Cijin Island Revisited
I had the good fortune to have several friends swing through Kaohsiung while I was there – Mel came, Alissa came, and one sunny afternoon, so did Cedric and Annalisa. Annalisa was teaching English for the year in Taejong through Princeton in Asia, and Cedric was on the Taiwanese leg of his around the world tour. They called me out of the blue one day to tell me they were coming to Kaohsiung for the afternoon, so we made plans to meet and head over to Cijin Island.
On the way, we saw the most ridiculous hats ever. These things were solar powered, so they had a solar panel, a fan (that was powered by said solar panel), and shades that slipped down from the brim. Cedric was very tempted to buy one, Annalisa was not in favor of this idea.
We then proceeded to have a thoroughly excellent seafood lunch followed by some leisurely hanging out at the beach. We were getting ready to leave when suddenly the familiar cacophony of a temple procession reached my ears. Sure enough, I wound up having the good fortune to once again find myself smack dab in the middle of a really fascinating temple celebration.
The pictures that follow are really similar to the ones I took in Tainan, but hopefully they’ll give you a sense of just how massive the statue puppets are. Along the way, each time the procession stopped, an aide would rush to the person inside the costume and lift it off of them to give them a few moments respite. These things look like they weigh quite a bit, and in the sweltering Kaohsiung heat, it cannot have been the most pleasant experience.
What I loved about this procession was that we got to actually be in it, walking alongside the participants. My hearing may have suffered a bit as a result, but it was one of the most unique experiences of my time in Taiwan.
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