absolutwillie

Tag: photos

  • if you can't find the book you want…

    you’re probably shopping at the:

    thanks Ma ;0)

  • my weekend: the Wang Yeh boat burning festival

    those who follow me on twitter (or glance at my twitter update-feed to the right), know by now that i finally got to experience DongGang’s famous boat burning festival. the triennial event is touted as being one of the biggest of it’s kind – which i tend to believe quite easily. according to the Taiwan News, roughly 100,000 people flocked to my old town to participate in its 300 year old tradition.

    The eight-day festival opened with a mysterious and complicated ritual on the beach of Jhenhai Park. Five Wang Yeh gods joined the one enshrined at the temple for a four-day procession around DongGang before they boarded their wooden ship on which they “sailed” around the fishing port’s streets to expel evil spirits and plagues.

    On the seventh day, the temple offered the gods a feast of 108 Chinese dishes accompanied by fine wine and liquor to thank them for warding off evil during the processions over the previous week.

    The ritual culminated on Oct. 17 when the elaborately carved wooden boat was set on fire to symbolize the Wang Yehs setting off to heaven, taking with them the evil spirits and diseases they absorbed during the processions.

    to give you an idea of what it was like, here are some random snaps (also collected from friends) and videos:


    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yft-qFgK2T0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5HY-bV_rM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk92T5vZ2wQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6yhgbFVbmw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k4gXu3pUH4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    what i didn’t expect – and was really interesting – was the deafening silence right after the boat was lit. according to tradition, no festive sounds were allowed, lest the Wang Yeh turn around to see what the commotion is about. so after days of fireworks, local opera, gongs, bells, bands and whatnot – there was nothing…

    creepy, but cool at the same time.

  • following role models: interesting snap by Paulo Coelho

    i digg this snap of a statuette he found on one of his walks. can anybody identify it?

    THIS is what I saw in my walk 2day! ISSO eu vi hoje qdo camin... on Twitpic

  • notes from beyond: 28 August – SA – am

    It’s 10:56am and we’re sitting in Cape Town International Airport waiting for our flight. no delays so far – but we’re early. that’s what happens when you arrive 2 hours early for your international flight and then realize the first flight on your itinerary is domestic… they should really do a bit more for domestic travelers. in a word the domestic terminal can be described as: meh.

    aside: i saw a super slick BMW on the way up Table Mountain – al shiny and black – license plate: MEH

    *i laughed*

    soooo… our SA adventure is coming to an end. at 12:20 we board for Jo’burg and then it’s off to Hong Kong! this time ’round we should be able to enjoy the Hong Kong experience a bit more – seeing s how we have a 9 hour stop-over before we fly to Kaohsiung.

    i had 8 hours in Zurich once: walked a lot and took some snaps of a chapel’s stained glasswork – by Chagal nogal.

    it still feels surreal when i think that we’ve been here for 15 days already. there’s never enough time when you’re having fun. but i prefer having had too little time rather than too much. it’s positively ghastly when you have too much time on holiday…

    we did manage to do a whole lot with our time, though.

    our first day was spent in Johannesburg, where we got to have fun with Karl at Gold Reef City (did the tour and everything). we also got to have dinner with Jonathan, his bo Jon as well as Clive and FJ! i was also blessed to have my dear friend Keri (from my days at Tukkies) join us for drinks. (non-alcoholic ones for me, of course.)

    busy first day: check!

    the following morning Karl whisked us back to the airport – next stop: George!

    some pics of Gold Reef City:

    heading into the mine

    the terrible twins (astrologically speaking)

    fanagalô

    Peter’s got the gold!

    now THAT’s a burger!!

    time for a break.

    more to come ;0)

  • you know it's winter…

    …in the Free State:

  • the clouds' good friends

    we had a fun lesson in kindergarten this week: cloud gazing!
    granted, we had to do the lesson indoors (with posters and flash cards) because it was raining, but it was still a lot of fun to see the kids’ eyes open up to a whole new world of fantasy!
    here are some snaps for you:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

  • honey, I'm home!


    remember Fred Flintstone and his joyous declaration at the front door?well, those of you who do, would’ve been excused for thinking that was him coming home from school last night :0)

    I nearly jumped out of my skin when I opened the door and found Peter smiling on the other side! he’d prepared dinner (an improved version of Sunday’s recipe) and topped it off with my current favorite oolong beverage. now what could be better than being met with a beautiful smile on the face of your loved one – and a gastronomic feast to boot? nothing that I can think of right away, that’s for sure!

    I’ll post some photos when I get home tonight. meanwhile, have a glorious Wednesday!

    xoxo

    Posted by ShoZu

  • styling

    ‘sup y’all…

  • Housewarming

    facebook
    Willie Knoetze
    05 April 03:29 nm.
    Housewarming
    To absolutwillie’s “enjoy your life café”

    Here’s a link to Joanne’s pictures
    of Saturday’s visit ;0)

    Willie has shared a link to an album with you.
    To view the album or to reply to the message,
    follow this link:

    http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=705880526&k=3YC6Y2R3VW3M5DLDXB42T4

  • a knight in shimmering armor

    y’all know this week was not the easiest I’ve had in a bit. but thanks to scheduling requirements for my a/c installation, I got to take a day’s leave from school on Friday :0)

    and Peter did not let the opportunity to sweep me off my feet slip by! Friday afternoon he bundled me into his car and whisked me off past Cishan mountain, to track down the first peaches of the season. (and he says he isn’t romantic!) en route, we checked out a place called ‘Holy Mt Zion’ – this is their gate:

    from the looks of it, Mt Zion is what you’d call a faith based, self reliant, semi-autonomous community. (see how i didn’t say sect? oops…) very impressive and very big – it really takes up a biggish hill. but a bit creepy, so no other photos to share.

    yesterday, the girls from the buxiban came ’round to “warm” our apartment. Peter had made a reservation at our favorite Japanese BBQ for all of us – no dishes for me! *lol* to top it all off, he took me to see ‘the reader’ after everyone went home.

    and today he’s taking me to a mulberry farm to pick the first mulberries of the season!

    every day, I thank God for Peter. is it dificult to see why?


    update: on the drive home, we stopped and got some pineapples next to the road. back in Kaohsiung we stopped at a market for fresh chicken and an (as yet) unidentified vegetable. when we got home, Peter started dinner: Chicken and Pineapple soup!