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I got slowed down the past few days by a "personal plumbing" problem that seems to be resolved. It was incredibly painful and a little scary. But I am fine now and just arrived in Taiwan where I have many friends, good hosts, and a lot more English speakers around me.
I spent the last few days in Sichuan visiting some of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the country. The giant Buddha statue in Leshan is literally carved into the mountain overlooking a river. It was created to protect local fisherman and today stands as the site of a temple and a place of pilgrimage. I also visited Emei Mountain, on of four sacred Buddhist mountains in China and the site of China's very first Buddhist temple. Today the mountain is dotted with over 30 monasteries and temples connected by a series of pathways and cable lifts. I could have spent a week wandering the paths and still not have discovered many of the mountains wonders.
I was in the river city of Leshan overnight and sought out a "restaurant" recommended by Lonely Planet. Actually it is a living room with a few tables. When I arrived, the 86 year old owner led me up two flights through a dark stairwell with a flashlight. His wife cooked me a lovely beef stir fry while he told me about his life growing up as a little boy next door to Canadian missionaries, seeing his family's assets seized by Mao, surviving the famines of the '60s and a "re-education camp," and spending 13 years as a Russian interpreter. He spoke openly about Mao being "worse than Hitler" and that China' advances as well as its continuing repression of political diversity. It was an amazing visit with Mr Yang and an honor to hear his stories.
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selma dressler Sorry you weren't feeling well...glad it's resolvrd...stay well...contiue to enjoy..love you and miss you a lot !! MOM
Lucy Mac Love your blog - just moved to Chengdu and am finding my way around, I'm a keen hiker and Leshan is on my to-do list so it's been great reading about your experiences! Hope you're feeling better now too. If you fancy checking my blog, btw, I'm goeastmychild on here :)