Folks, I’m about to let you in on another little secret about our blog. Well, actually, it’s hardly a secret. The reason why we first started this travel diary is not only because we wanted to show professionals they could travel while maintaining their career. It’s also because we wanted to correct the many wrongful notions and incorrect assumptions floating around the internet. The action of traveling is not about conquering. It’s not about judging the people of the country you visited. It’s not about trying to find an imaginary off-the-beaten-path. Instead, traveling is about creating memories, it’s about learning and it’s about becoming more open-minded. Take your cultural lens and remove it when you travel; that way you have a better understanding of the world around you.
With that being said, let’s break down some myths about Taiwan:
Too often, I’ve heard Taiwan referred to as “exotic.” If your definition of exotic is “of a uniquely new or experimental nature,” then sure, use that description all you want. But, the majority of the people describe it from an entitled point of view, as though those being judged are beneath them because they are “different.” There is another word for that and it’s called “racist.” You might as well just say: “look at these savages and their way of savage living, they should all bow down to me the supreme being from a more superior country.”
Now let’s talk about this concept that Taiwan is a third-world country. For the sake of this article, “third-world” is interchangeable with “developing.” When a country has a fabulous transportation system (ie: a country is nationally connected by trains that go fast…I’m looking at you, Amtrak), universal healthcare, a top-notch education system and when only 4% of the country is unemployed (per this article), then this country is not a third-world country. The United States is lacking on all four of these counts… So, it surprises me when people have this preconceived notion that places are third-world-y.
It’s even more surprising when I read some of the drivel on blogs describing these so-called “third-world” countries. The following excerpt is from a travel blogger who went to Taipei. To summarize the blog post, he or she noticed three types of people in Taiwan: The wealthy, the middle-class and the poor (…as if other countries don’t have these three class distinctions…). The blogger described the poor as follows:
The next group of people were the very poor. They also worked hard, but they had far less to work with than the other two groups. They often had their own small businesses at one of the street markets or just a table under an umbrella.by the road.
Let me tell you about these so-called “poor.” I have an aunt in-law who lives in Taiwan and who sells breakfast from her living room most of her adult life. Based on the assumptions of this particular blogger, she would be considered “poor.” However, she is the complete opposite of that. These are material possessions that she partly scrimped for and partly didn’t have the need to show off for. Even though someone may look “poor” or perhaps even working-class, it does’t mean that they are. At this point, your mind should be blown. It should completely blow your conception of “third-world” clear out of the water. It should also make you and other travelers reconsider how you view people.
Then, there’s that whole “Taiwan is like another China” thing. There may be a complicated history between the two that not every visitor will dive into in learning. Officially the world may not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country due to the iron fist of China, even thought Taiwan has its own government and democratic constitution. Taiwan is nowhere near similar to China. Taiwan preserved the friendly hospitality, good Tao ethics, written language, and evolving culture of Han Chinese from influences all over the world. On the other hand, China was busy ethnic/cultural cleansing the country for Marxism. So please don’t call it “another China.” It is like calling the United States another Britain.
As for that “off-the-beaten-path,” I can’t stress it enough, but if people live there, then it’s not “off-the-beaten-path.” People live in Taiwan. Lots of people. And the point of that phrase, which is often compared to Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, is to literally take a road that not many people take. Some people conjur up images from that literary piece-of-crap as they poetically formulate (key word here: formulate) their travel itineraries. However, when Frost stood at the precipice of two roads diverging, he didn’t choose a road that would make him “different” or “unique.” Instead, he decided over and over what his future would look like at that moment.
We’re always thinking of the “what ifs” in our actions: “What if I had majored in Biology instead of Political Science?” “what if I had worn a pink blouse instead of taupe?” No, Frost’s poem wasn’t about being different. And he most certainly didn’t try to take an alternate route because he thought he was better than the trudge-alongs on the worn path. It was about thinking about our futures and living with regret and what-ifs. So, as you “formulate” your itineraries, remember, to truly be “off-the-beaten-path” is not about going to some place you believe no one visits. It’s not even about trying to be “different” or “unique,” it’s about living with your decisions; decisions which are supposed to be made on the fly.
Did you make that itinerary on the fly? More importantly, if you’re trying to be different, why did you make an itinerary? Do you have any regrets? Are you left with what-ifs? Are there people and/or peoples’ pet-like animals in your view? If your answer to any of those is “yes,” then kindly stop with the moral superiority that [people wish] is “off-the-beaten-path” and enjoy your travels instead.
Cicheng Temple at Shilin Night MarketStay tuned for our Taiwan travel series!
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