A Week in Taiwan - Day 5
Friday morning Tik and I were given the opportunity to go to Wulai - a famous mountain village a few hours north of Taipei. Sue and family had been there the week before and recommended it as a romantic location for the two of us. Surprisingly the area is populated with Aboriginals and the village boasts some interesting woodcarvings and artwork. The area is also well known for its natural springs and its beautiful waterfalls.
It was great to have two days alone with Tik, and a fun challenge in that very few Taiwanese speak English and Tik and I had a lot of fun trying to communicate our needs after Sue and Wenjing had dropped us off.
We spent the night in a lovely hotel. We were right up in the mountains yet Tik still had full strength on her cellphone and I could do my work with their wireless network in the cafe.
We’d arrived about 4pm and braved the domain of the single-sex spas. Well the guys certainly aren’t shy! and as Tik unenthusiastically reported later, sadly neither are the fat ladies.
I personally found bathing nude quite liberating. I had one tense moment when on opening the sauna door I’m confronted with half a dozen old naked men who are all packed like sardines into the room. I beat a retreat back to the spa bath however the men insist that I join them too and we sit huddled together closer than I’ve ever been to man in my life completely naked.
The spa itself was very refreshing. The water was temperate, not uncomfortable although there was also a cold pool, which I did flit to on occasions. What made the experience so remarkable was that we were outside, in the middle of the mountains, with a view of the waterfalls, river and mountains.
Despite our enthusiasm to do as much as we could we had a lazy night in, enoying our own private spa bath in the room, venturing into the quaint village to enjoy dinner and to have yet more samples of unusual nibbles pressed upon us.
