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Garland delegation visits Badminton Court in LuChu (09/30/09)

Garland delegation visits Badminton Court in LuChu

After their visit to LuChu, Township City Headquarters, the delegation of visitors from Garland, Texas, stopped by one of Luchu�s badminton courts. The facility had recently hosted a badminton tournament to honor the sister city status of LuChu and Garland.

Several such facilities are scattered around LuChu. The tour guide said the sport of Badminton is quite popular in Taiwan.

After this stop, the delegation returned to the bus and headed to their next stop, EVA Airlines Corporate Headquarters. One of the tour guides, who is acting as the official interpreter is a young woman of about 30 years old. She is a pilot for EVA Airlines who flies a 747 cargo plane. Many of her trips are to and from the United States. She is married, has two children and she says an adoring husband.

Driving through the streets in and around LuChu is a sightseeing experience all in its own. While there are many, many cars, there seem to be even more people riding scooters. Their expertise is way beyond anything I would try. They can weave between, around and in front of cars with the utmost ease. There are special parking places on the streets for the scooters and then there are places they park that just may not be an approved place to park. The number of scooters in Taiwan is totally understandable when you think about how crowded it would be if everyone drove a car. It seems to work for the people of Taiwan, and really that is all that matters.

Another observation made during our travels in Taiwan, were the numbers of signs on buildings. I am sure this type of advertising would cause our Plan Commission and Plan Department to have to rethink our sign/advertising ordinances. Again it seems to work for them and that is actually all that counts.

Their businesses are small, and close together, sort of like row houses next to the street. It appears there are businesses on the street level and living quarters on the top. If you think about it the only way to let people know your business is there is to put a big eye catching sign on the top of the building. And there are a lot of big brightly colored signs on almost each individual building. It was different, it was interesting; however, it appears to work for them and that is actually all that counts.

Side streets are small and crowded, with parking being at a premium. One thing absent in this country is the sounds of horns honking. While the traffic congestion was an occasional problem, the cars, busses and scooters seem to co-exist without a lot of honking and obscene gestures. They are a patient people, they are a dedicated people and they are kind.

More observations later.

For information about the photos in the slide show please contact Linda Jaresh: lindajaresh@yahoo.com