Alishan trip, Taiwan: Day 1

Finally, an updated blog post.

So last weekend I went to Alishan for a few days. At 11:47 Friday night we took the train to Kaoshiung. Taiwan may be a small island, but going as far south as Kaoshiung took over five and a half hours. Though I tried, I found it near impossible to sleep. The lights are bright, the seats less than accommodating, and it was noisy at times.

The MRT rapid transit system in Kaoshiung was newly opened, and use is free for the time being. We took the MRT to Lianchih Lake and intended on visiting the cool Dragon and Tiger Pagoda, however it was closed for renovations. There was a Confucius Temple there as well, but it was closed because it was so early in the morning.

Walking back to the MRT, a lively market:



I saw new flowers all over the place. The temperature in the south is warmer.



MRT to World Games station (the World Games will be held in Kaoshiung in 2009). The building is still under construction, so we only took a peek from the station.



From another station we caught a cab to Chengcing Lake.

The Nine-Cornered Bridge:





Pavilion off Fu Guo Isle:


I took pictures from the second and top floors, however the top floor photos weren't on my camera when I uploaded my photos.


MRT to the Sugar Refinery station. All kinds of vendors in sight, a ceremony, people bustling about.

Here, ball frenzy as people line up in an orderly fashion to get a free baseball.


In the early afternoon we left Kaoshiung and took a train to Chiayi. A couple hours later we eventually were on a bus to Alishan. I say eventually because there were scheduling problems and we ended up accepting a van-ride offer by a local woman (busiest woman in the world, as I call her). We were delayed over an hour, but I liked the van because I was able to get a bit of sleep.

A whip lash, curvy road ride it was. At least, I noticed that much between nods. The road is narrow and people like to speed along the winding road like they're in dire need of a rest stop.

Way up high in the mountains of Taiwan, we checked into our hotel. Dinner, then rest. The plan was to check out the stars, however the weather was cloudified. Sleep is a good thing though.