Pingxi lantern festival

It's that time to witness the lantern festival first hand. I had been looking forward to it for ages! 

After Chinese New Years there is a week where the sky lanterns in taiwan become a full fledge event. Of course you can send off your own lantern all year round in 十分 (shifen). 

From Taipei on the actual day they had shuttle buses running from Taipei zoo station to Pingxi for $50NT and a free return trip. They separated the lines into standing and sitting, neither one was shorter than the other.

The local Taiwanese people go there very early, all in all the rush of crowd never really ceases throughout the day. We waited just over an hour to get on the bus and the ride out there was about 90 minutes. You could take the train out to Raifung and then catch the Pingxi line out to the last stop but it would cost more and take just as long if not a bit longer. (That would have been a standing line for sure) 

I actually got sick from the swarms of people! There were so many people! Upon arrival there was a band playing, I was told that on the first day of the event djs made their appearances at about 1pm-7pm.

Between 6-9pm in 15 minute intervals masses of sky lanterns were released. If you were close enough they were astonishing. From afar they looked like a swarm of fireflies. 

Out return trip was intense, the line up was the longest/largest one I have been in. I've lived in some crowded places but this overshot any of my past experiences. The line took about two hours and when we got on the bus a lady got sick and we had to stop in the middle of nowhere to wait for an ambulance. It took about 4 hours to return. I can safely say I slept for a long long time after this evening. 

Suggestion, hitchhike. Walk down to the road and skip the line. You can't take a taxi because their banned from coming into the area but it doesn't mean that locals can't drive you to another destination nearby. :P