Near Chiayi

Your time in Taiwan is nearly over. It has gone really quickly  Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese for 100 years. During this period they developed a logging industry for Cypress oil and timber. Our next stop Chiayi  is the centre of this logging region. Hinoki village originally housed the forestry workers. Today it is a bustling craft , gift and food area for us tourists. I loved the towels and did buy a Tshirt. Did you get anything? These cute figures are everywhere.

Today we go to the forest. A quick stop in a bamboo forest and then to Alishan

. The narrow gauge train transported the logs. No we are not going on it….look you missed it anyway.

Alishan is beautiful. The magnificent trees, smells … you can feel it relaxing you. Some of the trees are believed to be 2000 years old. Yes the stairs are a minor drawback and the signs saying how many people each area supports does make you think. We are fine … not enough of us to cause a catastrophe

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Alishan is not only famous for its trees. Tea and coffee are grown here.
Yes we are going to a tea farm. It is run by the YuYupas people, one of the 16 indigenous groups in Taiwan. The traditional dances were fun. I really like the one where the warrior pulls faces. …not sure if it would deter an opponent. Maybe the opponent dies of laughter

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Last stop in the region will be the SunMoon lake. It is a huge natural lake. The local indigenous community are allowed to fish in the lake and have planted floating pontoons to prevent the wash from boats damaging the small islands in the lake.

A bit of a climb to the inevitable temple. No I am not going to the top of the pagoda. You go..no more stairs for me today. I like this temple here with the monks. It gives off vibes of serenity….perfect on a hot afternoon.

We are heading back to Taipei now. A quick visit to the tallest building in the city called the 101 building then to the hotel.

No wake up call tomorrow, no set plans. I wonder what we should do.