 |
| Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Kaohsiung |
 |
| Fo Guang Shan Museum, Kaohsiung |
 |
| Jade Emperor Temple, Kaohsiung |
 |
| Donglong Temple, Kaohsiung |
Day 19 March 25 Monday (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) - focusing my visit to touristy places near Hebei 2nd Road & Fo Guang Shan Monastery / Museum & Dream Mall.
1) my solo morning walk (05.45 > 06.45) from Sky One hotel to Hebei 2nd Road, Kaohsiung to explore touristy places nearby.
2) Fong Yi Jade Emperor (Tiangong) Temple, Guangming Road, Fengshan District (near Hebei 2nd Road), Kaohsiung - completed in1798, Southern Chinese style design & structure, halls decked with opulent interiors & artistic surrounding.
3) A local church near Hebei 2nd Road, Kaohsiung
4) Donglong Temple (near Hebei 2nd Road, Kaohsiung.
5) World Gym Fitness Centre, Kaohsiung - the largest in Taiwan.
6) Hotel buffet breakfast - NT 100 (Rm15) per pax, value for money, an enjoyable & delicious breakfast of the day !
7) after a filling breakfast, our group took a MRT train ride (departing 09.45) from City Council MRT station > Fongshan Junior High School MRT station & then by Dashu shuttle bus (NT$14 = Rm2.10, departing 11.09) or (pick Bus No 8010) from a bus stop in front of Fongshan Junior High School MRT station to visit the largest religious organisation in Taiwan ie Fo Guang Shan Monastery & Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum / Memorial Center (approx 45 minutes)
8) Fo Guan Shan Monastery - a prominent landmark in Dashu District, a huge golden statute of Buddha Amitabha (120m tall), the main square is surrounded by 480 standing Buddha's, while water & mountains form the magnificent scenery, the main structures consist of 4 temples ie the Daxiongbao, the Dabei, the Dazhi & the Dashu shrines; took a lift up to the upper floor to have a panoramic view of Dashu District & a short visit to the Fo Guang Shan monastery; as it was quite tedious to walk uphill to the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, 3 of our members (including me & my wife & Thompson's wife) decided to walk downhill & took a Bus No 8010 (NT$22 = Rm3.30, 10 minutes of waiting time) at a bus stop (departing at 13.00) to Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (one stop) !
9) The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, Kaohsiung - formerly known as the Buddha Memorial Center, a Mahayana Buddhist cultural, religious & educational museum located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the museum is affiliated with Fo Guang Shan, one of Taiwan's largest Buddhist organisations; spent almost 2 hours here taking our time to appreciate this magnificent landmark & taking pictures ..... also have a simple lunch (takeaway finger food) & a short rest outside of the main hall ! A must visit when in Kaohsiung spending maybe 2-3 hours to visit the main sights. Suggest starting your visit to the upper Fo Guang Shan Museum & then walking down hill to the monastery as this way you save some energy & perhaps could cover more places of visit !
10) The White Elephants & Lions - welcoming guests from either sides of the doors.
11) Front Hall - flanked by Gate of Perfect Ease & Gate of Liberation
12) Fo Guang Big Buddha & Eight Pagodas
13) Three Acts of Goodness
14) Eight Pagodas - each representing different ideas or precepts ie One Teaching Pagoda, Two Assemblies Pagoda, Three Goodness Pagodas, Four Giving Pagodas, Five Harmonies Pagoda, Six Perfections Pagodas, Seven Admonishment Pagoda & Eightfold Path Pagoda.
15) Bring Wealth Home with Ruru Deer - a colorful radian lantern graces the Buddha Museum ....
16) Statutes of The Eighteen Arhats & Eight Patriarchs - lined along the sides of the court.
17) One-Stroke Calligraphy by Master Hsing Yun - on sale & exhibits in a souvenir outlet.
18) Main Hall of Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum - a dome-shaped stupa built in the Indian style, the base is made from yellow sandstone while the body is made from rock, the spire in the center is a sutra repository that houses a million copies of the Heart Sutra, an exhibition of Buddhist Maritime Silk Road New Media Art & a special exhibit of Taiwan-Global Island took place at the time of our group's visit.
19) Historical Museum of Fo Guan Shan - exhibits of the development of Fo Guang Shan by the founder, Master Hsing Yun since 1967.
20) Reliefs - 22 semi-reliefs of the Buddha's acts of compassion & wisdoms collectively known as the Stories of the Buddha
21) Reliefs on words of wisdoms in calligraphy by Master Hsing Yun & religious scholars & donors.
23) Four Givings Pagoda - Multilingual Bookstores
24) Six Perfections Pagoda - Hsing Yun Public Education Trust Fund
Eight Perfections Pagoda - Introductory videos available
 |
| Simple lunch - FamilyMart Finger Food |
25) Return shuttle bus ride (14.55) from Fo Guang Shan Museum > Fongshan Junior High School MRT Station > City Council a 300m walk to Sky One Hotel
25) MRT train ride from City Council > Sizihwan (transit) > Dream Mall LRT station
26) Suburban coaster scenery as viewed from the LRT moving train windows
27) Dream Mall - located in Cianjhen District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the largest shopping mall in Taiwan & the 15th largest in East Asia
) Dinner with my wife in a Food Court, Dream Mall - savoured 2 stir-fried vegetable dishes + 2 vegetable soup + 2 white rice = NT280 (Rm42)
Day 20 March 26 2024 Tuesday (Final Day) - Kaohsiung
1) My 2 day consecutive hotel buffet breakfast (NT100 = Rm15) - a lovely meal before our hotel check out to Kaohsiung International Airport for our return flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2) Taking a MRT train ride from City Council > Formosa Boulevard (transit) > Kaohsiung International Airport MRT station
3) Kaohsiung International Airport - taking Air Asia flight (Rm580 = US$122) departing 13.35 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4) Arriving in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 at 17.35 - Home Sweet Home again thus ending my 20 days free & easy visit to Taiwan (covering mainly the west coast cities ie Taipei, Ruifeng, Keelung, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan & Kaohsiung) ! My Taiwan dream has finally been fulfilled since my last visit to this country 20 years ago !
No comments:
Post a Comment