I slathered a generous amount of sun lotion on my arms, legs, neck before heading to Danshui to meet up with Fanny, a long time neighbor from when I lived on the South shore.
When I saw Fanny, nostalgia rose upon me as we both greeted each other with open arms and asked..When was the last time we saw each other?? Too long!
I couldn't actually remember at the time but now thinking about it, it was when I still lived in Brossard maybe 6-7 years ago! She moved back to Taiwan about 5 years ago.
There is just something so wonderful about meeting someone you've known since childhood. Sometimes it is hard to reconnect with somebody you haven't seen for so long but because we're on the same boat, we had stories to tell and things to talk about.
The Kuo family was Chou family's neighbors in Brossard for more than 15 years and lived 1 block away from each other. It took less than a minute to get to each others place and probably less than 20 seconds if you ran it. Linda, David and Fanny are all back in Taiwan and have been here working for years now.
We waited for Fanny's friends which included Georges, Nancy, Luke and after they loaded up on caffeine/food from Dunkin', we took a free shuttle to Salun beach which was 10 minutes away.
When we got on the beach I was surprised at how big the venue was. I mean, I knew it was a big beach but the last time I went was with Gina and the beach was just a beach..i.e. sand and water and not much else except men in thongs. This time, there were two dozen white tents set up for shelter. A big stage for DJs and bands to play on. A big roasting big (which I did not taste). Booths filled with vendors and a bar where beer, cocktails, soda and drinks were served! They also had a hockey net set up near the entrance for some puck shooting too. Soccer nets with teams in jerseys were playing and 2 volleyballs courts were set up for competitions as well.
We looked for a place to nest our things. Fanny was a volleyball whiz back in high school and she brought her own ball to play with which she's had since cegep. Once we placed our stuff down, we did some warm up passes on the side and signed up for beach volleyball competition which we ended up winning third place.
My arms and hands are totally red and sore from volleyball. I know I suck but at some point, I played decently however, not the best of the best for sure!
For a couple of hours, we played some ball, relaxed on the sand, took a dip in the Ocean and tanned...I did not sunbathe but I got darker. This is the second time I've gone to the beach without a bathing suit..the first time was at Jean Drapeau in Montreal beach where I knew I didn't want to be in that algae-filled, city polluted St Lawrence water. And this time, I knew I was too lazy to re-apply sunscreen after swimming which I've meticulously slathered all over me before heading out. ..
I forgot to bring many things actually..sunglasses (I wore my contacts for a reason!), towels, beach mats, beach wear, bathing suit...As if I didn't know I was going to a beach party.
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Eric came to join a couple of hours and then Andy finally came around 4-5 pm along with two friends (Lisa and Mika). Lisa lived in Montreal for 12 years .. They all joined us for some volleyball and beachillaxing.
Nancy and Jane sunbathing with clothes on...
It was super cloudy today which is fine for me because it beats having intense sun rays burn your skin off and me resulting in darker skin than I already have. At one point, for a few minutes, there was rain however, not disastrous like in Taipei where it was apparently pouring like crazy + thunderstorms. Danshui rocks and beach day wasn't ruined!
After the short fuzzy rain, we took some stools and settled in front of the stage where different bands took the stage and performed into the evening. Around diner time, we bought some Western grub from different vendors including popular restos such as The Diner and Carnegie's....even McCain French fries had a booth. I had two hot dogs because I bought myself one not knowing that Luke had bought one for me already. I ate them both except did not finish the second one due to presence of sand. I tried fries from the Diner topped with cheese and gravy and also had McCain fries. They were all very delicious.
The rest of the night was just wonderful..a nice windy sea breeze perfuming the crowd where people were enjoying a nice cold beer or cocktail while enjoying the live music.
I had two bottles of Coronas and like usual, was tenderly affected by the alcohol and saying stupid things.
With beer in hand..alcohol in the system..
ze night was fun
I did not know his hands were there until I saw this picture today...his hands did not touch me!
At 7 pm , there was a cake cutting ceremony which I think no one got a piece of !! There was also the biggest fireworks I've seen so far in Taiwan but nothing comparable to Montreal fireworks for sho'. Afterwards, the party really started as people started to consume more alcohol after a good meal.
I got a call from mom around 8 pm saying that she and dad actually biked all the way to the venue but she had forgotten her cellphone so couldn't reach me! I missed a call from a stranger whom I later found out was mom trying to reach me. It would have been fun to have mom and daddy around although I don't think they'd pay the door fee of 600 nt to party with a bunch of kids.
Chris Ho finally joined the party with his friends around 8-9 pm. He came so late because he had work on a Saturday! It was fun to have people I know from Montreal reunite at a beach party for Canada Day and also having everyone meet each other and making new friends. Definitely different from hanging out in the city all the time.
At 9:30 pm, Colby O'donis hits the stage. Don't ask me who he is but if you youtube, you'll surely recognize his two hit songs..maybe?. After his little performance, a DJ came to play some club hits starting off with no other but MJ's hits...My fave being "black or white"! I've always gone crazyyyy when I hear Billie Jean which is most often played at clubs but never have I heard Black or White...So i went crazy some more.
Here's a video of Colby O'donis repeating you're beautiful over and over again..
I saw an orange crescent-shaped moon descend into the sea where the sunset did hours before, I left the crowd for a moment and I had a moment...As I was looking into the darkness towards the sea and then back at the light where the party was...I walked a bit further away from the music and towards the huge moon in front of me ... closed my eyes and wile feeling the ocean breeze on my face, hair, skin...I was no doubt happy to be here tonight on this Earth ....I was thankful for being able to be here... I thought of you guys...friends and family around the world.. people back in Montreal whom I miss and wish I was with to celebrate Canada Day..I thought, here's one of the best memory I will cherish and remember in Taiwan to this date..... and it had something to do with people from Montreal and CANADA Day ...
Happy Canada Day Hsin!
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