Taian

Right. I left my little quiant but quite expensive hostel at around 12pm. because after all the clubbing which I truly have no clue how to enjoy, I fell asleep at 5am and woke up at 10.30pm. There's always this 1.5h of lag time for breakfast, slacking, packing and shagging out

Provincial Highway 13... not too bad actually

Went out and I was supposed to follow Kerslake's route. I did, but I missed a few places, because my GPS wasn't on and some signs are not immediately obvious. Ended up going on the Provincial Highway 13 when I was supposed to go by the PH3, but it worked anyway, so it's OK.

Long, windy, hilly, cold, but I gotta hit Taian

I stopped to eat meat buns (roubao), and out of no where, I decided to open up my Lonely Planet guidebook. My initial destination was to head to Miaoli, but this place was no where to be found on the guidebook. Then, I thought, maybe I could go to Sanyi, but it was a place full of wooden carvings, which didn't really interest me. Finally, I saw something that interested me.

Taian.

Taian is a hot spring area, and I have never been to a hot spring, so it was a good time to do so. More importantly, it's an essential Taiwanese experience. I reached this place just when it was getting dark, which was a good thing because I hate to ride in the darkness.



Nice!


There are quite a few hotels/resorts/hostels in this area. It apparently ranges from 1200NTD to 7000NTD. Not too sure, but I checked in in a resort - a bit like the government chalets in Singapore - that cost me 1500NTD. This place is called the... Tenglong Hot Springs Resort and it is quite good actually.
Maybe it's because it's a weekday (Friday?), but for around $70, I get a full room to myself with a bathtub, amenities such as complementary toothbrush, breakfast and an entrance to their hot spring, it's not too bad, although I'm quite used to 600NTD max. This is an exception... because they allowed me to pay by Visa. Or maybe it's because I have little other choice.

I haven't soaked in a bathtub for quite a while, so it was awesome. What's more the water comes directly from the hot spring, so it's even more awesome, although it has an odour. Apparently, too, the water is supposed to help heal skin issues, and I seriously have some bad sunburnt skin that's peeling.

Looks fugly. Srsly.

The next day, I went to paotang which is their way of saying soak in the hot spring water pool. I didn't like it, perhaps because it was of my breakfast, but the hot water felt too hot and my stomach was bloating. Oh well... wasted. But at least I finished one of the biggest to-dos in the Taiwan must-dos.