Sunday, February 17, 2008

Taichung Lantern Festival

Despite sawing from the news that it was crowded like a sardine can, I still wanted to join the crowd to the Taichung Lantern Festival at Wen-Xin Forest Park to spend my last night in Taichung before school started. It was wise for us to take a cab there because the traffic nearby was pratically dead, and it was impossible to find a parking space. In fact, even by cab, the driver had to drop us across the street and asked us to walk to the park, so you can imagine how many people there were 'outside' the park, not to mention inside the park.
We actually had to wait in line to take a quick photo with Mickey's pet dog Pluto. Just so you know, it was not a lantern, only a cardboard. It was our first time to visit the park which was opened in 2006, and I was amazed by the hugh outdoor stadium that can store 4,000 people. The major lantern was placed at the center of the stadium, with water-dance show performed every half hour. The park is rather large, and beautiful, so if it were not for the distance from our house to it, I would definitely love to visit it again in the daytime.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Kenting Chateau Beach Resort

The weather these days are freezing cold, not a single sign of the sun reappearance, so I'm glad that we spent last weekend in Kenting where it was still warm and felt like a "normal" winter in Taiwan. My parents choosed Chateau Beach Resort to stay for one night. The last time we came here was in the summer and was perfect for activities in the water, and this time even though it was a little bit windy, it was still nice to have a walk on the beach or enjoy their outdoor Jacuzzi. A man in a diving suit, carrying a stick with a sharpened end on his back walked pass us on the beach, and his hand was actually holding a fish! I wondered whether it was his job or just a hobby, but either seemed far-fetched.
There were many cats around the outdoor swimming pool, and surprisingly they were not afraid of human at all. It was funny how we wanted to be close to them when they seemed to be scared and tried to run away, but when we could actually touch them, we were afraid of the germs or diseases we might get from them. At least that was the case for me, or maybe that was because I just had bacteriology class this semester.