Clunk Click

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Fri
We left Taipei by train. I bought the tickets online at home,printed my receipt, went to the ticket office at the station and they gave me the tickets! Everything works....this is a novelty to us !
We picked up a car in Tai Chung and intend to explore the western part of the country and drive down to the south coast. The guy in the office very kindly punched in all the addresses that we had into the sat nav as you could only do that in Chinese!! Luckily she speaks American!!
First stop Lukang,for 2nights. Found it easily enough. We are in an Air bnb here and were too early for check in and so we drove around the town to try to get our bearings.
After checking in we went out to explore some more of the town and try all the street good.....one of the things that this town is famed for......only to find everything closed!
This street market is only open during the day and we struggled to find somewhere to eat, finishing up with a bit of chicken and rice from a small family cafe that was actually doing brisk business. Probably due to the fact that every where else was closed.
Found a 7 /11 and bought some biscuits and beer.
Sat.
After a hearty breakfast we set off in the car and headed up the mountains. It was very hazy and so we weren't sure how much we were going to see....however as we started to go upwards the clouds disappeared and it got warmer !! At last.
We were aiming for Sun Moon lake. The largest lake in Taiwan. And in the sunshine it did look lovely. Again very busy with tour buses.
Next stop Checheng station, with a actual station and some old trains . There was also a wood exhibition! And lots of stalls selling food! We have been very impressed with the fact that if you go into say a Wood exhibition, or glass or any type of handy craft they quite often have DIY sessions so you can buy a kit and use their tools to have a go. Quite a few were making wooden stools and chairs. They mostly use Cedar and the smell was wonderful.
Last stop as it was getting dark was to see a glass Temple, that was lit up at night and changed colours!........

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Photos

Sun Moon Lake
Just before a whole group decided to join us and that bridge wobbled!