International Jamborees: 1986 Report Taiwan
1986 - 6th National Chinese Jamboree
30 Oct - 4 Nov / Participants 14 000 / South Africans 5
Report by Geoffrey Hodgson – Scout from 1st Durbanville
Five South African Scouts were invited by the Boy Scouts of China to attend the 6th National Jamboree in Taiwan. After submitting our applications, CV's and reports, the contingent was chosen: Geoffrey Page (Pretoria); Michael Brinckate (Witbank); Mark Lindstrom (East London); Mervin Olivier (East London); and myself (Geoffrey Hodgson Western Cape) with ex-Chief Scout of S.A. Colin Inglis as Contingent Leader.
On Thursday 9th October, we all met at Jan Smuts Airport from where we were taken to Pretoria to get to know each other. After checking our uniforms and kits, we were briefed on behaviour and proceedings on our trip. We left Johannesburg on the Friday for a 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. A whole new world was about to open up for us!
Once we arrived in Hong Kong we were transported to our hotel on the Kowloon Peninsula. We spent the following 4 days sightseeing and absorbing the excitement of the city. The following were on our itinerary:- Peak Tram, Aberdeen Fishing Village, Repulse Bay, Harbour Junk Cruise, Space Museum, Wanchai Bar District, Jade Market, Sung Dynasty Village, Star Ferry and Ocean Park
On the 15th we arrived in Bangkok, Thailand (formerly Siam). We started off our tour by visiting some of the many beautiful and fascinating ancient Buddhist temples. We were later entertained by the excitement of Thai customs, sports and cultures displayed at Nakom Pathom Temple Town.
Our itinerary also included the following: Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddah; Rice Barge tour of floating markets and water people; a 3 day trip to the Bridge on the River Kwai, River Kwai Resort and infamous "death railway"; a 3 day trip to Koh Samui (tropical island) and a visit to Surat Thani (in southern Thailand).
Our next stop was Taiwan's capital, Taipei. We were met by our hosts at the Chiang-Kai-Shek Airport and transported to the Imperial Hotel in Taipei. We were entertained as "honoured guests" of the hotel and the next morning were transported to Coral Lake, the Jamboree site.
We were greeted by 13 500 eager Chinese Scouts who were spread out on the outskirts of the magnificent Coral lake. Once the Jamboree was officially opened, we were issued our equipment, tents and personal guides and translators (all members of the Chinese Service Corps).
Normal camp duties followed with the never ending interruptions from the Chinese seeking out "foreign" autographs. In the 6 days at the Jamboree we experienced "Chinese Scouting": lashing bamboo, cooking and eating traditional Chinese "food", eating with chopsticks and drinking "Oolongtsa". We also participated in many of the Jamboree Activities such as lion dancing, dragon boat races, ancient Chinese rituals, kite flying, wide games, string art, boat tours, etc.
The Jamboree ended with a spectacular Closing Ceremony that lasted six hours. It included a folk dancing competition, a cheerleading competition, dragon dancing, frisbee displays, stilt walking and firework displays.
We then said goodbye to the many friends that we had made from countries such as Philippines. Fiji, Japan, U.S.A., Korea, Kenya and Uganda, and left on a courtesy tour of Taiwan Island. It included visits to Ken Ting National Park, military and naval displays, various cultural museums, Window on China (miniature town) and the Chieng-Kai-She Memorial.
On the evening of the 5th November 1986, after sad farewells, we finally departed from Taipei en route home after a dream come true.