龍山寺和火鍋 － Dragon Mountain Temple and Hot Pot

Well, another Thursday, another adventure!  This week, I let you, the readers, decide what my next destination would be via my facebook status.  You voted, and I went to Longshan "Dragon Mountain" Temple.  Let me clear up one minor misleading point about the name:  there is no mountain in sight of the temple;  it's just a name.  However, it was still really cool.  I walked there from my place after a much needed morning of sleeping in.  The temple is surrounded by streets filled with shops selling jade pendants, red braided good luck charms, wooden animal carvings, and other traditional trinkets.  Opposite the main gate is a large plaza filled with snack vendors, the most popular of which, I'm sorry to say, were sellers of stinky tofu (this is actually what they call it, I'm not making it up).  This Taiwanese food is said to be delicious, but so far I've been too intimidated by the disgusting smell.  It's kind of like a combination of really smelly feet, rancid oil, and dog poop.  Why it smells so awful, I haven't a clue.  I have made it one of my goals to try it before I leave though, so rest assured, you will be getting the critique from me sometime in the near (or maybe not too near) future...

(the waterfall just inside the Longshan temple gates)

Anyway, I got to the temple, and was greeted with the smell of incense and the sound of falling water.  One of the coolest things about the temple was the waterfall to the right of it as you enter.  It's beautiful and it covers any observers in a fine mist which is cool and a relief if you've been walking for a while.  I continued into the

main part of the complex, and spent the next hour or so wandering around.  

(coy swimming in the pools underneath the waterfall)

It's not a big building by any means, but the intricate carvings, gold leaf, offerings of food and flowers, and beautiful calligraphy carved right into the stone held my attention for a long time.  Throughout my visit,hundreds of worshipers passed me carrying burning sticks of incense on their way around the central building.  It's set up so that there are seven distinct stops.  At each stop, 

there lies a huge urn carved with dragons where people can deposit a stick of incense.  The collective smoke from each of these vessels rises above the temple and provides a

 spiritual air about the entire area.  In front of each urn there is a statue of a traditional Chinese god.  If I'm right, Longshan temple's main focus of prayer is Kuanyin, the goddess of mercy, but there are six other gods that reside within the temple walls.  I was very tempted to buy some incense and make the rounds myself, but it seemed like there was a different protocol for each station, and in the interest of not being an offensive tourist, I offered up my silent well wishes to everyone back home instead.  

(left: the interior of Longshan temple; above right: the view of the temple from the street outside)

After leaving the temple, I spent some time browsing in the stores in the surrounding area.  Interesting stuff, but I'll probably have to wait until I have a little more money.  I didn't hang around too long though because I had a meeting with some of my adult class students.  What?  Work on an Adventure Thursday you say?!  Nope, my students were nice enough to invite me to a Taiwanese "hot pot" meal.  Basically, this involves a table with a heating element in the middle on which a large pot is placed, divided down the middle.  One side is spicy soup, the other mild.  The waitstaff bring a menu of different raw dishes you can order, then wheel them over on a cart.  You put the uncooked meats, veggies, and other goodies into one of the two sides of the pot and let them cook.  In a few minutes, you take them out, dip them in a delicious sauce, and you've got hot pot!  I've got to say, it was one of the most delicious meals I've had here so far, and the company was great too.  I really enjoyed getting to know my students outside of class, and they were all so friendly.  They even treated me, I didn't have to pay a cent!  Of course, I promised that if any of them had the chance to come over to America, I'd treat them to a killer dinner there too.  :)  

All in all, it was a pretty fun day, but now I've gotta hit the hay and get ready for two more days of back to back classes.  I'm subbing for one of my co-teachers next week, so unfortunately, this is going to be the last Adventure Thursday update for a while, but this weekend is showing promise, so keep your eyes open for that.  Keep the e-mails, facebook messages, and instant messages coming too!  I miss everyone and I promise to answer once I get the chance.  

(enjoying some genuine Taiwanese hot pot with some of my adult class students)