Hot Springs and the Passage of Time: A Quiet Afternoon in Beitou

Tonight, I will stay at the elegant and historic Grand Hotel Taipei, a majestic palace-style building that stands as one of Taipei's iconic landmarks. Today, I chose a leisurely pace and visited the Beitou Hot Spring Museum, immersing my soul in a cultural bath. The former bathhouse has been transformed into a cultural exhibition hall, where Japanese wooden structures coexist with Roman-style arches. The creaking floor seems to whisper stories of the past. Inside, exhibits showcase the evolution of hot spring culture, old photographs, and the original bath pools, offering a glimpse into the aesthetics of life through bathing. In the afternoon, sunlight filters through the paper sliding doors, accompanied by a cup of hot tea and the lush greenery outside, leaving only the sound of the springs in the quiet. Returning to the Grand Hotel, a walk through the long corridors of the staircase further reveals the beauty of history, as gentle and understated as the warmth of a hot spring.