Sun Moon Lake Taiwan itinerary | 日月潭 | Taiwan Travel Vlog

Sun Moon Lake Taiwan itinerary | 日月潭 | Taiwan Travel Vlog

This is a mini vlog of our 3D2Nt trip to Sun Moon Lake Taiwan We went there and explored the place entirely on public transport mainly the metro system and buses so stick around if you would like to find out more details on travelling via public transport and our itinerary in Sun Moon Lake we had really found the way of this place so we decided to do it again this time with our kids Our red eye flight touched down Taoyuan airport around 6am and we started our journey straight away from the airport we took the Taoyuan metro to Taoyuan station where we would transfer to high speed rail to Taichung city If you do not know yet, their EasyCard is widely accepted on buses, metro and train system in Taiwan It is cheaper than a single trip ticket and provide discount when transferring between buses and metro within a given time frame From Taoyuan station, there are also other cheaper options to Taichung such as train or express train but high speed rail will be faster 40 minutes See you in Taichung At Taichung station, you can take a tourist shuttle bus to the main pier of Sun Moon Lake “Shuishe” We decided to take a cab instead as we still need to
make another transfer to our accommodation at a different pier so the savings would be less significant and more troublesome If you need more info on the shuttle bus services, please refer to the website in the description section The cab fare should be in range of NT$1,200 to NT$1,500 There will be taxi driver approaching you at the taxi stand Just ask for the quote In general, for my experiences, Taiwnese are one of the nicest and more sincere people Most of them will not over quote you I mean, they are still scam but rare We reached our accommodation at Ita Thao in around an hour time lets not take the ferry, we explore around this area first located right at the heart of the market street and just a min walk to the pier We wasted no time and started our exploration even before the check-in This shop was right outside of our homestay since many years back boneless chicken wing stuff with fragrance glutinous rice quite a few shops on the main market street operating even in the morning most shops will be operating by noon through evening I’ll quickly run through some basic information of Sun Moon Lake There are three piers in the lake in which you can explore via ferry The main pier, Being Shuishe, is the biggest community This is a place where you’ll find a lot of shops, restaurants, accommodation and bicycle rentals This is a pier to come if you intend to go cycling on the famous bike path The actual bikeway does not extend around the whole lake But you can ride along the road if you wish to go around the lake It was enough to keep us occupied for a while just along the actual bikeway Sun moon lake is generally more cooling because of the elevated altitude one of the main reason we revisited was to bring our kids to cycle here the kids even brought their own helmets as we’re cycling at another location in this trip a nice pit stop along the bikeway this place has a unique architecture design and a nice view of the lake there is also a Cafe we ended cycling with an amazing lunch at Shuishe(水社) town central prices are listed and reasonable Xingguang Pier is the second pier we visited There are basically only two activities here Climb up the stairs to visit the temple , enjoy a view of the lake from above And to eat the famous ah ma(granny)Tea Leaf egg as the name suggest, initially sold by a granny, known as one of the best We were quite lucky there was no queue, quite a long queue previously a relatively short climb to the temple my wife entering enlightenment in 3 sec Lastly, it does out where we stay. It’s smaller than Shuishe but does have a fair share of restaurants and accommodation type If you like the vibrant of night market, this is the pier you should choose to stay. We have always been staying at Ita Thao and at the same homestay This location just gave me a good vibe. I think it is less busy than the main pier and more peaceful a lot of homestay(民宿) in Taiwan are not exactly “homestay” but rather boutique hotel run by a family it’s good value for a big 2 double beds room, with sitting area, breakfast included too both kids had grown so much and it’s a steal to house 4 of us for this price and it also come with a big onsen style bath tub enough for the 4 of us can see the lake from here can see Shuishe(水社) from our bathtub breakfast at rooftop with a view Continental and Taiwanese fusion breakfast Apart from the night market which is just right outside of our doorstep 7-11 is just right opposite of us, making it super convenient. Just like Japan and Thailand, 7 Eleven here is just next level Though claiming that it is less busy here, I have to mention that this location does get really crowded due to the night market But from our experiences, the crowd start to disperse before sunset leaving a contrast of calmness, resulting us appreciating the peacefulness even more I am guessing visitors were rushing for the last ferry and bus back to the main pier where most of them stay. And also most of the tour buses will be gone by then On day 2, we took the bus services that loop around the lake. This is a great way to explore the area and it is relatively cheap and reliable. Buses are pretty regular and there is also an online platform to check the live schedule of the bus stick around as we will show you a list of activities we did in this bus ride our first stop was Ci En Pagoda(慈恩塔), unfortunately it was closed for maintenance so we proceed to visit Xuanzang temple which is just a stop away, the 2nd temple we visited tip: you can tour around the lake by bus without using the Ferry We’re not religious, but we want our kids to be respectful to all doctrine that taught kindness the temple also offer an amazing view of the lake coffee and almond milk sold at affordable price for visitors to enjoy the view at the same time time for next destination Gondola to the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village which we skipped in this trip the largest temple in Sun Moon Lake Wen Wu temple was built in 1938 as a relocation of 2 smaller temples along
the coast of Sun Moon Lake. During the Japanese occupation, water level rose
due to the construction of Dam resulting the removal of both temples.
it was compensated and the temples managers decided to consolidate resources
and built Wen Wu Temple at the current location It’s a large temple with 3 separate halls boy, you able to climb up? why not. Can I try? omg, I’m so unglamorous oh no, papa was stuck there are quite a few sections to explore within the Temple there are also quite a few viewpoints in the Temple there is a special flight of stairs opposite of Wen Wu temple the stairs consist of 366 steps representing 366 days in a year including an extra day in leap year Information related to the 24 solar periods is also carved into the steps the stairs also function as a wishing well first purchase a wind chime at the temple with your details written on it and hang it on the stair of your birth date for blessing Dec is the starting month from above, good luck if you were born in Jan decided to walk to the end of the stairs at the end it used to be a pier that people took boat to the Temple this was only way to get to the Temple before the round-the-lake road was built thats why in early days, these steps were named “Stairway to Heaven” time to climb back to Heaven around half way of the stairs, there is a newly built walking trail back to Shuishe(水社) it should take 1 to 2 hours another late lunch at Shuishe(水社) you need to take loop bus to Shuishe(水社) if you wanna take bus back to TaiChung Station The bus stop to Taichung Station is right outside the main 7 Eleven opposite of Sun Moon Lake Police station

Everything you need to know about Sun Moon Lake(日月潭) Taiwan. In this Vlog we will share with you our Itinerary and how to travel like a local.

Tourist Shuttle info
https://www.sunmoonlaketrip.net/en/

A short film made using
DJI OSMO ACTION 4
Sony A7C, sigma 27-70mm F2.8
Sony A6500, Sony 11mm F1.8