Planning for the visit to Alishan was rather complicated since I had to find out the timings of the trains and buses!
First, we took the HSR at 9:18am from Taipei to Chiayi station. It was quite straightforward even with us towing along our luggage bags.
Their Mos Burger has matcha latte! G found the matcha taste too strong but I loved it!
Next, we had to take a shuttle bus to the Chiayi TRA Station. When we exited the station, (by the way, it was super hot since we are now in the South of Taiwan!) there were taxi drivers touting and they kept asking our destination and offering us rates. It was quite irritating having to reject them politely.
There were 3 bus-stops outside and we were trying to read the information at the stops to figure out where we should wait for the shuttle bus. And, at the same time, responding to the tout! 
Unexpectedly, the information wasn’t that clear. Luckily, someone at one of the bus-stops asked us where we are going and pointed us to the stop at where we should wait.
Shortly, the bus came and we boarded it. The driver was quite friendly and it turned out that the ride was free between the HSR and TRA stations. While planning the trip, I was wondering whether it was free or not and couldn’t quite figure it out. 
After alighting from the bus, it was a long walk under the relentless sun! We followed some signs to the TRA station so as to get to the Chiayi County Bus Station in front of it. The walk involved an overpass and we had to bring our luggage up the steps. It was so hot! Even after we got to Alishan, the side of my arm where the sun shone on was still feeling the heat. 
The bus station turns out to be just a small sheltered area with some seats in the middle and a ticketing window. We were in time and bought tickets for the 1210 bus – costs NT$221 per person.
There were touts here too so we had to reject them politely again regarding transport, tours and accomodation at Alishan. They are quite insistent!
Anyway, we learnt from them that today was the start of road closure and our bus journey would be prolonged! Their road closures are such that vehicles would only be allowed to pass during certain times of the day.
It was a big tour bus and there’s luggage compartment, so that was good! The 2.5h bus ride became a 4h journey because we had to stop at a section to wait for the road to be opened to traffic.
When we finally reached Alishan area, we had to alight to pay a NT$150 entrance fee. At the bus station, it was raining quite heavily and there were some minsu owners fetching their alighting guests. We were a bit lost but one of the minsu owners asked us where we are staying and showed us the way.
Our room at 新順利民宿 was up a flight of narrow steps and it was a simple basic room.
Hmm, they provide paper towels instead of actual towels. 
It was a bit strange using them to dry yourself. There were 4 and I think it’s because the room is for up to 4 persons. I really don’t think 1 paper towel is sufficient for an adult – we used 2 each!
Then, we went out to look around and a tour guide approached us at the bus station. She was selling her Yushan sunrise tour at NT$300. Actually, our plan was to take the train to Jhushan (NT$100 one-way) to see the sunrise.
She was saying that the probability of seeing sunrise at Yushan is higher. And, with the price difference, we would also get to star gaze, visit sacred tree, etc., and we will get valuable information with her experienced explanation. She also showed us photos of what we would see on the tour. And, she mentioned that she works with another minsu (美麗亞山莊) which I had come across while researching on accomodation.
G was ok with either option and I was swayed by her offer so we booked 2 seats for tomorrow tour. The meeting point was at 7-11 at 4am!
I took the opportunity to ask her where we could go visit now as I wasn’t sure which direction to walk. She helpfully pointed us out on where to go so as to explore the Alishan National Forest Recreational Area but warned that as it is getting dark, we should turn back when we reach the Sister Ponds.
First, we went to the Alishan Train Station.
It was quite funny, from the train station we couldn’t find the path to the forest and ended up walking back down to the bus station where the tour guide spotted us! So, she gave us the directions again and we finally got it right this time.
I was so glad for the cool temperature at Alishan, it was such a relief! We followed the path into the forest area and there were maps posted along the way.
Welcome message~
Initially, we were walking along the road where there are zebra lines on the side for pedestrians. The perpetual fog at Alishan adds to its charm as a destination.
We were following the route to the Sisters Ponds based on a map we saw. Over here, we went up and turned right…
This is the plum flower garden but it was bare at this time of the year.
It was already close to 5pm and I was getting worried that darkness would fall upon us.
Walking beside the railway track.
Beside some boarded up construction area.
Finally, reached the Sister Ponds!
The drizzle turned into heavy rain suddenly! 
By the way, we had not seen anyone else thus far! I guess it was already quite late for people to be doing that. We would be here earlier if not for the road closure! However, over here, we saw a group of guys who seemed to be doing some hiking. Good to see other people! 
The rain didn’t cease as we continued on. We intended to walk out of the forest and were following a route based on the maps posted along the way.
With the rain pouring down, it was quite difficult to take photos of the attractions we saw along the route. It was a matter of “ok, snap this and faster move along”. Moreover, it was getting darker.
It looked bright in the photo only because of the settings!
Golden Pig.
Dragon and Phoenix. I didn’t really get this structure.
Forever One Heart.
I remember walking through an area that I thought would be nice to walk in the day and without the rain!
We continued walking until we reached a temple area and we were kinda lost. From the map, it looks like the intended path that we wanted to walk to get out of the forest was blocked! 
At the road near the temple, we were using a small light to look at the map to figure out how to proceed. I was really quite worried because it was very dark by this time even though it was only about 6pm.
Then, I saw a van driving off and I quickly went up to the driver to ask him how do we walk back to the bus station area, whether was it by following this road. At the back of my mind, I was thinking he would probably offer us a ride and yes, he did!!! So relieved…signaled quickly to G to get on the van, kekeke.
Even on the van, it took about 5mins along the road and the road was not very well-lit. I imagine it to be quite dangerous to walk along the side of the road and it would be a long walk too. We can’t thank the driver enough for his kind help!
Back at the Alishan bus station area, we settled on one of the restaurants for dinner. Most of them were offering steamboats and we just chose 1 that had a few customers in it. Ordered the seafood steamboat which was just average tasting.
We wanted to sleep early since we had to meet at 4:30am. However, the minsu owner called our room and told us that they are fixing the water heater! There’s no hot water until it is fixed and we had to wait for about 2h before we could bathe.
I wished we had more time to explore the forest recreational area in daylight as I felt that we were just walking through quickly, given the weather conditions and time.
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