Here's the boat in its "garage." I took this photo back in August.
The boat is painstakingly built by a master boat builder, exquisitely painted, and decorated with carved figures of sailors from around the world. Too bad this fine work of art is destined to become ash.
Detail of three of the sailors.
So anyway, we met at Xindian Station and piled into Robert's car. But just before we left, we saw some people looking with amazement at the ground. It was a Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon). Unfortunately the poor critter was injured. A spectacular specimen.
So we drove down south. First we stopped at B&Q to pick up some folding chairs. I also bought a portable step stool. A worthwhile investment, especially when trying to take photos in a crowd!
We decided to take a more scenic route this time, along the coast, which added some time to our trip, but it was worth it. We got to Kaohsiung in plenty of time to meet up with Katannya, who took the High Speed Train because she couldn't get off work earlier. We had a dinner at a dumpling house near this local landmark:
We arrived at Donggang at about 10:30 pm, and got to the temple square just as the pace of events was starting to heat up. The boat was in the square, having finished its tour of the area to collect disease and bad luck.
Here, a man is placing lanterns on the boat.
Between the boat and the golden arch, a group of Taoist priests chant prayers.
A Taoist priest burns a piece of paper. He did this at five different stations.
We returned to the temple to witness the Feasting of the Wang Yeh ritual. A total of 108 dishes are offered to the gods, who are represented by colored plaques. People not directly involved with the ritual couldn't enter the sanctuary, but we could look in. There was a good-sized crowd outside the doorway peering in, trying to get that perfect shot. Robert managed to do just that, and I've borrowed his photo here:
Here's a closeup of plaques that represent the gods.
A view of what was going on in the front area of the temple:
Colorful sedan chairs, illuminated with flashing LED lights and playing music, are lined up in front of the temple, ready to carry the Wang Yeh to the beach to board the boat. Each one is powered by a generator, which is wheeled along behind it.
At that time, Sunny and two of her friends arrived. She's a family friend who is studying in Taiwan, and they decided to come down and witness this rare cultural event. I'm glad she came down: it's a great glimpse into local culture!
A select group of men clad in yellow and wearing tasseled hats prepare for the big event: pulling the boat to the beach. Only men are afforded this honor.
Finally, at 2:00 am, it happens! We moved to the archway, which is the best place to watch the boat pass, and what occurs next is one of life's magical, sublime moments. It's a surreal feeling watching this huge boat, accompanied by the sound of drums, gongs and horns, and lit up by the flashes of fireworks, float by.
I took a great photo of it, but I felt that Robert's photo does more to capture the grandeur of this moment.
Here's one I took right as it passed by us:
The march down the street to the beach is lively with firecrackers and festivity. That's Sunny in the foreground.
As we approached the beach, the tide of people got congested. There's no choice but to go left or right. We went left, and found a spot on the beach near this sedan chair.
Next comes the wait. Slowly, the gods are invited onto the boat. The boat is surrounded by joss paper. Then one by one the masts and sails are raised: three in all. A bamboo stalk, complete with leaves, is hoisted up to serve as a windsock.
The entire process takes two to four hours. This time it took about two and a half hours. Here I again use Robert's photo, since he was up close and he has a fantastic camera.
Finally, all the gods are aboard. The anchors are placed on the boat. And at about 5:15 am, the boat is finally set alight. Firecrackers are used to ignite the joss paper kindling.
This guy looks like he walked into the depths of hell to take a photo:
Burn! Burn!
Soon the sky gets lighter as dawn approaches.
The little sailor figurines are engulfed in flame!
As the sun came up, the crowd started drifting away. We watched the boat burn for a bit; then, tired and covered with ash, we walked back to the temple. We were greeted by the rising sun lighting up the gold-leaf-covered archway, with a blue sky backdrop. Nice!
Then we went to the other Golden Arches to wash up in the bathroom and enjoy Egg McMuffins for breakfast in air-conditioned comfort.
Then we drove back to Taipei, taking turns at the wheel.
