7 Jan 2016
One of the best thing about staying overnight in Sun Moon Lake is the opportunity to watch the sun rise and enjoy the calm morning scenery of the beautiful lake before the tour groups come in.
We stayed at the Mei Jen House and this minsu (B&B) organises a morning walk for guests to watch the sunrise every morning (weather permitting). On this day, there was no rain and a group of about 10 gathered at the reception at 5.30 AM. Tripods for cameras were available for free loan but I decided to shoot the sunrise with my new Canon G5X without it. Warmly dressed, we left the minsu promptly. Led by the lady who checked us in, we walked towards the lake. The sky was still dark, a little cloudy and our hopes of watching a glorious sunrise was not very high, to be honest. The minsu lady is a photo enthusiast and I wonder how many sunrises she has seen.
She brought along a torch light to help lit the dark path by the lake. We stopped briefly a few times along the way and she pointed out a few spots where we could come back later for good photos. We finally reached a clearing by the lake and settled down to enjoy the fresh cool morning air and wait for the sun to show.
The crescent moon and some stars were out but the sky was cloudy. Peaceful and silent, except for the clearly audible splashes of fishes on the lake, out in great numbers…hunting at first light.
Faint orange glow of the sun could be seen near the horizon as our hopes rose. A few other photographers were also stationed where we were. So, this must be a good spot for sunrise watching.
I was having trouble with the settings of new camera and did not managed to get the autofocusing right in this shot of a fellow photographer. But I like the composition.
Clouds and more clouds. No sunrise this morning but we could still enjoy the fresh morning air and took some nice photos.
We soon dispersed and made our own way back towards Shuishe Pier along the lakeside trail that we took earlier in the dark. Along the way, we saw Sun Moon Lake at its natural best.
This is what we came for. Peaceful stroll by the misty lake. Quiet, except the sound of lapping water and splashes of fish hunting on the surface. Apparently, this trail was one of the favourites of Chiang Kai Shek. We saw his pavilion, his boat, his special jetty and even fishes named after him.
I believe these local fishes in the lake are named the President fish. Often fished by the local Thao tribe and served in the restaurants at SML. I did not try eating this fish as I read that it has a lot of tiny bones.
Scenery of SML as seen from the CKS Memorial Pavilion.
Shuishe Pier in the early morning, without the tourist hordes on the lake cruise boats, was so much nicer!
A perfect way to end the morning walk and start of the new day is to enjoy the Taiwanese rice porridge and condiments served by the minsu. The minsu also provides oranges, hot soya bean drink and a sweet, spicy, hot ginger tea plus tea and coffee.
Where we stayed at Sun Moon Lake:
Mei Jen House is a small minsu (homestay or B&B) located near Shuishe Pier and bus station providing clean rooms and nice Taiwanese breakfast. In mornings with good weather, the owner brings guests to the best spot by the lake to photograph the sunrise.
Check the latest availability and prices.
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