The Tallest Buddha

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Today I slept in a bit and awoke to no electricity. This was almost like a sign telling me to get out of town. So I did. I headed out to see the world's tallest Buddha. He's 71m high, his ears are 7 meters long, his insteps are 8.5 m broad, his big toe is 8.5 m and he has fingernails bigger than your average human. Oh, and he's about 1200 years old. I've seen the largest bronze Buddha in Hong Kong, but this one blew me away. He's the Grand Canyon of Buddhas and my reaction was equally appropriate.

My self-guided tour also included two Fins I met when I got off the bus. We made our way through town, had a lovely vegetarian lunch, and then, in the rain I should expect when I visit large Buddhas, we made our way to the Buddha and the grounds around him.

The grounds are beautiful. We were so busy looking around and admiring the view that we nearly missed the top of the Buddha's head. Suddenly, I noticed a black carving just beyond the fence. How we missed seeing it for so long I still don't know.

We climbed the many stone stairs down taking photos of the Buddha along the way. He seems to get bigger and bigger the further down you climb. Gazing up at him left me with a sense of wonder and awe.

We wandered around the gardens and by the koi pond as well before we hurried to catch the last bus from Leshan to Chengdu.

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