What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

In fact, not only speechless, but the incomparable and indescribable underground temple complex left us feeling disorientated, breath quickened and heart racing ! I would bet my bottom Dollar that you would not have seen any temple like Niu Shou Shan (牛首山) - Bull's Head Mountain. Having taken a soothing bowl of hot chicken soup noodles for breakfast in the nearby neighbourhood, we were ready to tackle and explore this enormous temple complex, situated about 20 KM in the southern region of Nanjing (南京); which was made a breeze by the efficient and clean metro trains. Upon entering the site on a sunny Autumn morning, we were greeted by the mesmerising vista of mist-shrouded lakes and classic arc bridges; followed by a hard slog up the thousand of steps to the Buddhist Temple and pagoda (佛頂寺) and an eventual push to reach the summit of the sacred Buddhist underground "palace" of (佛頂宮). On the way up, there were numerous photogenic spots for taking spectacular photos which be warned, might overload your camera. Once entered the "palace", we were greeted by the central presence of The Sleeping Buddha statue, the soothing lighting, gentle Buddhist chanting and comforting background music made the stay in this ground floor arena an unique, magical and tranquil experience.
Further on by going down a series of escalators, we reached the 5th floor underground where an other-worldly worshiping hall was located and I could only describe the design and construction of this hall by asking you to enjoy the accompanying photos as words alone would not suffice. In addition, the lights dimmed when a school of dedicated worshipers made their procession around the central tower, bowing and praying. Just a side note, only on six to seven designated days each year, would worshipers be allowed to go down to the 6th floor underground, where the most sacred relic of The Buddha was kept - the one and only piece of head bone belonging to The Buddha (佛頂骨舍利), found anywhere in the world, would be accessed and worshiped. We actually visited the site twice in three days, but that's another story and as if to complete this magical day, Niu Shou Shan bade us farewell by displaying a spectacular and meaningful sunset and yes, that would be yet another interesting story for our journals.

Oddly enough, despite our many journeys in China, we had never experienced Autumn in its full glory - we had been both too late (freezing cold, bleak and wet) or too early (balmy, green and humid), so this year we were determined to get it just right ! We based ourselves in the provincial capital of Nanjing (南京) and we visited one of the mountains nearby which had been reputed as one of the four main sites to view China in its fine Autumn colors - Qixia Mountains (栖霞山). The other three sites being in Suzhou (described below), Changsha and Beijing. We were not disappointed as we were welcomed at the entrance of this beautiful mountain park, by the plethora of Autumn colors and the fragrance of smoky tobacco leaves, all set against a cobalt blue sky.
Mother Nature had picked Autumn as the season to best experiment with her paint brush, as we were dazzled by the intense, full-bodied and concentrated colors amongst the flora of Ginkgo (銀杏), Red Maples (紅楓 - three starred and five starred), Japanese Maples (雞爪槭), Chinese Pistache (黃連木), Zelkova (櫸樹) and Tallows (烏桕). All these plants unwittingly created an incredible patch work of colors - scarlet, amber, gold, russet, crimson and auburn, all vying for passers-by's attention. We also visited the other site famed for its fiery Autumn colors, Tian Ping Mountain in Suzhou (蘇州 天平山), also in the province of Jiangsu; although smaller in scale, Tian Ping Mountain was more compact, petite and cute when compared to Qixia Mountain's majestic and grand style. As a side trip, we took the efficient and fast (!) bullet train to Chuzou in Anhui Province (滁州 安徽) and visited the famous (yeh, every place in China could be famous for something !) Langya Mountain (琅琊山) which was the location of the Drunken Old Man Pavilion (醉翁亭). The famous Sung Dynasty (北宋) scholar/poet/official - 歐陽修, left his indelible marks here with his famous travel-log/poem of 醉翁亭記, with its immortal lines - 醉翁之意不在酒，在乎山水之間也。水落石出。峰迴路轉。When we read the stone tablet with these engraved lines, we felt like we had been time-shipped back 1,000 years and witnessed this famous man writing this poem with a glass of his favourite tipple !

Glamorous / vulgar, over-the-top / down-to-Earth, 3,000 Dollars a throw card game / 12 Dollars a Filet-O-Fish, space-age / historical, in-your-face / mellow, opulent plush brand name shops / green gardens at the city corners, the land of make-believe / a city of deep-rooted cultural traditions - Macau (澳門) was all those and more ! Macau and the bridge-connected island of Taipa (氹仔) rewarded those (us!) who spent the time exploring, a gold mine of wonders; one would see pensioners doing their morning tai-chi routines at the city parks while croupiers walked past yawning, having done their night shifts at the many casinos; or would you wonder at the too-many jewelry shops selling all manners of expensive items from Rolex watches, diamond rings and gold necklaces, well wonder no more, these were pawned items which were never reclaimed by their losing gambling owners ! Feeling lucky today ? Well you had come to the right place - Casino Lisboa, Wynn, MGM, Starworld, Galaxy, Venetians, Parisian, City Of Dreams all couldn't wait to wring your wallets dry. Better stay put and enjoy the many spectacles on display : musical water fountains, mesmerising neon lights, the atmospheric ruins of St. Pauls's, award-winning hotel receptions with over-the-top decorations fit for ancient royals (you would feel like you had just stepped into a museum in an European city somewhere), the golden sunset on the hill top view point of Farol da Guia (東望洋燈塔) where Macau used to hoist the typhoon signs and the many not-too-subtle feng-shui inspired buildings and structures around town, all designed and constructed to draw and maximise that all-important "chi of fortune" (財氣) ! One Top Tip : the half-hourly free shows at the Wynn Macau's main entrance staging an over-the-top money tree and an in-your-face flying dragon would definitely wow you over !