Matt
The Armory is synonymous with art. The Armory itself is a work of art, having been built by a sculptor from the remains of the demolished armory that once stood in its place. Since then the Armory has hosted numerous art and photography exhibitions, usually for charity, and often paid local bands to play even though the business never made any money from it. The owner of the Amory, Dumei, is a true patron of the arts.
This year Chinese New Year vacation is expected to be from February 13th to 21st. It’s already a bit late to buy tickets, and many flights are already sold out, but there are still some good deals to be had.
The Wang Yeh boat burning festival occurs once every three years. Disease spreading ghosts, or Wang Yeh, are lead onto the boats by priests and mediums. The boat, sitting atop a mountain of ghost money (money burned by locals for the benefit of their dead ancestors) is then burned, sending the spirits back to their world, hopefully taking their plagues with them. This year, I believe, there was a special focus on H1N1 (the Swine Flu).
The Crocodile King Farm in Taiwan’s Madou Township is the most bizarre zoo I’ve ever seen. Exhibits include a random cross section of exotic animals from Taiwan and around the world, an extensive collection of reptiles, and a large number of mutant animals including two mutant goats, several mutant ducks and chickens, and a two-headed turtle. The main attraction, though, is an enormous crocodile, which may well be the fattest crocodile in the world, on which visitors are invited to sit. You can view a gallery of my pictures from the zoo here.
A photo essay I shot on a trip to the Madou Crocodile King farm, a small private zoo in Tainan County, Taiwan, that features various exotic and mutated animals and one gigantic crocodile. The crocodile, stuck in a tiny pen for several years, has become extremely fat. Seriously. The largest crocodile ever recorded was 8.6 m long and weighed 1,350 kg. This croc, according to the sign, was 5.2 m long and 1250 kg, which puts it in the running for the fattest croc in the world. It’s so fat and slow that you can walk up behind it and sit on it. We did. Check it out.
A short photo essay that I shot on a trip to the the world renowned National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium in Pingtung County, Southern Taiwan. Unfortunately, the light in the aquarium is very low, and flash photography is prohibited, so was a tough shoot, but I got some good pretty good pictures including some manta rays, penguins, and a massive whale shark.
