I FINALLY got my wish. After being in Taipei for a month, I’m a bit burned out on big city-life. I’m a bit shopped-out and I’m ready for something other than concrete. Today, we went with Terry’s mom (Nai-Nai) to Beitou, an area on the outskirts of Taipei City best known for its hot springs. It is higher than most of Taipei City and borders Yangminshan mountains, which was EXACTLY what I’ve been yearning for (it sucks to see the beautiful mountains on a daily basis and not yet experience them, sigh).
Beitou was developed by the Japanese in the early 20th century (the Japanese certainly LOVE their hot springs, from what I hear!) and came to a heyday prior to WW2. It fell into somewhat of a disarray in the 1950’s-1970’s when it was best known for its prostitution! The turn-around began around 1996, when the Taiwanese government declared the Beitou Bath House a historical monument and began to resto
re it. It is now beautifully preserved as a museum. The area is now covered with various hotels, restaurants, and art houses mostly serving the hot springs. The entire area smells of sulfur as water flows openly in streams and creeks throughout the city. These sulfurous streams produce beautiful arrays of colorful stones, which we thoroughly enjoyed as we meandered through the streets (remember, we had my mom-in-law, the slow walker with us!). She enjoyed telling us stories of how she and her friends would come to the streams in their younger years and hard-boil their eggs in the hot water. I still find it odd that they could cook in the water and eat the eggs w/o getting sick?? I remind myself…different country, different times!
There are quite a few public areas to soak in the hot springs; which are segregated into 2 types…clothing required and clothing…optional. While I was tempted to bring the girls to a public soaking area, not knowing where the clothing required pools were, AND not knowing if the girls could stand the heat…we opted for a private room in a hotel. It seemed a rather odd experience to me going into different hotels and inquiring about their rooms for rent…by the hour! However, it is quite the norm there as many people prefer a more private experience. Come to think of it…with multiple families living together in places which are quite small compared to the USA, I’ll bet these places are QUITE busy year-round for those who need a bit of ‘privacy’!!!
We were not disappointed. While we had a hotel in mind, as we began to walk up a hill towards our destination, it became glaringly evident that a closer venue would be a better choice…given the mood Nai-Nai was in! We found a beautiful Japanese-styled hotel across 
from the museum which had decent rates (less than $30 USD for one hour). The four of us checked in and were immediately impressed by the elaborate décor of the hotel. It was very ornately decorated with wooden furniture, floral arrangements…just breathtaking. Then, we were treated to a room which overlooked the museum and its greenery. The grounds around the museum have been painstakingly preserved so that it felt as if we were high in the mountains.
The girls immediately loved the tatami-style mat in the middle of the room with the tea set; however, as we had one hour, we ran a bath (not too hot, as they’re both wimps with the heat!). Nai-Nai decided against joining us in the fun, but was nice enough to take a few pics for us. The girls loved playing around in the stinky water and taking turns showering off outside the tub. I
think they may have had more fun playing with the shower-part than the actual tub! I managed to kick the girls out of the tub long enough to turn up the heat to really get the effect of the hot springs. They decided to play tea-set and hotel while I soaked. After we checked out we were treated a walk on the 3rd floor. This is where the hotel’s spa is, complete with its own stair cases, private garden and public hot springs (nude of course, but separate for men and women). We were amazed that the view of the hotel’s private gardens was equally as stunning as ours from the 5th floor!
Feeling very refreshed, we headed home (perhaps slightly stinky as I don’t think I managed to quite rinse off all the sulfur water!). As the girls’ behavior was SOOOOO good today (esp compared to yesterday), I treated them to dinner at ‘Tea Time’. This restaurant, which is right at the train station closest to our apartment, you sit on swings rather than benches. The pictures posted outside also show some delicious treats for drinks (tea with whipped cream and cookies on top). The girls have been itching to eat there for quite some time. Bri had spaghetti and Elaine and I had stir-fried beef. Their dessert was milk-tea with whipped cream and cookies. For just about $20, we were surprised that the food was quite good. I was quite thankful that I have another incentive to offer to the girls besides the Hello Kitty restaurant!
Can you believe that all of the above was ours today for less than $60? It amazes me that there are still places in Taiwan (apparently, most of them outside of Taipei city) that are very reasonable. I tell you, this is something we’ll definitely do again….although hopefully with Terry next time!
from the museum which had decent rates (less than $30 USD for one hour). The four of us checked in and were immediately impressed by the elaborate décor of the hotel. It was very ornately decorated with wooden furniture, floral arrangements…just breathtaking. Then, we were treated to a room which overlooked the museum and its greenery. The grounds around the museum have been painstakingly preserved so that it felt as if we were high in the mountains.The girls immediately loved the tatami-style mat in the middle of the room with the tea set; however, as we had one hour, we ran a bath (not too hot, as they’re both wimps with the heat!). Nai-Nai decided against joining us in the fun, but was nice enough to take a few pics for us. The girls loved playing around in the stinky water and taking turns showering off outside the tub. I
think they may have had more fun playing with the shower-part than the actual tub! I managed to kick the girls out of the tub long enough to turn up the heat to really get the effect of the hot springs. They decided to play tea-set and hotel while I soaked. After we checked out we were treated a walk on the 3rd floor. This is where the hotel’s spa is, complete with its own stair cases, private garden and public hot springs (nude of course, but separate for men and women). We were amazed that the view of the hotel’s private gardens was equally as stunning as ours from the 5th floor!Feeling very refreshed, we headed home (perhaps slightly stinky as I don’t think I managed to quite rinse off all the sulfur water!). As the girls’ behavior was SOOOOO good today (esp compared to yesterday), I treated them to dinner at ‘Tea Time’. This restaurant, which is right at the train station closest to our apartment, you sit on swings rather than benches. The pictures posted outside also show some delicious treats for drinks (tea with whipped cream and cookies on top). The girls have been itching to eat there for quite some time. Bri had spaghetti and Elaine and I had stir-fried beef. Their dessert was milk-tea with whipped cream and cookies. For just about $20, we were surprised that the food was quite good. I was quite thankful that I have another incentive to offer to the girls besides the Hello Kitty restaurant!
Can you believe that all of the above was ours today for less than $60? It amazes me that there are still places in Taiwan (apparently, most of them outside of Taipei city) that are very reasonable. I tell you, this is something we’ll definitely do again….although hopefully with Terry next time!
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