We
were supposed to have Andy as our guide and have 2 cabs for our group of 12,
but he emailed to say he couldn’t be our guide and we were now in one 20 pax
mini bus instead.
Today
we are joined by Rick & Janie, Bob & Phyllis, Julie & Jeff, Karen
& Steve and Perla & Joe.
Originally
our port time was to be 6:00 to 5:00, but it was changed to 8:00 to 6:00. Our
tour was to start at 8:00, so we got off asap.
sail in
drone over the ship
it's a rooftop amusement park on top of the mall
We
met our guide Chin-Chin Kao and we were off for the 1 hour scenic drive to Fokuangshan
Monastery & Buddhist Memorial Center. Fokuangshan is Mandarin for
"Buddha's light mountain".
the port area
drive to Fokuangshan Monastery
Fokuangshan
Monastery is the older building (classical design like traditional temple) and
the Buddhist Memorial Center is an advanced design, but both buildings are still
very old.
We
visited the Monastery first and then went to the Memorial Center which really
was a bit like a “Disney” version of Buddhism, covering more than 247 acres,
the center opened in 2011 and was designed to promote cultural and religious
education.
The
huge golden Buddha statue measures a staggering 393 feet high and is surrounded
by 480 smaller Buddha statues.
The
Main Shrine, sitting in front are the world's tallest Light Jewel Pagodas.
Standing 29 feet high the pagodas contain 7,200 Buddha images. To the left and
right you'll see the biggest Buddhist bell in Taiwan. Forged out of pure
copper, it weighs a staggering 17,000 pounds and took two years to cast. Inside
the Main Shrine we saw 14,800 more Buddha images.
Sitting
behind the Main Shrine is the Meditation Hall. A serene space measuring 88 by
55 feet, the room is a contemplative place designed for walking meditation.
we shopped here
It
was really an awesome sight to see so many Buddha statues in one place. We did
a bit of shopping here despite our guide telling us we would have more shops
later. As it turned out we all were glad we grabbed something there as the next
place didn’t have the kind of souvenirs that most of us like to buy.
We
then visited the Buddha Memorial Center. We saw the huge standing Buddha from
the Monastery, but did not visit “Buddha Land” that lies between them.
Jeff, Julie, Karen, Steve, Janie, Rick, Phyllis, Bob, Perla, Joe, Greg, Annette
A
Monk took us around the museum and explained the various stations where we
could “make a wish”, stand and be sprayed with Holy Water, chant for our wishes
to come true and then we received a vial of Holy Water, we received blessings
as we held out our hands and a word appeared on them. (lights) Mine was Wealth
and Greg’s was in Chinese.
We
visited the Jade reclining Buddha. Photos were not allowed in this area as well
as a few others. Buddha’s Tooth Relic is located here. Despite the “Disney”
feel, it was a fun way to learn more about the rituals of Buddhism. Not sure
any of us achieved “Nirvana”, but it was a very interesting visit.
Jeff, Julie, Karen, Steve, Janie, Rick, Phyllis, Bob, Perla, Joe, Greg, Annette
Karen & I putting our shoes on
all of us and our guide
We were supposed to have lunch here, but it was so busy that our guide feared we would lose too much time. We said take us to where you would like to eat so we could experience a more authentic food experience. There were only locals there and we didn't order they just brought out tons of dishes of food. Not everyone was thrilled with the choices, but it really was all good. (and I'm not a fish eater)
the restaurant
pork
fish
fish
greens
shrimp salad
it wasn't dessert, but was meat with sauce
soup
yep, it's a chicken foot
Joe beside me
I had to bite the chicken foot
Rick, Bob, Phyllis, Jeff, Julie
the restaurant
the aftermath of our table
We
saw the Ren-Ai River which is also known as the Love River. We saw the huge
bridge that looks a lot like the Century Bridge in Panama.
The Lotus
Pond scenic area on the northern outskirts of Kaohsiung City is surrounded by
Confucius Temple in the north and the Dragon and Tiger pagodas and Spring and
Autumn Pavilions in the south.
We
visited the Dragon and Tiger pagodas which was built by using the image of the
dragon’s throat as the entrance and tiger’s mouth as the exit. It is believed
that if you enter a dragon’s throat gate and go out by the other – the tiger’s
mouth, you can turn the bad luck to good fortune. The pagodas ornamented by the
painting of 24 most obedient children and the scenes of heaven and hell to
remind the people doing the good thing instead of doing evil thing in their
lifetime. They really were a beautiful sight and fun to walk through. We didn’t
walk to the top of each of the towers, but Karen and I went up to the first
stair landing for a nice view of the area.
We
got photos of the Taoist Temple across the street, but did not get to go
inside. (it was supposed to be on our itinerary)
Taoist Temple
Lotus pond
Our
next stop was at the Confucius Temple built under the architectural style of
Song Dynasty. The temple is the largest Confucius Temple in Taiwan. Next to an
arching bridge near the temple is a bronze relief of the most influential
philosopher in China. It is the country's oldest temple dedicated to Confucius. Built
in 1666 at the end of the Manchu Dynasty, the temple served as Taiwan's first
official school, later becoming the center of the country's learning. It was
closed today possibly because of the four day holiday, so we only could see it
from the outside.
going to the Confucius Temple
the Confucius Temple
We
didn’t visit the Spring and Autumn Pavilions which were completed in 1951 and
dedicated to Kuan Kung, the god of war, but we got photos from a distance. In
front of the pavilion is a statue of statue of Guanyin (Kuanyin) riding a
dragon.
From
here we drove to the subway station where the Dome of the Light
was. We missed the light show by 15 minutes, but it was still beautiful and the
scenes depict water as a symbol of birth, earth, wind and fire for rebirth as
in the Phoenix bird.
Next, we had a stop that originally was not on our schedule.
The Dream Mall is 9 floors of HUGE and has a small amusement park on the roof
which includes the Kaohsiung Eye Ferris wheel. While it was interesting to see,
we would have rather spent more time at either of the places we visited earlier
as we skipped a few things we were supposed to see. I think there was some
miscommunication between Andy and the guide. We had a great day despite some
issues with Andy saying the guide would have sufficient cash to convert our USD
to NTD and he did not and a few of the sites that were skipped.
all of us crammed in a small elevator
We made it back to the ship in time to go straight to
dinner. Everyone had a great day of touring. As we sailed away it was nice
seeing the boats and the buildings that were lit up.
There was no show tonight, as they chose to record and show
the Academy Awards.
Now we have 1 sea day before we get off for our short overland
in China. We will get off the ship early tomorrow and go to the airport to fly
to Xian where we will tour Muslim Quarters and the Great Mosque. If the Tang
Dynasty show is operating we will see that and eat at their dumpling
restaurant. The next day we will visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Big
Wild Goose Pagoda and Ancient City Wall before flying to Chengdu where we will
spend the night and the next day we will be Assistant Panda Keepers for the day
at Dujiangyan Panda Base. (a research center) That evening we will fly to Sanya
where we will spend the night and then meet my tour group for our tour of Sanya
and re-joing the ship
So, there won’t be any blog posts for quite a few days. I will catch up on posting photos from previous ports after we return.
