John Saboe's Far East Travels

We get the signal, their ready to go. The men at the front of the palanquins quickly turn their backs to the wall, and brace for the  barrage of piercing rockets.And the cacophony of the beehive began with roaring tides of bottle rocket streaks  fired off in all directions. Exploding in mid air, sometimes right in front of my mask and tiny explosions at my feet.  The giant God overseeing it soon disappeared behind the thick cloud of pyrotechnics smoke. Most of the gatherers near the pao cheng were facing the opposite direction, an extra layer of canvas protecting their backs from the bruise inducing rockets. Almost everyone is performing a funny shuffle with their feet to prevent bottle rockets from exploding up their legs. It’s a nervous dance I found myself instinctively doing out of fear as well. The palanquin attendants  continued to shake the Gods for good chi. The final wave of rockets is super intense, emitting a glow behind the giant War God. Although I’m startled by the occasional rocket blowing up i