Bon Odori 2009

Hi! I saw that the blog has been inactive for quite some time already, so I'll just post something. (Its not related to wushu, sorry)

Bon Odori is a Japanese Traditional Festival to honor spirits of their ancestors. It was held from 6.00-11.00pm yesterday (18/7/09).

I guess I went too early, because I reached there at 4.00 and not many stalls were open. I felt it was very strange because although this was a Japanese festival, most stall owners are local. Only the stall selling Bento and games stall were owned by Japanese (I think). I find that my respect for the Japanese increased when we approached the stalls to play games and buy stuff. They said they could not start yet as they have not got the green light from officials, compared to the locals operating stalls nearby who already started to sell stuff as long as you give them money.

Anyway, I was more interested in the games than the food. There were two games there, one is fishing for goldfish and the other one is fishing for water balloons(I don’t know what they are called, sorry). I went for the water balloons game as I felt I did not need the goldfish. Each game cost RM2. Once RM2 was paid, the guy will give you a hook with a paper string. Using the hook, I tried to fish for a balloon. We have to be careful because once the string breaks, its game over. My first attempt was not bad. I got 2 before the string broke. I quickly learned the secret to this game. I tried again and this time I got 3 balloons and the string didn’t even break! (feeling so Pro, haha) Ok, back to the topic. The trick to this game is to not wet the string when fishing. Its simple science, if you wet a piece of paper, it will be easier to tear. Another point to remember is to be patient. I noticed its best if you wait for the rubber bands tied to the balloon to float up. A lot of people tend to be impatient and dip the hook(paper and all) into the water. Not a good idea. Once the paper string is wet, a slight amount of weight is all there is to make the string break.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was at the Bon Odori Festival too!(Yeah, we saw him). He was due to arrive at 6.00 to officiate the ceremony but only arrived at 6.20. (traffic jam?) What amazed me was CM Lim Guan Eng’s ability to give a speech without resorting to yelling and whatnots (like the other VIPs speeches) that you can hear from a mile away. He speaks softly yet is heard clearly by the audience. He also announced a surprise for us next year as he says he will be making some changes to the Fort Cornwallis area.

Unfortunately, I could not stay and watch the fireworks as I had to leave at 7.00. All in all, I would say that I have enjoyed myself today, met a some friends and would like to come again next year.