Following our first full day of exploring Taipei, my expectations of the city had been blown away. It was so much more beautiful and mesmerizing than I could have ever imagined. As we woke up on our third day in the city we had two main goals for the day: hot springs and Old Jiufen Street, which was supposed to be the Santorini of Taiwan.

We moseyed around that morning, watching a bit of Single Dad Seeking and Say Yes to the Dress on TLC UK. How could you resist? At some point, we finally we gathered ourselves together and made our way out from under the plush bedspread. We were on our way to Beitou Thermal Valley.

After a couple of subway transfers we got to our stop and followed the crowds to help lead us to our destination. Once we saw the mystical white clouds of steam rising from the water we knew we were in the right place. A stone pathway allowed us to walk right over the crystal clear cyan water, getting just close enough to feel the heat and lean over for a quick steam facial. We were lucky in the fact that it wasn’t terribly busy for a holiday weekend and we were able to peacefully enjoy the hot spring. I’ll chalk that up to the Lunar New Year and so many people being out of town to visit their families.

On our way out we came across a small ceramics shop and decide to pop in for a quick look. In each country I visit I try to leave with some sort of decorative souvenir that I will be able to keep in my someday home. In many countries it has ended up being a locally made dish.

We strolled through the shop in between hundreds of hand painted dishes and pieces of art work before I set my eyes on a pretty little scalloped edge pedestal bowl the color of which matched the beautiful greenish-blue water of the hot springs.  The artist told me a little bit about the piece and then carefully wrapped it so that it would survive the journey back to South Korea.

Now it was time to journey out to visit Jiufen. We’d come across this day excursion via a couple of blog posts which had compared the small Taiwanese town to Santorini as it too sits cozily on a mountain next to the water. We spent the next few hours exploring all of the back roads of this small mountain village, trying different foods, popping into different shops and wandering a temple. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon out of the hustle and bustle of Taipei. We explored just long enough to catch the sun setting behind the mountain and see the blue sky fade from yellow to red to black, at which time the city began to light up. I couldn’t have asked for a better day in Taiwan.

The next day would be our last in Taipei. We had just enough time to pack up our bags, grab a quick brunch, and make our way to the airport for our late afternoon flight. It was a lovely way to spend the Lunar New Year, and I absolutely hope to find myself back in Taiwan sometime soon.

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 #bbmtravelstaipei