Because it was pretty late when we came back the from Jiufen the day before, we got a late start and made a quick stop at the Taipei 101. But because we weren’t in the mood for a long wait at the lines, or to pay the hefty amount to get to the top, we opted rather for a nice lunch and pictures from outside.

We didn’t have definite plans, so we decided on a whim to go down to Tamsui and spent some time at the seaside promenade. It took about half an hour to get there by train and and we were already wondering why the train was so packed, when nearly all the people on the train got off at the same station we were.

Sometimes luck seems to be with the unprepared, because we just stumbled into the huge Dragon Festival Parade in Tamsui. We were just in time to see the line-up and the start of the parade with ear deafening firecrackers, people cheering and partially very intricate costumes. The parade was really long, unfortunately it was also so scorching hot, that we didn’t last more than maybe 40 minutes.

Nevertheless it was a lot of fun (and my dear lord was it loud) and though my phone quickly gave out in the heat I hope you enjoy some pictures of it.