This is what the inside of a HSR train looks like, the train goes up to 330km/hr, like an F1 car. 

The trip only took less than 2 hours and once we got to Taichung station, we got our Nantou bus tickets from the counter and settled down for some breakfast from 7-11




Breakfast from amazing 7-11. Sushi triangles, sandwiches and awesome milk tea.

We had only planned to go to the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village but after seeing that a combo ticket with the Nantou bus company was so much more worth it, we bought a tourist pass to both the park as well as Sun Moon Lake.

It takes about 50mins-1hr on the Nantou bus to get to FACV.


I noticed alot of fields growing this particular plant, I meant to ask Thomas or Dave about it when I got back to Taipei but I completely forgot. From the bus, the fields look like rolling cotton that you can play in. 

Once we got to FACV we were greeted  by this beautiful European styled garden ; as its almost autumn now, its not flower season thus the garden was a little bare, nonetheless a pretty sight.

FACV is both a theme park and a cultural experience. Until I just took another look of the map, I was under the impression that there were only 6 major rides but I realise I am wrong. We just simply missed half of the park entirely. (Oops) 

Anyways,  apart from the rides, a separate side of the park focuses on the 9 Aboriginal groups of Taiwan (our taxi driver in Hualian told us that there are actually 13 recorded groups now).

I went on the UFO drop and saved one nervous kid from his seat once the ride was over because he couldn't get free of his seat and thought he would be stuck on the ride forever. He honestly called out in panic and was like "Miss! Can you please help me! I cant get out!" Poor boy.


The UFO drop

I love drop rides, I know they are all pretty much the same but the anticipation you get from not knowing when you are about to be dropped really gets your heart pumping. And the VIEW is always always spectacular.

After the UFO drop, Kah and I went on a rollarcoaster called the Mayan Adventure. Upon thinking back about it, it was probably a pretty tame rollercoaster but the last time I was on a rollercoaster, I was like 12 and so my old 23 year old heart had some trouble adjusting. It was pretty fun though. 

We also went on a pretty princess water ride where we sat in carriage shaped water seats and meandered along a tiny water course. Very romantic.


Our girly fairy tale boat ride.

Don't laugh kay, this ride helped steady our feet for the trek ahead. It also concluded our experience with the rides, everything else we skipped because we didn’t want to deal with the queues / didn’t want to get wet. In our defence, we were there on a weekday but there were a ton of school students on excursion and the lines were CRAZY anyway. 

This was another crazy ride we saw but didn't go on, I think its called the Gold Rush Hill (or something like that)

On the cultural side of things, the aboriginal tribe areas are divided by tribe. Each tribe gets their own space to showcase traditional artwork, food, outfits, games, culture..etc and although it all feels a little bit  contrived, each area still provides a good overview on how different tribes live and gives visitors an insight on their traditions and culture. 

There are a ton of touristy souvenir shops at each section which are hard to resist, prices are pretty reasonable and even cheaper than at other tourist attractions. Also, since owls and rabbits play a large role in mythology, the products are so cute!

I bought a purple and blue string bracelet that is supposed to help generate peace in my life (I think) from a Peinan lady making them at the craft area. Sucker for handmade things, I know. 



Bunnies

FACV is great to walk around, the park is huge and there is so much lush greenery. It’s higher up above sea-level so the temperatures are cooler and temperate plants dominate the grounds ; very pretty. There are also a ton of wooden hammocks that act as benches for people to rest on.

From our day there, it does seem that the rides are way more popular than the cultural section of the park but I really liked the atmosphere of the cultural side.

You are sorely mistaken if you think a day at FACV does not require walking, Kah and I hoofed it up the park (which is not small at all) to the Sun Moon Lake Ropeway after watching one of the cultural shows. I think there are various ways of getting around the park including internal bus and cable car but we were too lazy to try and figure it out. 

The cultural show that is put on touches on traditions and ceremonies of various aboriginal groups. Everything is so colourful and even though I had a hard time following alot of the commentary, it was great to see that people were still interested in the culture of their pasts. Alot of the performances also required alot of work and dexterity to perfect.

If we were not rushing to ensure we caught the last Ropeway, I would have liked to spend a little more time in the park but the last ropeway leaves FACV at 4pm (on weekdays) and we didn’t want to risk missing it.

Ropeway is actually another way of saying cable car and this particular one connects Sun Moon Lake and F.A.C.V (obviously). The ropeway is about 1877 metres long and its highest point is 1044 metres above sea level. (to put this in perspective for fellow Singaporeans, the highest point of our country which is Bukit Timah Hill is 163m above sea level) The ropeway also spans over Mt Buji and travels over a valley. Pretty fiercesome for a ropeway isnt it?






There are these crazy steps on the side of Mt Buji for climbing, I'm not sure how many people actually do attempt to use these though

I'm not really scared of heights but being so high up really makes me nervous but its so worth it because the view that you get is spectacular. 

Unfortunately, we weren’t at Sun Moon Lake on a very good day because the weather was overcast. It had rained a little in the afternoon and was generally pretty grey and cloudy.


View from the ropeway

There are a couple of clearly marked out walking trails and attractions in the area however we only had a couple of hours there and since we didn’t really plan what we wanted to do, we were too afraid to do anything too time consuming in case we missed our bus back to Taichung/HSR back to Taipei.

We ended up walking a bit on the Ita Thao boardwalk and street and looking for the boat to take us to the visitor centre where we had to catch our bus back.


View from the boardwalk

A boat ticket across the lake is 100NT, (if you are on the budget, you can take a bus as its cheaper) but since we were at a lake, we thought it would be fitting to take the boat. The view was pretty disappointing but imagine how magical it would look when it was bright out. 

Once we got off at the pier nearest to the visitor's centre, we make out way to Peach Garden where you can get a bird's eye view of the lake.




This is how the lake is supposed to look like on a good day. I can vouch that the water really is that clear


This is how it looked like when we where there. Extremely sad face

Most things at the Sun Moon Lake central area was closed when we were there (perhaps we were too early or too late or because it was Moon Festival weekend) and we rapidly ran out of things to do. We grabbed some bubble tea, sat at a posh hotel lobby (where the bubble tea shop is located) and decided to take an earlier bus back.

Best roselle tea ever, sorry drink tea, you are no match at all

Taking an earlier bus meant that we had to change our HSR tickets (again) or wait at Taichung station for ages. Luckily there was no issue changing the tickets and before we knew it, we were on the HSR back to Taipei. 

Travel Tips: 


Just head to the lowest level of Taichung HSR station to get your tickets for the Nantou bus. There will be friendly Nantou employees around to help you along with the ticket buying process. 

If you are intending to visit FACV, please bring mosquito repellent. We were warned at the gate about the bugs but didn't heed them until we were covered in bites. Most stops have mosquito repellent for visitors to slather on but bring your own if you really want to be prepared.

FACV will take the whole day and perhaps if you aren't really into rides, there may be other places to go to learn about Taiwanese aboriginal culture as the entrance fee to the theme park is pretty steep at 780NT per person. I don't remember how much our combo cost us but I suspect it was 880NT and included two way Nantou bus tickets, admission to FACV and a ride on the Ropeway(also usually provided with an admission ticket)

Be prepared for a long queue and waiting lines (like all theme parks)

If the weather is cloudy or if it looks like its going to rain, you may want to skip Sun Moon Lake as the view really is pretty disappointing when obscured by the rain and prices of items near the visitor centre are incredibly high.

I have read that there are good walking trails and sights to see in the SML area, we  did not do any of those so please don't rely on my words and exclude SML from your schedule.

It is also pretty impossible to explore the entire Sun Moon Lake area and FACV on the same day, do give yourself two seperate days if you intend to see both in detail.