Stories From Taiwan, Part IV
Four of us visited Yang Ming Shan National Park today, although we didn't actually go to the usual/typical tourist area. We planned to, but got sidetracked.
First we hit a hot spring, which was really awesome (especially considering that going there was technically trespassing. But is it still trespassing if the three gates only block 3/4 of the main path, everyone knows about the spring, and an official park sign said, "Enter hot springs at your own risk"?). There were two streams coming from up the mountain- a hot one and a cold one, so the spring area had two temperatures of water to soak in. The hot springs were volcanic, so alas, I smell like sulfur. That may have also been due to the fact that I smeared the mud all over my body. Why? Because I thought it would be amusing. And besides, it's supposed to be good for the skin.
After that we visited Bamboo Lake, which turned out to not be a lake at all. We stopped to ask for directions to Bamboo Lake, and got the reply that we were already there. Surprised, I said, "There's no lake?" Nope, turns out that it's called Bamboo Lake because a long long time ago, tons of bamboo grew here; so much bamboo grew here that when you looked out over it all, it looked like a lake of bamboo. Hence, Bamboo Lake. I was kind of annoyed that there was no lake, but eh. It was a fun place (with food and fruit and pickable flowers), and makes a good story.
Those two activities took up seven hours, partly because for a while, we weren't sure of where we were going. What should have been a half-hour walk in the Bamboo Lake area turned into over an hour. It really would have helped if we had looked at signs telling us which way to go, instead of basing our decisions on which road was not uphill.
All in all, though, it was a pretty amazing day. I'd do it again.
First we hit a hot spring, which was really awesome (especially considering that going there was technically trespassing. But is it still trespassing if the three gates only block 3/4 of the main path, everyone knows about the spring, and an official park sign said, "Enter hot springs at your own risk"?). There were two streams coming from up the mountain- a hot one and a cold one, so the spring area had two temperatures of water to soak in. The hot springs were volcanic, so alas, I smell like sulfur. That may have also been due to the fact that I smeared the mud all over my body. Why? Because I thought it would be amusing. And besides, it's supposed to be good for the skin.
After that we visited Bamboo Lake, which turned out to not be a lake at all. We stopped to ask for directions to Bamboo Lake, and got the reply that we were already there. Surprised, I said, "There's no lake?" Nope, turns out that it's called Bamboo Lake because a long long time ago, tons of bamboo grew here; so much bamboo grew here that when you looked out over it all, it looked like a lake of bamboo. Hence, Bamboo Lake. I was kind of annoyed that there was no lake, but eh. It was a fun place (with food and fruit and pickable flowers), and makes a good story.
Those two activities took up seven hours, partly because for a while, we weren't sure of where we were going. What should have been a half-hour walk in the Bamboo Lake area turned into over an hour. It really would have helped if we had looked at signs telling us which way to go, instead of basing our decisions on which road was not uphill.
All in all, though, it was a pretty amazing day. I'd do it again.