Anecdotes Plus: Soaking at Yi-lan (宜蘭), Taiwan

October 2011

During my trip to Yi-lan (宜蘭), sometimes it rained heavily with strong winds. On occasions this caused flooding; and once, while we were exploring the farms on foot during such a storm, the water came up to our knees. A friend had advised me to buy a rain coat and this was a very good idea; it kept me dry and warm, and it also protected my belongings against thieves. Some of my friends only had umbrellas and they got wet from head to toe.

Unfortunately, I could not keep myself dry for long. I took off my rain coat when we had lunch. I was sitting in a narrow place behind a wall. One of my friends almost upset the table as she got up, spilling a glass of warm tea onto my shorts. I was wet through and had a big wet patch on my jeans now. Luckily, it was raining so I thought people would think this was because of rain rather than other possibilities. When I stood up to show everyone my wet jeans, they laughed.

The entrance of the restaurant, Yi-lan (宜蘭), 2011.

Have you tried jellied soup (糕渣)?
Yi-lan (宜蘭), 2011.

Chef recommendation, Yi-lan (宜蘭), 2011.

We were wet and cold. We did not want to go back to our hostel but at the same time, we didn’t know what to do as a lot of the tourist attractions were closed. So we put on our swimming costumes and went to have a hot spa, where we had a nice long soak together in the warm water.