At one point, I had a "Darjeeling Limited" moment (for you Wes Anderson fans out there) when I stepped into what I was told was a sculpture exhibit but what was, in fact, a sculpture exhibit of Buddhas and a temple. At the end of the tour, which was in Chinese (a language I do not speak), I was led through the temple, shown how to pray to Buddha, led through the prayers, looked upon sternly when I giggled a little, asked when I was born, pointed in the direction of my proper Buddha, given a little card, and asked for 100RMB. The part of me that is Catholic and that knows when I'm being scammed said, "wait a minute," and rejected the golden, inedible fortune cookie. But I did learn that I was born in the year of the Hawk, an auspicious year. Don't worry, Mom. I'll always have luck.
And now, photos... without much explanation, as I am not Sino-expert, nor Ming scholar and so shall not pretend to be:
Merchant's House
Goodbye lady of the house.. I am off to the seas to make money for this bronze panel that will tell the story of our lives.
Goodbye lady of the house.. I am off to the seas to make money for this bronze panel that will tell the story of our lives.
Unfortunately, you have to pay extra for these gondoliers to sing for you. We wouldn't pay so our lady ignored us and talked to her friends on the shore.
Oh, and I think I found the smell of China. It's a real smell. Of cooking, and burning and life. The cities just smell like disinfectant and pollution so all that gets masked .
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