Fish Food

A three hour drive from Shanghai and it is a relief to get out of the concrete jungle that is the main city. Not having experienced a hot spring - I failed to venture to an Onsen in my trips Japan - it was something I was curious about and Tianmu lake was the destination. Before the trip, I had to organise some swimming trunks, as this particular hot spring was not au naturel.

Not unlike cows in a prodding yard, men and women are separated upon arrival to the hot spring, where a multitude of attendants usher you through the maze of change rooms to your locker which matches a plastic wristband which acts as a magnetic contact key. Hence one of my curiosities of how you secure your belongings while wallowing in some hot water was solved - eg not a traditional door key.

Imagining large pools where people congregated, I was surprised with the layout, where around 50 small pools peppered the landscape. There were a variety of different pools, ranging in temperature (up to 52 degrees) and content, - which I'll touch on later - while budgie smugglers made unwelcome appearances throughout. Sitting in the hot spring, it certainly was relaxing and if it were devoid of people, I could get a lot of thinking done, on what exactly I'm not sure.

Walking throughout the resort and going from hot spring to hot spring, there were some interesting varieties, including one filled with beer (a waste I say, but didn't dare take a sip), lavender and by far the strangest was fish. In a cooler spring, for just 15 yuan (~$2.5aud) you could sit in a pool where little fish nibbled away at your dead skin. Be sure to keep you head above water, so as not to swallow fish excrement, while those who opted for budgie smugglers rested easy as the little fish could not venture into unwanted territory. It's a strange feeling to have fish nibble away at parts of your body, and regardless of whether or not I got any benefit or just provided some fish food it was a unique experience.


As Golden Week in China ends, - three days of public holidays followed by some well timed annual leave - it's a shame that I managed to catch a cold and been stuck watching some atrocitious acting and lines from War of the Worlds instead of venturing around town. However, I did stumble across a great service here, where a delivery company for just $2.5aud, arranges ordering, pickup and delivery of your chosen food from participating restaurants. Eg you have a hankering for a local Japanese place? Log onto the delivery service website which replicates the restaurant's menu, select your order and presto, it's delivered with no fuss. It saves worrying if the restaurant can understand English, while also provides an easy way to sample a variety of restaurants.