Entering Longhua Temple, I felt peace around me. My camera sat calm in the bag at my side. The place is something to be experienced, not photographed. I took a bundle of incense at the entrance and joined the worshippers moving through the first courtyard in prayer. I bowed first to the East, then to the North, West and South. The sandalwood smoke rose up from my hands as I prayed, thankful for the people I had met, thankful for the world I live in, hopeful that I am giving something back. We saw the statues occupying the many buildings of the temple complex — the four kings of the cardinal directions, the thousand golden buddhas, the three standing buddhas, the king of longhua temple. The calligraphy that stuck with me read, “I will not go to heaven until hell is empty.” The sun shone bright. It brought out the yellow dye in the plaster.
Once finished at the temple, we went for massage. This may have been a mistake. Instead of relaxing for two hours under the experienced hands of a master, I felt like I was constantly biting back a scream. Fingers dug in hard, then pushed and held with impossible force. I could hear Shelly whimpering next to me the whole time. Shelly promised the foot massage was better as we talked it over while soaking our feet in traditional herbs. This turned out not to be the case. While getting my left foot massaged, I became fairly certain I didn’t want my right foot to be massaged. The pain was either astronomically worse on my right foot, or nonexistant, as I passed out when the masseuse moved on from the left.
Godly serves only vegetarian dishes. However, their menu is written as if they served meat. Various odd vegetables and tofu-preparations stand in where meat is named. Particularly tasty were the ‘prawns’ in chili oil and pan-fried ‘beef’. After dinner, Shelly and I went underground at Rafflescity and enjoyed fruit smoothies at Fresh Daily (Mango and Kiwi — don’t get Durian).