Sun Moon Lake

Today we went on a group trip to Sun Moon Lake. Before exploring the lake we had high tea at a pretty swanky hotel on the lake. Not too unlike tea-time in England, accompanying tea was plates of small cookies, sandwiches, fruit, and something you'd never see at tea in the UK: various jello-like substances (we've had this in a few different places now, it's growing on me).



After tea we walked up to Wenwu Temple. To get up to the temple we walked the "Year of Steps" that replaced the stairs that long ago, before a road led up to the temple, used to be called the "stairway to heaven." Each step represents a day of the year and visitors can place wind chimes near their birthday to ask for blessings.





Just inside the temple are two large stone lions, which we have read are the biggest lions in Taiwan.


Inside the three buildings of the temple there are many places for different types of worship - incense, candles, praying.



From the top of the temple there is a great view of the lake, though the day was so hazy and the sun was on it's way down, so it was hard to see very far.



After we looked around the temple we went for a walk around part of the lake.





It was a nice day all around, and we enjoyed getting out of the city and seeing a bit more of Taiwan.