Start to Work Day After Lunar New Year

Fireworks and burning money or gold was the conspicuous event of the day a couple of days ago.  So what was the fuss about, first let me explain it is sometimes difficult to get a clear picture of the nuances of rituals, but here is my take.  The fifth day is the last day before people return to work after the Chinese New Year.  To insure prosperity and good fortune people will burn money and gold.  Well not real money and gold, but a paper representation of the same.

Little tubs like the this are prominent all over Taiwan.  They are used throughout the year during various holidays.

Here is the burning barrel that was in place in front of Deb's sister's apartment.  The paper money and gold comes in many different shapes and sizes, but it all ends up as ash.

The grand finale was the lighting of the firecrackers.  Which was what initially caught my interest as they were going off everywhere as we walk from the Rapid Transit Station to the apartment.  This string is by far shorter than most I heard.

Not sure what the guy who owned the BMW thought about the whole affair.  

Old Wang's Noodles

As requested by Brother Michael here is a shot of Old Wang's Noodles.

The noodles are being made in the area just behind the white vehicle.  Notice the the sign just behind the guy working on the red containers, it says "No Photos" or Chinese to that effect.

The entrance is down the alley and to the right.  Two stories and always full.

Dug into the archives for this photo.  Allison and I made a special noodle run.

Lui's Zongzi

Another favorite eating establishment of ours is Lui's Zongzi or if you translate word for word, Lui's House Zongzi or House of Lui's Zongzi.  If your not familiar with Zongzi they are made by steaming sticky rice that has been filled with small pieces of pork, egg and mushrooms, then wrapped in bamboo leafs.  I know there are other types of Zongzi, salty, sweet, shrimp filled, bean filled just to name a few, but the one I like best is the egg, pork and mushroom.

The Taiwanese people have a practice of special foods for special holidays.  So technically we are in breach of tradition by eating Zongzi during Lunar New Years, but I did notice we were not the only people there so it must not be too serious of a problem.  Zongzi are traditional eating eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar Calendar.  A web search will give you the details of why.

It is amazing to watch them make these little goodies.

Pretty quick, right!

As an interesting sidelight, Lui's Zongzi is on the "wedding photo must go" list.  It is not uncommon to see a wedding party caravan at a number of places in and around Taipei.  The bride and groom go from place to place having their picture taken.  There is also a retinue that includes a make-up person, costume manager, photographer and a couple of go-fers.  Not sure I have every been to Lui's without there being a bride and groom.  Thought I had a shot of the bride, but apparently not, but the groom is about to change into a different outfit.

Another aside is that this restaurant is near a place call White Sand Beach.  Deb and I use to go there many many many years ago.

The beach doesn't look like it did in 1964.

But then neither do we.

Prelude to Lunar New Years

Still more than a week to go but preparations are underway all over Taiwan.

 We were greeted by the Happy New Year Guy, probably not his real name, when we entered our apartment complex

 A main street in Taipei with lights as far as you can see.

Deb is contemplating which of the many, many red envelopes she will buy.  It is a tradition to give children a red envelop with money in it.  This as well as the two photos below are from a store we happened upon this evening while doing a little window shopping.  The store is dedicated to New Years stuff and is one of many.

The Year of the Goat.  For the old goats among us, you know who you are, this is your year!  

Hello Kitty seems to have found her way into the Lunar Zodiac.

This is a photo of New Years merchandise located in front of one of the local convenience stores.  Gifting is quite popular during New Years.

You probably already know that everyone who can possible return home for New Years will return.  Many store will close for the week, although that does seem to be changing over time.  And, of course, the fireworks are everywhere.  Can't wait to hear the firecrackers start.

Never Far From Home

Never far from remainders of home.  For example yesterday we made a Costco run.  Costco could only hope for business like this in all their stores.  Pictures really don't do justice to the crowded conditions.

 Above is the a shot of the checkout lines.

It is interesting place to go if you have time.  We intentional waited for a weekday, midday for our visit, but it was still packed shopping cart to shopping cart.  It is interesting that the aisles are so crowded shoppers tend to station their carts in a fixed or base location and ferry their intended purchases to the base station cart.

The store handles pretty much what stores in the USA carry except in the food section.  The food section is USA plus Asia.  I seems that gift cases of large apples from Japan and pears from I don't know where were in big demand.  I expect there are intended as gifts for the Lunar New Year.

And for those inclined to take a drink now and then the liquor section is very complete.  Now most of us have partaken of a free sample in your local Sam's or Costco, but have you every had a shot of 18 year old Single Malt Glenmorangie.  If scotch isn't to your liking there are plenty of other choices.

228 Peace Park

Passed through "228 Peace Park" on the way home from our favorite beef noodle restaurant, Old Wangs.  228 refers to a date February 28 it is also referred to as the 228 Massacre.  Do a web search on 228 and see what you get.  

The park is situated in the heart of Taipei and is well maintained.  Took a couple of pictures.  

Getting There

Pretty uneventful flight which is good.  Unfortunately I didn't sleep much, too busy trying to eat all the meals.  You've got your take-off meal, your mid-flight meal and your get ready to land meal.  Then there is a plane change in Tokyo so you pick up another meal on the way to Taiwan.  We were met by the limo for a short ride to the apartment arriving around midnight, so what did we do, why of course we ran down to the convenience store for snacks and beer.

On the ride to the apartment the driver mentioned there had been a plane crash earlier in the day.  Actually not far from where we stay.

Dash cameras are a popular thing in Taiwan and the crash was caught on a dash cam.  I expect we will be seeing a lot of this footage as time goes by.  Unfortunately there were 25 confirmed dead and 18 missing last I heard.  There were survivors including the drive and passenger of the taxi you can see in the lower photo.  The taxi was pretty much demolished by the tip of the wing as it passed by heading toward the river.