Porthole

Soaking...

30DBC: Write about something ordinary that brought you unexpected joy.

A hot bath...

Odd choice? Yep. My mind is toast... fried... mush...

It's rainy, foggy, chill, slippery. All I want to do is sit in a onsen and soak.

I should take a hot shower before heading off.

There is no bathtub here. There rarely are in hostels or even hotels. Nothing against showers... unless they are cold... don't like cold water.

I remember the joy of finding a bathtub in a place I stayed in Alcobaça, Portugal about 5 years ago. There's something about steam, the fragrance, the muscles beginning to relax as heat seeks the core of my being.

I soaked.

At home I'll wait until the water cools, drain it, then refill it with hot water. I imagine I did that then as well. Along with the wisteria, the monastery, the side trip to Nazare and Sitio (eating percebes) that's what I remember most.

Other times? Well, there was that onsen inside the hostel in Beppu and the walk-in tub in Fukuoka... but Japan is a culture of clean water and tubs of hot water.

Maybe when I travel to Tainan (the old Japanese capital of Taiwan)? The place where I'll stay again has a tub.

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