新年快乐

I went and visited the Chen family (my adopted Taiwanese family) during Chinese new year and we went on quite an adventure together.

Hissing gears, tweedling whistles, stampedes of foot steps, dizzying chatter, and rockabilly jazz swirled through the air when I arrived at the bustling Tai Nan train-station. James picked me up and he took me on a tour through the old district of Tai Nan with his girlfriend Mia. Stopping here and there, I tried a variety of slimy food and fruit drinks famous to that part of town. When we dropped anchor at his house it was time for the banquets start. I ate so much food that night and the following days to come I thought I was going to burst at any second. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner ever meal was a feast. Latter that night we went to a local Taoist temple for the new years eve ceremonies and party. Thundering beats of the biggest drum I have ever seen accompanied dances of every kind. My favorite dance was the dragon dance. The dancers contorted and twirled the puppet dragon making it come alive as it chased the purple orb of power.

The next day we made our way to Tai Tong. What was supposed to be a 4 hour trip turned into an all day snail ride though the worst traffic I have ever been in. If it wasn't stop and go traffic we never went over 20 miles per hour. Even though the traffic was horrible I didn't mind it too much because every second was a new sight for me. Vast mountain jungle on one side and the endless blue pacific ocean on the other.

The next morning it was business as usual, lots of food and traveling. Unhurried we made our way up to Baxian caves. Okay, so when I hear the word caves I think of a network of cold dark tunnels winding under the mountain, these caves were nothing more than small pits in the rock surface. Other than the amazing view from up top the mountain overlooking the valley I thought I was going to be rather disappointed in the trip not under the mountain until our way down. A monkey came scurrying up the  mountain side in search for food. In a state of excited panic I fumbled though my camera bag and attached my long distance lens to my camera. Exhilarated by moment I took picture after picture engraving every shot in my memory following the monkey up the cliff side until it disappeared into the dense jungle.

Late that night we went to a lantern festival in Tai Tong. Lights twinkled in the air with the rising and falling of each lit lantern. People gathered from all around to enjoy each others good company and laughs.  I really wish I had a tripod though because I could have taken so many more good shots in the dark.

My last day in Tai Tong we up and down the east coast of Taiwan enjoying the time to be lazy, savor the surroundings and as usual I ate a lot of food.