We made it a point to hit some more hot springs to heal us of our need to travel. If there’s one thing Jiaoxi has, it’s more hot springs and more friendly Taiwanians. They’re everywhere here, this place had them literally right outside the train station as well as all around the town square. We even found a restaurant with them right at the outdoor seating. At this point you should be wondering if we found hot springs everywhere or friendly Taiwanese everywhere. In the end, we found both. Yes, our legs were under the table soaking in a literally half-boiling hot spring and I couldn’t handle it. I kept having to sit sideways with my legs out of the water just to get at my food. This was endlessly entertaining to the people sitting inside facing out the window at us. And yes, right next to us was a friendly Taiwanese couple with whom we struck up a conversation. They had a new baby that was adorable. Chubby cheeks and bundled up in a little striped beanie. The man (I think his name is spelled Gou?) was really kind and offered to show us around a bit. He heard that we had a love of food worldwide (and especially in Taiwan), and you know food is the great equalizer across all cultures. What stood out though is when he started just buying things for us, like a bag of smoked duck (a delicacy of Ruisui) or the first of two epic desserts (I muscled my money into the hands of the second purveyor of fine Taiwanadian sweets after witnessing the lightning quick speed with which Gou can treat you while completing a transaction. It’s like trying to beat my Dad to the check). To be fair, I don’t think he expected anything in return – I get the impression he just genuinely wanted share his culture and acquaint us with some new experiences. They weren’t the first people to start a cold war of perfect hospitality with us (sup Beljawns!) and hopefully they won’t be the last. Who knows, maybe it’ll be us that some other traveller is blogging about meeting some day. That’s one of the best things about this trip, and especially Taiwan, meeting people who are genuinely warm and friendly, who just want to share a piece of their world when they cross paths with someone visiting from far away. We ended by introducing them to the weird green beer (we suspect it was Vincent’s since it tasted very similar and, well, the whole green algae thing) hanging out next to the hot spring in the center square. The baby got cranky, or maybe crapped itself, so they had to go take care of it. It was great to meet them. What if we hadn’t talked to them? Or what if we had talked to them but stopped at exchanging generic pleasantries? It’s amazing the things you can learn and share just by talking to the person next to you. Last time I did that I made friends for life in Belgium! But maybe I’m just lucky. Like elsewhere in Taiwan, Ruisui and Jiaoxi were great to us. It’s hard to move on sometimes but you can’t really call it a trip around the world if you just pick one place and soak till your nipples are wrinkly. That’s a metaphor. Think about it.
Vijay
[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157643309142795/
One Comment
PEOPLE who like to travel usually are friendly and like to share their culture with people of other cultures particularly if you show some interest.
Monkey island must be a fun place. you got to be careful when they are around. They will steal away any thing they can grab. I am glad Shefali let go the stuff they wanted from her. They can get violent if they think you are teasing them.
miss you two.
Bihari