Taking the gods out for a walk

October 2024

Hey y’all,

Michael here. I wanted to get this out to you all earlier, but life happens and now I’m writing this on the U.S elections night. It is cliche at this point to say that it is fraught and tense time. Maybe, like myself, you have the election coverage in the background.

Let me distract you for a moment with this memory from the past month in Taiwan that is etched into my mind (and thank goodness because I didn’t manage to take a photo of it).

When we were travelling along the east coast, we drove past several individuals along the road carrying on their backs what looked like a small gazebo¹ with god or goddess statue(s).

While I imagined that it was some type of festival/tradition/ceremony, I have yet to know which exactly was happening. I went down a rabbit hole of learning about different kind of festivals and pilgrimages for different types of gods and goddesses that drew many crowds all across Taiwan. The photos that I found showed long processionals and a party atmospheres, much different than the couple of guys I saw along the road. Remembering back, it seemed a lot more laid back and less festive. A little more ceremonial. A couple of guys taking the gods out for a walk.

With the US election and post election frenzy upon us, I hope you are all taking care of yourself. Hug a friends and/or your family and remember to get out into the world and go for a nice walk.*

* Sorry if that sounded presriptive. I know I shouldn’t tell you what to do. You do you! Mostly just a reminder for myself to go out for a walk. To unplug. To listen to less commentary about the world and more about my own thoughts and feelings.

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October was novel, exciting, annoying, solidifying. Looking back it was full of:

Bumping into old family friends, international firework competition, Fernando’s (again), sneaking up Macau roofs, Starlux, Taiwanese night markets, early sunrises, custard apples, Bunnan indigenous village, Toroko gorge, Shibuya crossing, Shinkansen (bullet train), countryside bikerides, 400 year old trees, seeing Mount Fuji, jet lag, family meals, Danook, Winipek, board games, tomatoes.

Enjoy the photos,
Michael, not Mike

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Then it was onward to Taiwan.

Hualien. The shop on the left is the dumpling shop my mom went to growing up.

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Then to Japan.

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Then just like that we were back in Winnipeg.

1. Upon further research they are called a palanquin or maybe a litter?