Kites were flying again in Baishawan in Northern Taiwan. A bicycle man, cute bear and even plants were seen dancing in the wind in the annual New Taipei City North Coast International Kite Festival. It's only a two-day event that one should never miss when it happens. Everybody were excited to witness the fun activity but there was only one problem. A typhoon was fast approaching and it will directly hit Taiwan!
The Central Weather Bureau predicted a fine weather for the 1st day of the event but not for the 2nd day. There was no other choice so I went there on a Saturday with my usual travel paraphernalia. Rakesh, who had been my Travel Buddy in my past travel adventures invited First Year PhD students in Academia Sinica to join the trip. Bus 862 and 863 ran along the north coast of Taiwan and it took us to Baishawan where the kites were flying high.
The bicycle man caught our attention! It kept on pedaling in the sky without even moving forward. A giant squid kite displayed its tentacles to the spectators. The caterpillar from last year's kite festival was still there and I remembered the shark and the whale from last year’s event. It was replaced by a floating orange bear and created an illusion of a giant balloon. Creepy plants danced gracefully in the white sand beach of Baishawan. When the wind blows to the right, the plants swayed to the right and vice versa.
There were also new features this year. Wind surfers courageously battle the strong winds and big waves of the East China Sea. Professional and amateur photographers took the opportunity to have great panoramic shots. The bamboo fence that prevented spectators in meddling with the kite flyers were expanded and there were more space for the festival participants to maneuver their kites during the kite flying exhibition period.
My new friends and I also got attracted at the numerous kites hanging on the right side of Baishawan. We went there and found some men flying a circular kite. The kind men gave my friends the opportunity to try flying a circular kite. I also didn't missed the opportunity to try one! The winds were blowing strong but I just kept on holding the spool of thread. The kite flying experience prompted me to buy my own kite. My eyes got hooked with two fishes flying in the air and I bought them as my souvenir for this Taiwan Day 756. My fish kite cost NTD 100 and it is now part of my 'Taiwan collections'.
The group decided to go to the beach but I somehow lost them. The wind blew them away or maybe I was the one pushed by the wind to the beachfront where the kite flying exhibition was just waiting to happen. But before the kite exhibition happened, candies were seen flying in the air coming from a toy bear attached to a kite. The sweets flew with the help of parachutes and the visitors went wild catching them. I was even lucky to document Spongebob releasing hundreds of candies. A father caught one and gave it to his child. How sweet!
The sky became darker but the kite festival continued. All the visitors set their eyes on the sky as groups of kites flew in the air forming various patterns. The kites danced with the music being played loudly in Baishawan. My favorite kite exhibition was the 'lambada' performance. There were two diamond-shaped kites with very long tails. They swung in the air like two dancers moving gracefully in a stage.
Raindrops started to fall and the visitors decided to go back home. All beach activities in Baishawan were cancelled the following day. Many got disappointed for the suspension. Next year, the kites will fly again and bring smiles to our hearts but now they are gone with the wind.
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2025 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
 |
| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
0 comments:
Post a Comment