Starting the day right/wrong makes all the difference. We went downstairs and got some traditional breakfast foods from the cart lady, and had a brief chat to her about local recommendations.
Then we headed out to our day trip. Unfortunately, the hotel staff could offer no help as to directions. Instead, we headed out to the MRT station and headed to Xindian. This was a highlight of the trip for my mum.
At Xindian, there was a suspension bridge that would be removed soon. It was spectacular, green lake is called green lake because it's actually green.
A bit of rain didn't spoil our day. If you recognize the duck boats, you are right, it's the backdrop and outing shown in various Taiwanese dramas.
A shame we already had breakfast, but we stumbled on a nice street filled with local food. The locals were so nice, that they let me try the food before we bought any. AND it must have been the best street food experience I've had in Taipei so far.
We also picked up a fair few gifts in a little shop by the bridge. They also have heaps of stamps you can fill your stamp book to. REMEMBER TO BRING A NOTEPAD with you when you visit Taiwan, they have a strange fascination of stamps, and you can get stamps at all the major attractions- best part? If you bought along blank bookmarks, that equals FREE gifts that you make yourself!
So we looked for a bus to Wulai. Unfortunately, the line was incredibly long, and two buses had come along without hope of us getting on. Fortunately, we had taxi drivers solicitating their services. So we negotiated, 2 taxis for x price.
It was WORTH IT. Truly. The trip up was not short, and standing another day on the bus really didn't appeal to me.
I haven't been to Wulai since I was very very young. And I have no recollection of much except for the waterfall and tiny train. This time, our purposes was to get a soak.
Unlike Yangminshan, the water here didn't reak.
Of course, we could have just gone to the side of the hot springs, and just put our feet in. But we were after a different experience.
We wandered around the town and found a place we were comfortable with. For a set price, we had 2 hours in a luxury suite with 2 tubs. Our spa hotel overlooked the natural surroundings, and NOT other spa hotels. It was lovely, but don't stay in the tub too long! Alternate between hot and cold to remove toxins.
And to cap off our time at wulai, we got some good food- my favourite was the spa eggs- eggs boiled in the volcanic water. The food street leading to the spa hotels was DANGEROUS. cars would pass by in the middle, and there was little room to avoid.
We took a bus to the halfway between Xindian and Wulai. Got off to have some very very special Taiwanese food.
This chicken was smoked right outside the restaurant, and I had the pleasure of talking to the gentlemen running the restaurant.
Because one of my travel companions was leaving early the next day, we headed to Keelung.
We travelled by train via Taipei Main Station. When we arrived, there was torrential rain. We were all geared up in our rain suits and umbrellas.
Keelung was famous for a seafood night street market. It was a little disappointing due to the rain. All the undercover seats in shops were taken, we were given the option of just taking food with us or not eating at all.
Having stood up for enough, and having enough street food, we chose to grab two things, as we negotiated our way through the flooding streets back to Taipei. And on our way, we found the famous beef noodle soup shop.
They have no official sign, and they don't really allow photos, so here is my sneaky sneaky.
The meat was not great. But the broth was EXCELLENT. We would have eaten other stuff, but by the time we went, late at night, most of the vegetables and small snacks were sold out!
Another lazy day turned absolutely packed. But luckily, we had a soak in the hot springs.
