Sunday, A Welcomed Day Off

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This morning I noticed that I've been bitten all over my body. I suspect these bites came while I slept in Xiamen. Our hotel was a spa/resort, my room wasn't exactly the cleanest, and I continually fought these little gnats that were flying around driving me crazy. Hopefully, they'll be gone in a few days. For now, they itch.

The day started with Mike getting a haircut. I knew what an experience this would be and strongly encouraged, if not arranged for this to happen. He looks like he's enjoying this head massage/shampooing a little too much.

I've seen this look on Sandy and Bunker's (my two golden retrievers) faces when I rub their chins.

Our hosts graciously took us to Kwanyin mountain/temple. This was a pagoda along the way that I liked.

Before we could go too far, we had to show our tickets at the "ticket examining place."

After no fewer than 500 steps, we reached the top where the statue stands. She holds in her left hand, water that is said to be able to bring the dead back to life. She is surrounded by lotus petals.

Another view of Kwanyin.

There is a certain calm, and quietness around a Buddhist temple, and I was not going to disrespect that in any way. This temple stood behind the statue and I'm told was the temple of great sadness.

This is the golden buddha that is in the temple. I didn't go in -- thought it would not be appropriate -- and watched others taking pictures before I did. I also witnessed several people bow and kneel, paying respects to this Buddhist deity.

Another hilltop pagoda... some more temple "flavor" that was scenic.

These locks are placed here by those in love, who lock them on the grounds (some on the surrounding fence and others on shrines that are plentiful). They then throw away the key, signifying that their love will last forever. These were all over the place.

Just a little proof that I was actually there, and didn't steal these images from the internet.

Our hosts... Mr. Chin (the driver), Maggie (I'm allowed to use that name again), and Rose. Rose speaks English the best and was very helpful in explaining the significance of this Buddhist sight, though she told me that she didn't believe in any of it, and didn't have a religion.

On our way down the mountain, we came across a small acrobatic circus. They were doing lots of things, and I grabbed several photos. That's a motorcycle on the wire.