I went to a "wild" hot spring. means free, out in the nature, no one owns it. this one however is very well kept by frequent goers. they even plant flowers and tree, put up curtain so people can change, and well up the spring water into pools. but it's "illegal" because it's in the Yang Min Shan National Park. so we had to go there early in the morning before the park rangers start working.
i stayed over at my friends house. we got up at 3:40 in the morning and left the house at 4:15. we drove up the volcano and got to the entrance about 5:30. it was all dark the moon still hung bright.
we sneaked pass the gate and walked for while, crossed a brook on log, and arrived at the hot spring when the sky started to get bright. the area was like a dream. greeneries and clear water coming in and out of curtains of steam. very beautiful.
there were a hot spring river and a fresh mountain river side by side. the hot spring river was block into small pools but the water was constantly flowing. we soaked in the perfect temperature milky white hot spring water , breathed the fresh morning air, watching the sunrise. my friend's wife is pregnant and unfortunately couldn't enjoy the water. so most photos were taken by her. 
then jumped over the cold mountain river. the pressure of the stream felt great.
there was even a waterfall to stand under. very zen.
frequent goers we met there (very friendly) even told us a different path to get the hot spring from the roads. we got back to the car around 8am.
since we were not too far from Jin Shan (Gold Mountain, it's a city), where there is a famous sculpture museum, my friend (a sculptor) decided that we should try to go there. when we got there, we found out that it's closed until after the lunar new year. we drove back to taipei on the coastal highway. gorgeous. (no photos...)
now after i've seen my own photos, i think i need to loose some weight... but that's another business.
