Taipei, Taiwan — Travel can lead you to shedding your inhibitions and as I found out, sometimes even your clothes. Taiwan is one of the world’s top destinations for hot springs. The water in these springs are rich in minerals that are supposed to be beneficial for everything from sore muscles to healing broken bones.

They say that in order to fully benefit from the healing effects of the water you must completely shed your clothes. There are separate facilities for both men and women. It has been a long time since high school gym class, I feel uncomfortable. I enter the facilities and there are about 20 fully naked Japanese tourists and local Taiwanese men walking around and showing no signs of inhibition.

I shed my clothing. There are three pools.  After showering, I go for the least crowded pool and much to my surprise–I discover it is also the hottest one. Yes it hurts at first, but my body adjusts to the water temperature. I move to another pool. This one is luke warm and very relaxing. The nice thing about this pool is that it has shower heads which when turned on shoot out a powerful stream of water, kind of like a fire hose. The water feels like a nice massage on my sore back.

After about an hour, I get out of the pool and change back into my clothes. I don’t know if all the claims about the healing benefits of the water are true, but I feel better and relaxed. Hot springs are something I could get used to on a regular basis.

For years now friends have been telling me to visit Taiwan. Until now, I’ve never gotten closer than the airport. Now after four days of navigating the city of Taipei and it’s surroundings. Here’s what I’ve discovered.

Best time to day visit: It’s January and it’s cool and raining.  The low season. It’s also right before the Chinese New Year holiday, so there are no big crowds which makes me happy. I suppose anytime would be a good time to visit though.

Getting around: The MRT light rail is fast and efficient. Best way to get around. Buy an Easy Card you can use it to tap when you get on or off it’s cheaper than paying a regular fare. You can reload the card when it gets low. Most of you would get this except for people from LA who insist on driving everywhere in their cars. For them this would be like rocket science.

Night Markets: There are several around the city. This is where you can try all the great street food like stinky tofu, Taiwanese fried chicken and my favorite–the oyster omelet. The two I’ve visited so far are The Ningxia and Shilin Night Markets.

Taipei 101: The world’s 5th tallest building and fastest elevator can reach speeds up to 1,010 meters per minute. You can visit the observatory on the 89th floor and eat at the excellent food court on the basement level.

Maokong Gondola: Located near The Taipei Zoo  this my favorite thing to do so far. Amazing gondola ride up the Zhinan River Valley. This was once Taiwan’s biggest tea growing region. Best of all you can use your Easy Card on the gondola ride.

Finally take your time and enjoy this place. Don’t try to do everything. There is no way you can cram everything into your schedule and you’ll be so stressed out, you may have to shed your clothes and plunge into a hot spring too.