Tuesday, February 12, 2008

7th Feb (Day 1: 鼓山涌泉寺，林则徐出生地，东街口)

We over-estimated the time needed to get to the airport and ended up waking up at 0530, reaching 虹桥 airport about three hours early.

So we do what Singaporeans do best. EAT.

This is the KFC burger I had. It's just egg and cheese, but it tastes pretty good!

Taro eggtarts that I didn't touch. Yam is out of my list of edibles!

Yada yada here and there, it's time to board the plane! We're taking Xiamen Airlines!

The front of an aeroplane... that we weren't taking. :P Off to 福州!

Sadly, all my hopes of pretty stewardess were shattered. Don't even need me to say more. On a side note, it's true that once you've taken SIA, taking any other airlines can never provide a more pleasant experience!

Artistic shot of Tee Rong! Teeheehee, he have no idea he was snapped by me!

Anyway, our tour guide suggested lunch of 8 dishes + 1 soup for 20RMB. Some idiot group said no lunch, turned their haughty asses and walk off. Shocked and hungry, the rest of us can only follow.

That's our tour guide, 小林. The people here are addressed by their surnames. I'll be called 小苏 I think. :)

On the way to first destination, we saw alot of houses like this. 小林 says the people here go abroad, earn money, return and build these houses to signify their wealth. However, they are only built halfway and left there. Some random settlers will then live there. *shrugs*

Heh... the weather was pretty cold! This was the first thing I wrote on the frost! :D

Yea, finally we reached 涌泉寺! This temple sits on a stone mountain. However, when you are outside the temple, you can't see the temple, and when you are inside, you can't see the mountain.

This is the statue of 观音. In case you do not know, She is also known as the Goddess of Mercy, and is a Buddha too.

Dragon head. The dragon is considered a mystical creature in Chinese myths. Back in Singapore, dragons are carved as part of many temples' exterior design. Here, it's small and erm, hidden.

知恩报恩. It means if one receives a kind action and one knows it, one should return the kind action.

CNY is not a good time to travel, especially to temples! 人山人海! 烟雾弥漫！

Drum tower. For some reason, there're always two towers in the temples I went to. And one of them is 鼓楼.

The other is of course 钟楼, bell tower. Weird that I don't see drums or bells in the two towers.

Random picture. Ironic that it says stone door when it's made of wood.

Pollution at its peak. The incense is REALLY big. Someone tell me why we must light incense that produce smoke that choke? Better still, someone invent solar incense that serves the same purpose minus the smoke and pollution!

This is a 'showroom' of the monks' bedroom. Look at the crooked fan. Did someone just tried to do pull-ups there?!

Monk canteen. I sneaked the picture. Everything is nicely arranged even though it's not meal time!

Guess what this is for? It's GIGANTIC by the way! No, it's not a wishing basin.

It's a POT! 250kg of RICE leh! Feed me for a year and more!

As a tourist destination, the temple is highly commercialised. There's stalls that sells toys like these! So old-school, I LIKE! ^^

So nice of them to put this at the exit. -_-

Next stop, 林则徐出生地!

It's a very small place with nothing much to see. I suggest skipping this if you are going to 福州 for holiday unless you are really into Chinese history.

林则徐 is a historical character who burnt all opium during his time in a bid to kick the evil habit out of town. Apparently, 26th June marks anti-opium or anti-smoking day. Haha... I never listen to the guide's introduction, paiseh.

林则徐 and me! I am shouting hooray 'cos I HATE SMOKE! *cough cough*

His study room. I like that wooden 'curtain thingy'. Feels like some empress is dressing up behind. :)

This is his bedroom. I secretly think some movies and dramas are shot here! Those wooden chests looks like they contain ginseng!

Woven baby cot. Maybe when the baby grows older, the cot can be taken apart and woven to be bigger!

This is the 'classroom'. 林则徐 is a 二品官 if I remember correctly. We're all happy to attend 'his lesson!

The official lesson is held in a tea room. We're taught how to 品茶! Different types of tea have different ways of appreciating, something I cannot phantom.

To be a pro, finish the tea in three sips. That's all I learn. :x

We tried 3 types of tea. 人参绿茶 (which has a bittersweet aftertaste), 中上等铁观音 (she, 小陈, mentioned something about the tea leaves that I can't recall), and 上等茉莉花茶 (the best out of the three. The buds are nice. When soaked in hot water, it opens up like those grow-big-toy!)

We're supposed to go 东街口 to try their local specialities (such as 锅边糊、福州鱼丸) but the shops are not open!

Curry chicken bento by Dicos, KFC's cousin. The chicken is good, the curry is not. Eggs are fast becoming my favourite food in China. How wrong can they get?