Floating Mountains in Ha Long Bay

The inspiration from Avatar's floating mountains (Hallelujah Mountains) may have come from the Zhangjiajie Stone Forest in China... however, as I toured Ha Long Bay (in Northern Vietnam), I couldn't help but to be reminded by that movie. When the boat first embarked, there was no wind... the sea was perfectly still and looked like glass. As we left the port, we could see stone mountains towering out of the water. It looked as if they were floating above the sea. The experience was unlike anything I've done before. I wish I had more time to explore the region.

Saint-Émilion - "Wine & History"

Prior to my last trip to France, Saint-Émilion was just a label that I saw on wine bottles. I knew that good red wines came from this region (especially Merlot), but didn't know anything about the history of the area or it's cultural significance. Romans had started planting vineyards in Saint-Émilion during the second century... and the town is named after a hermit monk Émilion who had carved his home into a rock (it was the monks that came after him that started commercial wine production).

Saint-Émilion is also classified as a "world heritage site" by UNESCO. The town is situated on a limestone plateau... and many buildings are made out of this stone. One of the most unique buildings I saw was a giant church that was built by carving into the limestone and is completely underground. The grayish/white buildings make for a very stark contrast between the lush green vineyards that surround the town. I climbed to the top of the bell tower in town and snapped a few pictures. It's a ridiculously beautiful area.

Paris in Color

There is a French proverb that goes "Il faut manger pour vivre, et non pas vivre pour manger"... it means "Eat to live, don't live to eat." However, in France, the eating is just as good as the living. My diet in Paris consisted of four meals per day... breakfast at a boulangerie, lunch at a cafe (with a carafe of wine), late afternoon light dinner at a riverside cafe (with a glass or two of wine), and late night 3-4 course dinner at a proper restaurant (with more wine). I'm surprised I didn't gain more weight while there, but I guess the massive amount of walking helped to burn the calories.

These four photos are a representation of my trip to France... beautiful gardens and blue sky, cafes, ancient buildings, vineyards for as far as the eye can see, and picnics by the river. It was a great trip... although, it didn't start out so smoothly.

The reason I went to France was for a good friend's wedding at Île d'Oléron (island on the west coast about 2 hours northwest of Bordeaux). The wedding was amazing. The ceremony took place on top of a Citadelle in Oléron and had a ridiculous French tasting menu for dinner (with great wine). The party lasted until 5 in the morning. However, my luggage (with my new custom tailored suit and Italian dress shoes) did not arrive... and I had nothing to wear except what I had been in for the last 30+ hours. I looked and felt like a mess. Luckily, a new friend let me borrow a nice button down shirt and tie for the wedding (thanks Stephen!)... and it all kind of worked out.

The main lessons I learned are:
1. Do not connect through London Heathrow (3rd time my luggage has gotten delayed there).
2. If it is absolutely necessary to connect through London Heathrow, do not check luggage.
3. London Heathrow has an annoying security/transfer system (need the "fast pass").
4. Try to avoid London Heathrow at all costs (unless your final destination is London).

More photos from this trip to come later....

The Entrance to Enlightenment

This will be my last photo of the Shaolin Monastery (ironically, it was also the first photo I took while there). Can anyone translate the Chinese symbols on this stone?

Everything you see in this photo is actually outside of the monastery... they've definitely built up the entrance to make it look/feel more like a theme park. There are shops to the left & right, a couple places to eat, and an area to buy tickets and hire a tour guide. Nonetheless, I thought this photo came out pretty well... gives a peaceful atmosphere to the location.

Hope you enjoyed the Shaolin Monastery! 

A Spitting Tiger

In this image, a tiger is spitting into the mouth of a frog (water sporadically came out of the tiger's mouth). I'm not too sure if this is supposed to symbolize something... or where the water was coming from (although, I had a few unsanitary ideas). However, I thought it was best to NOT drink the water... or touch it. 

Enter At Your Own Risk

I saw this stone carving in front of one of the temples with a closed door. I have no idea what the writing means... but I would like to think that behind the closed door are monks having kung fu battles. Perhaps the writing means, "enter at your own risk"?
I really loved the details in this photo... heavy texture on the stone carving, bright red door in the background, a dusty floor in the foreground, two different types of bricks stacked together, a shiny surface reflecting light...

**UPDATE**
Thanks to a Chinese friend, I found out that the word means "a kiosk where someone stands in the snow"... it comes from a story in Ming Dynasty which tells a monk consult Buddhism to Buddha someday was snow.

A Confused Tree

Temples at the Shaolin Monastery

The temples at the Shaolin Monastery are very beautiful... bright/vibrant colors, intricate carving details, and textures aged to perfection. Each building has its own unique features, but is in unison with its surroundings. These are a few photos I took while walking around.

Stone Creatures

At the top of each building at Shaolin Monastery, little stone creatures stand guard. Each creature has unique features and they are positioned at the building's four corners. I couldn't quite understand why they were there or what their significance was... but they appeared to be acting as guards to scare away evil spirits. 

Burning Incense

Burning incense at the Shaolin Monastery. People would make a small donation, grab an incense stick, and then walk into the temple to pray. The group I was in tried to do the same thing... but we were blocked by the monk from entering the temple. I think there was a non-white people policy (or at least they didn't believed we were buddhists).

Stone Wall

As I was walking through the Shaolin Monastery (aka Shaolin Temple), I came across a stone wall that had a narrow rock shoved into a crevice. Everything I saw at the Shaolin Monastery seemed to have some sort of significance. Therefore, I thought there might be a story behind this as well... and I started taking some photos of it. As I was doing this, a tour guide walked past (that spoke English) and I asked for an explanation of this specific wall. She just giggled at me and said something in Chinese that sounded like "silly white person"... so I don't think there is anything special about this wall. Nonetheless, the picture came out pretty well and I can pretend that kung fu masters use this wall to practice throwing rocks and swords. 

Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple

The Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple refers to the 228 stone or brick pagodas built from 791 AD during the Tang Dynasty through the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty. The levels, or storeys, on the pagodas must be odd numbers (from 1 to 7) and are based on the achievements of the Buddhist masters they were built for. The higher the pagoda, the more "badass" the monk. The era the pagodas were built, affects the shape (round or square) and the number of sides (4 or 6). The pagoda forest in Shaolin stands at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain and is one of the largest pagoda forests in China. It was named a national scenic spot in 1996 (and is now a UNESCO world heritage site).

Most of the Pagoda Forest is stone and brick structures, ranging from one to seven storeys, less than fifteen meters high -- much smaller than pagodas for Buddhist relics -- and all carry the exact year of their construction and many carvings and inscriptions. They are in a variety of styles, but are mainly multi-eaved and of pavilion-style. Their shapes are varied, including polygonal, cylindrical, vase, conical and monolithic, making the pagoda forest an exhibition of ancient pagodas, carvings and calligraphy of various dynasties. Besides the pagoda forest there are many invaluable tomb pagodas scattered around the Shaolin Temple, including the Faro Pagoda built in 689 in the Tang Dynasty, the Tongguang Pagoda constructed in 926 in the Five Dynasties, the Yugong Pagoda erected in 1324 in the Yuan Dynasty, and the Zhaogong Pagoda built in the Ming Dynasty.

Reference: Wikipedia

Kung Fu Masters in Training at Shaolin Monastery

This was a pretty impressive site to see as I was departing the Shaolin Monastery... 1000s of students were quietly sitting at attention and listening as their masters gave instruction. I was surprised that not a single student looked distracted by the tourists (such as me) walking by. It was like we did not exist. 

So You Want to Learn Kung Fu... Statues at the Shaolin Monastery

During a work trip to Northern China, I was lucky enough to take a detour to the Shaolin Monastery (aka Shaolin Temple) in Henan province. The Shaolin Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for Shaolin Kung Fu! It was a pretty awesome place to visit (apparently, it's every Chinese kid's fantasy to learn kung fu here). These are a couple photos I took of the various statues on the property.