December 6th, Day 1 -- Air, Land and Water Transport

We arrived Kota Kinabalu, Land below the wind, late last night; only because we're leaving again at six in the morning again. Sleeping in an air-conditioned room, I woke up with an extremely dry throat.

We got to the airport only to be refused entry to boarding hall because it was too early and they have not started working yet. And when they tell me they are not open, they ignored me when I asked what time do they open then. *shrug*

After much hum-drum, the flight took approximately three hours to arrive Taoyuan International Airport. Because it was too early, almost all of us ordered breakfast from the airline. I had the panda pillow biscuit: super yummy. Ma was afraid I wouldn't be satiated, so she gave me one of her sandwiches (typical Ma). Anyway, I hate airline food, just because it's expensive.

Upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, we laughed a bit at the English signs. And then took a bus to the High Speed Rail Station. At the HSR Station, we had our second breakfast as the elder & BF spotted their favourite Singaporean burger joint: Mos Burger. The younger's never had Mos Burger before so she made faces for me to snap (while almost insisting that it was nothing special). After the meal, we board the HSR towards Taichung, and got tickets for a bus to Sun Moon Lake.

The bus dropped us off on the roadside a stone throw away from the hotel we were staying. We were received by a very enthusiastic lady owner, who told us that we would have to rush, rush, rush if we want to enjoy to the maximum (time is very valuable, and you would soon learn why). We dropped bags in our room and went out, shopped for some bread to skip lunch, but ended up missing the 2:30 boat anyway. So, we hung around the Shuise harbour eating bread while waiting for the next boat ride, at 3:15. The elder & BF, worried that Pa did not have enough to eat, went back to the 7-11 store we passed to get a pot of Guandong zhu (various fish/seafood/flour/soy frozen products boiled in soup) which we later shared.

The boat ride to Itatsao was scenic, and the boat owner was funny. At Itatsao, we took the cable car and looked over the beautiful Sun Moon Lake from high up. At the top, we hung around a little bit for potty breaks and asked the younger a bit about Formosa Aboriginal Village (which was just next door) and made her rather cross for having to repeat things many times. We took the cable car back down and took a stroll along the little township trying out some food and drinks, including Double sausages and A Sa Mu red tea.

Back at the harbour, it's another boat ride to Xuanguang harbour. We hopped off to walk up a little and tasted the famous Ahpo Iron Egg, and took a brief look at the Xuanguang temple, where it was said that the first Shelizi brought back by Tangzeng from the West was positioned. About half an hour later from when we hopped off, we were back at the harbour for the last boat back to Shuise harbour. From there (at approximately 4:30 in the afternoon), we felt the sun set (The picture below was taken at about 5:00). No wonder we were warned that time is of the essence?

Upon arrival at Shuise harbour, it is already almost dark. We decided to rest our feet at the hotel before dinner (and also because the elder said she preferred to bath before dinner). About an hour later, we went back out to have dinner at a shop near the harbour because it seemed to be the most popular shop.

After dinner, we strolled briefly around the area and bought some specialty biscuits. And then we stopped by 7-11 and got junk food (TARO CHIPS!!!) and a can of Taiwan beer for supper (the young ones, Ma and Pa wouldn't play a part in it). Ended up hitting the sack near midnight.