Taiwan Day 2 in Nantou (Cingjing)

Alright, since I'm stuck at home because of the flu and cough I've been having for the last 3 days, I shall do up a post on the Taiwan trip. (It's so close to being a year since I went there!) 

Day 2 consisted of us driving up to Cingjing area and spending the entire day amongst the clouds (I'm not even kidding). Here's an example when the driver stopped a bit for us to take some photos:

Isn't it gorgeous? And this is not the most spectacular view, yet.


Our original intention was to drive all the way up to He Huan Shan, but due to time constraints and it being too foggy, we had to forgo it - what a disappointment right! I heard the view there is breath-taking. We did go to Green Green Grassland (青青草原) though and went down the 499 steps trail.

Not pictured: The smell of their poop!

We didn't think the 499 steps trail was going to be worth a visit initially, but I must say the view was surprisingly worth the energy exerted! 

Hard to believe this is Taiwan right?

After indulging in these spectacular views, it was time to indulge our tummies! We headed to Old England Manor (老英格蘭) for afternoon tea - while the food there isn't anything to write home about, the grand architecture and decor of the building there is worth a visit alone! You'll be blown away and transported right to England by the Tudors-style architecture and furnishing (but brought right back when you hear the Chinese tourists next to you, hah). The only way to gain entry inside the building (other than staying a night or two there) is to dine there, more specifically, order their afternoon tea set at NT450. You can check out their english site here.

The decor inside is pure opulence

Sure it looks pretty, but it sure ain't that tasty

Definitely worth checking out!

After we had our afternoon tea, we hung around the building and took lots of photos and bought our dinner back to our hotel. And by a HUGE stroke of luck, we were able to catch this ahhh-mazing view when we were waiting for our dinner and when we got to our hotel, I mean, just look at this sunset:

Is this real life?

Picture this: clouds so close to touching each other, separated by this large orange yolk, illuminating the whole sky in orange ombre - how is this view not breath-taking! (Okay, I'm not the best with prose / poetry, but you get my drift right?)

We initially faced some issues with not getting the hotels/minsu we want, but I'm really grateful that we were able to stay in this minsu, it's called Cloud's Hometown Minsu (雲的故鄉), thus named as it faces the clouds and mountains. If you're feeling up to it, do wake up at 4am (or the time advised by the receptionist) to watch the clouds rise in the morning. You can visit Cloud's Hometown website here.

I wish I had taken some photos of the comfy beds, but I was too busy getting acquainted with it, hah. There's a DVD player in our room and the hotel provided free DVD rentals, so we ended our day with some movies and dinner in the room. 

The view from our minsu

Everything is so picturesque right? 

Hotel lobby / dining area

Our breakfast

Cingjing is really a cool place to visit just for the amazing views they offer. There are actually some tour buses that will travel up to He Huan Shan in the wee hours for visitors to catch the sunrise - I think I may just want to do that the next time!