Taiwan - Day 5 Cingjing Here We Come!

Our aim of staying at Taichung.... to go up to Cingjing early to enjoy the view and air up there for as long as possible.

Also for Keykey to tumble down the rolling hills~

There are 2 ways to go to Taichung - HSR or normal train. As the normal train station is nearer to the bus station which goes to Cingjing, Keykey chose to stay near the normal train station instead. Keykey found a hotel - Holiday Inn Express nearby which suited our needs. Its a bit more expensive but just beside the bus companies to take bus up to Cingjing. Giving him more sleep!

Bus stop: 台中市雙十路一段35-8號 (just outside hotel along main road)
Tel: (04)22256418

View from hotel room

Comfortable room in Holiday Inn Express

Messy bathroom after keykey used it!

Breakfast

The Bus stop to take our bus to Cingjing: 台中市雙十路一段35-8號

Bus tickets to Cingjing for 2 pax. No seat for keykey!

Different bus companies 

Off we go~

Bottle telling us to 'drink more water' =P

Scenery along the way

We stayed at a minsu called Cingjing Starry/ 觀星園景觀民宿(address: 南投縣仁愛鄉大同村博望巷９６號). Upon alighting at the last bus stop at 松崗, we called the owner who came to pick us up. More photos of the minsu later~

 We wanted to go out explore while there was sunlight, and the minsu owner offered to send and pick us up. Nice of him! 

Map of CingJing

Bought tickets to 'Evergreen Grasslands' to see big and small sheep  

Lovely grassland with cooling weather! 

Remember to apply sunblock as the sun and UV rays can be quite strong

Are you a sheep? =P

Cuteness!

Bah bah~

Hungry little sheep~

Keykey loves this place!

Hi sheepie~

The bigger sheep are allowed to roam free. So be prepared to have sheep walking right up to you!

Sleepy sheep

There are performances at scheduled timings

Horses

Lucky sheep get to enjoy the nice view all day

There is a little zoo with animals, which kids may enjoy

Creepy crawlies

The place is pretty big, so bring along water (and food if you tend to get hungry easily)

Cartoon King Restaurant

We missed it as it was closed when we were there in the late afternoon

 Small Swiss Garden (清境小瑞士花园)

Do note that  admission tickets have to be purchased separately

Flowers galore

Fountain in the lake

Great for phototaking!

We found them hiding in a greenhouse. Any fans?

Mandarin ducks

A souvenir shop selling quirky things. Below are paper structures which light up.

On our way back, we stopped by at the highest 7-11 to take a photo

Hotspot dinner provided by the minsu waiting for us. We could choose to dine indoors or outdoors. We choose outdoor! Hotpot in the cool weather was heavenly~

View of the sunset and mountains as we dine

Very tranquil and peaceful

At night

As we were high up, with little 'light pollution', it was a great place for star gazing~ Lets count the stars!

Dog that the minsu owners had

The next day, we woke up early at 4am to go for a sunrise tour at He Huan mountain! 

(Our minsu was quite highup - for those staying lower on the mountain, they would have to wake up even earlier!) It was an impromptu tour that the minsu owners suggested the night before. It became the highlight of our tour! 

It was very cold, around 0 degrees, during summer.  

Lovely view! Would love to return someday

ps: Apologies that some photos are out of alignment. Somehow having some trouble with rotating them.