FAR FAR AWAY

Ah yes, Boca and Bubba hit the road again. More or less. "To stay young, the doctor said to exercise and eat the right foods" said BUBBA. "What?" said BOCA, " I thought he said ACCESSORIZE AND BUY NICE SHOES." And so begins Boca and Bubba's next adventure.

HOW TRAVEL DECISIONS ARE MADE

After several long car drives, Boca thought it was time for a bit of a different kind of "cruzin". Ah yes time for the high seas. NO NO NO yelped Bubba. "Don't you understand we are in a recession aka depression!!!" That was until one of his good buddies said, "Hey Bubba, this cruise looks pretty darn good. Are ya goin?" And that was all it took. "Well, hell yes. We are in good buddy!" Must be a man thing. And so begins Boca and Bubba's next adventure. It has all the making's of some Bubba and Boca madness...start in LA and end in Shanghai. Look out Charlie Chan- be sure to follow the google calendar below. And yes yes I am behind already.

DAY 34 MARCH 16 CRUISING THE EAST CHINA SEA/LUNGSHAN TEMPLE



The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China and part of the Pacific Ocean.  Per our Captain, the Regent office is monitoring the situation and assures us it is safe to travel on ahead to Korea, with a drive by of Japan.  Oh yes, this is the guy who couldn't figure out the tide chart.  We have  utter faith in his knowledge and judgement.  Sure, keep those cruisers cruising...their glowing won't start till they get home.    Bubba said "hey we go to Alaska, California and other spots that are earthquake prone-it can happen at anytime.  So if it bothers you, then don't go anywhere in the Ring of Fire".  Did he say ring?  Oh hell no, I'm not getting off this boat as I am sure I will find some bauble in China.  I have convinced Bubs they are practically giving baubles away in Shanghai-recession and all.  So what about the radiation floating around Bubs?  "Hope it's in containment and doesn't set back the needed nuclear energy efforts."  Bub, I think you have been watching way to much Fox News.  We  continue to pray for the souls of the reposed in Japan and for the good Lord's guidance in handling this disaster.

cont'd yesterdays tour- LUNGSHAN TEMPLE
What a fabulous tour stop! The Lungshan (Dragon Mountain) Temple is Taipei's oldest and most popular temple and one of Taiwan's premier religious edifices. This bustling and high energy Temple is a happening place and definitely a must see on your visit to Type A. :)  We are talking lots of Yin and Yang going on.  Pleep loved the Dragon motif of course.  Up here Boca, I'm up here- take my picture!!

Decorated for Chinese New Years-the year of the Rabbit- this resplendent Buddhist temple, has the best traditional temple architectures of Chinese temples. Built in a three-sectional shaped design with bronze dragons on right and left pillars symbolizing protections to the main hall, and decorations of delicate sculptures, detailed wood carvings and gorgeous Buddha settled in the main hall. A mass of Chinese poems, verses, and phrases onsite representing values of the religion and Chinese culture part of the temple experience.
Praying and incense lighting are all part of the worshipping process.
Construction on the temple began in 1738 and was completed two years later. There is a popular legend associated with its construction. Apparently someone had left a charm or lantern of Kuanyin hanging on a tree. It began giving off an unnatural light and granting wishes to those bringing petitions; local residents consequently decided to build a temple to mark the sacred place. It has been a popular site for local residents ever since.  And tourists too!

Lungshan sometimes is known as the 'meeting place of the gods.' There are over a hundred deities worshipped here, since new settlers from the Fujian Province on the mainland often brought with them their local gods. The unevenly cut stones in the courtyards, incidentally, provide evidence of this cross-channel contact; the stones were used as ballast in in the ships that traversed the sometimes treacherous Straits of Taiwan, or "Blackwater Channel." Thus although the temple was originally constructed in the 18th century as a temple for Kuanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, numerous other gods soon made their appearance. Matsu, the Goddess of the Sea, and Kuan Kung, the God of War, figure prominently, but there are numerous other statues and altars.
 There is praying and chanting and much smoke from the burning of incense and paper money for the gods. The temple experienced numerous natural disasters and the devastation of war over the centuries. The main temple was destroyed by an earthquake in 1815, though the statue of Kuanyin survived; in the 1860s it was destroyed by a typhoon. The main hall was destroyed by allied bombing in the Second World War (Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese from 1895 to 1945), though the image of the Goddess Kuanyin again survived. The temple then served as a place for hawkers and squatters, as government offices, a school and center for military housing. In 1951 the Taipei Municipal Government proclaimed it an historic site, and announced a plan of renovation. It began in 1953 and lasted for over twenty years. The most recent refurbishment were completed in the late 1990s in time for the celebration of the 260th anniversary of its original construction.
The loving and careful restoration have revitalized and even extended the ornate and rich decorations on its walls and pillars and the numerous lively exquisite bronze, stone and wood carvings and the unique cavorting figures and dragons on the rooftops. Though much is the work of modern restorers, the true spirit of the old temple lives on today.  It was fun to watch the school girls  try to worship the Buddha of Marriage...as in I want to find a husband.  But the teacher shooed them away. 



Pleep loved the red wooden "bananas".  Also part of the worship process....stand before your Buddha, clang clang and throw them on the ground.  Over and over and over.  Pleep decided to become Buddhist for the afternoon and had a ball throwing and picking up....he found the right Buddha- The Buddha Of Cruising- making sure there will be more in his future.




DIDN'T THAT FUR BALL UNDERSTAND THIS IS A MONK KEY MEETING!

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