6 minute sketch: Sun Moon Lake Ci’En Pagoda 日月潭慈恩塔

We recently took a long awaited trip to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, an easy train trip and bus ride away from Taipei. On our first morning, we the bus to the stop nearest to the Ci’En Pagoda. As soon as arriving at Sun Moon Lake, I could see the pagoda atop a mountain on the opposite side. The pagoda itself was erected by Chiang Kai-Shek, dedicated to his mother. After arriving at the bus stop, there were only two or three people at the stop itself. We took a 15 minute walk up steps through the lush woods on the mountainside, all the while the pagoda hidden from view. After a few steps we heard noises amidst the forest that were clearly not birds. Off in the distance we saw silhouettes of a family of local monkeys in the bamboo trees. Some were scurrying up, others were resting, perhaps one turned its head towards our direction to check us out as well. Nature was all around us, including several ant super highways. After arriving to the top of the stairs, there was the pagoda, quiet and bright, lit up by a blue sky with patches of clouds floating in the background. We took a rest and made our sketch before ascending to the top of the pagoda for a panoramic view of the lake.