The day starts at 4:30AM, to take the train up the mountain before sunset. It's under 10 degrees Celcius, the coldest I've been in Taiwan (which is intersected by the Tropic of Cancer). But I'm not the only one, and the station platform is completely packed...though not in this picture because I'm pointing the camera in the other direction.
After a SLOW SLOW ride (I'm pretty sure I could've run up the mountain faster) of about half an hour, we finally make it to the top. The crowd shuffles along to the viewing area, and all the space at the edge of the railing is quickly saturated. I get on top of a table to try to get a picture of the "Sea of Clouds" without any people in the shot. Still, a tour guide standing on the railing makes it in there.
Well, that's fixed with a little photoshop...
At this point, it seems impossible to get a better shot, so I run back to the train station as there's still a little time before the sun rises.
I run back to the viewing area, and see that the crowd--and tour guide--are still there (obviously, not sure what I was hoping for).
So I give up on trying to get a spot against the railing, and attach my camera to the tripod, and get back on the table behind the crowd. Then I set the camera on timer, and (very carefully) hold the tripod up as high as I can with one arm. And here are the rest of the pictures--the ones that weren't too shaky.
Thanks for reading!