I mentioned the Dragon Boat Festival in a previous post without at all explaining what it is. The Festival, known as 端午節 (duan wu jie), falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar. It is of Chinese origin and is celebrated a little differently in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and various parts of China. It also has its modified derivatives in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
In Taiwan, we have quite a few traditions surrounding this national holiday, the most widespread of which is probably eating 粽子 (zong zi, which apparently is called “sticky rice bun” in the Western World, though that nomenclature really doesn’t do it justice). There are, again, many variations of this, but it’s essentially fillings wrapped in “sticky” rice, all wrapped in bamboo leaves. In Taiwan, it’s typically in more of a chubby pyramid shape, and the fillings usually include stir-fried mushroom, salted duck eggs, tiny dried shrimp, and pork. (I had about 5 of these during the holidays but managed not to take any pictures. Sorry.)
Another popular practice is boat racing using “Dragon Boats”:
If you’re thinking, “That looks nothing like a dragon,” well, Chinese dragons look like this. Think Mushu, but bigger, longer, scarier, and sans Eddie Murphy dub.
Anyway, the races are a pretty big deal, and since I live only a ten minutes’ walk away from one of the main race sites, I decided to go watch in spite of the smothering heat. Mookie also came along:
It was about to rain, so we only stayed for a little while and the lighting wasn’t great. But here’s the gist:
^I was obsessed with taking pictures of this old man and (I believe) his wife, who seemed to be unaffiliated with the races and just chilled on a canoe nearby. I’m not creepy.
Speaking of not creepy, here’s a shot of the most adorable child, possibly of all time. She was actually gliding along for quite a few meters:
Lastly, here’s one of the riverside walk where my parents and I sometimes bike:
Until next time!
P.S. Commemorating #MarriageEquality
Inklings 
