Tons of Pictures from Leshan and the Giant Buddha

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2 hour bus ride from Chengdu makes this an easy day trip. If you can, you should totally check it out, and while the entire day was full of rain, i think it made it a lot cooler in a mystical type way. wow, did I actually use the word "mystical"? I meant Mystikal. click on the "full text" link to see all of the pics.

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Photos

Shrines R Us
Just one of the many shrines you get to check out on your way up to the head of the giant buddha.

Just a warm up for the giant Buddha
Nope this wouldn't be the giant that I was talking about...just a mere prequel to the real thing.

Happy Japanese Tourist
So I finally decided to cave and strike the pose with the two fingers that every Japanese tourist in this world does when they take a picture. I don't really know why, but who am I to question my people.

Right side of his head
This is from the lower observation deck, gives you a decent look but by far the best view is from the higher point and after you climb all the way down to his feet.

Head Shot
The little white dots are drops of rain...

Higher view from his left side
This point gives you a way better perspective, not as good as from his feet though...

He needs a Q-Tip
You can see he's got some funk growing in his ear, but this gives you an idea of where he sits. He's carved in the side of a mountain overlooking the merging of some rivers. Story had it that the mixed currents were downing a lot of boats, so the Buddha was carved to watch over the spot and save lives. Turns out all the rock that was carved out and dumped into the water was enough to reduce the turbulent currents, so it worked...

Mountain Pavillion
Here's the spot where upon deep reflection, I have figured out how to save the world.

Two ways down the mountain
This was the more direct ie: boring way to get to his feet, though if you are afraid of heights, it could get interesting. I recommend taking the path on his left which overlooks the river directly below.

Here's the way I went
There are supposedly directions on the stairs, but I ignored those because it was early enough that there were no people. I've got my pack on underneath my jacket which explains my humpback appearance.

The best part...
Yeah, you can take a boat that floats by his feet and lets you take pictures, but this picture made all the walking in the rain worth it.

If you go, go early
Thankfully there were no people around, otherwise this picture would have been spoiled by the throngs of other tourists, so go early...

Comments

[Jokes]

I want a panda
Those could be some of the cutest things I have ever seen! Seriously, you have got to quit cracking me up... For the rest of the dipshits out there that still don't know what hegemony is...I had to look it up as well: This is a term used by A. Gramsci to describe how the domination of one class over others is achieved by a combination of political and ideological means. Although political force—coercion—is always important, the role of ideology in winning the consent of the dominated classes may be even more significant. The balance between coercion and consent will vary from society to society, the latter being more important in capitalist societies. . . . Hegemony is unlikely ever to be complete. Thanks Kusano for helping realize that I have the intellect of the furry little guy that eats apples, bamboo and gets laid once a year...that's awesome.