Trip to Lotus Lake

When Alissa came to visit, we decided to make the trek out to Lotus Lake after she came to watch me teach. I’d only been out there once, when we went to visit Chiu Cheng, and had always intended on returning, so Alissa gave me a good reason to do so.

The area is filled with old temples, and we explored the dragon and tiger pagodas first before moving on to the two temples that sit immediately next to that side of the lake.

Fooling around inside the entrance to the dragon’s mouth:

The first temple was quite beautiful on the inside, and I was struck, as always, by the vibrant interplay of the colors: reds, golds, blues, greens, and purples:

The second temple, however, was truly an amazing experience. We stumbled upon a temple prayer ceremony, complete with a live musical ensemble and a group of devotees praying together. The music was a cacophony, it was dissonant, clanging, and yet really fascinating to listen to because it sounded so unlike anything I’d ever heard before:

 

 

We then headed to the upper levels of the temple, and when we reached the third floor, I literally gasped out loud. The entire space was decorated in gold, glittering and gleaming. It was silent save for the clatter of the fortune telling blocks on the floor, and it really felt like a separate universe from the music we’d heard down below.

As a bonus, there was a man doing the most graceful, rapid form of Tai Chi I’ve ever seen (Tai Chi is generally characterized by very slow, deliberate movements). Watching him was hypnotizing, almost as though he were dancing:

We headed back downstairs and the prayers had ended, but we were in for a treat. The celebrants were enjoying food and drink at the temple entrance, and before we knew it, we were seated and being offered buns, red bean cake, red bean soup and tea to drink. It was an awesome experience, and I’m really glad we decided to follow our instincts and see where the music was coming from. Exhausted, we headed home where I proceeded to come down with a nasty cold and a fever.

~ by adventuresintaiwan on May 2, 2009.