Visit Santa ┃ Rovaniemi, Finland

There is no Santa Claus in this world.

I remember Christmas Eve in kindergarten, when I saw through the Santa Claus in front of me, who was just the principal in disguise, I began to be so convinced.

The day after I left Sampa’s house, I spent 700 Taiwan dollars in the inn in Rovaniemi for 20 hours before I was willing to leave the room with the bed and continue my wandering in northern Europe.

The immediate goal is simple, hitch a ride all the way north to Norway's North Cape - the end of the world. And the task before that was to see with my own eyes the characters I never thought were real.

I set off from the inn on time at 12 noon and walked 1 km to the place where I could hire a car. Nearly two hours passed without any car stopping. The rain has been subtly falling, and the Santa Claus Village, 7 kilometers away, just needs to go.

Just a few minutes after I started the road, the rain made a joke with me, so I had to find a pavilion to shelter from the rain. After the rain subsided, I tried to hire a car on the road again. A car owner stopped, only to find that I had a lot of luggage, so he waved and drove away.

In the drizzle, carrying 25 kilograms of equipment, we walked for an hour and a half, and finally arrived at Santa Claus Village at 4:15. His old man is about to get off work.

There is a shop at the entrance of Santa Claus Village. There is a promenade in the shop, and Santa Claus stays in the room at the end of the promenade, waiting for the arrival of tourists.

The two tourists in front of me opened the door implicitly, greeted Santa Claus, and left in a hurry without entering.

I carried my luggage and walked into the room silently.

"What's your name?" Santa asked.

"My name is Naoki."

"Oh, so you're from Japan?" Santa wondered.

"No, I'm from Taiwan."

"Oh, Taiwan, is that Taipei?" Santa Claus said without thinking.

"Yes, you know Taipei?" My eyes lit up.

"Yes, I also know Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi." Santa Claus said like a treasure. Santa Claus is so familiar with Taiwan's counties and cities that he can even speak some Japanese and Chinese. A very knowledgeable and wise man.

"So you're traveling now?" Santa continued.

"Yes, I'm traveling around the world, starting in Vietnam and going through 8 countries all the way to Finland."

"Did you hitch a ride here?"

"Yes, but I couldn't get a ride in Rovaniemi today, so I came from Rovaniemi today."

"You have a tent and cushions on your backpack. It looks like you are camping outside." Santa Claus really knows how to find topics.

"Yes, and I also use couchsurfing."

"You are a special traveler, I have to give you a little gift, come, let's take a photo!" Santa smiled.

"Ah, Santa, I'm sorry, but I probably can't afford 30 euros." I checked before I came, I took a photo with Santa, and I had to pay 30 euros to get the developed photo.

"It's okay, this is a present I want to give you. Do you also have a computer? We also have an electronic file for you."

"Can I sing to you?" I said.

"Of course! I'd love to." Santa smiled warmly.

I quickly got my guitar and harmonica ready, and after a hasty tuning, I sang Norwegian wood. Santa Claus clapped his beats hilariously. After singing, I sent a Taiwanese postcard to Santa. After I gave him the card, when I shook hands with him, I found that his hands were really big and thick.

"How old are you this year?" I couldn't help wondering.

"Oh, I'm almost 400 years old." He smiled lightly.

There was no sense in his eyes that he was lying, and there was no hesitation in answering. Really dedicated great actor. During the performance, the beautiful elf helped me record and take pictures, and finally gave me the developed photos together with the electronic file. In addition, I also asked me to pick two postcards to take away. I did a careful calculation, and I probably got it A gift with an asking price of nearly NT$2,500.

The only ten minutes of communication seemed like a dream. I was very happy to chat with him. I didn't expect to receive a gift. It is indeed the king who is loved by children. I packed my luggage in the small space next to me, and then four men came in, and Santa Claus also warmly greeted them to take pictures together, and then gave them a discount, but a printed photo was still priced at 15 euros, and I secretly snickered, He walked out of the room smiling. After leaving the room, I asked passers-by to take pictures for me at the nearby Arctic Circle line, and then continued to hitch a ride on the circuit. The car stopped within five minutes of waving, and when I asked the other party's destination, it was my destination today - Ivalo.

Santa's aura is too strong.

I hitchhiked for nearly three hours to a small town 270 kilometers away, went to a nearby restaurant to eat pizza, and finally, because of the rain, I pitched my tent under a conspicuous but unmanned bus booth. In the still bright night, I slowly chewed on what happened today.

There is no Santa Claus in this world.

I take this sentence back.