What should I say about my trip to YiLan for the Lantern Festival 2009 in YiLan with Virginia and her friends yesterday? Simply fabulous! I went to some lantern exhibitions before, must say this was the first time I enjoyed in awe.Though it was not exactly a goldies' activity, only I among goldies went with Virginia, I want to minute it due to the fruitfulness, fun, and excitement I enjoyed during the whole trip. It's the 20th Lantern Exhibition of YiLan. A twenty-year-old activity was compared to a man's Adulthood Ceremony. YiLan Government made it big and extravagant.
Taiwan Railroad Administration (TRA) projected a special train cruise from 樹林 to YiLan to public to help promote this big event and boost economy. It was certainly a win win strategy in every aspect. This was the 2nd time I joined the cruise train. Since the 1st time I joined, I fell for it and decided to rule out all obsticles to join as many as possible this kind of activity held by TRA. Again with Virginia’s first-hand information and help, I got the chance to take the tour train for the 2nd time and enjoyed a sensational holiday again. To make the tour versatile, rich and intellectual, TRA added FuLong Beach and LoTong two sites to visit before sending the passengers into YiLan for the Lantern Exhibition because only at night could the lanterns provide the most sensational effect with special lights and laser devices.
For this outing, I didn't have to get up exceptionally early. I had a nice sleep the previous night. The train should leave at 10:29 am. To prevent any unexpected nuisance, we total six people gathered at Taipei Railroad Station at 9:50 am first. Parking was not easy, so I left home 20 mins earlier than I should. I was so released when I finally parked my car on a perfect spot. I knew everyone in Virginia's group should be at least punctual if not arriving ahead of scheduled time. Ha! Murphy's Law! Someone messed up. But this small incident became our joking material throughout the whole trip.
Virginia took some photos for us at the station to kick off our tour. On the train, we ate, chatted, enjoyed the view outside the window passing by. Time flew, without noticing it, the train was pulled in FuLong station, the first stop.
FuLong Beach: Embarrassed to say that it was the first time I came to FuLong Beach. I took a deep breath upon walking out the station to the open air. Most of the passengers rented bikes to better browse the streets and seashores. We decided not to do it after all time was too short. Surprisingly, we ran into Mr. 吳, a volunteer friend of Virginia and others. Thanks to his duty there, we got to tour in the beautiful FuLong Belleuve Villa, and inside the luxurious restaurant. It is no doubt a great place to stay overnight if time and money allows. Everyone looked forward to coming back again for a truly relaxing holiday there for one or two days soon in the future. Then we walked the bridge to the seashore. The Villa has everything recreational and soothing. FuLong Beach was well maintained, the water is clean, blue and clear. It was not opened yet to public at this time of year. Or we would see swimmers and surfers. When it was time to stroll back for the train, Mr. 吳 treated all of us a yummy lunch box from the renown shop that made the best lunch boxes in town. If you had seen the waiting line, you would have known how true its reputation was. We accepted gladly his hospitality and generosity. We couldn't wait to taste the lunch box right after we got on the train. It tasted especially delicous!
LoTong Bamboo Woods: We got off the train for a two-hour tour in the Bamboo Woods. How thoughtful it was that TRA arranged a guided tour to bring us an unforgettable and intellectual tour. We were all ears to the instructor talking about its history and portraying the old trains, extended pond, wood sculptures, etc. His enthusiasm, cheerful and humorous temperament impressed all of us. No one would forget his name 宋金來. After leaving the bamboo woods, we went to visit the factory that manufactures healthy drinks and thousand year eggs. We were received warmly and got free try of their products. I couldn’t help but buy some to bring home. My hands would be full again when going home. Before going back to take the train, ㄚ水先生, the one who missed the train in the morning, yet miraculously managed to unite with us in FuLong Beach, treated all of us a cup of coffee at 85 0C. His missing the train brought us an interesting topic and we were all entertained by the joke for the rest of our trip. We enjoyed a few min. pleasant chat at the cafe.
YiLan Lantern Exhibition: It only took 9 min by train f rom LoTong to YiLan. We had two hours there to enjoy the lantern exhibition. Seeing all the buses in a long line, I could tell immediately what a crowd there would be. The symbols of the theme of the Lantern Festival, 牛轉乾坤 (to Reverse the Course of Events and Make a Come Back!), were here and there around the Train Station. To maintain good order, YiLan government made lots of efforts decorating the station, streets, arranging bus pool, attracting a huge number of works, got the biggest Sports Park for the exhibition, etc. Virginia was busy looking for interesting or creative works to photo them. There were many other photographers there, too. This was the last day of the Lantern Festival, no more chance to witness the grand scene after tonight. Needless to say, every visitor had a camera in their hand trying to bring all the image back home with them.
The sun set quicker than we realized. It became dark all of a sudden. Virginia kept reminding us of staying tight in the group in order not to get lost. At 6:00 pm sharp, the biggest Ox lantern made its majestic presence with all the bright and dazzling colorful lights, and superb laser effect on. What a high-horse posture! All other masterpieces around the big Ox posed beside with changeable colors of lights to capture visitors’ attention, too. I looked up to it and was speechless. How much work must have been done to make all this possible? The grand presence repeated every 30 min. After taking another look of the 2nd round, we had to walk to the entrance and waited in a long line for the shuttle bus. To miss the train would not look good and mean a big trouble. We finally thought of food. Our stomach protested and forced us to look for food. We didn’t bother to waste time to feed our stomach in the Exhibition park, now suffered from hunger. Except convenience stores, there seemed to be no restaurant available. My last hope was the dinner box, which I liked better, to be sold on the train despite Virginia’s negative comment. No, no dinner box offered on the train. Virginia offered me two spoons of her sweet soup which made me hungrier. I couldn't stop my mouth from watering watching Mr. ㄚ水 enjoying his actually not-so-appetite-arousing dinner box. Luckily Amanda had some home made sandwich that she didn’t eat in the morning to share with us. I was so grateful to her. Must say it tasted like heaven!
We kept chatting on the train. It’s awfully dark, no way to enjoy the scenery outside the window. Soon after the train pulled out the station, the train attendant announced that there would be another new tour on Mar. 14th, don’t forget to reserve the tickets. I couldn’t believe my ears and turned to Virginia pleading that we must get the ticket. Hooray! I will have another train tour next month!
In no time, the train arrived in Taipei. My weekend was over. Yet the image of FuLong Beach, LoTong and especially the Lantern Exhibition in YiLan was still lingering in my mind. Am …. I must minute this for goldies so that they could also share the joy with me. One more thing, let me thank Virginia again for another wonderful train cruise.
Trini
p.s. See all the photos in Virginia album
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/vlee1009/090222
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/taipeitmtrini/YiLanLanternFestival222
Wow Cow !!
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