For breakfast I had some of Lin-jie's homemade sourdough and jam, butter and soft cheese spread. Then soy milk. And a few slices of ba-la fruit. I got ready to go, it's so humid and warm today again.
Today's event is a Potehi/budaixi only doujin event. Also the stations were deserted at like 11am on Sat. Wth. So different from Taipei. I saw a family with a toddler on the MRT as well and the mum had a big tote bag with a chibi potehi character on it. Dad had an anime t-shirt (can't make out the character due to the fold). I wondered if they were going to the same event, and they got off at the same stop so I concluded yes. Later I saw the mum taking photos with a DSLR type camera in the event hahaha.
I got off the MRT station and you are greeted with like, farmland lol. If not for seeing where other people were walking towards, I would have wasted so much time trying to figure out how to get there. They put signs up but it's still hard to find out which way it is to go. There's also like no food places at the event venue itself (ex Taisugar refinery warehosues). I got there around 12pm. I was hungry already... but as soon as I got my wristband and went inside, I was hit with the buzz and energy. It's such a nerd out wooooow!!!
One one side, they have empty tables for attendees to place their prizes puppets up for display. Then you have the artist tables. A lot of them had their puppets on display along with their artwork too. There were even like at least 2 Japanese tabling artists who had signs in Mandarin but couldn't speak Mandarin. I also met 2 Japanese attendees who gave me a snack pack - they were sooo nice. There were cosplayers around as well, and they all looked so cool.
I met a Lang Wu Yao cosplayer who was so cute and cool. I asked for a photo with my nui and they obliged. 😭 Later I caught them again on the floor. I asked them if they made their own costume. They did! and I got to admire their handiwork. They said it was version 2, but they weren't entirely happy with their sewing craftmanship. They tried so hard though!! Their friend made Linya and showed me the prop. They used a prop instrument as base and a type of lion-board like material to carve out the details and build onto the body. Linya's eyes were so cool - apparently it was ready made component (glass cabachon type). It looked so good. I thanked them for letting me see their costume.
Later I found a movie ver Shang Bu Huan. They drew stubble on their chin and they looked so cool~~ I forgot to get a normal photo of them but they also let me take a photo with my nui.
I walked around and took photos of various cosplayers and asked who they were from and the series titles were all so confusing~~~ but I did learn another company is called Jinguang, and they seem to be the other main competitior? to Pili.
At 2pm I was getting super hungry and they made an announcement saying there will be a cosplay showcase at 3pm. Time to go find some food. I had seen tabling people eat McD's so there must be food nearby. I walked out and googled the nearest conbini. On my way there I came across a Vietnamese place and opted to stop there as they had beef pho. There were only like 2 other diners inside as well, and it was open storefront. I asked for no onions. It was really good. Not to sweet. The beef wasn't rare but still tender. Minimal alluims. They also had chilli, which had a nice sour smell. It tasted good with the pho and wasn't too spicy. The noodles were qq chewy, and nice and thick. Tasted good too, no starch taste. There was a kid asleep on two chairs and they didn't move at all - wow. Didn't fall off the chair. They woke up near the end of my meal and the shop seems to be run by a family, their mum picked them up.
I finished eating about 2:50pm and had to head back. I thanked the lady who served me my meal and complimented the food. She seemed happy to hear that. I headed back to the venue and arrived just in time. I saw the two Japanese ladies and told them I'm heading to the stage. They did 3 cosplayers, who did a little dance to show off their costumes. There were screaming fans - this really made the mood. xD
Later they had a performance scheduled but the original cosplayer couldn't make it, probably due to the typhoon. So they asked any cosplayers to volunteer to come up and do an impromptu performance... which ended up being the primary school aerobics I always hear coming from the primary near 姨媽's place. LOL The song is different to the one I danced to when I attended school here for like 1.5 months. It's about 6 mins in length and for the cosplayers to do it in their big robes, in humid ass weather, 30°C, amazing. There's a part where you have to double hi-five your partner and since the middle cosplayer had no partner (total of 5), they had to air hi-five. LOL. It was the really popular one with the loudest fan screams.
After that, it was time for puppet performance. The original scheduled performers couldn't make it so they asked for volunteers. Total of 3 people came up. The first one had a handsome male character who ran an audio with his poem.
The second were a JP娃 and a full size one, with the big one teasing giving the tanhulu to the little one but not lol. One of the tanhulu fell off in the end haha.
The third one was from a troupe? A big one, they had a big fan reaction with screaming fans. They had 2 puppets come up (they also had a table advertising a week long event in Chiayi at Nov 30 - Dec 05) and the fans were screaming "[character name], look this way!!!" etc. xD It was funny and added to the jolly atmosphere haha. They did a short introduction and finished. After that it was about 1 hr till closing, and there were people who started to pack stuff up.
I saw a LinXueYa cosplayer earlier and managed to catch them for a photo, and then one with the nui. They looked so cool~ the trio all appeared today.
I went around and got photos of some new puppets that appeared since morning on the display table, and any cosplayers that were free and willing. After that I got ready to leave the venue. Just outside in the sheltered hallway there were some cosplay photoshoots going on. I spotted that cool cosplayer with the vagabond hat and managed to get a photo and talk to them. They were really friendly and explained that they were from a Jinguang production, and is a big villain type character, and offered to add me on FB as they were from Taichung (I had explained to them that I was from NZ). Some cosplayers are so nice!
That about wrapped up the event, and I got ready to head back to the MRT around 4:15pm ish. I had a wonder around the Taisugar grounds and they had a ecological toilet where there's a waterway in front of the squat toilet, and fish would swim up and watch you pee.... LOL. That's different. 🤣 They had a mini train, and there seems to be a waterslide house and a bridal one.
I walked back out and took the MRT, there were more people now and most of the sitting seats were full.
I got off at the Ecological Park station and there was a communal/shared office hire space where there were shelves people can rent to display their business products. Interesting. One of the shop staff asked if I was a student and I said no, I'm from NZ and working LOL. He had been to NZ for 2 weeks in 2000ish and remembers it was a hurried itinerary, since travel time in between destinations takes a longer time. I thanked him and byebye.
I got back around 5pm and Lin-jie asked if I wanted to go to the Dusk market. I said, I'd like to sit for a bit before going. SO had a cup of tea and a sitdown for like 15 mins. Then we went. The dusk market is like a mix of nightmarket and 菜市場. There were heaps of vendors that had queues for needed to grab a number. I got some wheelcakes (needed a number), they sold out of taro and kumara flavour. I ended up getting the classic red bean, butter, and peanut. $15 ea. Their peanut flavour is not a paste, but like ground peanut in a sugary powder mix. I haven't had the other two flavours yet but they stuff a lot of filling inside.
There were also like pepper pot cakes, which was sold out. The sign said it was juanchun style. Lin-jie says they are super popular and you have to queue. We also got drunken white chicken - the sangxi wine flavour was quite unique/different. Also some cabbage 水煎包 for breakfast tomorrow ($95 for 5). There's also a super popular 蔥油餅 stall and others. Quite cool.
We headed home and had dinner, which was spring rolls. This shop has quite a good flavour balance. They added sweet peanut paste of some sort, and it's salty sweet. A lot of veges, dried radish spread throughout, and sausages. Very good balance. And a wheelcake after.
I was stuffed as.
I sorted my haul out, took a photo, and then A-chen bro came out and saw my spread LOL. He talked to me for a bit and asked what were some of my fav animes. I said Golden Kamuy but he doesn't know it! Lol. He said there's a lot of them on Netflix. Yeah, I told him that overseas it's Crunchyroll that has the monopoly and gets the series first before it goes onto Netflix. He mentioned that his total amount of his resin figs are about $600K TWD, phew~ but his sis doesn't know. His FF7 ones are rare (99 only made), and managed to score them as second hand.
Lin-jie was finished with shower, my turn. After that, quick postcards and then blog. Tomorrow's aim is Dongmen gate and finish 886 Village.
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