Last week, I took myself on a little 2D1N solo trip to Sun Moon Lake 🌿I drove all the way down from Taipei by myself. Since it was a weekday, there was barely any traffic, so I left around 11:30 a.m. and got there by 2 p.m. — way earlier than expected!The drive was supposed to take around 3 hours, but I somehow made it in just over 2. 😂There was one stretch between Taichung and Puli where it started pouring. The rain was so heavy that I could barely see the road ahead, and being alone in the car definitely made me a little nervous.But weirdly enough, I’m the kind of person who gets calmer when I’m nervous. So… somehow I made it safely to Sun Moon Lake. 🚗🌧️
Day 1
💕 Longfeng Temple → 🍢 Ita Thao Shopping Street → 🌅 Sunset + tHotel
Day 2
🌊 Wenwu Temple → 🌿 Xiande Yue → 🌙 Dinner in Taichung
💕 Longfeng Temple
Since I arrived early and still had some time before check-in, I stopped by Longfeng Temple to pray to the Matchmaking God.The temple was much bigger than I expected, and there were still quite a few people there even on a weekday afternoon. There were also people helping visitors with the prayer rituals and fortune sticks.I had already prepared a little list of what I was looking for, so I quietly went through it in my head before drawing my fortune stick.
After reading it, the lady at the temple basically told me:“Don’t overthink it. When the time comes, you’ll meet someone. If you like them, that’s enough.”
And I was like… 😐😂
Apparently, the universe really wants me to stop overthinking my love life.Still confused though. 😂
🍢 Ita Thao
By the time I left the temple, it was almost 4 p.m. I dropped my stuff off at the hotel and headed back out.
Ita Thao was surprisingly quiet on a weekday, which I loved.
My shopping style is pretty simple: find what I want, get some food and leave 😂
I got some local food for dinner — chicken rice, pig blood soup, crispy chicken, and this super cute sticky rice with crispy chicken skin.
While I was ordering, I noticed two foreigners trying to figure out what one of the dishes was.I understood what they were saying, so I helped translate. And somehow I ended up becoming the unofficial translator between the shop owner and two random tourists. 😂 Suddenly, all those years of learning English while traveling finally paid off.
🌅 A quiet evening by the lake
After getting dinner, I went back to the hotel and did absolutely nothing. My room had huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the entire lake. It felt so peaceful. Not the same kind of feeling you get from being by the ocean — Sun Moon Lake has this really quiet, almost sleepy kind of beauty.
My mind had been a little restless lately, so sitting there and watching the lake slowly calmed me down. I think I really needed that. I slept better that night than I had in weeks. The next morning, I woke up around 6 a.m. and everything outside was covered in mist. It honestly looked like I was staying above a sea of clouds.
About an hour later, the mist slowly started to clear. The mountains appeared little by little, with clouds floating between them.It was one of those moments where you just sit there and think, “Okay… this is really beautiful.”
Nothing dramatic. Just peaceful.And somehow, that was enough. 🌿
🌊 Wenwu Temple
The weather was absolutely perfect the next morning. After checking out, I accidentally took the wrong road and thought, “Well… since I’m already here…” 😂 So I ended up at Wenwu Temple.
The temple was HUGE. I spent almost two hours wandering around, and it’s three stories high.There were colorful stamps to collect, and so many wishing bells hanging along the stairways.The rows of red and gold bells reminded me a little of Japanese shrines. They were so pretty.What surprised me most was how many international tourists were there.They were actually taking their time exploring the temple, which I thought was really nice.The only downside was that there wasn’t much information in English. There was actually some Thai, which I found kind of funny. 😂 So I imagine a lot of English-speaking visitors probably miss some of the cultural details — how to pray, how fortune sticks work, what some of the souvenirs mean, etc.
🌿 Xiande Yue
Right next to Wenwu Temple, there’s a little place called Xiande Yue where you can have some food and enjoy a huge view of Sun Moon Lake.
When I arrived, I was literally the only customer there. I borrowed a pen from the staff, sat by the window, wrote in my journal, and just watched the lake. Nothing else. And honestly? It was so nice.
Around 2 p.m., more people started showing up, so I decided it was probably time to leave.I really loved this place. If you’re visiting Sun Moon Lake, I’d definitely recommend stopping by. It’s actually connected to a hotel, so maybe next time I’ll stay there and see what it’s like
Sometimes you really don’t need to fill a trip with a million places.
Sometimes you just need to drive somewhere, stay for a night, sit somewhere beautiful, and let your mind be quiet for a while.
Maybe that’s what I needed this time. 🌿
A little solo trip.
A little lake.
A little time to myself.
And that was enough. 🤍