Taiwan Trip －Day 5

16/05(Wed)
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Danshui/Bali/Beitou Hot-Spring

• Today is reserved for DanShui (淡水). We took the metro all the way there. It was a small town close to the Dan Shui River. We headed to 淡水老街, and explored the shops there. We tried the famous 铁蛋。 it cost NT10 for one. Then as we walked down the streets, we chanced by 阿婆铁蛋 and saw 阿婆 there! She was dressed like a rich lady, had a huge purple flower pinned to her top. She had a huge diamond ring on her finger too! Wow…sell 铁蛋 can become so rich! I also wanna go sell.

Then we went into a stall and bought Taiwanese jellies there, those with plums in them. Very yummy! In Singapore, they cost really expensive. In Taiwan, its about NT100 per box. We saw these jellies at one of the shops at the departure area at the airport too. Price is about the same. As we bought quite a bit, the boss was kind enough to tell us that there was a Jay Chou café somewhere. Jay Chou used to study at 淡水, and everyday he would head to this restaurant to eat the same stuff. The boss then named what Jay ate everyday as 周杰伦餐 （Jay Chou meal）. When we finally found the shop, it was closed. It was a restaurant that specialized in 馄饨/Wanton.

We also tried the 阿给 there. It is basically tau kwa filled with dong fen inside. My Taiwanese friend said it was very delicious, and the people there used to eat it when the Japanese took over and people were poor. It was quite filling to eat just one. We walked all the way to Fort San Domingo （淡水红毛城）. It was a fort which was built by the Spanish, and later took over by the Dutch. We paid an entry fee of NT 60 to get in. There was a good view of the Danshui river from there.

• Then we took a ferry to Bali （八里） from the ferry station at Dan Shui. It cost NT$18 per ride. Bali was very very windy, as compared to Dan Shui. There is a long stretch of pavement which leads to a statue along the river. We wanted to walk to the statue. Although we could see it and it appeared near, we could never reach it, so we gave up half-way and backtracked. The shops were mostly closed at the time. It was essentially a continuation of DanShui old streets – Dan Shui Part 2.

We saw an auntie selling fruits, and bought some. I really like the tomatos with plums in them. Basically they cut the tomato into half, and stuff a sweet plum in it. Very yummy, as it’s sour and sweet.

By the time, the sun has set, and we could see the lights of DanShui from Bali. Very nice! =) We missed the sun-set at DanShui Fisherman’s Wharf, as it was pretty cloudy that day. Though that was a popular itinerary, you really need to have luck to see the sunset. Gotta depend on the mood of the sun and clouds. =) Took the ferry back from Bali to Danshui. (Actually, we wanted to hike up GuanyinShan at Bali as we heard the view from there is good too, but decided against it as the sun sets pretty early in Taiwan. As early as 6.30pm. )

• Then we took the metro and stopped at Beitou （北投）station. We wanted to visit a hotspring. There was a public, outdoors hotspring at Beitou, but it was pretty far from the metro station. We were carrying a lot of things and could not walk any further to the public hotspring. So we decided to go to a hotspring resort, where we had to pay more, but it was more convenient to get to, as there were free shuttle van outside the station to bring us there. We decided on Asia Pacific Hotspring Resort.


Asia Pacific Resort 亚太温泉生活馆
北投温泉路银光巷21 – 6 号
www.apresort.com.tw


• It was the best choice ever made. I felt like I was in Japan there, as that was the theme of the resort. Highly recommended, as it was at the top most of the hill. We got a private hotspring for NT1,000 for an hour (as it was off-peak season for hotspring, usually people do it during winter), after that, we could use the public hotsprings for 2 hours. It was really worth it, as they gave us all the things we needed – towels, water. The changing rooms reminded me of country clubs, there was hairdryer, combs there too. Definitely beats a public one- where you have to bring towels, combs, etc there. There were a few hotspring rules, I’ve translated them here. Very useful, as I made all the mistakes. Read them and remember them before you jump into a hotspring the next time. (Btw, don’t jump into it! You’d scald yourself. )

1. Do some warm up before dipping into the hot-spring.

2. Wet the body with the hot-spring water, starting from the feet all the way up to the head.

3. Ensure the temperature is between 38 – 42 degree Celsius.

4. Do not soak in the hot-spring for too long. Do not exceed 30 minutes. The best is soak for 15 minutes, rest for 5 minutes.

5. Drink more water. Before showering and after showering, drink lots of water to replenish water.

6. Do not use clean water to wash away the hot-spring water after you’re done. This will ensure that the hot-spring nutrients stick to your body, and maintain the temperature of your body.

7. Get enough rest after a hot-spring to speed up the renewal process.