Day 2 - Tour around Yilan
Qingshui GEothermal Park 清水地熱公園
Center for Traditional Arts 宜蘭傳藝園區
Patty’s place in Taipei
With so many days in Taipei, we decided to take a day trip to Yilan. It’s a nice change of scenery, with hot springs and a fun center for traditional arts. There are nice hikes nearby also, but we enjoyed taking it slow at the geothermal park and the center for traditional arts. Be sure to try the local scallion pancakes, they use the famous scallions from this area!
Our visit to Patty’s place was fun! This isn’t part of the recommended itinerary for others, of course, but we want to document our trip and look back on the fond memories!
Qingshui GEothermal Park 清水地熱公園
The main attraction here is areas for people to cook food in boiling hot springs water. You can buy food there and boil it at the hot springs areas. Since boiled food tends to taste bland, we only bought a few items in foil pouches that we felt were more sanitary and flavorful. The intestines were indeed very tasty! There are also a couple of public foot baths here but they’re crowded and don’t seem so relaxing.
The nearby hot springs spa was a fun stop. The hot spa pools are shared (not private) and are separated to men and women areas. You pay a small fee to get in to the spa area, swimsuits and swim caps are needed. Once you go in, you can stay as long as you’d like. It was a relaxing stop for us. For individual families looking for a more private experience, you can go to Beitou or Wulai for hotel rooms with private hot spring tubs, but this wouldn’t work for larger groups. The public pools here are better for larger groups, although men and women still can’t be in the same pool. We enjoyed our relaxation here for a while, then headed over to our next stop.
Center for Traditional Arts 宜蘭傳藝園區
The Center for Traditional Arts is a great place to visit with lots to offer. The ground is open and beautiful, providing a relaxing stroll with in nature. There is even a misty area where the manmade fog creates a unique dreamy experience. A visit wouldn’t be complete without visiting the shops here, many of them offering unique experiences in traditional crafts, such as looming, playing traditional instruments, or like our kids, making decorated candles. There is also a food court with plenty of food options. A great place with lots to offer, highly recommended!
Patty’s place in Taipei
It was so great to meet up with Patty and enjoy some yummy food at her nice condo!