The Soundtrack of Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

Muzak. The driver probably had one tape only on the bus ride to Sun Moon Lake. It featured a stuffy sounding alto sax and a harmonica, accompanied by orchestra, performing great pop hits of yesteryear. It was playing constantly, allowing me to enjoy such hits as Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are," and The Carpenters' "Close to You." Some other great artists represented in today's musical montage were The Beatles (Yesterday), Tony Orlando and Dawn (Tie a Yellow Ribbon) and various composers of movie theme songs. But it wasn't only on the tour bus. Muzak is playing in the cabs, in lobbies, in elevators, in train stations. Such is my penance for forgetting to bring my ipod on this trip.

It was a great trip. Sun Moon Lake is so named because of it's shape. One end is round like the sun and the other is crescent shaped. It is divided in the middle by an island that has great significance for the local aboriginal people, the Thao.

However, in 1999, Taiwan experienced a massive destructive earth quake and the island sank, leaving only a very small bit of land still above water. Above is a diagram of how much of the island sank, and how much remains. It is now surrounded by a floating walkway of sorts, and people swarm there on the many tour boats, walk around for about 5 minutes and leave. Really, there's not much to see. There is a large sculpture of a white deer. The Thao used to chase the white deer to the island and then kill them.

This a bowl of steaming hot hard boiled eggs. They are cooked after being marinated in tea (and salt). I ate 2 of these hard boiled eggs. They are special because the old woman who sells them has been doing so since she was a teenager. She is in her 70's now. She gave me a warm smile when I bought her eggs. It could be that Westerners don't often partake. They were the best dang hard boiled eggs I have ever eaten! The black lumpy things in the bowl were mushrooms.

Lunch was served to us on a porch over looking the lake. We enjoyed local traditional cuisine. The wait staff kept bring plate after plate of delicious Thao dishes. It was tasty, no frills food that featured the local flora and fauna. Locally grown ferns, mushrooms, tiny fish from the lake (deep fried whole- yum) and locally raised meats were on the menu. The princess of the Thao tribe was our cook.