Big Buddha is watching!

Today went more or less as planned - Temple of horrors Heaven, Summer Palace and the Yonghegong Lama Temple. The first was OK, the second was far away and far too busy by the time we got there, this being a holiday. The third is still a working Buddhist temple, just, and was much quieter. Still busy but you could see the ground between the feet.

Once again I was really impressed with the atmosphere in a Buddhist place, and not just from the incense. So relaxed and peaceful. This temple houses many statues of the Buddha, the best being a 26 foot tall version, carved from a single sandalwood tree trunk which took 3 years to moved from Tibet to Peking, as it then was. Strangely, it's in the Guinness Book of Records.

The tranquillity in this place has helped me rid myself of all the animosity I was feeling towards our host nation after a couple of crowded out days.

Once we left the Lama temple area we walked back to our hotel as it was not very far, that is until we somehow took a wrong turn and / or missed a corner somewhere. An extra 1.5 hours walking.

Well, only tomorrow left and we will be on our way home, brim full of mixed emotions, and starting to save for our next trip, to who knows where. I think tomorrow will be a serious chill out day, just relaxing locally, if we can find some space.

Cheers,