Sun Moon Lake

Taiwan Stage 5 – Puli to Zhushan 59 Km (Thu 15 Nov 2018)

Weather: 17⁰C min – 29⁰C max, mostly sunny

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“One never goes so far as when one doesn’t know where one is going” ~ Goethe

Good old 7-Eleven. When your hotel does not serve breakfast, head straight for the orange, green, red and white striped store and order fruit salad, yoghurt, banana, chicken muffin, and a reasonable cappuccino.

After such a nutritious breakfast I was ready for a climb up to Sun Moon Lake, which sits at an elevation of 800m above sea level. Another warm sunny day so the occasional waft of gentle breeze was appreciated to evaporate the sweat from my brow. It was one of those days when you just put your head down and grind away, stopping a couple of times at one’s favourite store for a brittle-skin chocolate coated icecream and a refreshing lemon iced tea.

If you are wondering about the large bicycle pump strapped to my pack rack, there is a story behind it. Since setting out from Taipei on Sunday I have put up with a slightly under-inflated rear tyre, causing the bike to feel floaty and wag its tail when speeding downhill. So yesterday I thought I would put one of the police stations to the test, having heard that their duties include providing support to cyclists (such as pumping up tyres and refilling water bottles). Very good for public relations, but the station I chose failed. No bike pump! Then last night at about 9:15 pm I was sitting in my hotel room looking admiringly at my bike (as we cyclists do) when I decided to pump the back tyre up. Big mistake! My little hand pump gave up the ghost, the tyre lost all its air, and the valve nozzle broke off. Google showed a few bicycle shops but most were closed until tomorrow afternoon. I desperately went searching for a sports store called Hang Ten but when I eventually found it (after being wrongly directed by two locals) to my horror it turned out to be clothing only. Finally I rang a bicycle repair shop that stays open until 10 pm. The only problem was that it was 1.5 Km away and the time was now 9:40 pm. Half running, half walking, I made it with a couple of minutes to spare, only to find they had no hand pumps only very large footpumps. I had no choice so I bought one of the massive pumps and a couple of spare tubes. A couple of minutes later and I would not have made it up the mountain today.

Any place with such a mystical name as Sun Moon Lake has to be special. And it was. Words can’t describe how magical it is, so I will left the pictures tell the story. Definitely the highlight of my tour so far.

Don’t go out of your way to visit Zhushan. You will find this tired, unattractive town less than appealing.

The “Green Bamboo Shoots Homestay” has a nice ring about it, so I was looking forward to my stay there tonight. Arriving sharp at the appointed check-in time of 3 pm, I banged in vain on the door. When I phoned the mobile number the other end hung up on me because they couldn’t understand any English. Next thing I know a small motor scooter carrying a large girl screeches to a halt. We then conduct a laborious conversation via a translation app on her phone, she gives me a key, shows me to my room then spends ten minutes trying to swat a mosquito with her hands. After succeding, she offers to lead me down the street to show me where I can get dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. So here is me pedalling like mad on my bicycle trying to keep up with her on her motor scooter.

The joys of bicycle touring!