99.10.10

Tomorrow is 10.10 day--Taiwan's National Day--and the area around the Presidential Palace is getting done up for a big show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Ten_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minguo_calendar

Also, saw this outside of Longshan Temple and had to google to figure out what the heck is going on...yes, you're looking at "ear candling"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling

Yingge, Sanxia

On Sunday I went to Yingge and nearby Sanxia, very famous for pottery and ceramics and I had a great time going around both towns. I did not buy any pottery--mostly expensive and/or hard to get back in a suitcase--but I was really digging the European architecture in that area.

Summary of a work on Taiwan architectural influences but I think the summary gets at the idea (scroll down for English): http://library1.lib.nccu.edu.tw:1478/bookDetail.jsp?id=94

And, went back to Taipei 101. Trying to go back every night of the week to see each different color. By the way, several locals here were surprised when I told them every night is a different color, they did not know this. I am not making it up. Thank you, Wikipedia. Went on Saturday and totally bummed to discover they TURN OFF THE LIGHTS at like 8:00 or 9:00. Let down. So wasted trip on Saturday but did catch violet on Sunday. Also still discovering new statues every time I walk around 101--here's a chess board on a street corner.

Tainan

Yesterday was an odyssey of temples. I went to Tainan in Southern Taiwan--it is the oldest city in Taiwan, and it used to be the capital. The temple heritage is huge. I took my guidebook's suggestion and visited about 15 different temples, and it was a very hot, very busy day. I'll show the highlights.

Thanks to the High Speed Rail, it's easy to go from northern to southern Taiwan and it only takes 2 hours. It is fairly expensive, a full round-trip ticket is about $85 USD. The HSR station in Tainan is about 40 minutes away from downtown Tainan, but there's a free shuttle--pretty convenient.

I started at Chihkan Tower and what I liked most is the nine stone turtles carrying Qing dynasty tablets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Provintia

Dongyue Temple was an experience to be had. People go to Dongyue to communicate with the dead through mediums, and I watched some of that. The murals on the wall have depictions of hell, and for whatever reason (ambience?) they've got a raging fire and coal pit burning in the side hallway. City God Temple, a stone's throw away, is where the City God tallies all of your good and bad deeds after you die. There is a huge abacus that he uses for that calculation, and when you enter the temple the big gold-plated sign translates to, "You've come at last."

Finally, more upbeat is Lady Linshui's Temple, dedicated to Lady Linshui who, along with her 36 assistants, is responsible for protecting children. This was a very crowded temple.

When in Rome...it was hideously hot all day and in Taiwan the way to beat the heat is with bao bing--shaved ice topped with condensed milk and hunks of fruit. And Tainan is known for danzi mian--noodles in tangy meat sauce, named after the two baskets and a stick used to carry the noodles around for sale.