On the sixth day, I went to Beitou! The first thing I did was head to one of the many hot spring baths in the area to book a private room for later in the afternoon. Beitou is famous for its hot springs and many locations don't take reservations in advance, so I strongly recommend going early to put your name down. I was told I'd have to wait around three hours, but that was fine by me. It gave me time to have a look around.  

If you Google "Beitou," you'll see a bunch of photos of somewhere that looks like this. 

This is the Thermal Valley. It's a small pond (but actually volcanic crater) of steaming natural sulfuric water with temperatures reaching as high as 100° C, which explains why there isn't any one wading in the water. 

The water from this pond runs under all of Beitou and provides the water for all the hot spring baths. Those with private residences in the area can even get hot spring water pumped into their homes for a monthly fee. Imagine having your own personal hot spring 24/7. Not only is it super relaxing, but it's also said to help cure long-time illnesses and have skin purifying properties

It's kind of crazy how a place like this is just a 40 minute MRT ride away from the heart of Taipei.

After a good amount of wandering and a much needed hour of relaxation in the bath, we packed up and head to Raohe St. Night Market. yes another night market.

This one actually isn't very big, but I think it took us the longest to fully get through. A word of warning to travelers, once you enter, there's really no getting out until you reach the end of the street. Maybe we went on a busy night, but this market was packed! I have never felt more like canned tuna than I did in Raohe taking tiny baby steps while shuffling in a one way semi-single filed movement. 

I suppose you can look at it as a good thing -- moving in a glacial pace really lets you experience every single booth. When you see something that strikes your fancy, you can pull over to the side and park yourself at what will no doubt be another long line. But if the line is that long, it must be something good, right?

That was totally the case here. This is the stall for hu jiao bing or black pepper buns. This is literally the first stall you will see at the entrance of the market, and the queue for this was coiled packed and spilled out the main gates. It took about 20 minutes or so to get my hands on the pork empanada type kinda thing, and I think it was pretty worth it.  

It was pretty entrancing to watch how quickly these ladies were able to stuff handfuls of meat and leeks into their doughy casings while waiting.

Ta-daaa!

Like all other Taiwanese night markets I've visited, Raohe has pretty much exactly what you're looking for...

Whether it's pepper buns or bubble tea..

or fresh oysters or shrimp..

Maybe fried chicken..?

Or an ice cream burrito sprinkled with crushed peanut powder and fresh cilantro (I don't know how, but it works!)... 

Or hand painted (HAND PAINTED!) sneakers,

or toasted mushrooms..

...there'll be a sweet old lady who'll be ready to serve it to you.