阿里山之旅:
我來台灣已經七個月了，雖然感覺沒那麼長。現在是國語中心的春季學期，我的語言學習進步順利。
現在是三月，我決定去台灣南部的阿里山玩玩兒幾天。阿里山是台灣有名的自然風景區，茶葉和櫻花。
不過，從台北到阿里山並不簡單。我需要從台北坐高鐵到嘉義市一個在與南部的城市。從嘉義出發以後，我又坐了阿里山森林鐵路，但是這個鐵路不到阿里山。坐完火車以後，還要坐一個小時的車才能到阿里山。雖然旅程非常長，但是火車上的景色太好了，而且還能穿越森林。
阿里山有幾個道步。第一天，我散步上了阿里山的最高點-大塔山頂（海拔 2,666 公
尺）。道步旅行很美，但是有很多台階…
在阿里山的隔天，我早上 5 點起床，坐日出小火車了。這輛火車會到高山上的一個觀景點，然後你就可以觀賞日出了。然而，我去的時候是陰天，但日出的景色依然很美。然後散步下山，大約 90 分鐘。
一般來說，每年的 3 月和 4 月是遊覽阿里山的最佳時節，因為這時候可以看到櫻花。我去的時候其實是櫻花盛開的季節，所以大部分樹都開了花，但花還沒完全綻放。
阿里山最吸引我的地方是它的環境。我過去不認為台北是一個繁忙或緊張的城市，事實上，我還認為跟歐洲城市比，台北真的很平靜，但台灣南部更平靜。我現在明白為什麼台灣南部的人會開玩笑說台北人總是「匆匆忙忙」的了！
我計劃不久以後去高雄旅行，我非常期待這次旅行。
感謝您們閱讀我的報告，希望您們喜歡這些照片！
A Trip to Alishan:
I’ve been in Taiwan for seven months now, although it doesn’t feel that long. It’s now the spring term at the language centre and I’m making good progress with language learning.
As it’s March I decided to go to Alishan in the south of Taiwan for a few days. Alishan is a famous area in Taiwan for its natural scenery, tea and cherry blossoms.
It’s not easy to get from Taipei to Alishan though. I had to take the High-Speed Rail from Taipei to Chiayi – a city in the south. From Chiayi I then took the Alishan Forest Railway, but this doesn’t arrive in Alishan. After the train journey you still have to take a 1 hour bus journey to get to Alishan. Although the journey was really long, the train ride was amazing as there were amazing views and you travelled through the forest.
In Alishan there are several hiking trails. On my first day I hiked to the top of Datashan, which is the highest point in Alishan (2,666m). The hike was beautiful but there were a lot of stairs…
On my second day in Alishan I got up at 5am and took the sunrise train. This train arrives at a viewpoint high up on a mountain and you can then watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy when I was there but the views were still incredible. You then walk back down the mountain which takes about 90 minutes.
March and April are generally considered the best time of year to visit Alishan as this is when you can see the cherry blossoms. I went early in cherry blossom season, so most of the trees had blossoms but the flowers hadn’t fully blossomed yet.
My favourite part about Alishan was the quiet atmosphere. I never used to consider Taipei as a busy or stressful city, in fact, I still think that compared to European cities Taipei is really calm, but the south of Taiwan is even calmer. I now understand why people in the South of Taiwan joke that people from Taipei are always in a rush!
I’m planning a trip to Kaohsiung soon which I’m really looking forward to.
Thanks for reading my report and I hope you enjoy the photos!