The magic of Borobudur

I thought I was clever going to Borobudur on Christmas day, after all, this was a Muslim country. I guess I hadn’t learned my lesson from the train from Bandung. Instead of no one being at the site, the Buddhist structure was overcrowded. I soon realized it was a holiday in Indonesia. I’m not sure if it was a hangover from colonial times or that Islam revered Jesus (Isa) as a prophet and thus the holiday.

Thailand’s ancient capitals

We arrived in a country I had long wanted to visit, but Bangkok was noisy and polluted and I couldn’t wait to leave. This long narrow nation had had four capitals. Each time invaders from China pushed south, the indigenous peoples moved further south.

Hualien Beach

On a twenty-eight degree afternoon I strolled along Hualien’s promenade where the crashing waves blocked the sound of traffic. By the walkway was Pacific Park, Nanbin section, where a giant Buddha gazed down on its surroundings.

Gaundu’s Kuan-du Temple

Built in 1661 during the Tsing Dynasty, Kaun-du Temple was Taiwan’s oldest temple worshiping the Heavenly Saintly Mother. This explained why both in the Lingxiao Treasure and Taisui Halls, female monks stood before idols pounding drums and singing prayers to the sound of tinkering cymbals while incense smoked through the huge interiors.

Golguram Hermitage

This hermitage, not far from Gyeongju’s east coast, contained a stone-carved seated Buddha. Steps led to small caves where other statues were contained before I finally reached the four metre high Buddha. It was believed that the Silla Buddha image was carved between the 7^thand 9^thcentury where originally there had been twelve caves at the site.

Remains of Donggung Palace

Across the road from Gyeongju’s Wolseong Palace excavation site was Donggung Palace. Twenty-six architectural remains were identified where the royal families of the Silla Dynasty once lived.

Seokguram Grotto

Seokguram Grotto was a small site and different from others I’d visited. The attraction was an 8^thcentury granite Buddha housed in the side of the cliff that was enclosed within a building. This large Buddha was carved during the Silla dynasty.

Beomeosa Temple

Three gates flanked the entrance to Beomeosa Temple. The first, Jogyemun Gate was built in the 1700s with four stone pillars supporting the roof. The third gate, the Burimum Gate was the most interesting and had been reconstructed less that ten years ago.

Treasures of Dalseong Park

Amidst the lush vegetation of Mokpo’s Dalseong Park, I climbed stone steps onto temple grounds.

District of a thousand temples

I strolled the streets of Tokyo’s Yanaka District where it felt like there were temples on every corner. In fact, there were sixty — still a surprising number for this small district.