Who knew Taiwan had hot springs?!

It seems that most Asian countries have natural hot springs, a fact that I was never made aware of before. In fact, I was never aware of hot springs period. I mean I knew they existed, but not where or why. But it seems in East Asia, hot springs are a hobby as well as a natural remedy. It's this concept of hot springs that led Koreans to create the 24 hour spa rooms knowns as jimjilbangs which I enjoy very much so it's actually an awesome concept since it's all about relaxation and de-stressing. The difference with the natural hot springs is that they are outdoors providing beautiful scenery to relax among.

Taiwan's most famous hot spring is in Beitou, a little north of Taipei city. Since it's so popular I was kind a weary towards going there figuring it would probably be too crowded. The next best bet was Wulai, which is south of the city. Both are accessible by local transport which makes it a very favorable spot for the Taiwanese. Looking at the subway map I calculated about an hour and a bit to get there since it would require us to take the subway to the last stop of the green line, then take a bus far into the mountains. But with the amazing Taipei metro system, it took just about an hour and the ride there was spectacular!! It was only a preview of what more we would encounter today.

Although the hot springs are Wulai's main attraction, it is still filled with many more things to do.
It was super humid in the city so it was nice to get out and have some fresh air in the mountains. The town of Wulai is actually filled with aborginees but I believe they live in a separate area than where the tourism takes place. We walked through the little town which is fairly small and headed towards the waterfall. We took a mini train instead of walking the 1.6 km and were dropped off right in front of the waterfall which ends the tourist road. The next best thing to do was to take the cable car up to the top of the mountain where there is a resort located in the forest. The ride up in the cable car was amazing since it takes you right above the waterfall which is fairly high. Up in the forest it was just breathtaking, more waterfalls and beautiful fauna surrounded by the chirps of so many different birds.
It was like a forest paradise! The area is well-maintained by the resort and is a popular vacation spot for couples.
There is a even a small lake where you can canoe!

After coming down in the cable car we decided it was time to go to the hot springs. They are located on the banks of the river that goes through the town. It wasn't too crowded and the people were very friendly, trying to talk in English and telling us where to sit. The river was very cold so it was good to sit in the hot water then take a dip in the water (like in the hot baths in Korea) but I was a little turned off from the dog that was swimming in the river than hanging out in the hot spring that I decided just to dip my feet. Since hot springs are outside, you are not required to strip down all the way like in the indoor hot baths which is probably a good idea since everyone walking by can see you.

After a lil dip we ventured to find some food and ended up eating at the only Indian restaurant (if you can call it that, it was more like a street stand with a sit down place) in the strip that leads you to the bus stop. It was definetly interesting for me to be eating buriyani in a small town in Taiwan talking to a man from Karnataka. But that's what travelling to random places can do for you.

We headed back to Taipei to go to a couch surfers meeting in the city. We met numerous couch surfers, some Taiwanese, lots of expat teachers as well . They all only had great things to say about Taiwan and we could understand why.

We are heading back to Seoul tomorrow and are pretty sad because David and I really enjoyed Taiwan. It's small enough to see so much in just two days. I'm actually wondering why I didn't look more into Taiwan when I was looking for a teaching job, it seems like a great place to live.

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