Before i talk more about Taipei discovery, i feel that i will help to share on the people at 法采时光 in Hualien
法采时光
花蓮市中華路269號
970, Taiwan, Hualien County, Hualien City
http://facaitimeless.blogspot.com/
The chef Ah Yang on the left makes very good dessert, tried his carrot cheese cake and it is fantastic. He always tries different recipes and can definitely feel his 认真and 诚意 when making the cakes. 他说要了解不同的食材，才能让客人吃出真正的味道。
Guan Yu who is on the right, makes very good coffee, though i have not tasted before. But whenever he makes, he looks very serious and can step by step explain why these steps are done. Not only that, he is a very knowledgeable person and you would definitely learn something talking to him.
Ok back to Taipei....It was almost 3 hours train trip there. The train was full, and i am glad i booked the tickets in advance online. Btw, if you have data plan in Taiwan, you may want to download this app, it is called 双铁时刻表 where they lists out the trains and different times to reach the various stations in Taiwan. Very useful.
Taipei hotels are very expensive for a single traveller, a proper hotel room near Taipei main station ( Zhongshan district ) costs at least SGD 100 and above, the cheapest i found was around 70plus. I decided to try airbnb and found this host whose place is near Shuanglian Mrt station. I would talk about them more next time, no complaints right now, it was still comfortable.
Zhongshan district is like a shopping area, i was trying to find an eatery but it was not easy until i turn into those small lanes. You can easily get a set of curry chicken cutlet and rice for NT110.
There were a few quaint cafes too, one of them was Libo (中山北路2段42巷12号） that serves very cheap hot chocolate at NT 70. The only disadvantage was it played loud music that is abit off. Too noisy!!
This morning, i decided to try hot spring and that is none other than making a trip to Xinbeitou. The train from Beitou to XinBeitou, is decorated with cartoons and there were interactive information on the trains as well.
When you exit the station and walked towards the right along Zhongshan road, you would come across the Beitou Park and reach the Beitou Hot Spring Museum. This museum was originally the Beitou Public Baths and was built in 1913. It has roman style arches but also Japanese style interior.
As you walked up along Zhongshan Road, you would come across plum garden (梅庭）This place is a summer getaway home of this famous caligrapher Yu Youren and there is a visitor information center where you can stock up on your information. As you walked up again, you would see thermal valley (地热谷） on the left. The water there is so hot that you can see mist and smoke fumes coming out of it, and you can smell the green sulphur too.
As i travel alone, there is no need to rush to each location i go. By the time i visited those places, it was lunch time already. Apparantly, there were not much eateries but when i exited the valley, i walked up this slope and saw this ramen eatery (Mankewu ramen) , decide to just get lunch there.
Let me give you a lists of the hot spring baths that i asked
1. The one beside plum garden, just 40NT for outdoor experience, but you need to wear swimming costume. If you intend to try hot spring, do just bring that along and swimming cap.
2. Hot springs bath beauty age : Private room is based on 2 person, NT590. Never asked more as the person attending to me seemed to have some attitude problem.
3. Spa Spring Resort (水都温泉馆) : Private room also same but the outdoor facilities seemed nice. Only NT 390, with the purchase of swimwear NT 360. Wanted to try that but thought go around and ask more.
4. Phoenix Pavillion: do not offer to one person alone. No outdoor as well.
5. Kyoto: also offer at NT590. Think no outdoor...cannot remember
6. As i walked up further to the bigger hotels, Spring city Resort: Private bath NT 600. Outdoor bath NT 800 plus NT 500 for swimwear purchase.
7. Grand View Resort: Most expensive...outdoor 1000 plus, private room depends on size, but mostly in thousands like 2000, 1500 etc.... If i have friends with me, can share...if not, think forget it!
In the end, i decided to try the Spring City Resort private bath. So i have my own cozy bathroom and shower and not waste money and buy another swimwear. They provide all the facilities and even a shuttle bus to fetch me back to Xinbeitou station.
Walking along Xinbeitou, i came across Datong street and this cafe recommended by Guanyu. I decide to try the hot chocolate again. It is a very big cafe with pretty good music but the drinks are not cheap. The hot chocolate is nice though.
I walked down the street and turn to the left along Zhongyang North Road. Thought can check out the Beitou Market. It is a crowded market along 新市街 where the stalls sell food and fruits. Prices are quite cheap, can just grab your dinner around that area.
From there, it is pretty near to Beitou station too and after getting all the roadside food, i can just take a slow walk there for digestion and be on my way back to rest for the day.
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