About Nature and Altitude 2 - The Fallen and Rise!

The previous night in Alishan ended with cards, jokes, kuachi, and some alcohol. But then we were forced to wake up at 3am just to catch the train to the pit for sunrise. According to our lecturer from KMU, the sunrise is magnificent~ As I mentioned in the previous post, April is Alishan's raining season~ Fat chance to be able to get any sunrise, but we were still counting on it, as long it doesn't rain that morning, we will go~Sure enough, we woke up at 3am and the sky was clear (still freezing cold with strong wind of course).

It was freezing, with those strong wind, so wana rush back in my thick blanket.

When we reached the train station, was pretty curious by the way people was queuing up. Later only realized that the crowd was so huge that you have to start queuing from the floor above and slowly move downwards........

Look at the crowd!

In the end managed to cramp in the small train but stand for 25 minutes~

Still have to walk a distance to another viewing point that has lesser crowd

As forecast, the mist was too thick for any sunrise to be visible~ Plus, it started raining when we reached the viewing point~ What a kill joy~

Wasted~

This tree got its fame by standing there aloft setting off the beautiful scenery of sunrise in Alishan~

Everyone was shivering and every inch of skin was screaming with coldness~ Time for some hot ginger tea~

The last train leaves the pit and we have to walk all the way down to the lower ground~ Took around an hour~

Again, no disrespect~ =P

Thats all for Alishan, and we spend the remaining morning shopping for tea, biscuits and some souvenirs(free food testing also~ =P)

After a pretty disappointing and uneventful cold morning, we boarded the return bus down the mountain, only to stop middle of the journey, about an hour away from Alishan - Fen Qi Hu ( The Rising Lake!奋起湖). Though the name might imply the presence of a lake, but its a misnomer as in Hokkien dialect, Hu(Lake) means a low-lying area~

View from the bus while went down from Alishan to Fen Qi Hu.

The scenic area map~ Too bad we did not have enough time as there are only 2 bus that leave the area daily, one at 2pm(the one we came by), another at 5pm. So in the end, we decided to just shop around the old street instead of touring the scenic area.

The old train station, which was remodeled to be a museum 

Cheese~

The price of goods are relatively cheaper than Alishan

Wondered what it was when I first saw it. After some explanation, realized it is the raw material for Wasabi - Horseradish~ Just grind it and you will get fresh wasabi~ Take 2 years to grow~

Apparently it is a product from high altitude~ First time we tried wasabi nuts~

It was Sunday afternoon, quite crowded~

Entrance to the old street~

Iron tea egg?! tasted like our tea leaves egg, but harder texture

When you mention about Fen Qi Hu, must know about the railway bento (铁路便当). 3 weeks of Taiwan life taught me that most of the Taiwanese take bento for lunch and dinner. It is very easily available, a bento of 1 main course and 3 side dishes might only cost you about 50-80 NTD. Economic, nice and fulfilling~

The Railway Bento got its fame from the olden day, when they sold these bento to passengers on board of the train that used to pass by and stop in Fen Qi Hu.

Almost every stall was selling the railway bento and we finally resolved to the one with the most customers~

时尚玩家( Supertaste ) had been here also~

Besides railway bento, she also sells Stinky Tofu~

Was it nice? Err....I really don't know how to judge~

It was a bit crispy, but sourly~ Don't really like it~

The famous railway bento...with 8 dishes!!!

110 NTD~ Quite pricy eh~

This funny owner of the shop insisted that we take a video of how he prepare the "sea-birdnest"

First, cook the sea birdnest, then allow it to cool down~

A faster way would be to add ice cube directly, then you will get a jelly like dessert, which tasted quite well~ =P

What a long queue~

Taro Cakes (芋头酥)......

Really anticipate how it tastes~

Gosh~ have to wait another 10 minutes~

Finally

6 for 100NTD

Still hot from the oven

MMMM......HMMMMMM!!!! Tasted so good!!! The skin was thin, soft and crispy! With thck filling, not too sweet, just perfect~

Heavenly...a must try, and its worth the long queue after all

After that, about time to take the bus back to Jia Yi Train Station.....everyone was so tired when we reached Jia Yi~ Plus, the direct train back to Kaohsiung was completely sold out. No choice have to take their local train which stop by more stops. To make matter worse, the train delayed for 40 minutes and we have to stand throughout the 2 hours journey back to Kaohsiung~ It was a great experience nevertheless~ Ha!

While waiting for the train, some fireworks was set off a distance away for almost 20 minutes~ What a happening day~ and we just watch as the fireworks rise again and again......

For more illustration,log on here~