Alishan 53.1 Homestay: Room With A View (Taiwan)

After spending a night in Chin Shan Hotel (青山別館) at the bustling town centre of the Alishan, we made our way to the laid back Alishan 53.1 Homestay at Anding (鞍頂) to stay 1 night. The 53.1 Homestay (53.1 民宿) is a small, cozy home accommodation with only three guest rooms. Although this modest home is situated in the mountainous area, it has a remarkable contemporary design both in the interior and exterior. The unique feature of the 53.1 Homestay is they chose to use full height glass panels as their wall and window, this allows the beauty of the surrounding nature to be brought into the home while keeping the ever changing weather immovably outside.

The Alishan Forest Railway, Taiwan

The train is my favourite mode of transportation, and taking a train ride in Alishan is always one of the things I want to do since the day I started to love traveling. I have been thinking, dreaming and waiting for it to happen; in this summer, I finally took this amazing train ride through the mountain forest of Alishan.

The Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵道) is the highest railway in Taiwan and also one of the popular mountain railways in the world. The unique features of the Alishan Forest Railway are the spiral railway, zigzag switchbacks, 180 degrees horseshoe turns and of course the high mountain scenery; these are all the special things that you will experience when you take the Alishan Forest Railway.