LimeTouch

We were fortunate not to have encountered the problems we did with Yang Ming Shan, the journey was smooth. Heading to Xindian Station and then taking the bus from the right of the station. The journey to Yang Ming Shan took a longer time, but in Wulai, going up the mountain was more longer. The first time I am in a township since coming to Taiwan.

The scenery from the bus was great, the huge mountains looking upon the waters and dam was just breath-taking. Wulai is filled with so many hot spring spas, I am totally shocked, there are at least more than 20.

Walking on, we came upon the natural hot springs. Enclosed within the rocks are where the hot spring waters are, when you step in, a warm yet soothing touch of water cleanses your skin and you feel re-energized. Feels really great to be in it.

The rapids were really strong so it was a little bold move to be taking such pictures. Nonetheless, it wasn’t that dangerous as opposed to the further parts of the waters.

Really love the waters in this picture, the rocks situated in it, that made it even more complete!

Next we proceeded to going to Wulai Falls. There was the cable car which was supposed to bring us up. And then came along a cab driver who was trying to convince us to take his cab up to the waterfalls for a price of 50 NT per head. We would have taken the cab if not for something I didn’t like.

He lied to us that the cable car was not working by pointing us to a signboard which says the it is out of service. But when we looked further on, it was dated year 1996, and when questioned about the date, he gave an answer saying that it is a Chinese year. Originally he said it was 2006, he was then corrected by his fellow cab driver. Quite unbelievable, really didn’t like the way he twisted the facts. How can we possibly trust this guy?

As a result, we decided to walk up to Wulai Falls.

It is a long long walk up. At least a good 5km or more, well we could take it as a good training exercise. Along the way, there were so many vicious looking dogs, all of them within a leash, they were simply guarding their respective houses. Really you have to wonder would they attack you?

We figured a way to get down to a closer view to Wulai Falls after relieving ourselves. Made our way to a row of shops, there was a large dog guarding the entrance, as we approached closer with each step, it barked at us and started chasing us. Given the circumstances, we couldn’t possibly stand and prepare for battle.

The path we were on was narrow, steep to the extent that there can only be 1 person at a time in the same pavement.

Thus on natural reaction, we had to run for our lives. This was no small dog, it was a big large one, similar to a smaller version of a lion. Thankfully it stopped chasing us, the owner said it was because I was carrying a bottle and thus assumed that I was trying to hit it.

The owner still said it was safe to walk in, but it was difficult to walk in seeing as the dog is not latched. We only dared to move forward when the owner brought the dog into the shop to prevent it from attacking us. All that was finally over and we proceeded to a close up view of Wulai Falls … this is my favorite.

I have had to split the waterfall into 2 pictures because it was too tall for it to be captured in 1 shot beautifully.

Took a cab down to Full Moon Spa to really chill, be it in a hot or cold way. We decided to go for the outdoor springs.

There were 3 pools, with varying temperatures: 39, 38 and 22 degrees. We were mostly waddling and relaxing in the 2nd pool, the first 1 was way too hot and the third 1 was simply freezing cold. Sounds like “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears” doesn’t it?

It is impossible to stay in the pool for more than 15 minutes, from time to time, you need to get out of it because it is really too hot, I was feeling some aches after staying for too long in it, and being bare with the wind blowing was sometimes a sanctuary given your body conditions.

Had a go in the 3rd pool towards the end, the biggest challenge is to really get your body temperature situated. Going from 38 degrees to 22 degrees is no easy task. 22 degrees is incredibly cold, as though you are putting your body into the kind of water leaked out from 20 ice cubes.

Before we left, we managed to get a picture, taken from a fellow hot spring goer.

Went walking around and came upon a delicacy shop. The shop owner was very nice, he let us tried different types of wine and also the different delicacy he had to sell. When we finally got what we wanted, Muah Ji (Their Speciality), he gave us 2 complimentary boxes of Muah Ji for us to try.

On the bus back to Xindian Station, I can’t help but praise the bus driver’s attitude. When each passenger alights from the bus, he would always politely tell them “小心慢走”, really makes your day when you hear such words being said to you.

Had dinner at Xi Men Ding, wanted to try the Ma La Huo Guo. What makes this even better is that it was very near to our hotel.

Apparently it was way too spicy for me. I gulped down 5-6 cups of Lime Juice and still it wasn’t sufficient to extinguish the sting in my mouth. As a result, I had to stick to their normal steamboat. Their meatballs are weird, it is not like the ones I have in Singapore.

They have an outer layer, and when you bite onto it, it somehow gets stuck within your teeth, quite a discomfort I must say! But the taste was pretty nice, ignoring the meat being stuck within your teeth.

Some shopping at Xi Men Ding AGAIN before heading back to the hotel to rest.