Monday, March 16, 2009

Ahoy There!

My wife read online last night that there was going to be an open house at Taichung Harbor today and tomorrow involving three vessels from the ROC Navy, so this afternoon we drove down to take a look at the ships. The weather was warmer than expected, the crowds were not overwhelming and everyone was in a good mood, with the exception of our three year-old, who got a little cranky at times. But even Amber said later that she liked the ships. For once, there wasn't a food vendor in sight, which was unfortunate, because we didn't eat lunch before arriving at the waterside. Just like the police - when you really need one, they're nowhere to be found.


上: "Cute" military characters were available for photo ops, but Amber found them to be a little creepy, and refused to be photographed with them. Her father didn't blame her.
下: There were three ships at the harbor, all of which could be boarded by the public. We ended up visiting two of them. I'm not a military geek, so I couldn't tell you what kind of ships they were, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they were destroyers.



上: The view from the bridge of one of the ships.
下: Amber tries out the captain's chair.

On the way home (after finally finding something to eat), we stopped off at the rest area near Qingshui 清水, located on the No. 3 Freeway 福爾摩沙高速公路. This place is always packed, on weekends anyway, and especially around sunset. It's hard to find what all the excitement is about - young couples watching the sun set through the haze, over a parking lot filled with cars, and with a landscape of factories and apartment buildings stretching down to the barely visible sea. On the other hand, the facilities at the rest area are some of the best in Taiwan. There are plenty of shops and places to eat, and even a large fish tank that never fails to enthrall the kids.



No comments:

Post a Comment