I really can’t complain about needing to ‘get away,’ since I’ve had seven months off from work thus far. However, it’s still nice to leave the frenetic energy of a big city every now and then, so Jules and I set out for one of Taiwan’s aboriginal villages in Wulai this weekend. I also happened to seriously pull a back muscle an hour before leaving, so I was looking forward to the therapeutic aid of a hot spring bath with jets.
Two metro lines, one bus, a small handful of ibuprofen and 2 1/2 hours later, Jules and I alighted in Wulai, home to the Atayal (泰雅) tribe, the third largest indigenous tribe in Taiwan. Wulai comes from the word ‘ulai’ in Atayal, meaning poisonous since the early settlers thought that the steam rising from the natural hot springs was poisonous. Of course, that misconception only lasted until the first brave soul dipped his/her foot into the soothing alkaline water.
Sadly, the makeshift, public hot springs along the Nanshi River in Wulai were recently destroyed by the Taiwanese government, citing sanitary and safety reasons, but Jules and I were able to dip our feet in along the riverbank. Such a strange yet wonderful sensation — 110 to 175 degree spring water bubbles up under your feet while cold river water runs over the top.
Wulai Old Street was the next stop where we filled up on delicacies found in this area. Rice and rice flour are used more than wheat flour in the Atayal culture, so we tried (well, more like devoured in Jules’ case) the rice flour scallion pancakes, wild boar sausages, warm mochi on a stick, sweet mochi balls, almond tea, sticky rice cooked inside bamboo stalks, hot spring eggs….
I also brought back a bottle of Wulai’s famous millet wine. Admittedly, I’m not much of a sweet wine person, but I felt like it would be wrong not to bring back a bottle of Taiwan’s oldest traditional wine. And plus, I’m helping to support an indigenous tribe, right 😉
The ample nourishment helped fuel our ascent to the cutest trolley ever…the Wulai Log Cart. Originally designed for timber transport the two person-wide trolley now delights tourists as it travels along a narrow-gauge railroad track, which leads to one of the highlights of Wulai, the Wulai Waterfall.
Philip, Jules and I have tried visiting Wulai a few times since moving to Taiwan, but we’ve always been scuppered by the rainy weather. Imagine Jules’ and my surprise when we stepped off the train to see a rainbow arching across the waterfall! We were ever so grateful for the gorgeous weather, tolerable amount of tourists and of course, beautiful rainbow.
It would have been enough to just enjoy the sounds of the waterfall while savoring our mango popsicles, but then Jules spotted the ‘Yun Hsien Amusement Park’ sign. Amusement Park? Yippeee! So, we climbed even steeper stairs to board the cable car to take us to the tippy top of the waterfall in order to climb more stairs to finally enjoy the advertised park.
Fortunately, restoration of the park has been mostly completed after two devastating typhoons in 2015 hit the area. The air in Yun Hsien is known for its high concentration of ions and a plant compound called phytoncide, which is supposed to help boost the immune system. Well, let’s just see what PubMed has to say about that. In fact, studies have shown that ‘forest bathing trips,’ or hikes in woods, actually increase human natural killer cell activity and levels of intracellular anti-cancer proteins. I say, more reason to visit amusement parks in forests at high elevations!
We indulged in some good ‘ole fashion fun with activities like target shooting with paintball guns, feeding carp and regrettably, rowing a canoe. I fell victim to a big wave of mommy guilt when I saw Jules’ face after I told him we’d have to pass on the canoe rowing due to my bad back. I haven’t canoed in years, but awww, the darling little man-made lake looks so tranquil, and look at that adorable bridge you can go under. Haha, it’s all fun and games until you throw in a waterfall and tourists who don’t understand the basic laws of physics.
After rowing for a few minutes I realized that there was a pretty strong current pushing us away from the dock.
Me: Huh, do you feel that? It’s like there’s a current pushing us over in that direction.
Jules: Um, mommy, you might want to turn around. We’re heading towards that waterfall.
Me: Ohhhh, a waterfall. Wait, a waterfall?!?
Oh, yes, my friends, the lake fed right into a 20 foot waterfall that was chained off with something my Barbie doll would have hitched onto Ken’s Corvette to bail him out of a ditch. The good news is that my back pain disappeared instantaneously as I furiously paddled away from the waterfall…phew. A few minutes later we were joined by a few boats whose oarsmen didn’t seem to understand that if you only use one paddle, then you’ll only make yourself dizzy. After being pinned by these foolios against rocks a couple times my poor back begged me to stop, so we put an end to our rowing adventure. Jules had a blast, though, so at least I get to hold on to my title of ‘Maman d’Aventures’ (Adventure Mommy).
Good thing I booked a room for the night at Full Moon Spa (明月溫泉會館). This is an old school hot spring resort complete with a ski lodge vibe and a moderate amount of kitsch without any hint of irony. Our corner room came kitted out with tatami mats, a view of the river and a bathroom scented with cypress wood from the impressive cypress jet tub inside.
Jules was super excited for his first hot spring bath, but I had to lower the temperature since I’d like to have grandkids one day. I’m not one to believe in miracles, but my back felt 90 percent better after a nice soak. The effect even lasted into the first half of today where I didn’t have to take a single pain reliever. All toasty and revived we dined alfresco, enjoying the cool, mountain breeze while relishing a warming dinner of seafood and veggie hot pot overlooking the Nanshi river. We slept reeeally well last night.
It was hard to say goodbye to this little slice of heaven, but we had to face things like homework and piano practice, so after a hearty breakfast we checked out, attempted to skip stones in the river and headed to the Wulai Atayal Museum (烏來泰雅民族博物館) just around the corner. There was something for everyone here, since Jules enjoyed all the weaponry and hunting gear while I spent most of my time admiring the textiles and beadwork with their vibrant colors and wonderful patterns. We then grabbed another order of rice flour scallion pancakes and a cup of lemon aiyu (jelly made from the seeds of the creeping fig) to hold us over for the journey home.
