Alishan

What I'm about to say is going to sound rather ridiculous - we got up at 2.30am to catch a cab, followed by a forest train up the Alishan mountain to see the sunrise. We thought we were way too early but when we got there, hundreds of people were already waiting in the dark.

And this was the lull period. I can hardly imagine what it is like during spring time, when the forest is ablaze with cherry blossoms and packed with hordes of camera toting tourists.

The forest train.

After much anticipation, the sun finally surfaced at 6.10am to the applause of the crowd. We were indeed lucky to see the beautiful sunrise. It was worth waking up so early after all, considering just the day before, the rising sun wasn't visible through the thick fog and clouds.

Whilst the sunrise was lovely, the hike down the forest trail was even more enchanting. It is home to  majestic cypress trees, some of which are over 2,000 years old. 

The following photos taken by SK bring out the true beauty of Alishan Forest.

Vendors selling breakfast food.

   

 

The ones below taken by me show you how huge the cypress trees are.

On the way back to our homestay, the driver brought us to FengchiHu Old Town which is a tiny town with an old train station which is no longer operating. Strangely, even in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere,  there is an entire street dedicated to selling traditional snacks and handicrafts mainly to unsuspecting tourists like us.

  

FengchiHu used to be a stop for train passengers to come out for fresh air and catch a bite. Hence the town's most famous restaurant is Ah Liang Bento Box. Decades ago, the entreprising owner Ah Liang fashioned the box using bamboo growing profusely in the area so that pasengers could eat in the train. Today his son is running the business. After the train stopped operating, they now depend on tourists like us. We had our lunch there and I must say the food is good.

Chia Yi

Taiwan has proven to be such a popular destination that just about everyone I know has gone there on vacation  in the last few years. I can understand the appeal. The flight time of around 4 hours is one. Many budget airlines fly there too. We flew on Scoot for $400 per person.

After our 1-week holiday, I'm already joining the hordes of people who sing praises about the charms of Taiwan.

What I like about Taiwan is, there is something for everyone - from the magnificent mountains to the sprawling night markets and delicious street food. There is no language barrier and the Taiwanese are so friendly and helpful, you feel so at home whether you're in the bustling city or the tranquil countryside.

Unlike my other trips, I didn't do extensive research prior to arriving. As we only had 7 nights, I had no intention of dashing around the entire island. Instead, I focused on 3 areas - Chia Yi, Hua Lien and Taipei.

On the map, Chia Yi and Hua Lien look close enough but I only realised a mountain range separates them when I got there. Thanks to the recommendation of the locals, we hopped on a TransAsia plane and flew to Hua Lien in 30 minutes!

For those who are wondering what's at Chia Yi, well, it is Southern Taiwan's third largest city, famous for being the transition point to Alishan mountain, one of the most visited natural wonders in Taiwan. The early settlers at Alishan were Taiwanese aborigines until ethnic Chinese began settling in the 19th century.

Alishan aborigine standee.

Getting to Chia Yi was easy. We landed in Tao Yuan International Airport and took a shuttle bus to the High Speed Rail station about 20 minutes away. From there, we bought tickets at 930TWD each for a very comfortable 1-hour ride to Chia Yi.

Chia Yi HSR station.o

 The driver (engaged by our homestay) took us around the city to show us the sights. It is a small one, so there isn't much to see. We covered the Cypress Forestry Life Village in less than 10 minutes!

Then we crossed over to the narrow-gauge Alishan Forest Railway track which has stopped running due to some damaged tracks sustained during a major earthquake years ago.

 Chia Yi City Cultural Centre nearby has some interesting art installations.

It was fun exploring the market off the main Zhongshan Street.

Seedlings for sale.

Colourful traditional candies and pastries.

Cooked chicken, head and all.

We had the famous local specialty, turkey rice, for lunch. The meat was surprisingly tender and tasty.

 On the way to our homestay in Alishan, we made a quick stop at the persimmon factory.

Enjoying persimmon ice cream.

At the base of Alishan Mountain.

 After a long journey up the winding road, we finally arrived at the beautiful Seasonstar Minshu, our home for two nights.

Seasonstar at night.

Surrounded by tea plantation.

Bamboo grove at Seasonstar.

We were treated to afternoon tea and cake.

Delicious hot pot dinner.

A farewell party

Gosh, I seem to have forgotten that I have a blog to update. Yes, life has been hectic but still, not frenzied enough to forsake my friends especially when Christiane (extreme left in the photo) is leaving Singapore for Oman in a week. We're going to miss her so. Then again, we might have an excuse to visit Oman now.

The rain washed away plans of a picnic at Labrador Park yesterday. We ended up eating picnic food at Patricia's home instead.

In my opinion, pasta salad is the best food to bring for a picnic. It's easy to put together and tastes great at room temperature. The key ingredient is onion and herbs like parsley and coriander. A simple vinaigrette made with lemon juice, olive oil and mustard completes the dish.

I always have a frozen pizza or two in my freezer in case of emergencies. Dr Oetker Ristorante 4-cheese Pizza serves as the perfect base for me to add on my own fresh toppings like tomato, button mushroom and capsicum. Piling on lots of fresh ingredients takes the guilt out of eating something that is so sinful. It's also a great picnic grub.

Since my friends love my carrot cake, I got up really early on a Sunday morning to bake one. I'm not too crazy about the cake but the frosting (made with cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, lemon juice and orange zest) is nice.




After filling up our tummies with my rustic looking cake, SH arrived with a Lychee Martini cake from Pine Garden which made mine look like a failed experiment! My friends have been urging me to make a business out of selling carrot cake but I really should brush up my decorating skills first.

A colorful weekend

If not for our friend, we wouldn't have heard of the Color Run. She was looking for running mates and we agreed to sign up without hesitation. The run was so popular, all the 16,000 spots were sold out within hours. The irony was, she didn't even sign up.

But we have to thank her for the wonderful experience. Having done quite many races, we're getting quite picky and Color Run appealed to us right from the start. We wanted to run in 'The Happiest 5k on the Planet' and be doused in gaudy coloured powder at the end of it all.

Since we were prepared to indulge in a weekend of fun in Sentosa, we also booked a room at Amara Sanctuary to complete the experience.

We arrived at Siloso Beach to find a sea of excited young people engaged in taking photos of each other. Being surrounded by energetic, screaming youngsters dressed in colourful tutus, afros, sunnies and high socks suddenly made us feel so sedated and old. Their photo taking antics continued throughout the 5k run. They were so engrossed with taking selfies and having fun that they forgot to run.

At every 1km mark, we were showered with coloured powder. By the time we crossed the finish line, we were covered in pink, yellow, blue and red. The youngsters loved it. The more colours, the better!

CH doing the Gangnam Style.

 I didn't end up plastered in colours.

Bananas in colourful Mini.

I'm so glad we picked Amara Sanctuary for our staycation. Set amidst lush greenery, the hotel is quiet and elegant. After jostling with thousands of excited runners, we were happy to retreat to some tranquility while the youngsters continued to party.

For dinner, there are two good restaurants to choose from at Amara Sanctuary - Than Ying Thai Restaurant and Shutters.

We settled for the 2-course set meal (at $30 each) at Shutters and enjoyed the excellent food and service. The portions were generous and we were even given a complimentary basket of assorted bread.

Our appetizer, Tuna Tataki ala Nicoise, is perfect for sharing.
 















For the main course, CH had the Miso braised beef cheek, served on a bed of truffle-mash potato. The meat was cooked to perfection.
 
My choice of soy glazed cod topped with bonito flake was also delicious. I am amazed at how the thick chunk of cod can be so tender and succulent.
 
I was quite skeptical when I saw the chempedak creme brulee but it proved to be a surprise hit.