Okay, so I can, vaguely! This is the what can be seen at the underground entrance to Xi Men Ding MRT. The Harry Potter movie's brilliant, so I was delighted to see such a humungous poster of him over the entire building! Anyway, we went to Jian Tan before taking a bus up the mountain called Yang Ming Shan.
The ride was a surprisingly smooth one. It's amazing how they've managed to make the mountain so habitable. The roads were good, as compared to those in some of the mountains in Thailand or Myanmar. By the looks of the plentiful buildings which included houses, schools and shops, they also seemed to have no problem with the sloping terrain.
The only problem we had was that we didn't really know when to pay the bus fare, but the bus driver informed us! It's still kind of confusing, but I think I get it. Sometimes you pay when you get on the bus, sometimes you pay when you get off the bus!
Upon alighting at the interchange we searched for a bit of information about where we were headed. Without much ado, we made our way up the mountain. It left us gasping for breathe and the ache in our legs were intense, due to how we walked all day the day before!
Along the way we saw more senior citizens than young people. They seemed to be in good shape, running up and down like it was no challenge at all. Meanwhile, the four of us wheezed heavily going out the sleep side of the mountain, before making it to higher ground. We were rewarded with great scenery of the entire place. I'd love to return one day and go up to as many of the peaks as possible. I'm sure they're different from one another, each hiding a special secret or a unique view.
We got a little closer to wildlife when we encountered squirrels, butterflies, caterpillars and storks.
Unknowingly, we trespassed onto private property while trying to find out way out! The view was even more specracular from there! It was a small farm, and it was really an eye-opener to be in a far on the mountains. Things we learned in Geography like irrigation came alive in front of our very eyes. Thoughts of spending money to get a piece of proerpy to spend my old age there actually crossed my mind. Anyway, it was only after asking the owners of the place, who so kindly led us to the correct path and told us that we were trespassing, that we managed to walk to YMS's information counter! The lady at the counter advised us to go to Xin Bei Tou by bus, as we wanted to go to the Hot Springs.
We walked some more and soaked in the gorgeousness of a small waterfall that some passerby recommended.
Looking at this picture makes me want to go back immediately! The weather was cool and the sound of rushing water was calming. We sat there for quite awhile and took our time enjoying our surroundings as it was still some time before the bus was due to stop at the bus stop which was about 10 minutes away. I think it's probably only the second time I've ever come across a waterfall, or the first! I can't really remember but most of the time in countries like the aforementioned Thailand and also Brunei, they've got clear, rushing rivers that are so tempting to strip off and dive into. Anyway, we didn't bring extra clothes and neither was the body of water big enough for us to soak in, so after about 20 minutes we left for the bus stop.
Only to miss the freaking bus as Terence and I went to the toilet. It took a complete hour before we managed to catch a bus to bring us to Xin Bei Tou, where the promise of a Hot Spring awaited.
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