Cycle Taiwan Day 7 Another Day in Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 - Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

Something not Taiwanese, we were having western breakfast this time after nearly a week in Taiwan, courtesy of Tan Hui Hotel for a change.

Day 7 was a rest day for our bicycles as we went for a walking tour to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.

We purchased a day pass from our hotel for NTD750 which included the ferry ride, cable car ride and entrance fee. Don't be afraid to buy it from the hotel as it is cheaper than buying direct from the counter.

A short walk to Shuishe Pier to board a ferry to Yi Da Shao Wharf 伊達邵碼頭.

Yeah ... no pedalling for the day and enjoying the luxury of a ferry ride.

The ferry took us to Yi Da Shao Wharf at the community of Ita Thao and the weather was sunny and bright. The wharves were located directly each other of the lake.

At the wharf there is the Ita Thao Visitor Center 伊達邵遊客中心 at Yi Da Shao Wharf.

There are many Indonesians working in Taiwan and many of them speak very good Mandarin. Over at this stall I conversed in Malay with one of them as I was buying fried salted shrimps. Terima kasih and "xie xie" for the extra bit of shrimps.

The entrance ticket to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village at Sun Moon Lake Ropewalk after walking through the board walk at Yidashao Lakeside Trail.

The cable cars look pretty new and 6 of us in a car.

The Ropeway's panorama is eye-catching and interesting. The ride is smooth and long. A good position to have an overall view of Sun Moon Lake.

Up up in the sky as the cable car brings us high up for an awesome view.

 One of the many gateways at Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village and the best time to visit this place is during the cherry blossom season between February and March.

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is dedicated to the nine tribes of Taiwan and you will be immersed with their different cultures by walking though the various villages. Take a walk and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere as you gather some knowledge of the indigenous people of Taiwan

There are so many koi fishes in the pond and it was fun feeding them. They were rather aggressive or maybe they were hungry.

The Thao believe that the owl was once a young woman. The legend says that in the ancient days, there was a girl who became pregnant with child, even though she didn’t know how. As a result, her fellow tribespeople looked down on her, and no matter how much she pleaded with them, she couldn’t convince them of her innocence. In the end, the poor young woman could no longer bear the shame, and so one day she went away into the mountains all alone, and there she soon starved to death.

After her death, she turned into an owl and henceforth lived in the deep forest. Whenever a Thao woman was with child, the owl would fly to her family’s house and keep hooting to remind the woman to take good care of herself, ensuring a smooth delivery. Now the Thao began to miss the young woman they had driven away, and they felt guilty about having treated her so badly before. To make amends, the Thao do not kill owls. Another reason why they do not kill or hunt these birds is that the Thao believe that owls know all the paths and tracks in the deep mountain forests where they live, and therefore it would bring bad luck to kill them—if you do, you will certainly get lost in the mountains. And to this day the Thao also hold that the owl has foreknowledge of women’s pregnancies. The coming of an owl to the house of a woman with child is always greeted as a good omen. All in all, the owl has become a totem of the Thao tribe.

Taiwanese Aborigine Bamboo rice 竹筒飯 has great influence if Taiwan cuisine. It is very popular in traditional wedding.

We gave a try and tasted the bamboo rice, it was good and yummy.

We continued to explore the huge park full of natural floral and features to see and learn.

Life size statue and display to authenticate the atmosphere.

Taking a wefie with two of the performers before the show start where we were entertained with lovely cultural dances and ritual songs of different tribes.

Besides watching the show it was also inactive where the audiences get to participate in games and a chance to taste their rice wine 米酒.

After a long day walking at Formosan Aborigine Culture Village we took the cable car and a ferry back to Shushe Pier.

Our dinner just at the restaurant next to Tan Hui Hotel, another set dinner for the evening before I call it a night while some carried on with their mijiu 米酒 again.