Lavender Cottage & Hot Spring

If you are ever in Taichung (about 1hr High Speed Rail away from TP), the must go places are:

1. Lavender Cottage
2. Guguan for Hot Spring
3. Mei Nung Hakka Restaurant for food
4. Call Mr He @ 0921-767461 to taxi you around that day

And this is why:

We wanted grapes, we got grapes. We wanted mushrooms, we got mushrooms. The driver we got was simply fabulous. Lavender Forest was smacked in the middle of the forest and had to drive great distance (45mins) to into. Thank goodness for the purple markings on each lamp post that led us there seamlessly.

We were greeted by the sweet scent of lavender floating around us like butterflies. As we strolled on, we found the field of lavenders. Snap, snap, snap we went and pressed on uphill and found the wishing tree. All I can say is, May my wishes come true...including my mom & aunt's.

Redeemed our entrance coupons with their home-made lavender ice-cream after and went frenzy in their souvenir shop. I swear the scent of lavender was a spell they concocted to make us spend about near $200 (?!) in there.

On the other side of the mountain (another 45 mins), we arrived at Guguan where the mother of all hot springs were concentrated at. On the way there, we learned that they was a flood a few years back that washed off most of the living residents there. What is left now is just a huge valley.

Did you know that one of the hot springs there has earned itself a reputation as the Meiji Hot spring? These hot springs were developed during the Japanese occupations (1895-1945), and it was known that the Japanese Emperor had impregnated his wife with a son after a soak in the hot spring there. Thus in Taiwan, it is also known as the 'Male Child Springs'.

So anyway, we had difficulty deciding on one from the twenty over choices there till we saw Bali Nature Spa. It was very. . . erm Bali. Very Singaporean indeed, go to where you find most familiar.

Well at least with 400NT(~$16) we had a decent changing room (that has a powder room too, whee!) and 2 hot spring pools to choose from. There were barely 10 people around, including us. So it feel pretty private and the weather was very giving as well. Overall, we had a nice soak but the elders just couldn't comprehend the meaning of soaking for not more than 15 mins (BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MAKE YOU DIZZY AND YOU MAY FAINT FROM IT-like told them 98374823978923 times over). Oh well...

Btw, I don't understand the presence of the super hot spring (like 45 degrees) and the super cold ones. Why do people dip in these extreme pools for?

Anyway, before we could faint from over-soaking, we were starving as we had totally skipped lunch. Thanks to Driver He, we were speeding our way to Mei Nung Hakka Restaurant and had the most divine cuisine of the trip.

This dish was awesome, because I do not like salted eggs at all. So when Aunt Chris ordered it, I would try it anyhow... and I did not regret my choice! It was such a perfect combination - who would expect? It does help with the succulent prawns and my love for veggies :)

Its a pity I din get a shot of another veggie dish we ordered. It was done almost like Japanese style - cold, with fish roes, and sesame seeds. Kinda made me wonder if it was authentic, but what the heck, its was delish.

After the meal, I was so satisfied that I turned to my aunt and said, "Ok, I can marry A now, I love Hakka food."

:D

Lavender Cottage, Taichung: 20, Jong Xing (Jung Shing) St., Jonghe Village, Xinshe Township
Operating Hours: 10:30-6:30(Mon-Fri); 10-7(Sat); 9:30-6:30(Sun)
How to get there: Hire Driver He or check their site
Note: there are about 4 branches in Taiwan

Bali Nature Spa:No. 10, Wenquan Lane, Sec. 1, Dongguan Rd., Heping Township, Taichung County
Contact: 04-25951998
Web: www.villa-spa.com.tw (Chinese site)
How to get there: Cab!!

Mei Nung Hakka Restaurant: No. 137 Dadun 12th St. Nantun District
Contact: 04-23105131
How to get there: Cab (still)