SS Quah's Anything Goes: Taiwan travellogue, Day 4 Part 1 (Sun Moon Lake to Fenqihu)

Our time at Sun Moon Lake was all too brief. We had arrived there on Day Three of our holidays at around 2pm, yet by nine o'clock on Day Four morning, we were already on a bus heading back to Taichung. Personally, I found the boat rides on Day Three to be somewhat underwhelming. After the lively experience of Taipei's Raohe Street Night Market, the atmosphere in Ita Thao and Shuishe left me a bit disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. But never mind, I told myself, I shall readjust my expectations for the remainder of our time in Taiwan. There were still Fenqihu (奮起湖) and Alishan (阿里山) on our itinerary.

The bus arrived promptly at 9.10am, taking us on a meandering route around half of the lake before heading towards Taichung. In Taichung, we purchased train tickets to Chiayi. Little did we know that this particular local train made stops at every station between the two cities, turning the journey into almost a two-hour affair. However, this provided me with ample opportunity to observe my surroundings. For my fellow passengers enduring the two-hour ride, activities slowed down enough for everyone to find a moment of respite from their bustling lives.

Upon arrival at the Chiayi rail station, our first task was to buy bus tickets to Fenqihu. This was a charming mountain village halfway between Chiayi and Alishan. With some time to spare, we crossed the road to the Sanya Chiayi turkey rice (三雅嘉義火雞肉飯) shop for a meal. While the turkey rice left us less than impressed (resembling more like strands of chicken meat than turkey), some add-ons like the liver soup and the century egg were quite satisfactory.

Finally at around 3.10pm, we boarded the bus to Fenqihu. I found the architecture of the buildings quite intriguing. Many of them resembled structures back in Penang, except for the proliferation of Chinese signboards. I made an effort to capture as many pictures as I could, considering that we might not come through this way again in the future.

A quick note about their bus and local train tickets: We discovered at Taichung's HSR bus station that on many of their public transport systems, individuals above 65 years old were eligible for a 50 percent discount on fares. The catch, however, was that the passenger had to be Taiwanese. To my pleasant surprise though, the bus drivers and train ticket counter staff I encountered offered me the discount without question even though I wasn't their citizen. I certainly wasn't one to complain!