Blogs from Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan, Asia
Alishan by scooter- a near death experience
Published: April 18th 2008Asia » Taiwan » Chiayi » Alishan
April 14th 2008
We got up at around 10am on Sunday morning, and started to pack up for Alishan. Paul told me that we had two options for transportation- we could take a train and a bus, or we could take the scooters. He warned me that the scooter might be a bit uncomfortable, but that it would allow us to stop whenever we wanted and we could stop whenever I needed a break. He thought the ride would take about four hours. It was a really fun drive- we stopped every couple of hours to get snacks at the 7-11 (I kept trying weird sushi triangles- ham, cheese and corn, pork bits, chicken- the food here is so strange!) Driving in Taiwan is nothing like home- there doesn't seem to be a speed limit, and half of the ... read more
February 26th 2008
Hello from Sun Moon Lake, hello from Ali Shan! Arrived at Sun Moon lake just before sunset. Just enough time to get on a boat to the other side to really enjoy it. Sun Moon lake is a man made lake created by the Japanese years and years ago. Quite an accomplishment for way back then. It has since become a major Taiwanese tourist destination. You can see why from the picks. I'm guessing it's the honeymoon capital of Taiwan. Very beautiful. The way the sun rises and sets. The way the clouds roll over the mountains and the mist in the morning. Not to forget the hot spring in the basement of my hotel! All very romantic. The next morning we were off down the very very very twisty road to Ali Shan and the ... read more
March 25th 2007
and remembered how lovely it is to enjoy nature! "There’s something about the quiet touch of nature that untangles my thoughts, awakens my heart and reminds me how beautiful our world was meant to be." Rinehart The Blonde Bomber (Rach's new name ha) The Cat Man (Mike) and I headed up to Alishan Mountian in Chiayi for a day trip on Saturday. I loved it, frankly because I only had to travel an hour and a half ha! We arrived in the early afternoon, where we proceeded to try to get a bus up the mountain, well of course they were sold out, so then we were going to think of renting a scooter ( thank god we didnt because after seeing those curves-yeah i might not have been here to write this today ha) ... read more
March 25th 2007
Yesterday we decided to take a little day trip. And by little I mean heading up the second highest mountain in Taiwan. The highest is Jade mountain which is very close, Jade mt is actually the tallest mountain in Asia, even taller than Mt Fuji, in Japan. So Mare, Mike and I planned to go see the mountain. Well we did very little planning, and figured it would work out when we got there. I had the great idea of scootering up the mountain but thankfully it was raining when we got there so we were forced to take another mode of transportation. We would have never made it alive if we would have scootered. That was a bad idea. So we went to the bus station first and the lady told us there were ... read more
December 13th 2005
Alisan Alisan is a must-visit attraction in Taiwan according to most people. Some facts: Framed for its spectacular sun-rise viewing experience and the 71km mountain railway that ascended some 2100m from Chiayi. This railway was one of the legacies left by the Japanese in Taiwan after 50 years of brutal colonization between 1895-1945. Initially, the mountain railway was used by the Japanese for their logging operations in Alisan. Today, it is used by visitors as a mode of transportation from Chiayi. Anyway, the tour started early today for us to view the sun-rise over at Tatajia @ Yushan National Park, 45 minutes from the Hotel. The sun goddess was not on our side. She was engulfed by the thick layer of clouds over the mountains. But we managed to witness the spectacular display of the ... read more
December 12th 2005
We left Taipei at 8.35am today on our way to Chiayi - 3 hours to the south by the express train. The amount of leg room was definitely wider than the Jetstar Asia plane that we took earlier. 10.55 am - The “train stewardess” started selling Bian Dan which was picked up from Taichung. It was delicious as we had a hurried lunch. The next station was Chiayi. 11.36 am - Chiayi and were immediately harassed by taxi touts who somehow knew that we were heading to Alisan. We had already anticipated the touting thanks to Lonely Planet. We sought refuge from the Tourist Information Centre where the helpful lady volunteer pointed us the direction of the bus station to Alisan. The wait continued until 1.10pm when the bus bounded to Alisan came by. From then, ... read more
