All the Goodies from TLBP!

The Temples of China

Lane — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:00:24 -0700

Given China’s Communist history, I hadn’t expected to see any functioning temples. So I was surprised to encounter crowds of worshippers. I discovered that China’s constitution grants citizens ‘freedom of religious belief’ – at least on paper. The government claims that 300 million citizens are religious believers, with the four major religions in the country being: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion. While stories of religious oppression continue, nobody seemed particularly intimidated at the Buddhist and Taoist temples I visited.

We arrived in Beijing during Qing Ming, otherwise known as Tomb Sweeping Day, when ancestors are honored. This might have explained the masses of incense bearing worshippers that filled the rooms of Beijing’s Lama Temple.

Inside the first courtyard were a hexagonal bell tower and drum tower. Both were painted in vibrant shades of blue, red, green and gold. The Lama Temple is dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism, which uses prayer wheels. Visitors kept these metal cylinders, which are printed with mantras, in a constant state of motion. Worshippers also clasped handfuls of incense sticks, some of which were very thick. As they dipped the sticks into metal containers of fire, plumes of smoke clouded the air. I’d prepared myself for Beijing’s infamous smog but hadn’t anticipated the effect of this much incense. Where was my inhaler again and how could I get hold of one of those attractive face mask thingies?

As we walked further through the complex, we came across a group of red-robed monks performing some kind of ceremony. A steady drumbeat accompanied the chanting and offerings of fruit and flowers weighed down the tables. The ceremony was overseen by a large, serene-looking Buddha. But, if size matters, he paled in comparison to Basketball Buddha, who could have taken down an all-star NBA team. Carved from one piece of sandalwood, this slender 55-foot tall Buddha is in the Guinness Book of Records—we came up to his ankles. I love the scent of sandalwood but suspected that sniffing Buddha’s feet might be disrespectful.

One of the halls contained a display of Tibetan Buddhas. A monk sat in the doorway, chanting. As we were among the few tourists at the site, our goal was to observe without getting underfoot. We gestured to ask if we were allowed inside the museum hall. The monk nodded, but doing so made him lose his place in the chant. There was a long pause before he restarted. I hope he didn’t have to go all the way back to the beginning. The museum showcased small Buddha statues from the fourteenth century onwards—most were from the eighteenth century.

If you only have time to see one temple, make it the Lama Temple. The architecture is beautiful and the flock of worshippers are proof that it’s authentic. There was a security presence at the entrance, but the guards’ main concern was kicking out those trying to sneak in an illicit cigarette.

Another beautiful place of worship is Shanghai’s Jing’an Temple. The temple’s Nanjing Road location offers a clear snap shot of China’s past and future. Sleek skyscrapers loom above the pagodas, reflecting the temple’s impressive, golden roof.

Shanghai is a cosmopolitan, bustling city but, as soon as we stepped inside the Jing’an Temple complex, all that fell away. A few people were lighting incense. A gray-robed monk strolled across the courtyard. It was the calmest place we’d visited in Shanghai and I could almost summon up a sense of Zen. I say almost because I get an ‘F’ in meditation—it stresses me out.

The Jing’an Temple has been located on the same site since 1216. Admittedly, the building has been renovated and reconstructed several times throughout its history. During the Cultural Revolution it was even used as a plastics factory, which seems incongruous. In 1984, the temple became a place of worship again.

I climbed the steps to reach the Silver Buddha Hall, made from rich-toned teak wood. As I approached the doorway, my jaw dropped all the way back down to the courtyard below. It’s rude to mention someone’s weight, but the Jing’an Temple Buddha weighs in at 15 tons and is made entirely from silver. His scale filled me with awe and reminded me of my own insignificance which, presumably, was the point. His expression was gentle and kind. I could see the appeal of Buddhism and, if incense didn’t send me into coughing fits, in that moment I’d have been tempted to sign up.

Other highlights of the temple complex include a twenty-foot high camphor wood statue of the Goddess of Mercy and a white jade, 11 ton, Buddha that is more than twelve feet tall. We visited on a Sunday morning, when it was extremely quiet. Entry tickets are currently 30 yuan per person.

You should never take photos inside any temple buildings. However, the doors to the Silver Buddha Hall were open when we visited and, thanks to a zoom lens, we were able to stay well away from the building and worshippers, while still getting the shot.

Unlike the previous two temples, The Temple of Heaven is no longer an active place of worship. The complex, also called Tian Tan, is set in a giant park (8.9 million square feet to be precise) filled with ancient Cyprus trees. It seemed like Beijing’s version of Central Park, complete with hawkers and people kicking back and relaxing.

A group of adults played a game that looked a bit like hacky sack, while another man dipped a giant paintbrush in water to create Chinese symbols on the dusty tile. Further inside, a large group of women did what I can only describe as slo-mo Asian Zumba. However tempting, don’t imitate the Russian group in front of us who thought it appropriate to join in—this decision was not appreciated, although the tourists failed to notice the death stares. Also, buy a through ticket (just point to the most expensive option at the booth) otherwise you have to buy a new ticket for each section of the temple, which was both more expensive and also annoying.

Here’s the lowdown on the Temple of Heaven. It dates back to 1420AD and was used by emperors to perform ceremonial sacrifices (a two thousand year old ritual) and the plebs were never allowed inside. The walls are square, while the structures within are round. In China, a square represents Earth and a circle represents Heaven.

Don’t forget to look up. The ceilings throughout are intricately painted, but the most impressive is the wooden Caisson Ceiling, which was built without any nails. Stop at the Circular Echo Wall—if both parties face the wall and say something, it sounds as if you are side by side. The name is slightly misleading as no actual echo effect occurs.

Aside from pagodas, these temples all have something in common: high thresholds. Threshold height represents the importance of those living inside. Those who tried to construct a threshold higher than their social level warranted got in trouble. Gods top the importance scale so temple thresholds are always high–practice your hurdling skills before visiting.

The Lama Temple is located on 12 Yonghe Gong Dajie, Dongcheng. The hours are 9am to 4pm daily. It’s best to go as soon as it opens, as those on guided tours visit in the afternoon.
The Jing’an Temple can be found at 1686 Nanjing Xi Rd and is open from 7:30am-5pm every day.
The Temple of Heaven is ginormous and can be accessed from more than one gate. Just look for the green expanse to the south end of your map. Tiantan Dongmen Subway Station is near the East Gate of the complex.

Hello traveler! If you enjoyed this post, you can get every post delivered to your RSS feed reader. Subscribe to TLBP's RSS Feed.

UK – Oxford – Bodleian Library – Bibliotheca Bodleiana

Lane — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:00:18 -0700

Title: UK – Oxford – Bodleian Library – Bibliotheca Bodleiana

Location: Oxford, UK

Photographer: Darrell Godliman

Image © Darrell Godliman • View his gallery and Flickr page . • Please click on image for full view.

Biography:

‘My name is Darrell Godliman, an Architectural Designer & semi-pro Photographer living and working in Oxford, England. I’ve been taking photos for over twenty years having originally become involved in photography as a means to express my Architectural ideas whilst at University.

I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled widely since being bitten by the travel bug when I visited Russia in 1989. I was new to photography at the time but the photos I came back with proved to be a great record of the trip as well as a way of communicating my passion for the places and people I’d met.

Since then I’ve been all over the world, highlights include photographing a Nepalese friend’s Wedding in Kathmandu, a trip to New Zealand and a month long honeymoon travelling the West Coast of the USA visiting the Cities and the National Parks. Washington DC is also dear to me having lived there for six months, a project to photograph a day in the life of the Lincoln Memorial yielded some of my favourite ever photos.

Closer to home I enjoy weekend trips to European destinations, with Paris and Barcelona being amongst my favourite cities. The sale of photos from these trips is increasingly funding further photographic adventures, I’ve just booked a trip to Marrakesh for May and I’m in the process of researching the destination to make sure I squeeze every last drop out of my time there.

As much as I enjoy exotic travel, there really aren’t many places more photogenic than my home city of Oxford, at least on a sunny day anyway. It’s a city is full of amazing buildings, not least those of the University of Oxford, which, maybe surprisingly to some, include some very cutting edge contemporary ones. The featured photo is, however, a detail of one of the oldest. The doorway is just one of a number of entrances to the Bodleian Library from the Schools Quadrangle, one of the oldest Libraries in Europe at over 400 years old.

I’ve lived in and around the city for twenty years now but still enjoy wandering round with my camera whether it’s looking for small details that go unnoticed, like the doorway, or photographing the skyline of the famous ‘Dreaming Spires’.

Hello traveler! If you enjoyed this post, you can get every post delivered to your RSS feed reader. Subscribe to TLBP's RSS Feed.

Finding Lunch in Beijing

Lane — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:00:54 -0700

You know you’re at a locals place in Beijing when you walk in the front door and discover snakes marinating in large glass jars filled with a red liquid. It was a local student who had led us to this small family-run restaurant. (We know, we broke cardinal travel rule #3 by following a stranger down an alley).

We had already made our way to both the Lama Temple and Temple of Heaven when we realized that our stomachs weren’t on Chinese time yet. We were quite starved when we staggered along a long, broad boulevard. A student approached us, speaking a mix of Mandarin and English. She hit us with a barrage of questions about America. (We had heard that students love to practice their English on Americans). We finally were able to move the conversation towards lunch.

She happily led us across the boulevard, turning down a thin alley. We passed by the colorful – and touristy – façade of a large restaurant. She pointed out that it wasn’t what we were looking for – clean and for tourists-only. Further down we stopped before a large plate glass window. Looking in we only saw tables and chairs and several Chinese diners working wonders with the chopsticks.

That’s when we came across the snakes. Juliet hadn’t noticed them and followed our new friend to a table. I hesitated but decided “When in Rome…” After being seated the student helped us order – no one else spoke English. Then, she departed.

Our beers arrived. (The water is not drinkable in China – and don’t eat the ice). Within minutes our entrées were placed before us – along with chopsticks. Forget plating design. This was simple stuff.

First, spring onion pancakes. These were thicker, with a slight onion taste, very hearty so we could only eat a slice or two each. Then, Kung Pao chicken. This was not like the variety available at buffets back in Santa Fe nor was it like our feeble attempts at home. Instead, layers of flavor greeted us – from citrus to a spiciness that wasn’t overpowering. Quite frankly, this was the best damn Chinese food I’d ever eaten. We couldn’t finish the large mound before us either.

We had to play a bit of charades to pay the bill and then I wanted to snap a photo of the snakes. The waitress seemed amused by this and removed the dishrags from in front of the jars so that I could get a better shot. Juliet questioned what the red liquid was. I thought maybe blood?

Later, we discovered that it was snake wine. Since the Western Zhou dynasty (770s BC) snake wine has been drunk throughout China and southeast Asia to “cure” such ailments as balding and problems of a sexual nature. Most of the snakes used in the wine of venomous. Care for a shot?

Hello traveler! If you enjoyed this post, you can get every post delivered to your RSS feed reader. Subscribe to TLBP's RSS Feed.

Jet Lag: A Travelers Curse

Lane — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:00:27 -0700

According to Medicine.net, “Jet lag, also called desynchronosis and flight fatigue, is a temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms as a result of air travel across time zones. It is considered a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, which is a disruption of the internal body clock. Besides fatigue and insomnia, a jet lag sufferer may experience a number of physical and emotional symptoms including anxiety, constipation, diarrhea, confusion, dehydration, headache, irritability, nausea, sweating, coordination problems, dizziness, and even memory loss. Some individuals report additional symptoms, such as heartbeat irregularities and increased susceptibility to illness.”

Let me break this all down for you. Prior to our flight to London we took no precautions, no remedies and didn’t look into how to combat jet lag. In our minds, it didn’t exist. Or, rather, it hadn’t happened to us – yet. On our first day we found our travel companion (who is a flight attendant) asleep against a public mailbox. Then, asleep on a pile of old books in the British Library. Finally, we all walked like zombies around London for the first evening – lost.

The next trip – to Hawaii – we were prepared. Or, so we thought. We tried to adjust our eating and sleeping times to match those of Oahu. Hard to nap at your desk at work during the day, and cooking steaks at 2 AM really wasn’t working out either. Needless to say, on the ferry ride over to the USS Arizona Memorial, we all nodded off.

This time we are going to try (again) to prepare. Let’s go over some suggestions.
1) Always fly west. Interesting. Since we’re going to China, we are flying west. Check. (Although this makes getting home again challenging.)
2) Daytime flights reportedly cause less jet lag. We don’t have a say in this, so we’re leaving Los Angeles smack in the middle of the night. Guess we’re screwed there.
3) During the flight drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids. Water is best. Avoid caffeine. Noted.
4) Use blindfolds, earplugs and blow up pillows for comfort during rest. Right. Ever try to actually sleep on a plane? Who wrote this?
5) Exercise during the flight. That will be me skipping down the aisles.
6) Shower during long-haul flights. Sure. I’m taking a private jet.
7) Avoid melatonin. It’s a controversial sleep aid. Noted.
Also avoid sleeping pills. This puts your body in a too-relaxed state, which decreases blood flow and possibly elevates your risk of deep vein thrombosis. Noted.
9) You can also try the “anti jet lag diet”. This seems a bit extreme, and who can eat all of that?

While buying a new piece of luggage, I discovered some little pills at the travel store. No-Jet-Lag. The makers state that it’s homeopathic, natural, effective and has no side effects. The reviews on Amazon.com were all positive and Magellan’s sells the pills also. It seemed worth trying. We followed the directions exactly.

Once in China we experienced no jet lag at all. We weren’t foggy-headed and were able to do normal activities. Then came the return trip back to the states. I fared much better than Juliet – but, she also had a wicked head cold. Too many toddlers coughing on the 12-hour flight. Where are some pills for those?

Hello traveler! If you enjoyed this post, you can get every post delivered to your RSS feed reader. Subscribe to TLBP's RSS Feed.

Help, I Need A Taxi… Help, Not Just Any Taxi

Juliet — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:00:03 -0700

Despite living in England for many years, there are an embarrassing number of places I’ve failed to visit. I think it’s because mainland Europe’s right there, beckoning you over with its handmade pasta, Mediterranean beaches and sun—that last one’s the most important. So, it’s easy to overlook Britain’s many attractions until they are no longer on the doorstep. This is my way of saying that I’d never been to Liverpool.

Liverpool has been around since 1207 and has the 2500 listed (aka protected) buildings to prove it. The city is currently known for two things: football (soccer) and music. Many famous musical groups have emerged from Liverpool: A Flock of Seagulls, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and, of course, The Beatles.

There are several companies that offer Beatle Taxi Tours. We picked the one that responded most quickly to our request form: Liverpool Beatles Tours. After a brief e-mail exchange, we selected the two-hour tour (there are also three hour, four hour and all- day tours for the true Beatles fan). Prices are on a per cab basis and start at £50—each cab can accommodate up to five people. We were given our tour guide’s name and cell number and told to wait outside The Beatles Story–a museum dedicated to the Fab Four, located on the Albert Dock.

After circling a few times, we found the Albert Dock. Liverpool has a long history of shipping. At one point, its ports were busier than those in London! As we were early, we began to stroll around. The dock was revitalized in the 1980s and is now a clean if slightly touristy shopping area. At the appointed time, we piled into our taxi and began tracing the Fab Four’s lives in Liverpool.

Our first stop was on the corner of Mount Street and Hope Street. We paused at the suitcase sculpture, while our driver pointed out the Liverpool College of Art, where Paul and George were both educated (although the boys never met while there). With Paul’s help, the school has reopened and now specializes in the performing arts.

From there, we traveled to Ringo Starr’s childhood home. The family lived in subsidized, government housing that, in this case, meant an extremely cramped row house. Ringo had a rough childhood and was plagued by many illnesses. He spent a lot of time in the hospital and was even in a coma. As a result of these extended absences from school, he graduated barely able to read and write. The bar that appears on the cover of Ringo’s first solo album is just around the corner from the drummer’s childhood home.

Ringo Starr's childhood home

Next up was the infamous Penny Lane. We scrambled across the road to be photographed with the sign. While Penny Lane is obviously a street name, it also refers to the broader area, where the lane connects to Smithdown Road. John and Paul used to meet at the bus stop here. For a time, the Penny Lane signs were so popular that they were continually being stolen. Now the signs have been upgraded and the 2.0 version is significantly more theft-resistant–not that we tried.

John had a somewhat different upbringing than the other Beatles. His origins were similar—his father was an absentee sailor and money was tight—but he was predominantly raised by his aunt and uncle. John’s mother (Julia) wasn’t well suited to parenting and suggested the arrangement. So John moved into 251 Menlove Avenue. The house is detached, pleasant and has stained glass accents. It has a very different feel than the grittier, more urban homes of the other band members.

John's bedroom is over the front door

John still kept in contact with his mother. She visited him and taught him to play the banjo. Our driver pointed out the cross walk where Julia was killed, in 1958. She was on her way to see her son when she was hit by a car. An off-duty police officer was behind the wheel.

The year before, John had formed his first band, known as The Quarry Men. One of their early gigs was playing at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fete. This was the day when John and Paul met for the first time. Shortly thereafter, Paul joined The Quarry Men. Although the singers claim they made up the name Eleanor Rigby, there is a gravestone bearing that name in the Woolton Parish graveyard.

You can’t go into Strawberry Field, but you can stand next to the imposing wrought iron gate and peek inside. As a kid, John used to play in the garden behind Strawberry Field—the Salvation Army Home. The gates are actually replicas of the original ones and the building is now a church and prayer center.

Our final stop was the Cavern Club. The Quarry Men first performed there in 1957, playing some Elvis songs. The owner told them to ‘cut out the bloody rock.’ The group became regulars, playing 292 times at the venue. The Cavern Club has also hosted the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Elton John, Queen, The Who and John Lee Hooker. If you’ve got sharp elbows, you can fight through the crowd to pose with the
statue of John Lennon, outside.

People from Liverpool are known as Liverpudlians or, more informally, as Scousers. The latter term refers to the accent and dialect of Scouse. It is very distinctive and can be fairly thick. I didn’t have a problem following our friendly driver’s stories, but Lane only understood about 60% of what was said. My advice… listen to some Beatle’s interviews in advance.

For more information on Beatles Tours.

Hello traveler! If you enjoyed this post, you can get every post delivered to your RSS feed reader. Subscribe to TLBP's RSS Feed.

Jing'an Temple [Flickr]

lostbackpack — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:48:03 PDT

lostbackpack posted a photo:

Image captured in Shanghai, China.

Yu Gardens [Flickr]

lostbackpack — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:47:56 PDT

lostbackpack posted a photo:

Image captured in Shanghai, China.

Shanghai Skyline [Flickr]

lostbackpack — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:47:47 PDT

lostbackpack posted a photo:

Image captured in Shanghai, China. Features the Oriental Pearl Tower