Dreaming of Taiwan

Today started bright and early at 6 to meet the bus at 7:30 and left at about 8:30. Once we were finally loaded into the bus and ready to go, we had the wonderful two and a half hour drive to get to Changhua, which wasn't really as bad as it could have been if the bus were less accommodating. But with reclining chairs that were comfortable enough to get a little sleep in, it wasn't too bad. Probably better than most of the cars I've ridden in, unless I had the entire back seat to myself...

The mountains were really pretty as we drove past them, something I have to note because I love mountains, haha. It reminds me of home, because I link visiting the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee with my family. When we finally got to the first temple in our list to visit, I was definitely ready for the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit. There were people playing instruments as we walked up to the temple, and it sounded really nice, really authentic. The feeling I had was that it was something completely unlike anything I was likely to experience in the United States. Then we went into a room filled with incense, which smelled really good but left my eyes feeling a little dry (probably had something to do with the fact that I was wearing contacts, haha). Anyway, it was really cool because they let us make a wish. I'm not saying what mine was, but here's to hoping it comes true!

After we were finished there, we walked outside behind the temple to see even more. There was some water with tons of fish, cute turtles, and some sort of duck (maybe?). Anyway, there was this statue I really liked of a guy riding a fish (how much more awesome transportation can you get, anyway?), which I of course took a picture of. Although none of my pictures came out good, so I am going to use one that Rebekka took instead.



The second temple we visited looked a lot more traditional, and a lot older, but that's part of what made it really cool. There were these awesome trees in the middle of the temple. There wasn't any kind of pond or anything like that in this temple, but I thought it was nice because it was Buddhist, unlike the first, so we got to visit two different types of religions' temples.

The third temple we visited was actually right by the old street we visited. It was exponentially more crowded than the other two, which I had already thought were kind of crowded, but it wasn't surprising, with all the vendors and everything around. I am glad I was able to visit these three different temples so that I could learn more about Taiwanese culture and history.

After that, we walked through the old street and looked at some of the wares the vendors were selling. I bought a couple of different souvenirs and some snacks, and then we left to go to a museum. The building itself was really beautiful and looked really expensive.

The last thing we did before heading home was painting a mask. I got half-way (or so) done, but I intend on working on it more in the future, when I can find some more watercolor to paint with.

For now, that's all! Bye! Zai jian!