Water from the earth

I would have liked to know more about the Beinan tribe, but our arrival on a weekday meant that the usual exhibitions and traditional dancing are not on show. Life of the aboriginese people have adapted to modern tourist demands.

I saw a few darker skinned men and women sitting by the lake, eating lunch. They talked in an incomprehensible language. By their dirtied clothes, and safety helmets, you could tell they were construction workers. Most aborigines have left their traditional villages and ways of life, and integrated into greater society...also meaning they have joined the capitalist system governed by markets and money. Some have joined the tourism industry, to become bellboys, or waiters. You can tell them apart from the Taiwanese, by their darker skin, facial features (bigger eyes and higher cheeks), as well as their name plates. Whereas most Taiwanese have three-character names, the aboriginese have four or more characters. Some have adapted their names to sound more Taiwanese. A famous aborigines from the area is the female Mando-pop (Mandarin pop music) singer Zhang Hui-Mei (張惠妹 or commonly known as A-mei 阿妹), whose songs are known throughout the Mandarin-speaking world.

Instead, our short stay revolved around bathing. The hot spring in the area is odourless and colourless, and has healing abilities against many diseases. Before the invasion of modern life and lures (such as cigrettes and alcohol) aboriginese usually live to over a hundred years old. Indeed, compared to other hot springs I've been to, the water was clear and really hot (so much so on the pavements there are pools where you can boil eggs and other things to eat). Sitting in it, you immediately see bubbles forming around your skin. Differnt streams of water, each at different pressures, are there for you to massage your body. After ten minutes or so, you're supposed to get up and replenish yourtself with cold water. I once unknowingly sat in a hot spring pool for half and hour and nearly fainted afterwards.