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Published: January 10th 2006
DIdn't make the 6 a.m. wake up call, but got to the lake around 7:15, still in time for all the a.m. activity -- the team sport of choice is badmitton, with games abounding, young and old, mostly teams but also a couple of couples volleying. Assorted women and men doing aerobics/calesthenics/jogging, individually or in pairs, only one person doing tai chi and several people on benches, cross-legged, meditating. Then, found a group of about a dozen women and one leader doing fan dancing with red fans, which they snapped open in unison as they took wide steps to the right or to the left.
Did a little conferencing, some travel booking, and then went to see an actual sight -- the Temple of Literature, which is a university built during Confuscian times, around 1010. It's all open archways set in a beautiful garden with bonsai trees, and ponds in which float enormous lily pads. All pale green and soft, like some kind of Ang Lee film. Then 2 ancient pagodas built in reverence to Confuscious and I suppose Buddha. The open archways symbolize the openness of education, and there are also ancient stone tablets inscribed with the names of PhDs and set on stone tortoises -- the tortoise being a revered symbol.
Now, packing b/c I"m going to Halong Bay in the a.m. THis requires blowing off conference for a day (tho today was actually pretty good, so much more into it). Halong Bay is a national historic preservation site == a collection of grottoes and islands, including one called monkey island specializing in you guessed it... So hoping to find a boat out there upon arrival. Please, o please, take me to monkey isle.
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Tami
non-member comment
Wow
Feel free to post this. Trip sounds awesome. Decided to adopt your writing style and have eliminated most articles and pronouns. Hope you aren't too lonely but also hope you don't meet some attractive European or Australian who inadvertently makes you a drug mule like Claire Danes in Brokedown Palace. Appreciated Ang Lee reference although "all pale green and soft" sounds more like "Hulk" than "sense and Sensibility." Miss you Miss Missy! Stay safe and don't eat any dogs or cats!