15 December 2011
Misty Villa Minsu (B&B) is located in Cingjing, about 1720m above sea level. I have booked a spacious Quad room with 2 King-sized beds for 2 nights. Our room, number 103, is located above the dining area, faces east and offers a nice view of the mountains.
I was the first person to wake up. The best time for take photos is in the early morning before the light gets too harsh. It was cloudy, so no brilliant sunrise that I had hoped to see. In any case, it is not too big a disappointment as the view of the cloud-covered mountains was even better.
I set up the tripod to take a series of photos using my DSLR to create this panorama of the view from the room’s balcony.
Our original plan for today was to go for walks at the Green Green Grassland to view the sheep, just enjoy the fresh mountain air, and maybe have tea at the Old England in the afternoon. Green Green Grassland (what a name!) is an area in Cingjing where sheep roam free over undulating grassland, and visitors can ride horses, watch sheep shearing show and other performances in the weekend.
Misty Villa provided free transfer to Green Green Grassland after breakfast and our host, Nita, also sells the entrance ticket at a discount. The clouds were rolling in and there was a slight drizzle but we decided to proceed anyway. Nita loan us 4 umbrellas. Fortunately, the drizzle stopped after some time and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day without needing the umbrellas.
It was quite nice to have the opportunity to shoot some photographs of the sheep and landscape with the mist rolling in. For a hobbyist photographer, this was more interesting than taking pictures of sheep and mountains on a clear sunny, blue sky day.
Besides the sheep, Cingjing offers excellent views of the mountains, fresh air and a “top of the world” feeling.
Boardwalks were constructed to allow easy access for visitors through the undulating landscapes and there are pavilions and rest points as well. The sheep are free ranging and would come up close for a feed. Or a photo.
We had to watch our steps as there were sheep droppings scattered all over. Surprisingly, there were no unpleasant smell.
We spotted a couple having their wedding photos taken with the sheep.
This place really gives you a feeling that you are in a European countryside and not in Taiwan. There was even a windmill. A bit out of place, I think.
As this was a weekday, there was no sheep shearing performance scheduled. Anyway, my boys were more interested in swinging their umbrellas like lightsabers than watching a sheep got stripped.
There were horses for those interested in horse riding. It was amazing they could stand still for hours waiting for the riders. On this day, there were few visitors.
Outside Green Green Grassland, there were stalls selling fruits and snacks. We had a simple lunch consisting of sweet corn, wild boar sausage and braised tofu with salted vegetables. Plus huge round pears which the fruit seller was happy to cut for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment