Day 11 - Nan Lian Garden, Chi Lin Nunnery, and the horse races
To give Grandma a break from walking, Mo and I decided to go out an explore the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery. We took the subway over to Diamond Hill and left the subway through another mall. The garden was a short walk down the street but when you went inside it was like going into another world. All the trees, rocks, buildings, and water features were meticulously organized according to specific rules. Despite the fact that the city buildings still loomed behind the walls it was very peaceful.
In the center was the 'Pavilion of Absolute Perfection', which is a pretty amusing name. It was gorgeous though.
After wandering around the garden paths and seeing all the trees, rocks, flowers, and buildings we crossed the overpass to the Chi Lin Nunnery. Of course I just assumed that means nuns lived there, but I really should have known better. In reality it's a Buddhist temple. It was built in a traditional Tang Dynasty style, which means that there were no nails used. All the wood parts are interlocking. It was filled with bonsai trees and ponds in the center.
All around the outside of the temple were halls with giant golden statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The each had various fruits in front of them. In the main part of the temple is the largest statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha surrounded by disciples and bodhisattvas. It was massive and beautiful, and even though I wasn't supposed to take a picture I couldn't resist!
After Mo and I walked over to the mall that connects to the subway and had lunch at a food court inside. It had tons of different stalls with all different types of food. We ordered Thai food and tried to get lemon tea with it. Apparently they didn't understand us and gave us some sort of soup instead. Oh well! At least the soup was good. On our way out we passed a drink stall and realized we were supposed to go there if we wanted one.
We made our way back to the apartment so we could get Grandma and meet with Drew. We went to a place called View 62 which was circular and at the 62nd floor of a building. It gradually rotated in a circle (though I didn't actually believe it was happening at first) so you got a 360 degree view of the city. We had cocktails and appetizers. My personal favorite was a watermelon chili cocktail. Sounds awful, but actually delicious. It was spicy and sweet at the same time. Grandma enjoyed her fruit smoothie as well!
After admiring the view for a while we headed down to the race track so we could bet on some horses. I must be a horse expert because I won both bets I made, bringing my total up to 3 out of 4. I'm basically going to become a professional gambler.
It was a long but fun day!
In the center was the 'Pavilion of Absolute Perfection', which is a pretty amusing name. It was gorgeous though.
After wandering around the garden paths and seeing all the trees, rocks, flowers, and buildings we crossed the overpass to the Chi Lin Nunnery. Of course I just assumed that means nuns lived there, but I really should have known better. In reality it's a Buddhist temple. It was built in a traditional Tang Dynasty style, which means that there were no nails used. All the wood parts are interlocking. It was filled with bonsai trees and ponds in the center.
All around the outside of the temple were halls with giant golden statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The each had various fruits in front of them. In the main part of the temple is the largest statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha surrounded by disciples and bodhisattvas. It was massive and beautiful, and even though I wasn't supposed to take a picture I couldn't resist!
After Mo and I walked over to the mall that connects to the subway and had lunch at a food court inside. It had tons of different stalls with all different types of food. We ordered Thai food and tried to get lemon tea with it. Apparently they didn't understand us and gave us some sort of soup instead. Oh well! At least the soup was good. On our way out we passed a drink stall and realized we were supposed to go there if we wanted one.
We made our way back to the apartment so we could get Grandma and meet with Drew. We went to a place called View 62 which was circular and at the 62nd floor of a building. It gradually rotated in a circle (though I didn't actually believe it was happening at first) so you got a 360 degree view of the city. We had cocktails and appetizers. My personal favorite was a watermelon chili cocktail. Sounds awful, but actually delicious. It was spicy and sweet at the same time. Grandma enjoyed her fruit smoothie as well!
After admiring the view for a while we headed down to the race track so we could bet on some horses. I must be a horse expert because I won both bets I made, bringing my total up to 3 out of 4. I'm basically going to become a professional gambler.
It was a long but fun day!
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