Bayan Hot Springs

Taipei, despite being a sprawl of concrete, swarms of scooters and masses of people also happens to be completely surrounded by lush, green mountains. So no matter where you are in the city, it is never too difficult to leave the hustle and bustle of city life and escape into the countryside.

This Saturday, my work colleague Eliza and I decided to visit the mountains, heading north to Yangmingshan National Park. Here, among many other things, is the Bayan Hot Springs. Taipei is known for having many hot springs in the North, particularly in its Beitou district, but whereas these can supposedly be crowded and touristy, the Nayan hot springs offer a slightly different experience. This is because they are technically unofficial, being illegal to visit. The path to them is marked with signs reminding visitors of the NTD15,000 that they can be liable to pay for visiting the springs. However, the springs still do have a regular number of visitors and from what I have heard, even on the off-chance the police do come to the springs, the fine always fails to materialise. So we thought we'd check it out!

Unfortunately I forgot the battery for my camera which I had left to charge the night before, but I did manage to take some photos with my phone.

At the end of half hour bus ride which spiralled up a mountain, we found ourselves in a completely different world. At the beginning of the path to the springs there was a small collection of modest houses surrounded by farmland and vegetation.

And there was also a very scenic pond!

Along the path we frequently came across markers that we were nearing the springs. The path was littered with these clusters of burning hot, bright yellow rocks of sulfur which filled the air with steam and a faint smell of rotting eggs. 

Here's one of the warning signs surrounding the springs. You have to go around a gate to get into the area which leads to them.

But that doesn't stop people from going anyway! The springs consisted of various pools of varying temperatures which flowed downhill from different streams. Some of the pools were boiling hot and impossible to sit in whilst others were ice cold. However one or two were just the perfect temperature and were like sitting in a really hot bath or a hot tub. Very relaxing, especially with all the jungle surrounding!

When we got to the springs, loads of people were covered in a silvery mud. This Taiwanese guy led us up a steep hillside to find some which we then covered ourselves with. Here we are, covered in the mud, at a waterfall near the top of the springs.

Another view of the mountains. There's a small pretty derelict looking collection of buildings in the distance, but we never got close enough to check it out.

Part of the path to get to the springs (all in all, it only took about 15-20 minutes to get to and from the bus stop area). 

Finally, after heading back down into Taipei city, we came across this pretty cool looking park close to the MRT! Taipei has a variety of small 'parks' throughout the city, of varying degrees of interest, but this one looked especially attractive so we checked it out and took some photos.

In other news of Taipei life, I have officially moved into my new apartment! Watch this space in the next few day for photos of the apartment and also Fuzhong, the area where I live.