“Thanksgiving, like contentment, is a learned attribute. The person who hasn’t learned to be content…lives with the delusion he deserves more or something better”
~Robert Flatt
When I was growing up, my family always spent Thanksgiving in the mountains. An American holiday that commemorates the English Pilgrims’ settlement in North America and has evolved to become a traditional day of family gathering around a big meal, my parents and I always drove north, to White River Junction, Vermont, to celebrate. Passing barns and popping our ears as we headed uphill to my aunt, uncle, and cousin’s house, we’d spend the day in their cozy house, catching up, watching TV specials (and football!), sneaking in on poker games, and watching a light snowfall outside. It always marks the start of my favorite time of year-the month leading up to Christmas. And since I find Christmas Day anticlimactic but love everything about the Christmas season (music, movies, decorations, Starbucks red cups-I’m a Christmas fool!), I like Thanksgiving Day more than Christmas Day.
So being away from home for my second Thanksgiving is hard. I spent Thanksgiving Day in London last year, and despite going to three dinners and a wine tasting that week-aka, ironically celebrating Christmas in England more than I do in the States!-that day was tough. Today began on a hard note as well; I was sad as I went to bed last night, just wanting to be home despite the amazing opportunity here for me in Taiwan. I knew I’d need to do something great in order to remember what I have rather than focus on what I’m missing. So that’s what I did.
Pretty flowers in Beitou, where I stopped before heading on to Xinbeitou
During my meeting with the NYC yesterday, Gaëlle, one of the staff members, said that the Beitou District, the northernmost of Taipei City’s 12 regions, is accessible by MRT (Taiwan’s own, admirably efficient subway system). Having left today’s sightseeing up to chance, I was enticed by her description of Beitou’s hot springs and mountain views. I’ll be seeing both when I head to Chiyai and Alishan tomorrow, but with Beitou so close, I knew I had to see it. It did not disappoint.
I made a buddy in Beitou-he was looking at me as I passed by a garage and came up for some nuzzles.
A resort area with a small village feel, historic geothermal warming in the most mountainous of Taipei City’s regions means that Xinbeitou (not to be confused with Beitou; you must switch trains at Beitou station and continue on to Xinbeitou to get to the good stuff) is a nature lover’s dream. In addition to the Beitou Museum of Hot Springs, which explains how Taiwan’s location along several fault lines has created hot springs that are the center of Beitou’s reputation as a tourist getaway. To call these “public baths” popular’s an understatement; rain or shine, they are utilized-and not just by tourists.
A sign from Xinbeitou’s Museum of Hot Springs
After a walk through the Museum, I noticed a line outside a small hut. After paying 40 Taiwan New Dollars, I walked down to several hot springs available for public use! Users must shower before entering and upon leaving, but if you’ve ever visited Bath, England, picture you and 50 strangers swimming through the waters to get a picture of what this looked like! With no bathing suit (I had thought the springs would all be part of the resorts), I chose to just take a walk through. But Alishan is known for its hot springs amongst many other attractions, so I plan to take advantage of them this weekend! Even as it started to rain heavily, the bathers stayed in large amounts. Makes you wonder how crowded it gets when the sun’s out!
“I’m swimming in the rain…”
Umbrella in hand, I kept walking uphill until I came across Plum Gardens, a tiny little garden not far from the Springs. The rain meant the day was almost fully overcast, so the sun never really got to “set.” But as night came, I sat under a covered bridge by the river, listening to waterfalls. When I peeked out, the mountains-some of the best you could see-were illuminated by lights from the resorts. Even a world away, it isn’t Thanksgiving for me without mountains, and with more to be thankful for than I cam mention today, that was the perfect way to spend the holiday away.
Darkness falls
I never got to have the customary turkey and stuffing today. Instead, I decided to see what American chains serve here in Asia! I’m going to try to eat like the locals as much as possible; lucky for me, the locals seem to enjoy Starbucks and McDonald’s as much as I do (the latter even more so 😉 ). As I type this, I’m sipping a Green Cream Tea in Starbucks, and I know I’ll miss it back in the UK. But my favorite meal so far was my lunch. James told me yesterday that McDonald’s serves high quality chicken in Taiwan since their standards for it are so high. Upon stepping off the MRT in Beitou, the golden “M” was the first thing I saw, and having not eaten lunch, I made a dash to it. I decided on a latte, an apple (neatly sliced for me!), and finally to try the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. I’ve never been wild about McD’s, but ohhh boy…I’ll be in trouble when I leave Taiwan and have cravings for this sandwich!
Spicy McChicken and Green Cream Tea? For Thanksgiving? I’ll take it 🙂
Enjoy turkey and (American) football for me!
Lauren
"The World is a Book": My Trek Through Taiwan 