited was nearing the end of Spring, with showers in the evening and throughout the night. We were fortunate enough to have clear sky the next morning, else we could not have marveled at the magnificent view of the mountain ranges and the villages.  

Taiwanese Highlands

Cingjing Farm is a cluster of farms located at 1,750m sea level in Nantou County. The view from the mountains were absolutely breathtaking. We were lucky enough to have a window of approximately 5 hours in the morning for the views and the lamb farm show.

The trip from Puli took nearly an hour, as we held our breaths as the bus captain cautiously maneuvered along the mountain side roads to bring us to the farm.

The air was fresh and cool, the farm was filled with tourists, the mountain ranges were visible as the morning mist cleared.

We finally had the opportunity to wear our hand knit scarf and vest, painstakingly knitted by none other than my Mum :) It felt absolutely heartwarming, having them on us as we walked along the hilly terrain of the farms.

Evening by the Lakeside

Sun  Moon Lake is the the biggest body of water in Taiwan. It is shaped like the moon on one side and the sun on the other, hence the name which embodies the two celestial bodies.

The epicenter of the 921 Taiwan earthquake was located a mere 9kilometers away, and this changed some surrounding landscape around the lake. Tour guides on the ferry rides told us of the names of the landscape before and after the earthquake.

There are many stones such as this around the lake for photo taking opportunities. As it was near nightfall, there were not many tourists around this particular one and we had quite some fun with our tripod and camera. If not for the chill and impeding darkness, we would have continued on with more funny poses.

The area where we stayed in, Shui-se Pier was a highly commercial area, filled with tourists from local and abroad, eateries and souvenir shops. In order to escape the crowd, one needs to embark on any one of the numerous walking trails around the lake to feel the serenity of the lake and its surroundings.