Mark and I have had so many people comment to us that they like Taipei but they have never seen much of Taiwan. The Portuguese gave this island the name Isla Formosa, beautiful island during the 16th century. So we are trying to discover Taiwan other that the city. Don't get me wrong, the city is perfectly charming, but there are 26 million people on this island and so much more to see.

A few weeks ago, we started in Choiufen, or Joiufen. As with many places, there are at least two ways to spell the name. It can be confusing. Well Joiufen is a small town up on a mountain near the north coast, that originally became famous for its gold mining. The mines are shut down now and the town has become known for its tea houses and artist galleries. It was a fun place. We did a little shopping and had a tea tasting but didn't see the gold mines. The North Coast as you could see is very rugged and the surf was substantial. Joiufen isn't a big town but we estimated that there had to be 100,000 people tucked into the little valleys and vales on the side of the mountain.

Last weekend we went to the hot springs in Beitou (Peitou). Well we really didn't leave the city, just went up the side of Yangmingshan Mountain a little way. The springs are naturally hot 40C to 47C and sulphurous. We saw the public bathhouses (No nude bathing because of the mixed sexes) and toured the first bath house that the Japanese built during their occupation for the residents of Taiwan. But to experience a hot spring you have to get in so we went to a spa and rented a private bath house. There were two springs, One was hot (45C) and acidic (ph 4.5)water from the sulphur. The other was hotter and even more acidic. I thought that it would peel the skin right off but we got use to the water and it was actually a very pleasant experience.

This weekend, we visited the Taipei Zoo. It is also built on a mountain side. It is probably the loveliest zoo I have been to. The quality of the habitats for the animals was impressive. San Diego has more animals but this zoo had all the ones we all go to see, lions, and other big cats, elephants, giraffes, bears, penguins and monkeys. We enjoyed seeing the American bison (did they come from the ranch in Plano?) and the raccoons. We didn't go to the bird house but I heard that they have American blue jays.

Next weekend is a long weekend for Tomb sweeping day so we are taking a cross island tour for three days. We are really looking forward to seeing even more.