Like our imaginations were in shape then

The temples here are so whimsical. I find myself photographing the roofing from every angle, changing all of my settings, trying to capture the vivid colors and meticulous detailing. This shot is from two weeks ago, wandering around the city with a friend from couchsurfing. We realized it must have been a Buddhist holiday, because even the smallest temples had performances and ceremonies going on all day. I hope to do a temple stay over a long weekend to understand the Buddhist culture in Taiwan a little better and also just experience something very different and out of my comfort zone. Culture is best understood by active participation, in my opinion. I love seeing the temples and watching ceremonies from a distance, but the opportunity to be there with monks and learning exactly what each thing means... that is one of the privileges of living in Asia. I missed out due to scheduling and laziness in Korea, so I refuse to let that happen again. Now I am just waiting until I can take off a Friday and sign up to go! 

I've been wishing I had a video camera daily. I've decided I have to upgrade my DSLR so I can get a video recording function in it. I think it will change the way I share my experiences and give me a new way to relive these moments. 

Watch this and be completely impressed; I've been playing it on repeat today. It is the same guy who went viral for his "Porkchop vs Karate Chop" video. 

Frozen in Time

Chenghuang Temple in Hsinchu

Chenghuang, or City of God, Temple is my favorite place in Hsinchu so far. Part of it may be influenced by the fact that I found it completely on my own, making it a little more intimate. It is also a beautiful temple, of course, and it has an interesting story, being the highest ranking City of God temple in all of Taiwan (link), but it is more than that. The temple is surrounded by these markets, which I am completely infatuated with. There are areas for produce, fabric, clothing, Buddhist goods, food vendors, and even little restaurants set up. In some ways it is very familiar to the markets I've seen in Korea and elsewhere in Asia, but it is distinctly its own. I could be wrong, but it feels like in Chenghuang's markets, people come here just to be at the market, rather than it being a tedious chore to go shopping that forces them to it. People come and grab lunch, leave gifts in the temple itself, let their kids play in the temple entrance (as seen in the picture above), and pick up some things. Its even vibrant at night on the weekend, filled with people getting dinner. 

The front entrance to the fabric section, closed and shuttered at night, but bustling in the daylight. 

I like the atmosphere and the crowded stalls. I love the convenience of the set up. And more than that, being a brisk 7 minute walk from my house, it is my market - the one I go to for my weekly groceries and occasional wandering. I feel more grounded having found it, and it makes Hsinchu a little more of my home.

Finding my way

The first temple I stumbled upon in Taiwan

I've been in Taiwan a full week now, and I am feeling more settled. This is relative, as I still use a photocopied map with lots of scribbling on it to find my way around, hah. I've been lucky, having coworkers willing to walk me across the city to find a plant for my cavernous apartment, to loan me a cell phone, to take me to their favorite restaurants, and score me a free week-long trial at an awesome gym. These are huge in learning my way around this new city.

Now that I'm spending more time wandering by myself, I do a lot of walking, so street names and spatial understanding are vital. If you know me well, you should realize that this means I spend a lot of time mildly lost. Things look familiar and places stand out to me, but I am not sure which way is right or what street I am on exactly. But, every day I feel a little more confident and come home with the spoils of my success - a baguette, a pasta strainer, stationary, or paper towel... these may be simple, but every success is worth appreciating. 

Manbulsa Temple

Chevelle and I made a day trip to Yeongcheon to check out Manbulsa. From Dong Daegu Station, it should only be a 35 minute train ride each way. The stop is on the slow train line on the way to Gyeongju.Of course, we had serious train issues and it took about two hours each way, BUT, hopefully you will be better at the train lines than we were! 

 It is a relatively new temple, and the style is a lot more gaudy than most I have seen in Korea. The notable draw was a huge golden Buddha and golden pagodas. You can read more about the history and details at Dale's Korean Temple Adventure blog, found here: link.

From the station, we grabbed a taxi for around 15,000 won each way. The ride was quick and they knew exactly where we were headed. 

For those not living in Korea, "san" means mountain, and "sa" means temple. Therefore, Manbulsa means  Manbul Temple, and Manbulsan means Manbul Mountain. I suspect that they refer to it as Manbulsan on the signs because the temple is on the mountain of the same name. 

  

We went the weekend of Children's Day, and they were changing the thousands of red bandanas. 

So many tiny little Buddhas. 

Chevelle posing, this should show you some scale!

The giant gold Buddha is up a little hill, but nothing strenuous or requiring hiking boots.

This Buddha is huge. It reminded me of the one I saw in Songnisan National Park (link).

There were rows of these smaller - slightly less than "life-sized" - golden Buddhas all around the temple. 

The little trail.

Decorations up for Buddha's birthday possibly? It is on May 28.

Namhae

Mike and I took a daytrip to beautiful Namhae a few weeks ago. There are regular buses running from Jinju to Namhae. Once there we grabbed a cab and headed towards the coast, stopping our driver to let us off near the water. 

These really reminded me of the women in Tongyeong.

Mike and I

American Village! 

America's ambassador, Mickey Mouse. 

The Statue of Liberty and houses with more western style architecture. 

Five minutes of hiking, fifteen minutes of walking up a paved road led us to...

A little temple! 

I love the cherry blossoms in season all over Korea. 

I love that many temples in Korea are actually occupied by residents.