Moon Festival at Longshan Temple

Tuesday night, Catherine and I made our way to the Longshan Temple. It's one of the more prominent Buddhist temples in Taipei. The place was packed! Catherine escorted me through explaining many of the customs and rites. It's a beautiful place.

I really enjoy visiting the temples. The artwork and aura is intense. Since Monday was a holiday, the temple was especially busy. I did my best to not disturb Catherine as she partook in the rituals. She was an excellent tour guide.

Here are some of the photos from our visit:

(I have finally discovered how to export photos properly. From here on in, they won't open up full-sized when you click on them...not sure why it took me so long to discover how to do this.)

Approaching the main entrance. The place was hopping.

The waterfalls are just inside the entrance in the first photo. I was quite surprised to see them.

Mugging for the camera. I don't allow myself to be on that side of the camera very often, enjoy!...lol

Some interesting etchings surrounding the entrance doors.

Looking back at the gate before we entered the main temple.

What a spread! Visitors bring offerings in order to show one's commitment and encourage generosity and virtue from the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

The main worship area. I had to turn off the flash on the camera because there was so much smoke from the burning of incense and candles.

One of the many worship areas. I love all the colors and intricate design-work.

There are several of these pillars throughout the temple. All of them have unique messages etched in them.

Catherine chatting with another young woman while waiting her turn to approach the shrine.

A fine example of the lovely artwork throughout the temple.

I took this to show the amount of smoke emanating from the temple. I was standing on the sidewalk quite a distance from the main area. It was crazy smoky.

I am planning on making a return visit soon. I want to go there during the day in order to catch some of the stuff that night shots can't pick-up.

The Censorship of Porky

Here in Taiwan, they edit all language, nudity, and other titillating stuff out of TV programs. I think it's pretty silly, but not a big deal. I have grown accustomed to watching programs that have been "sanitized". Until the other night I had never been puzzled why they edited something out of a program.

A few nights ago I was watching an episode of Fear Factor. It's fun to watch if you can get past the host. I think they discovered him at a frat party on a college campus...every other word out of his mouth is "dude". Anyhow, at the end of each program they have a segment where they go to a viewer's house and have them perform one of the eating challenges. If they are successful they win $5000. On this particular episode the family had to stick their faces into a vat of nastiness and pull out several pig's feet with their teeth. The host went about explaining the challenge to the family and every time he said "pig's feet" they edited out the word "pig's". Huh? Is this a pork and Islam thing? Help me out here. The editing process is done for the Asian broadcast of the show, so I am assuming that it was done in deference to the large Buddhist and/or Islamic population. I am not losing sleep over this. Just curious.

Bangkok Photos!

The Temple of the Lucky Buddha. Buddhists know how to build shrines. The amount of gold is crazy but it works. It's really a beautiful place. Awe-inspiring.This is a close-up of one of the walls in the Temple of the Lucky Buddha. You could spend hours just looking at all of these little scenes. The monks spent years decorating the Temple.
The big board at the Airport in Taipei. Anxious to get started on my trip.
One of my Monday morning destinations. I made it to the top and got a glimpse of Bangkok from up high. The weather was perfect and it was very peaceful up there.

Bangkok Photos!

One of many little shrines to the King. Thai's love their King. He has been leading the country for about 60 years. I think he is the longest serving leader in the world. I spoke with many locals and they all think he is an amazing man. The accompanying picture is quite old...he is over 80 years old now.My tuk-tuk driver on Monday morning. Great guy. We burned around the city for a few hours. He took me to a bunch of places and only charged me a total of about $3 American.
This is the standing Buddha. A freaking giant statue. I zoomed in for this shot. At the base of the statue, you are given a small cage with some birds in it. It is customary to release the birds in the direction of the Buddha, it was a very spiritual.
A look at a little shrine in the temple of the lucky Buddha. It's difficult to make out, but the design is insanely ornate. The attention to detail is mind-boggling.

Bangkok Photos!

I can't resist snapping shots of English language goofs. This one is great. This is a sign for one of the guest houses on Khao San Rd.Khao San Rd. It's about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. You can imagine how packed it gets as ya get closer to the evening. This placed is incredible, so much fun. Bargains like I've never seen before.
The Chao Phraya Express on one of the many canals running through the city. An excellent way to get around the city.
Making my way up the mountain. The bells are all engraved with Buddhist proverbs. This is smack in the middle of the city, but somehow very quiet. It's about a 10 minute walk to the top and great views of the city.

Bangkok Photos!

On Saturday, we took this boat to the market. It's a quick way to get from one end of the city to the other. I tried to take some pics while on the boat but none of them turned out because the water was really choppy. I was feeling a bit woozy by the time we reached shore.
Just behind the ladies in this pic is a Tuk-Tuk. It's a super-cheap alternative to a taxi. Insanely dangerous, but fun. It's like a motorcycle with an old bench seat attached to the back. They fly around the city in crazy traffic.
This is a shot from a temple high on a hill. The city is looks similar to Taipei from a distance.
An old temple. These building are about 400 years old. This temple was built for women. It was once a place for women to come and meditate.