Taiwan Day 2 (13 Dec) 东埔温泉

According to the itinerary, we were supposed to be at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) to take pictures. Instead, we were brought to this temple on top of a hill which overlooks the lake and given a lecture on the importance of going in and out of the temple in the right manner to ensure answered prayers. Only a handful went in. Most were miffed cos when we signed up, we were told there would be no temple tours. We just took some pictures and moved on to shop at the road-side stalls nearby and to see Sun Moon Lake from here.

Taken from the bus on the way down the hill

Next, we were brought to a shop selling plum products (梅子梦工厂). Didn't really fancy anything but i bought small packets of plum biscuits which i thought were so cleverly named Mei in Taiwan, lol.

Took some pictures outside the shop...

We visited a small vineyard next, which grows 巨蜂葡萄 . Those that we were allowed to pluck and taste were a little sour. Those that they are selling were sweet, lol. We bought raisins instead, bigger and sweeter than the kind we buy back home.

For sale

Vineyard

Finally we made our way up to the mountains to spend a night at 东埔帝纶温泉 Hotel. It was quite a long winding way up. We were told that if we make it downhill the next morning without throwing up, any other winding hills in the world would be no problem to us. The whole bus passed with flying colours, lol

Along the way...

We tried the outdoor hot spring, went for dinner and decided it was too lehcheh to try the indoor one after already taken a bath (and washed my long hair). It was cooling up the mountains but wasn't that cold to warrant a jacket even in the evenings. There were some activities at the hotel after dinner like cultural dance and making of tang yuan.

The warm pool. While Ethan was testing it, Ewan was already swimming in it, lol

Unlike Japanese/Korean hot springs, you can be in your swimming gear, but caps a must

The hotter pool. There is one icy cold one just next to this

View from our room. See the mountains in the background.

In and around the hotel after dinner

i can almost swear that Ethan grew taller during the trip, lol

Depending on the season, there are tours to spot beetles