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Sept. 22, 2000
Friday morning, 6:00 am. The NFKA Team Arrived at the Taipei International Airport and were met with a van that drove them out to the Kite Festival in Sheman. Here's a view from the window of the van, notice the billboard announcing the Kite Festival. |
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Another look at the billboard. |
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Friday afternoon, the NFKA Team arrives in the resort town of
Sheman.
(L-R: Bruce, Brian, Rich, Johnny, Basir) The guys are ready to hit the beach and get in some practice and fine tuning. |
The NFKA Team up on the stage which will be used later during the festival.
(L-R: Bruce, Brian, Rich, Basir, Johnny)
Basir in front of a kite displayed in the Hotel. |
More beautiful Kites on display. |
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Johnny and Basir meet up with
P-air (Peter Stauffer) |
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Some of the Ozzies and the US guys during dinner.
Back row, L-R: Peter, Mustache(from Germany), Oz-John, Rich. Front row, L-R: Basir, Mick, Johnny, Grant, Bruce. |
First day of the festival.
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Two of the Hong Kong Fliers. |
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Some of the Indonesian Fliers,
wearing the Official Festival shirt (the shirts with yellow sleeves), that each flier received. |
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Indonesian Kites for the competition.
These are similar to the ones
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Johnny and Basir in front of the
Tents provided for all the Teams. |
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Johnny with some of the
Helpers assigned to the NFKA Team. |
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The whole group of helpers, guides,
translators, etc. |
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The NFKA Team with their helpers. |
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Basir with the Hong Kong Fliers |
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Johnny (wearing one of the festival
hats) with the Hong Kong Fliers |
Basir checking out the Indonesian's invention. |
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Visiting the Hong Kong Team's Tent |
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The Team from Thailand |
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The Team from Singapore |
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The Team from India
That's AJ in the light blue shirt in the back row. Babu Khan is sitting between Johnny and Basir. |
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Team Korea |
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The Gang's all here!!
Are they having fun yet? You bet!! |
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Babu Khan with Basir and Johnny. Babu Khan is showing the kites he made for Peter Stauffer. |
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Some of those wild and crazy
fighter fliers. |
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The Welcoming ceremony
for the Teams Competing in the World Cup 2000 competition. |
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The Teams watching the Drummers. |
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Team USA....Rich holding the country placard.
The Team from Belgium is standing on the left. |
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Traditional Lion Dancers |
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The News Media and the
City Mayor (his back is to the camera, wearing white baseball cap) |
The makings of a large Indonesian Kite that was hung up in the hotel
display.
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Johnny liked this kite so much,
he had to have one too, and managed to bring it back on the plane. |
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NFKA Team and Singapore Team |
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Ricahrd, Basir and Johnny join the
Hong Kong Team |
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Ludo and Basir |
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Another look at the
Hong Kong Team in action. |
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The Festival's Mascot (No, not Johnny, the cute Kite Guy behind). |
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Time for some trohpies. |
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Top hats??
Looks like some heavy duty partying by all. |
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Doesn't AJ look smashing in his hat?
Behind him the NFKA team is getting their hot-air balloon ready for lift off. |
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The ballon is almost ready
to launch. |
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Half of Brian (oops), Richard with his favorite hat, Johnny and Basir
with
two of the Indonesian ladies that they met at WSIKF this past Aug. |
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The four amigos in Downtown Taipei.
L-R: Basir, Richard, Brian & Johnny in front of a Pagoda in City Park. |
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The same four guys in front of the East Gate close to the Chiang Kaishek
Memorial Square.
The East Gate is the biggest of the original five gates of the nineteenth-century city wall. In 1966 it was renovated and underwent considerable ornate embellishment on it's once very simple facade.
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Johnny in front of Taipei's National Concert Hall. |
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Watching the practice for the Oct. 10th Ceremonies, Taiwan's version
of the US's 4th of July celebrations.
The Taiwanese call it the Double Tens (10/10) or National Day. |
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Basir is ready to join in. |
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The Chiang Kaishek Memorial Hall
is on the right (white building with the blue tile roof). |
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Dancers, jugglers, acrobats in front
of the Concert Hall |
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| Not quite panoramic, but pretty close.
The tall building in the background (left photo) is the Shin Kong Tower which is 800 ft. tall. |
See the other Reports
on the NFKA Site