Today we traveled with three other families to nearby Guangzhou Liurong Monastery. It was just a short cab ride from the hotel. The temple was had a beautiful 9 story tower as its central landmark as well as some very beautiful buildings within the compound. Several of us climbed the tower (John went to the 8th floor) by then you had to almost crawl up the steps because the head clearance decreased at each level. We saw many people praying and lighting incense in front of several buildings and statues so we got a small feel of how the Monastery is used.
There were several very crippled men looking for money outside the Monastery. We were told to avoid giving money to beggars when we were in Beijing as “no one is a beggar in China” this is not true, but is a kind of "official policy" and giving to one would attract quite a commotion among them all. We heeded this advice, but found this difficult with people in such apparent need.
We also had a birthday celebration for one of the travel group members. It was a good excuse to get us all together on a day with no planned activities. Our only official function was to stay in our rooms from 9:30-11:30 while our agency presented our information to the US Consulate. All our paperwork was approved and our final function will be to get Aliyah’s US VISA and Passport on Friday.
Our only other event was to pick up some chops that were made for us on Shamian Island. A chop is a stamp used in China as a signature. For people such as us, they include your name in English and then the Chinese characters for the name. John made the trek to get the chops so Liz could rest and have some play time with Aliyah. It was nice to see Aliyah greet dad with a nice smile when he returned. We found the first thing Aliyah is afraid of. A toy dragon dad bought her on the island. At first she was interested but then when we moved it like a marionette puppet she decided she no longer like the animal and kept a close eye on it. Finally we had to put it away.
As a side note we have found the cabs to be very effective and relatively inexpensive way to get around. Our hotel concierge will write the location in Chinese and the Hotel attendants will direct the drive to the destination. For the trip back we just show the next cab driver the hotel business card and that’s all there is to it. Typical fares are 1-3 US dollars for rides up to 20 minutes long.
At Guanagzhou Liurong Monastary
Nine levels of the Temple
John at level seven
I know it says Starbucks but I’ll be a Caribou Coffee Girl
