I am a tourist. so what?

There are a special breed of travelers; I would like to consider myself among them. This breed wants to experience  authenticty, finds it pleasing to just be in an ordinary part of whatever city they are so long as it is how the “locals” do it, and sniffs out culture. These aren’t necessarily unique wants while traveling, but it is almost humourous when I’ve gone to a lesser seen part of Taipei and run across another tourist they seem to become slightly distraught. It’s kind of a loss though, since I’m sure we all have a lot in common.

Hell, I seemed to experience this when I went to Elephant Mountain – one of the best views of the city. It is certainly a tourist trap. And yet, when I asked an Austrailian man to take my picture, that simple act seemed beneath him. Maybe I’m being too harsh, but I do think due to Taiwan’s ample positive characteristics for expats, I’m sure seeing an American tourist (and even taking their picture!) is low on the list, especially if the Austrailian was living here.

Despite loving to take pictures of typical style apartments, scooters and local dishes, going to a tourist destination is not certainly not beneath me. And I’m not ashamed to say I have a lot of fun at these places. There is a reason why certain spots attract people like bees to a hive. One of them being the Beitou hot springs – my most recent destination here in Taiwan. I wasn’t completely sure what to expect, but if in me saying natural hot springs you assume a rock-filled jacuzi heated by nature, you’re spot on. I dipped my toes in the hot spring, despite the outside temperature climbing above 75 farenheit. I was actually the only white person there and one of the few females. I sunk deeper in the water and cautiously observed the crowd of mainly older men.

 

After I hopped out of the spring I went to the thermal valley. Sipping on a passionfruit tea juice and walking alongside billowing steam, my body felt rejuivenated and relaxed. Taiwan’s weather has done wonders for my previously eczma-ridden skin. It’s hard to believe I have less than a week left now.