Farewell

I can't believe it's not: 7-11

Dog Training

If you own a dog in Taiwan, you will have to train it to ride on your scooter.

I parked my bike one night and this guy wanted to go for a ride

Green Island

Here's my belated photo-essay from Green Island.
It ranks among my top place to see in Taiwan.

I'm going to focus here on the natural beauty of the place,
and too much on our endeavours,
or the events that led to Roisin's injuries.

These are some of my favourite signs

The beaches are not all that great for swimming
but once you get past the rocks the fish are awesome.

Oh deer! Does anyone else see anything wrong with this?

And here some more pics of those crazy guys out "snorkelling"

Foguanshan

This is a big temple, about half an hours drive out of Kaohsiung.

If you drive out towards Maolin National Park, you won't be able to miss the giant golden statue on the hill:



It would be easy to spend a whole day wandering around but we did the shortened tour on a Saturday afternoon.

Must see-s include the Gates:



Off to one side there's a weird tunnel walkway explaining the path to enlightenment, the Buddhist deities and the original cast of the temple:



Then head onto the main temple:


where you'll find three giant golden Buddha statues:



The room is lined with thousands of tiny Buddha statues:


It's really quite impressive:


Then head over to check out the view at the big Buddha statue that looks out over the country side:



An guess what, there's a few more Buddha statues:


I'm sure there's more going on than just statues. There's some great gardens and it looked as if they run retreats for foreigners as well.

So, if you've got some spare time around Kaohsiung county, check out Foguanshan. It's worth a visit.

Funky Frog Food

I've just got back from dinner with my students and had an experience that has to be shared.

These students, over the past month, have taken great pleasure in shouting me "2nd dinner" after class. They are always ordering stuff they think will make my stomach turn.

So far I have consistently disappointed them, by eating what ever they put in front of me.

The first week it was pig's blood pudding. That was nothing, it tastes a bit like liver.

Photo from Jas

The next week it was "four gods soup". Apparently all four gods take the form of intestines. Bah humbug, I had plenty of that in Thailand. They say it's good for you but it tastes as good as it sounds.

It was served as a side dish to a collection of delicacies including pig skin. I'm quite fond of pig skin - usually roasted and glazed with brown sugar; also known as "crackling". This pig skin however, seemed to have been boiled and reminded me of undercooked crackling. It was fine, the little hairs threw me a little though.

This week though it was frog. The direct translation from Taiwanese is "field chicken" which is pretty accurate, it tasted a lot like chicken.

It was just looking at the leg, dangling from the end of my chopsticks, that made me feel a bit cautious. All I could think of was "Kermit the Frog". The skin had this amazing colour: black with grey spots.

It was so... frog like.
You get that I suppose.

Anyway, it was another string to my culinary bow.
You never know until you give it a go.

Well, I have,
and if you don't want to:
the answer is - it tastes like chicken.

Quite tasty really.


Photo from here

Dragon Boat 08

Last year I gave you some background on the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival.

This year, we've gone one better and can report from the inside, as a rower in a dragon boat team.

Getting it organised was easier said than done, our team were all foreigners, who are notoriously alcoholic and unreliable. Fortunately we had Rose to get it all together.

TECHNIQUE:
There are two types of dragon boat: one small and seek, the other large, cumbersome and colourful. The latter was the one we had. There are 22 people in a team with one person steering, one drumming and one to grab the flag.

First thing you need to do is get going. To do this you paddle quick, shallow and fast for twenty strokes or so. Then move into the long, deep, slow strokes, that take you to the finish. You pull with your back by leaning forward, not with your arms and in time with your team, dipping your oar as you hear the drum beat.

TRAINING:
This began two weeks before the event. Down by the river the local government set up pontoons with all the boats moored alongside and a little marquee. We had about a dozen dates booked, but because of everyone's schedules, we never had a full compliment at any one session.



All sessions were scheduled for early morning (by Xpat standards) at ten, so there were many bleary eyes and weary limbs. We soldiered on as best we could.

Our usual hour training: pull the boat out, do a start and twenty strokes then rest for about five minutes. This would be repeated three or four times, then it was time to start heading back and go out for breakfast.

COMPETITION:
There was another team of foreigners sponsored by one of the local gyms. Their training began six weeks before the race and included running, rowing machine practice and getting started in the middle of the night (6am). These guys were seriously chasing the 300, 000 NTD in prize money.

Our team was sponsored by a local bar / bbq place and we were chasing the free beer at the end of the race.

Other teams chanted: Ji-yo, Ji-yo, Ji-yo (go, go, go)

We chanted: Pe-jo, Pe-jo, Pe-jo (beer, beer, beer)

Locals would stop and take pictures as we lackadaisically dragged our boat up and down the river.



LOVE RIVER:
The event took place on Love river, which didn't get its name because it is "Lovely". Not so much a river as a sewer, into which all the storm drains of the city expel their contents.

The fist week it wasn't so bad as the weather was hot and dry. Over the weekend though, the monsoon rains came and flushed out all the drains. It stank. It stank bad!

All manner of refuse was turning up. One story has it that a team in years past saw dead pig floating downstream. One wise guy thumped it with his paddle causing the bloated, gas filled corpse to explode and cover the team with the pig's grotesque contents. Nice.

RACE DAY:
We arrived early. Coffee-ed up and ready to go. We pegged out a spot in the shade next to some old dudes who thought we were the funniest thing in Taiwan since 1949.


Some of our listed rowers could make it so we had to round up some ringers to make up the numbers, some of whom, had never been in a boat before.



We lined up, ready to race and checked out the competition: the gym team, a foreigner team from the university and a group of geriatric Japanese. We were quietly confident of coming least fourth... in a race of four.



We pulled up to the starting blocks were the officials held us on long, hooked poles while a support craft floated around scooping up rubbish from the lanes. The banks for the river were full of onlookers. There was a brief discussion about the signals to start, which were all in Chinese. Wait for the gun and hit it. Easy.


Bang!
We were off, head down, short strokes 10, 20 then long and slow. Head down. Stay in time. We pulled out ahead of the Japanese... the rest is a bit of a blur.



Surprisingly we came third with a time of 3"55'. Even more surprising was that the Uni team beat the gym team. We were half way back to the pier by the time the geriatric Japanese grabbed the flag.

DRINKING:
Onto the most important part of the day: the cases of beer that our sponsors kindly delivered. That was it, more drinking and checking out the rest of the races... or so we thought.

We soon found out that, because we didn't come last, we were listed to race again at 7.00 pm. Tragic! The only thing to do was to keep drinking, so when we finished the beer, we headed for the pub where we spent most of the afternoon.

I wandered off down by the river to have a snooze and luckily woke in time for the next race.

SECOND RACE:
It was a different atmosphere at night. The neon lit up the banks of the river and all the boats had LED lights down the side. The water was inky black, a pleasant change from the usual poo-brown.

Once again we were lined up, paddles at the ready, the gun goes off and we make a dash.

There's shouting, something is wrong, we look around.



It took a few minutes for us to work out that the tiller man from another team had fallen in the drink, forfeiting their place and a restart was demanded. The guy who fell in the river, I'm sure made a full recovery but it would have been touch and go for a while.

So we turned around and started again. Once again, we came third which is pretty good out of a field of three. What was more impressive, was our time of 3"46'. After a full day's drinking we managed to shave 9 seconds off our time.

So there is the last tip for a dragon boat team... in your preparations, make sure you spend all day drinking before the event: increased stamina, raised blood sugar levels and anaesthesia.

What more do you need?

Taiwan’s Olympics: Political Hurdles

At five am this morning an alarm went off at the National Training Center in Zouying, just north of Taiwan’s second biggest city, Kaohsiung. Nineteen-year-old Lin Man-Hsu, or Lisa in English, gets up this early every morning for two hours of training.


Lin Man-Hsu at the Hamad Aquatic Centre during the 15th Asian Games in Doha, 06 December 2006 Photo from: http://www.daylife.com/

She is at the pool by 5.30 preparing to represent her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. If she wins gold in the 200m medley, there will be no national anthem and no national flag. She won’t have won a medal for Taiwan; instead she will have competed for a team called “Chinese Taipei”.

“I don’t like that”, says Lisa who has been swimming competitively since she was eight and swam at the Olympic Games in Athens and the recent World Championships in Melbourne. “I want to represent my country.”

Unfortunately, her country is Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC) which is not recognized by the United Nations (UN) and only maintains official diplomatic relations with a handful of countries.

Taiwan has been struggling for independence and it’s identity since 1949 when the ROC government retreated from the Communists who established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland.

The ruling Ku Min Tang (KMT) moved to Taiwan and claimed sovereignty over the whole of China and vowed one day to return to claim its place as the rightful government.

That day never came. During the cold war years, both the PRC and ROC maintained a “One-China” policy, both claiming to be the legitimate government of Taiwan and Mainland China.

The international community supported the ROC until the period of “Détente” in 1971 when they lost their seat on the United Nations to the PRC.

Taiwan, ROC has been a political outcast ever since. Most countries refer to Taiwan, POC (Province of China).

The PRC moved to peacefully unify with Taiwan in 1979. Taiwan responded with “three no’s”: no contact, no negotiation, and no compromise.

The KMT ruled Taiwan as a dictatorship until the 1980’s when the country went through a period of economic and social liberalisation culminating in the lifting of martial law in 1987 and first presidential elections in 1996.

In 1990 the National Unification Council was established in Taiwan and issued guidelines for unification: China must democratize. The Democratic People’s Party (DPP), which was elected in 2000, abolished the council as part of their platform based on Taiwanese independence.

After the election earlier this year the KMT will return to power, promising closer relations with the mainland and greater economic prosperity. Today in Taipei you will still see large banners declaring “UN for Taiwan, Peace Forever”.

The election was held in conjunction with a referendum that asked if the people wanted to join the UN under the name “Taiwan”. It failed to gain a majority.

Regardless, the PRC insists that Taiwan’s efforts for independence will be in vain. September 2007 marked the fifteenth consecutive year the UN General Assembly refused to take up the matter of Taiwan’s membership.

China’s UN representative said that no sovereign state would allow one of its regions to apply for membership in the Assembly.

“We will never allow anyone to attempt to separate China,” he said and called for the Assembly to abide by the UN Charter, particularly regarding respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.

Back in 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao set out a four-point plan for unification: “One-China”, peaceful unification, hope for the Taiwanese people and never to accept Taiwan’s independence.

What does this mean for the identity of the 23 million Taiwanese people? Amy Liu from The Centre, a cross-cultural training organisation in Taipei explains: “There are several groups of people who came to Taiwan,” she said.

“We can divide them into two major groups. Eighty-five per cent of people were here before 1949. Those that came after 1949 are who we call new-comers” she said. “Both groups feel they are Taiwanese.”

“You need to look at how long they have been in Taiwan.” she said. “There are people who came after 1624, they have been here for 9 or 10 generations, those are the Taiwanese-Taiwanese.”

“If you look at the people who came in the 1900’s, and may have only been here for 3 or 4 generations, they may feel we can be a part of China.”

She said that all Taiwanese people, regardless of their political background would like to win a gold medal for Taiwan and “we are all pretty united in that”.

“We’re helpless; we can’t really do anything because ever since Taiwan lost its seat in the UN, the Taiwan name is not allowed to be seen.”

In 1979 the National Olympic Committee of Taiwan changed its name to National Olympic Committee of Chinese Taipei (NOCCT). It adopted the Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag which consists of the NOCCT emblem on white background which has been used officially since the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag

This symbol is not recognised by some international media organisations which used the ROC flag in 2004 Athens Olympics.

Both the PRC and ROC agreed to use the name “Chinese Taipei”. The translation of the term is ambiguous in English. It could mean “The Chinese State” Zhonggau or Zhonghau meaning “Chinese culture or ethnicity”. This ambiguity suits both sides.

Other organisations however, have started to use the name Chinese Taipei, including the Lions Club and the Miss Universe pageant, and even some international airports.

For the Beijing Olympics however, China has been changing Taiwan’s Olympic position from Chinese Taipei to Taipei, China.

Taiwan was originally invited to join the Olympic Torch Relay but China insisted that the name Taiwan, the ROC flag and anthem should not been seen during its visit. Taiwan declined the invitation.

“Taiwan’s status as an independent sovereign state would be degraded if the Olympic flame travels to Hong Kong via Taipei and exit Taipei through third party countries” said Mr. Tsai Chen-wei, chairman of the NOCCT in a letter to the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games (BOCOG) in April 2007.

When Lisa was asked what she thought about not being able to show the ROC flag at the Olympics she said, “I feel bad, but it’s the politics”.

“I don’t think they [politics and sport] are related”, she said “but really they are.”

International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) “Fundamental Principles of Olympism” begin with: “Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

These “universal fundamental ethical principles” have often created conflict between members of the Olympic community.

Hitler refused to give Jesse Owens his medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In Mexico in 1968 black US athletes gave the “Black Power” salute to highlight discrimination at home.

Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games From: http://www.learningcommons.org

Rule 51.3 of the Olympic Charter provides that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or areas".

At a news conference in Beijing in April this year, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu, said: “I believe IOC officials support the Beijing Olympics and adherence to the Olympic charter of not bringing in any irrelevant political factors.”

This was in response to the IOC President Jacques Rogge who said, "A person's ability to express his or her opinion is a basic human right and as such does not need to have a specific clause in the Olympic Charter because its place is implicit".

"But we do ask that there is no propaganda nor demonstrations at Olympic Games venues for the very good and simple reason that we have 205 countries and territories represented, many of whom are in conflict, and the Games are not the place to take political nor religious stances.", said Mr. Rogge.

Although Lisa will not be able to make any political statements at the games, she will be representing a country that is beginning to have closer ties with the PRC economically and socially if not politically.

At least 30 000 Taiwanese companies have factories in China; Taiwanese firms have invested $2.14bn on the mainland, according to Chinese government figures.

China's annual trade with Taiwan grew 18% to $107.8bn last year and China imported $87bn worth of goods from Taiwan, up 16.6% on the year before.

“Everyone wants a part of China, even the Taiwanese” said Amy Liu from The Centre. “Taiwanese these days are really looking at how they will benefit more.”

Cultural ties are becoming stronger too. Since the change of government in Taiwan, the Honorary Chairman of the incoming KMT, Lien Chan visited President Hu in Beijing who pledged to continue working for the peace and well-being for people on both sides of the Taiwan Straight.

The first charter flights in 56 years also started in 2005 during Chinese holidays. Taiwanese people made more than four million visits to China last year while more than 200,000 mainland Chinese visited Taiwan according to a Chinese government spokesman.

However, China is a long way from meeting Taiwan’s original conditions for unification: democratization.

The similarities between Taiwan and Tibet’s struggles for independence are not lost on Amy Liu. “The five million people who voted for Green (DPP) want Taiwan to stay Taiwan”, she said. “They are the ones who identify more with Tibet, the feeling that we must have our identity, that we are not part of somebody else.”

She said that both Tibetans and Taiwanese are hungry to prove to the world that they are different from people in China. The majority of people in Taiwan however, voted for Blue (KMT) which shows people are more interested in what will benefit the economy more.

The recent events in Tibet have not supported the July 2001 statements from the Vice-President of the BOCOG Liu Jingmin, who said that allowing Beijing to host the Games would “help the development of human rights".

A police officer detains a pro-Tibet demonstrator along the route of the Olympic Torch in London, England, 06 April 2008. From: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/uk/

A statement that IOC President Rogge reminded the Chinese government at a press conference earlier this year saying, “We definitely ask China to respect this moral engagement.”

China has a long history of neglecting its obligations to international agreements. It signed the Vienna Declaration in 1993 which would ensure the Tibetan minority could exercise all human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination.

According to Amnesty International more than 1.25 million people have been displaced in Beijing to make way for urban developments and Olympic venues. This contravenes Article 11 of the UN’s International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which China ratified in 1966.

Chinese officials also promised “complete media freedom” in 2001, but since then we have seen the media excluded from Tibet.

The US based Committee to Protect Journalists has branded China “the world’s leading jailer of journalists” and Reporters Without Borders claims foreign news media based in China have been getting threatening email and phone messages in the run up to the games.

Media exclusion is not confined to the foreign media but even more so to its citizens. Cartoon police icons warn many of China’s 210 million internet users to stay away from “illegal” websites.

The “Great Firewall of China” is believed to be the most extensive, technologically sophisticated and broad-reaching system of internet filtering in the world according to Human Rights Watch with a 30 000-strong police force monitoring online activities.

Despite the breaches of China’s international obligations, Amnesty International still sees positive changes, such as a reform of the death penalty system and increased freedom for foreign journalists.

Human rights in China still have a long way to go to meet those in Taiwan and the world is paying attention. List of foreign leaders vowing to boycott the opening ceremony is growing.

It began with Prince Charles in January and then spread across Europe with Czech Republic President Klaus, Polish Prime Minister Tusk, Estonian President Ilves in March and then Czech Prime Minister Topolanek in April.

By the end of the month the list grew to include: British Prime Minister Brown, German Chancellor Merkel, French President Sarkozy, Canadian Prime Minister Harper and even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

United States President Bush and Australian Prime Minister Rudd plan to attend however, citing that the games should not be politicized.

Boycotting the Olympics for political reasons is not a new phenomenon. In 1980 the US missed the Moscow Games over the soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In retaliation Soviet countries stayed at home for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Taiwan may have more reason than anyone else to Boycott the Games but Amy Liu doubts that this would ever happen. “If the Green (DPP) party were still in office, it would be more likely”, she said. “Taiwanese just want to be able to participate in the Olympics.”

“We would be very proud to have the opportunity to go to the Olympics. It’s a world event and we want people to understand that we are worldly”, she said. “If we can enter, it’s still a chance for asserting that we are a separate place from China.”

Boycotting the Beijing Olympics has not been confined to politicians. In February 2008, US director Spielberg pulled out of his role as advisor to the opening ceremony over the Chinese government's involvement in the war in Darfur.

Leading German athlete Yvonne Bönisch, winner of a gold medal in judo in the 2004 Olympics, also has said she wouldn’t be attending the opening ceremony.

When Lisa was asked if she thought these boycotts were a good idea she said, “I don’t know, I think athletes have the right to compete.”

When asked about how she felt about the Olympic Torch not coming to Taiwan she said, “I thought it was... I don’t watch TV”.

The torch relay, which was introduced at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to showcase the achievements of the Third Reich, is proving problematic for the BOCOG.

From: http://www.currybet.net/

The BOCOG planned it to be the longest torch relay ever (including Tibet and Taiwan). It was billed as a "journey of harmony"; however the flame has met protests from Human Rights groups around the world.

Whether the protests or the games themselves will have any lasting impact in China is yet to be seen. Amy Liu is pessimistic. “Personally I think it’s a surface kind of thing”, she said.

“China is going to present its best at the Olympics in 2008 as any country would try and look good, but will that continue, will people be more liberal, will people be up to that international level that they are trying to create? I think it takes time.”

“The Chinese who are actually connected to the Olympics may benefit but it’s probably not influencing the majority of the population’, she said.

The Olympics may not bring the promised benefits to the Chinese people nor mend bridges across the Taiwan Straight but the people of Taiwan seem happy to compete under any name.

“If we get a gold medal for Chinese Taipei we will know that it was someone from Taiwan”, said Amy Liu.

Lin Man-Hsu at the Hamad Aquatic Centre during the 15th Asian Games in Doha, 06 December 2006 Photo from: http://www.daylife.com/

Meanwhile, Lisa still gets up at 5 am. When asked if she thought the Olympics could make the world a better place she replied, “I think sports are only games, it can’t change anything.”

“Everyone just watches the games for entertainment.”

“The most important thing is that I have to make my best time at any meet. The Olympics are just another meet.”

Daniel Lee -Mamals

We were up in Tainan, on the weekend. It's the next town north of Kaohsiung.

We were lucky enough to catch and exhabition by Daniel Lee who was born in China but raised in Taiwan.

This one was part of a 15 minute video called "origin" which showed a fish morph into a man.
http://daniellee.com/Origin.htm


Pretty creepy but interesting, none the less.

The main theme of the show was "jungle" as depicted below:

http://daniellee.com/Jungle.html

If you get a chance, check it out.

Yanshuei Firecracker Festival

When I was quite young, I was at a birthday party. At the dinner table some bastard child set off on of those damn party poppers that are shaped like a champagne bottle and shot out streamers right in my face.

Since then I’ve always had an intense and irrational response to loud bangs and explosions.

So heading to the Yanshuei Firecracker Festival might seem a bit unusual. However, it would have to be one of the best things I’ve done in Taiwan so far.

“...the county hosts a fireworks ceremony in front of the Guan Yu Temple and then circulates around the whole town for 2 days. On January 15 at 8:30 pm, the Yanshuei fireworks are gathered together and set off in the Yanshuei High School playground.”

-Tainan County Government Website

On the spur of the moment we decided to take the car up the expressway to the north of Tainan County for the fireworks festival. It was something distinctly Taiwanese and something you would not be able to do anywhere else in the world.

“It is said that the Yanshuei Fireworks started in July and August of the Guangsyu Emperor’s 11th year. Cholera was widespread in Yanshuei at that time. Because pre-modern medical care was inadequate, many people died. Residents were panic-stricken and prayed to the Guan Yu divinity to save them.”

In preparation we gathered the necessary safety wear.

“Though the Yanshuei Fireworks sometimes damages property and hurts people, this is not a good reason to ban this traditional folk activity.”

We found parking at an exorbitant price and wondered which way to go.

Follow the guys with helmets.

At 7.45 we passed through a road block and followed the crowds. We passed vendors and market stalls. The helmet, gloves and safety glasses merchants were doing a brisk trade.

As we passed, locals were setting the mood, launching fireworks outside their houses. The pedestrian traffic passed by without as much as blinking while I stood back fearing them ricocheting off nearby buildings.

The crowds built until we reached the main intersection between a police station and a 7-11 where thousands of people gathered in full mask motorbike helmets before a road block.

If everyone had been wearing the same colours it would have been scary, bringing back memories of riot police. As it stood however, they looked more like mismatched storm troopers at a Star Wars convention.

Levels of protection varied: from knee high children in shorts, sandals and tee shirts, young beetle nut chewers who only brought a rain jacket through to the hard core – young guys with super thick winter jackets and towels or foam padding taped to their helmets. Some chose to carry shields of clear plastic or cardboard.

We waited in the crowd about ten meters from the front to see what would happen.

The tension was building. Rockets and firecrackers were going off all over town. Bright, multi coloured, sulphurous lights casting shadows and silhouetting buildings.

“On the night of the Lantern Festival, the Guan Yu divinity ordered General Jhoucang to lead the way. The sedan chair of the divinity followed, with disciples behind it, setting off fireworks along the route. They went through the streets and alleys until dawn and drove away all the disease demons.”

At about 8.15 a giant, red float swung out from behind the road block, the tops covered with rockets the size of rolled up editions of the Sunday Times.

A huge “Wahhhhhaaooooo” came up from the crowd.

A man on top the float took off the covers and made preparations.

We looked up at the neighbouring buildings and saw faces crowed around the windows. The steps of the police station were a blanket of bike helmets.

Unfortunately my camera was running out of batteries so this is all the footage I managed to get:

What happened next was chaos.

At 8.30 some carts at the front started to rock back and forth as though possessed. There was a swak swak swak of thousands of face masks coming down on helmets.

A wave of tension and anticipation swept through the crowd.

The carts shook more violently and it was on...

It began with firecrackers

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

Then the bottle rockets fired directly out at the crowd.

swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack crack crack

I ducked as they sprayed out across the sea of helmets leaving trails of sparks.

They were coming from every where: over the tops of people’s heads, off the tops of people’s heads bouncing off buildings and scooting across the ground.

Exploding next to your head and right at your feet

The adrenalin raced, the heart pounded, screams from all directions

Then the big rockets of the top of the float went up -streaks of colour through the smoke and mist from inside the helmet’s visor.

It lasted maybe two minutes.

As soon as it stopped the crowd was on the move. The carts, maybe four or five of them, followed by an ambulance and a fire-engine moved down the street to our left. We were swept along in the crush.

One thing that Taiwanese people are good at, it’s getting ahead of the pack. There was pushing and jostling through to the next stop: a school.

We found a place in the throng and waited; maybe ten or fifteen minutes and it stared again:

Carts rocking violently

Visors snapped

“Wahhhhhaaooooo”

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack crack crack

Rockets lighting up the night sky

R caught one on the leg. That would leave a mark. Another pinged off her helmet.

I was too busy holding up small children to deflect the fiery onslaught

Then the carts, pulled by ultra protected faithful, were off again. As they passed I managed to get a peek inside, through their Perspex shields. It looked like some sort of golden deity but it was hard to make out.

We followed them up until they stopped outside a temple.

Across the street a string of fountain fireworks were lit and the sparks poured down on the crowd for about ten minutes.

All over town a myriad of coloured flowers filled the sky. Screams and plumes of smoke came other centres where attacks on the disease demons were taking place.

More carts came up from behind and joined the ones at the centre of the crowd.

We waited.

And waited

All of a sudden a behemoth float came out from a side street (I later noticed it came straight out of a temple).

“Waaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaoooooooo”

Visors slapped down, carts rocked, people began jumping from foot to foot – a practice we soon learned to stop the rockets going off up your trouser leg.

Another float came from the other end.

We were trapped.

And it was on:

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop poppop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack crack crack swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack swoop swoop crack swoop crack crack crack crack crack crack

Rockets

When the rain of fire subsided we moved closer to the point of impact.

Outside the temple a group of young guys, jacked up on adrenalin, yelled at each other over their sudden deafness. They were hyped. The backs of their ski jackets were burnt and the foam padding was hanging out.

These guys were the avant-guard – the ones standing right at the front with their backs to the wall of bottle rockets.

We managed to get up and have a look at the float:

It was about three meters tall, six meters long and two meters wide. The first two meters of its height were racks where literally thousands bottle rockets - row upon row of them, all facing directly out into the crowd.

The ground was covered with rocket refuse. Your feet didn’t even touch the ground for the spent cartridges.

There were more screams from the crowd around the city and there were more people coming in as we decided to move off and find some dinner.

Heading back the way we came, less organised fireworks displays were happening in the streets.

In the middle of the road we came across three guys who had gathered a crowd. They had a string of those red firecrackers, maybe about six meters long. The guy in the middle wrapped it around his neck. The other two held the ends out to his left and right.

They lit the end of the firecrackers. He span around.

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

Crazy bastard!

As we sat down at a street vendors stall to enjoy peppery noodles on a sizzling hotplate with a cracked egg and big lump of pork, we reflected on the experience:

Exciting more than fun but definitely a buzz

As I say, it would have to be one of the best things I’ve done in Taiwan....

...so far.