In Which We Search for Dragon Boats

Last weekend was Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan. I thought we ought to watch a Dragon Boat race since it is part of the culture here. I asked a local where we should go to see the races and I thought she told me to go to Danshui. And so we did.

We rode the MRT...


...to Danshui, the end of the line. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day. (Unlike my previous visit which was cold and cloudy.)

Not knowing anything about where dragon boat races would be we decided to just walk into the main tourist area. Our plan was to enjoy our time and browse Danshui and if we found the races that would be a great bonus. (Good plan!)

We saw these set up next to the river. We hoped they had something to do with Dragon Boat Races, but we didn't know what they were.


We saw this, which has nothing to do with anything. At least nothing to do with anything related to Dragon Boat races. But I thought it was a little quirky that a picture of a British Royal Wedding was on display in the heart of Asia. And I, of course, was enthralled by the wedding, so it was necessary to take a picture.

But back to our quest.

We saw this figure all over town. I would guess he represents some god. He was handing out cookies with one hand and holding out a basket in the other. You were supposed to take the cookie and put coins in the basket. We politely declined. I am sure the funds would go toward building a new temple and we don't care to contribute to that.

We saw a cage full of Angry Birds.
The kids played carnival games.

(The first 2 blocks of the tourist area next to the river are reminiscent of a carnival or fair in America. Every stall houses either a game or a food vendor. In America the people in the game booths call out to you to come play their game while the food vendors quietly serve their food to throngs of people. Here the game booth employees were rather quiet but the food vendors all had microphones and loudspeakers and they all yelled incessantly.)

In a quieter, prettier part of town we saw a "round-about". I had to have pictures for my Dad because he loves round-abouts. Dad, you need to come to Taiwan! You could drive on a round-about!!




Back in the carnival area Eric and I decided to try a bit of something. Lots of vendors sold squid on a stick (I am not kidding) and we were obviously not about to try that. But when we saw a potato chip on a stick we thought we would give it a try.

I didn't like it. It was flavored with garlic powder and, though I am a huge fan of garlic and a fan of potato chips, for some reason the two together did not taste good to me.

We went on to a lovely riverside restaurant.

I had a coffee and ice cream beverage, the kids had ice cream sundaes and Eric had a meal. After my experience the previous weekend in Yingge I decided not to waste my money on a meal. I tried a bite of Eric's chicken dish and knew I had made the right decision.

We never did see anything hinting at Dragon Boat races.

After returning home I saw on Facebook that friends had attended races in other parts of Taipei and they posted pictures. The boats were nothing like the elaborate things I had envisioned. I am glad we spent our day wandering Danshui rather than watching a race someplace. We had a really nice day.

A Sunny Day in Yingge

I've been to Yingge 4 or 5 times in the past year. The first 3 or 4 times it was raining and cold. But on our last trip the sun was shining which made everything about the day seem wonderful.

I've probably posted a picture of this street before, but I needed another picture with BLUE SKIES!


This visit was the first time we were able to get into a restaurant we had been wanting to try. This interesting pond is at the entrance.


Everything inside was lovely, although I'm afraid I didn't capture the beauty very well. I took this photo of a curtain partition.

And I tried to photograph the table because it was so unique. It had ceramic inset at various places across the top. Fitting, since Yingge is where you go to purchase ceramics. In the middle of the table there was a large inset ceramic piece which looked rather like it should hold a tissue box.

But inside there was a a bit of water and a "frog" to display flowers.

I photographed nearly all of our food because the presentation was beautiful. As is typical in Taiwan, you get a "set" meal which includes a few courses and a drink. Our appetizers were mozzarella and tomato. Since I usually detest tomatoes I didn't expect to like it. However I decided to try it because I am usually unable to eat meat here due to the difference in preparation from what I am used to in America. To my surprise I thought it tasted quite good. I was so pleased with myself for actually eating tomatoes!

Each beverage was served on an individual little tray. Coke came in these very rustic glasses:

We let the kids order banana splits because we knew they wouldn't like any of the regular meals. They were very fancy!

We also ordered a fruit platter for the kids so that they would have something besides ice cream. Doesn't it look amazing? I thought of my Mom, who loved fruit salad for lunch. She would have loved this.

As it turned out it was a good thing I enjoyed the mozzarella and tomato because, as usual, I was unable to eat the main course. The presentation was, again, lovely, but the shrimp was cooked whole. Trying to be brave, I thought I would just cut off the head, peel and eat the body and everything would be fine. But somehow when I cut the head of I saw inside of it and... ugh. I forced myself to eat the body of one shrimp but that was all I could do. I was done.

I honestly did not mind that I was unable to eat. Everything was so beautiful that I was happy just to soak in the beauty. I would go again, although I would stick to fruit and ice cream next time!

Kids

I am trying to catch up with photos (again) but blogger is having issues with loading my photos. So here is all I have managed to load for tonight:

Over the weekend we got the kids some new "China jammies". As I've said before, they don't like having their pictures taken anymore. First I got this with grudging smiles.

Then when I asked for poses like they used to do, with Anna's arm around Ethan, they got crazy and this is what I got:

I'll try to post more interesting pictures soon.

Flower Market

The kids are off school today and Eric took the day off. The intention was for the family to visit WuLai, which I saw a couple of weeks ago. However, because it is this kind of day today:


we decided to wait until another time.

Instead, Eric and I got up fairly early (actually I got up REALLY early - 5:00 on a day off - yuck!) and we went to the flower market. (Yes, again.) I remembered my camera this time so I can give you a bit of a tour.

This is the front of the market. Every 6 feet or so is a separate vendor's stall. You cannot tell from the picture, but also every 6 feet or so there is an aisle leading inside. Each aisle is intersected by many other aisles. It goes on and on and on. I love this place.

I tried to take a picture to show the aisles, but it is fairly dark inside the market so you cannot see much.

There are many vendors selling bamboo tied up with red ribbon. I am sure it has some special significance to the Taiwanese people but I don't know what it is. Sorry! Sometime if I remember I will ask a local friend to see if I can discover the story.

There are lots of places that sell various containers, garden implements and other things necessary for growing or selling flowers. There are booths of ribbon and trinkets to stick in a vase with flowers. This market is actually a wholesale market. I do not know why the public is allowed in, but I'm sure glad we are!

There are many types of flowering outdoor plants for sale.

I haven't been there regularly enough to know how often things change, but I have been there enough to know that what is available does change. On my first trip there were several vendors selling Cosmos. I delightedly bought half a dozen of them and promptly planted them in my yard. However, that was in our brand new puppy days and the puppies ate every last Cosmos. "No problem," I thought, "I'll just buy more". Alas, I have never found more Cosmos to purchase.

On my second trip I was shocked to find Petunias. I didn't expect what I think of as an American flower in Taiwan. They have never been my favorite flower because they seem so common. When I was a child it seemed every home had Petunias in their front garden. Nevertheless, they do come in beautiful colors so I bought several. Since they don't have the ultra-fabulous Wave Petunias here I thought I would buy more on my next trip and boost the color quotient. Nope, they are gone.

What they currently have a lot of is flowering bushes. I don't want those since I don't live here permanently. (Actually I don't live anywhere permanently, but that's another story.)

It's impossible to be too disappointed though, because there are always plenty of beautiful things to choose from.

There are always orchids. Lots and lots and LOTS of orchids. They seem to grow like weeds in Taiwan. We actually bought 3 on this trip, to use as a centerpiece. It is difficult to choose which ones to purchase because there are so many beautiful varieties.

Just across from the market is this greenhouse which looks to be a stopping off point for all of the orchids. I assume they are kept here between field and flower stall.

Yesterday there were a lot of hydrangeas. I have planted two already. They were also purchased in the new-puppy days and the puppies did eat them, however they began again from the ground up and I am hoping they will be left alone this time. I love hydrangeas. They just might be my new favorite flower.

My original hope, long ago, the first reason I went to the flower market, was to purchase cut flowers. But the second I arrived and saw all of the things that could be planted outside I shifted focus and have been buying and planting, buying and planting. But today I finally decided it was time for some cut flowers to put inside the house. Once again, the task is daunting because there are so many, many beautiful choices.

In addition there are a myriad of options for greenery with which to make a beautiful arrangement. I am no good at arranging flowers so I pass on the greens and just stick some flowers in a container. But I am thinking I should look for a class while I am living here, because it seems to be one of many arts that the Taiwanese people are exceptionally good at.

And if I could find a way to incorporate these puffy things into a flower arrangement I would be thrilled.