#AugustDestinations2

#AugustDestinations2025 ▎Summer Vacation in Suao Every summer vacation, I go back to my home in Suao for a day or two. Suao boasts mountains, ocean, hot springs, and cold springs—it's a great place for a vacation! The past two years when I've been to Suao, I've always gone to Doufu Cape to experience marine activities. Once I did a single-person SUP (stand-up paddle) and once I took a tandem kayak to the glassy beach of Zeizaiao. This time, we found our good friends Bella and Xiaoshuang's families to join us for a vacation. We went to Doufu Cape to play dragon boating! Bella has a son, and Xiaoshuang has two boys. There are 10 of us, three families, and it's fun and exciting to be out together. ▎Dragon Boats that can accommodate 12 people at a time There were a lot of people this time, so I opted for a two-in-one dragon boating and snorkeling activity, provided by Water Exploration Life and Leisure Co., Ltd. This company is really cool. Our instructor that day said they partner with major hotels like Longshanlin, Yanbo, Kaidu, and Jingying for their water activities. They also handled all water activities at this year's World Universiade, deploying a total of 180 lifeguards. They're a very professional company. The dragon boat we used was incredibly large, capable of seating 10-12 people. Later, I saw the instructor's aerial photos and saw that it actually held 12 people, with an instructor swimming behind us, keeping a close eye on safety. I don't know if it was the sheer weight of the boat (huh?) or the rough waves (probably that), but it took a lot of effort to reach the coral reef. ▎Finding Nemo and Mission Impossible It was my first time snorkeling. Watching fish swimming in the ocean was a completely different experience than watching them in an aquarium. It made me realize how mysterious nature truly is. But when we passed certain areas where we couldn't see any reefs at all, the bottomless waters were still a bit scary. At that moment, I was reminded of Tom Cruise's deep-sea dive scene in "Mission Impossible: The Reckoning." It was truly terrifying! Snorkeling, playing in the water, and taking photos—two hours flew by in the blink of an eye, and everyone had a blast. The company we used had a drone, which allowed us to take photos from different angles. The photos were also uploaded to the cloud for all visitors—a truly fantastic experience!