Do it yourself

At last I felt like I was getting over my cold. Maybe I will be able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

I still wasn’t feeling up to par, and the temperature plummeted today so I could see my breath, so I had to force myself to visit the Bamboo Temple. What made this place unique were hundreds of lifesize statues of arhats, or “worthy ones,” each with remarkably detailed expressions. Some were so detailed they looked real, and others were cartoonishly bizarre.

Most bizarre and remarkable of all were two easily missed walls along the sides of a temple you could not enter, making them hard to see. Both walls were covered with figures surfing, yes, surfing(!) on various mounts: fish, turtles, crabs, bulls, birds, and dragons. One figure walked on stilt-like legs, and another hovered in the lotus position. Strangest of all was the figure reaching his arm out ten times its natural length to the ceiling. It was wonderful and weird, and seemed to have no place in a temple. Unfortunately, photography was prohibited.

Back in town I had a local specialty called Over the Bridge noodles for dinner. Legend has it that a scholar’s wife would bring him his lunch in his garden every day. She had to walk a long distance over a bridge, and eventually discovered that a layer of oil would keep the broth hot, and the raw ingredients could be added later. Today you get a big bowl of steaming broth, and dozens of little bowls of meat and vegetables, which you dump into the broth. Finally you add noodles and you have your soup.