lea pof travels: hotsprings

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Taipei, Taiwan: 3 Things I Could Do Again and Again and...

Some things are worth returning for. I'm big on experiences, so here are my top picks for what I will do everytime I return to Taiwan.

1) Visit this wholesale stationery store to stock up on stationery (e.g. planners, character items) that are marked down from the listed price. Here's a link to their facebook page: 光南大批发

2) Visit the hotsprings at Beitou (despite taking very long to find my way). The Japanese's love for soaking has spread far and wide. The water in Korea's jimjilbang is not fantastic but the scrub by ahjumas (yes in their undies) helps you lose a few kilos of dead skin (i exaggerate), and the after-soak experience (think malt tea, hardboiled eggs, overnight stays) cannot be replicated anywhere else. Japanese are more particular about the source of their water and the zen-out experience and Taiwan is rather similar in this respect.

Beitou and Wulai are 2 more popular places for hotsprings near Taipei. (I think you can soak at Yangmingshan too!)

Visited Beitou again for the second trip. The themed station and train is pretty and informative! I prefer to go to the public bath (40NT) and mingle with the locals (in bathing suits) compared to getting a private room at nearby bathhouses which might use diluted water.

The train

3) Go to Dansui... to get these fried mushrooms (I was very hungry then). I will add visiting any night market to this point. More on the food in Taiwan here. P.S. you can visit Danshui after visiting the National Palace Museum and soaking at Beitou's hotsprings, since they are along the same train line.

Other things to eat and see and buy

P.S. There's free wifi for tourists at selected iTaiwan outlets! The 'i' sounds like 爱, meaning 'love'.

Yes Taiwan I shall be back for more! Thank you for following my Taiwan 2013 adventures. Stay tuned for a new chapter.

More pictures are available on my Flickr (simply click any photo).

Taiwan: Almost 100 Shots of Food. *Burp*

Taipei, Taiwan: 3 Things I Could Do Again and Again and...

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Taipei, Taiwan - Hotsprings

There're hotsprings practically everywhere in Taiwan!

I very much prefer public hotsprings (almost typed hotspots) to those hotspring resort/hotel/motel which private rooms.

1. It's cheap, or even free. (yes, most compelling reason)

2.* You are guaranteed hotspring water at the source.

3.* You get to interact with the locals - very fun and educational.

4. When in Rome, do as the Rome do.

* I've been told that pipes are too thin (refer to Wulai photos) so hotspring resorts tend to dilute the water, and that too enclosed a space is not as good (usually you'd request a private room).

Some downsides

1. usually outdoors, you need to be in your swimming attire

2. crowded (but enough for everyone!) more locals than tourists usually

3. facilities are not on par (it's free what do you expect!)

So far, I've tried the free public hotspring at Taroko (toilet provided though lights are not working, but quite far away from the hotspring, and you have to climb steps and cross a bridge), water is very hot, you can dip in the river even, quite private!

There are a few choices in Taipei, I heard there's hotsprings on Yangmingshan too (referring to the free kind) but I did not try, it's 11 deg C!

Also tried Wulai's free public hotsprings, which you have to cross a bridge and walk down steps, change under the steps in a makeshift changing room, but mostly of the users are locals so it's quite fun! The Atayal Aboriginal Museum is quite educational too.

Venice?

Their tattoos have meanings

Slogging for their pupils

Want to try this next time!

There! The hotsprings (i had to ask for directions)

It was really good to combat the cold weather!

And lastly there's Beitou Millennium Public Hotspring (admission fee), which works a bit differently, there are fixed timings for you to come and ticket sales open at specific times (so you have to queue early). There are limited tickets for each time slot, and you must finish by the specified time on your ticket, so they can do the cleaning after each timing. Queue early for ticket, then wait near the door for doors to open, chiong down to the changing room, enjoy dipping in the many pools (very hot to very cold), choing back to changing room. Better facilities equate to better crowd.

Beitou Hotspring Museum (yawn) showcasing Beitou's Japanese roots