Taiwan Day 2

On Tuesday Greg and I went hiking. We started off the morning with some delicious Chinese food.





We then went to the tallest peak in the Taipei area, Mt. Cising. It was an interesting hike, based solely on the fact that the hiking path up Mt. Cising is comprised almost completely of stairs.

Once we got closer to the peak the stairs changed

As we got closer to the peak the view got even better and better. Can you spot Taipei 101?

Yep, Taipei 101 again

More stairs

Taipei 101 in the background again



Taipei 101

Hurray! Only 120 meters to go!

View of the adjacent mountains

Yay! At the top!






Some more delicious Chinese food. This was fried pork and some vegetables wrapped in rice. It was very yummy.



Ever since I started yoga I do yoga in very odd places.


The winds and clouds were kicking in

I am absolutely drenched from my sweat. It was SOOOO humid!

After our hike Greg and I went to some hot springs to relax and cool down. These are private hot springs, where the men are on one side and the women in the other, and everyone went into the springs naked. I gave all the Taiwanese women a good laugh because after the very hot pool I went into another pool (also thinking it was hot), only to find to my shock that it was freezing. I yelped and jumped out of there while all the women laughed. It was embarrassing, to be sure, but that ended up being a good ice breaker. Some of the older women spoke enough English where they conversed with me, and helped to tell me about the benefits of each pool and some of the other things in the room to help relax.

Greg and I went to some hot springs to cool off and relax after our hike. This was the entrance (as I obviously couldn't take pictures inside because everyone is naked)

Once done with the hot springs Greg and I met a nice young Taiwanese woman with an Australian boyfriend. She said she would drive us to the subway stop (since, to get to the springs, Greg and I had to take a 20 minute bus ride from the subway stop). She and her boyfriend were very nice to us, although I will admit she was QUITE ditzy.

After the hot springs Greg and I enjoyed some more Chinese cuisine. This is a beef stew with noodles and vegetables. Very filling. We ate this once the Taiwanese girl and her boyfriend dropped us off.

Once I got back to my hostel I was invited by the other people there to go clubbing. Now, as much as I love dancing I was completely exhausted from the hike and all of the day's activities. I was pretty much in bed by midnight to get rested up for the next day's activities (which involved going to a museum and then clubbing, but that is another entry).

-AALA