Travel Diary

In the morning, Terry and I headed over to Beitou, a hot springs town. It was right off the MRT line and easy to walk around, though very hilly. Hills aren't usually an issue, but with the weight of coats and a towel, and having sore feet from the previous day's hiking, it was trying.

We explored a bit, and found some good places for photos. With a high-quality camera and lens, even a cloudy day can offer nice pictures. One of the museums offered some history of the spa, but, better yet, a place for some creative photos.

The spa itself was cheap. I think it came out to only a couple dollars for an hour or two in the baths, which is an amazing price. The pools were fun. They have changing booths and lockers, so your stuff is pretty safe. Most of the crowd was older.

The baths offered several options. There was a cold one...pass! The lower levels were the least-scalding and had the runoff from the upper two coming down--like a cascading waterfall. The place wasn't too crowded, but definitely in use. I tried the lower pool for a while. It was pleasant. After time, I graduated to the middle level. Hot, but not deadly. Then, it was up to the top level. It said 42 degrees, but I'm sure that was right. It was burning hot. I got my legs halfway in, but that was it. Nothing else was going in there. Shockingly, there were people up to their necks in there. Amazing.

I traveled down to the lower baths for a spell and then we both were ready to split. Not wanting to leave with sulfur all over me, I tried the shower hose. Freezing! But I was able to bear it to get "clean." Before leaving, I wanted a photo of the place. Assuming photos weren't allowed, we figured we could get a shot before being told not to. I know; it's a tacky way to break the rules, but it would save me a thousand words. Plus, the bathing wasn't nude or anything; however, baths can be sensitive places for people. We got a couple shots before being told to stop. Fair enough.

From the baths, we headed up to a noodle restaurant. The line was small and we were seated in no time. They offered a table outside, but we would have to share it. We decided to eat inside, where we promptly got to share a table. No big deal. I had a large bowl of miso soup, which was nice since I hadn't eaten at all that day except for a few Starbursts in the morning--always nice to carry candy when traveling. The meal was quite cheap--maybe around $8 (USD).

We traveled along the river a bit and then took the train to Danshui. It was a port town that was once quite busy centuries ago. One stop was a Dutch fort, but I was mainly interested in checking out any Dutch benches or other places to sit down. They had a "wishing wall," and I made use of that. Other people had written Chinese characters with perhaps deep thoughts or moving wishes. Mine just said, "I wish for comfy feet." Not sure if it's come true yet.

Moving north, we walking along the busy streets of the town. Lots and lots of shops. At one place, I noticed a container full of what looked like worms on the ground. They were moving too. I wondered what dish they were used for. Terry remarked that there was an octopus on my foot (a first for me). I looked down and yeah, there indeed was one. Yikes! I kicked it off fast. A tiny octopus was now right down there on the ground. It was the smallest one I'd ever seen and really quite neat. We let the vendor know and she put it back in the container. Looking more closely in the container, I noticed that yup, they were all octopi, squirming around, waiting to be bought and consumed (I'm guessing they're not purchased as pets).

Continuing onward, we reached the coast, where many were fishing. The odd part was that they didn't use bait. They flung hooks out in the water and dragged them back in. What was amazing was the number of fish being caught. Within seconds, each had fish on the line and yanked them in. The fish weren't caught by the mouths, but by whatever part of the hook latched onto their bodies. There must have been a huge number of schools out there for such a method to work. It was amazingly effective. I imagine it was a fisherman's dream to have such success. Since it wasn't my dream, we walked on.

Along the beach was also a group doing wedding photos. The bride wore blue or purple, but the groom was in jeans and a vest. They faced heavily cloudy skies, but didn't seem to mind. The photographers had them doing some crazy poses on the edge of the water, with lifts and everything. We stood by in case there were any good video moments for YouTube, but alas, nothing went wrong. The "fisherman's wharf" was, well, just that--a place where people just fished. We took a bus back to the MRT area.

Traveling down some back streets, we saw some of the less affluent parts of the city. The places were humbling, yet you could see how little some it had changed over time.

Heading back to the station, we found another fair and, again, food and shops were abundant. I was craving ice cream. I just needed something tasty. Some people had been walking around with soft serve cones. We found one that served them for about 40 cents--not a bad price, although not a great cone either. The cone wasn't bad; I just missed the sugary taste of American ice cream. An Asian lady even asked me about the ice cream. I said it was okay, just not great. Just...okay.

I also tried a fruit smoothie, which was pretty good. I think it consisted of strawberries, bananas, and milk. Not bad at all.

We took the MRT back home and I rested my feet a spell. My wish was coming true.

When evening came, we took a taxi over to another small eatery. It specialized in pork and rice, both of which were great. Before entering, we stopped at a store for drinks. Many places don't serve much in the way of drinks so you bring your own. No problem. I picked up a can of Heineken, though I wanted a Guinness. They had Guinness (got to love the abundance of that beer!), but I had no bottle opener. I simply must get one of those. The store sold bottle openers, but I wanted a key chain one. Not wanting to make a scene trying to open the bottle with silverware, I bought the can.

Come to think of it, there was no silverware either. You eat with chopsticks here. It's not like a Chinese food restaurant in the States either--forks aren't an option. One simply learns to use chopsticks. It's not that hard after a while. Plus, if you have trouble with them, you simply put your face much closer to the bowl. Less room for error.

Again, the pork was great. It tasted different than the pork from the previous places. This one had a more natural taste, which was less spicy.

After dinner, Terry and I walked down passed the "red light" area of town. In essence, it was more like a "no light" area, since all the places were closed. I guess things don't pick up until much later in the evening. And it was only 7 pm.

We all met up and took a taxi home. I was ready to crash and it was only 8:30 pm.

But it was too early for that. Lesly, Terry, and I headed back out to get foot massages. The dreaded moment was coming, but it was something I needed to do. The three of us bought the tickets and went upstairs. They had very comfy chairs and you got to put your feet in a hot water bath for a while. That was nice. Then a lady comes and goes to work.

She started with wrapping hot, wet towels around my feet, which felt great. Then the lotion rub was also nice. Then she went to work on my feet. How best to describe...

Well, some parts are nice--very nice. But other parts, where she digs knuckles down into the toes, are excruciatingly painful. I mean it really, really hurt! The worst part isn't that it happens once, but it's that it continues for a minute or two. It's like pouring salt repeatedly into a wound. Now, before the massage, I was taught how to say "too much pain" (Thai tong), but I wasn't going to do that. Sure, it hurt (a lot!), but I would take it. I may have grimaced frequently, and she may have noticed that, but I held out.

The massage being done, we explored more. Lesly headed back home while Terry and I traveled back to the fair. I tried out some gelato, which was surprisingly good.

Soon, I was again exhausted and ready to return home. Arriving, I wanted to write, but way too tired. To sleep, to sleep.