Monday, June 09, 2008

Dragon Boat Festival 2008

Catherine & I headed over to Dajia Riverside Park for the annual Dragon Boat Festival (端午节). We took the MRT to the Yuanshan station and headed to a part of the city that we have yet to explore. The bus situation was a bit questionable so we jumped in a taxi and NT$100 later, we arrived at the park.

It was overcast and toasty warm early in the day. The photos below are evidence of the gray tones. It took us several minutes to get to the area where the races were taking place, a big park!

On our way to the festivities, we both agreed that we don't check out enough cultural activities in Taiwan and vowed to work to change that.

We had a great time and I hope you enjoy these photos of our day.

Ready to brave the muggy day at the park.

The celebration from a distance.

This is the dragon display at the entrance.

My sweetie pie.

I, reluctantly, posed for several photos. She is so photogenic. I, on the other hand, think photos do little more than accentuate my not-so-encouraging hairline...lol.


Off to the races! The boats were pretty far from the shore so good shots were tough to get.

Watching the rowers and seeing how long a race lasts gave me an appreciation for the athleticism of the teams.


Most of the races were closely contested.

A victorious team returning to shore. The TV cameras were busily interviewing many of the participants.

A cool look at the intricacy of the boat design.

The female teams garnered a lot of excitement and attention from the media.

Not sure what belly dancing has to do with dragon boat racing, but they were nice to look at.


Another fun day with Catherine. It turned out to be a rain-soaked afternoon but we managed to see the sights regardless. Next year I plan on getting a better spot on the shoreline in order to capture the boats in action up close...stay tuned!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

she is really cute! ^^
by the way, i work at a cram school now. everyone is nice to me.
children are dorable!!
of course i teach them english,but sometimes, i teach math. yesterday,i had my first japenese class. it's cool.however, i have to memorise many words. all in all,i'm not bored any more.

David said...

Hello Anne!

Yes, Catherine is a cutie. Work at a cram school can be a lot of fun. The kids are silly and fun. I could NEVER teach math...lol.

Japanese would be a cool language to learn. Stick with it and you will make lots of money in the future!

I am glad you are busy and enjoying it. Keep in touch.

-David