Wooo! Wuuulaiii!

It's been about 3 months since I landed in Taiwan and I finally feel somewhat grounded now that my paperwork has made me a legal resident of Taiwan, so it's time to get this blog started!

 My first trip was to Wulai Falls. We took the train from the small suburb (still about the size of my college town) of Neili to the massive capital city of Taipei and from there the 4 of us split a cab to get to the top of the mountain (not the very top, but close). Located in Taipei County and nestled in the jungle just outside of Wulai Hots springs village, this massive waterfall made me feel my true insignificant size in nature.

Directly across the viewing platform for the waterfall are a few aboriginal shops. The beautiful trinkets and breathtaking jade carvings were worth the half hour stop on our way down the mountain.  Ella, Fae and I decided to get jade bracelets to remember our trip togeth

er while Jameson opted for a tribal bag instead (I don't think the bracelets were his color).

Our jade bracelets

We found these guys in aboriginal clothes standing outside one of the shops.

Jade carving

Incredible ornate jade carving

Wood carving

I fell in love with the Jade frogs in Taiwan. They are so adorably ugly! It will definitely be something that I bring back to the States!

We couldn't have gone on a more perfect day. It was a drizzly Sunday and so that deterred the Chinese tourists from visiting and we were virtually alone on the mountain. The sprinkles didn't ruin our day--on the contrary--it made the colors more vibrant! A tropical storm had just come through only a few days before and so the waterfall swelled and water gushed from every crevice of the mountain. During our walk down the mountain we found miniature waterfalls every 5 minutes.

Jameson's picture of the gorgeous town of Wulai

This waterfall is not normally there when there hasn't been as much rain

Water gushing under a staircase

Water pouring down the mountain next to a house

I don't think any of us regretted the hike down the mountain that we opted for instead of a taxi--the views were incredible!

Even the power plant is beautiful here!

Once making it partway down the mountain we decided it was time for some natural hot spring action in the village. There are two ways to get there. One is to walk down the side of the river. The other is to walk across the bridge and float down the river to them. Ella and Fae decided to take the road. Jamison and I decided to take the river (keep in mind the gushing river from the storm). Jamison made it, but once I got up to my hips and felt the current tugging me I knew there was no way I would make it across unscathed. So I dragged myself out and walked to meet the trio on the other side.

The town of Wulai Springs

Jameson after he made it across the river. Apparently the locals had been watching out endeavor because once we reached the other side they said that he was a hero and I was a chicken!

Once we were finally in the hot springs it was scalding and we had to alternate between jumping into the cold river and jumping into the hot springs before finally deciding it was time for a new spring at a better temperature (and not so many creepy old men who wanted to serenade me with English songs).

Jameson and I are outside the hot spring because it was tooo hot!

This hot spring was juuust right!

A small collection of the many hot springs on the side of the mountain

Since Jamison and I were the only two to bring our bathing suits it wasn't long before we trudged on to find some grub--literally! Enter fried bees!

Fried bees!

Taiya Popo is one of my favorite places encountered in Taiwan as of yet. It is a quaint little restaurant empty but for us four with amazing aboriginal dishes and interior walls made all of bamboo to complete the feel. And a bonus--the menu is both in Chinese and English! Our dinner consisted of sticky rice cooked inside bamboo, mountain greens and dried fish, sweet gooey balls (the name escapes me), and the highlight, deep fried bees! They actually taste like popcorn!

Mountain greens and dried fish

Mushroom sticky rice in bamboo

Sweet gooey pastry balls

Fried Bees!

After our delicious meal it was time to hike through the town to the bus station and past all of the delicious smelling street food. If you want authentic food in this country, eat the street food. While I have eaten some questionable things (chicken feet, blagh), for the most part the food is delicious and cheap and the vendors are super excited to serve you.

This will not be my last trip to Wulai, there are many more trails to discover and a natural water slide that I can't wait to try when there hasn't been quite as much rain. As for this trip to the falls, it was the perfect first adventure in Taiwan!