our first stop in Taiwan was the Alishan Forest Recreation Park which sits atop mount Ali. a short and mountainous (and not to mention, motion sickness inducing) bus ride from Chiayi city would bring you directly to the center of the recreational park - with its old and charming forest railways that go to different parts of the park. one of our main intentions here was to observe the blossoming of the cherry blossom flowers (like how they do in Japan), but alas we arrived at the end of the blossoming period. however, that didn't mean that we didn't have anything left to do! the park is riddled with hiking trails that lead you through cypress forests that are at least a thousand years old. it certainly was a splendid hike through the park, with the cool mountain air and fresh forest scent enveloping you. and to take a ride through the forest in an old charcoal train simply adds a more "sentimental music video" feel to the journey (please forgive my lame analogy).
it was however, a little bit disappointing when we weren't able to catch the sunrise from mount Ali the following morning due to rain and thunderstorms. the morning was misty and the rains sporadic, which meant that a hike through the forest trails again would've been a little bit more hampered. it occurred to us that a misty forest would make for a rather interesting hike, but by the time we realized that, it was too late to hike out to the forest as we had to catch our cab down Alishan.
though i find myself catching my breath occasionally from the immense amount of walking and hiking up and down steps, at the end of the day i was thoroughly satisfied with our first destination in Taiwan. what a beautiful park! how i only wished that the cab ride down Alishan didn't induce as much motion sickness as i had to endure!
Canon AE-1
Kodak Colorplus 200
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