Weekend Excursion

Author: Aidan M.
Location: Taiyaun
Hello y'all. This blog will be covering our past two days in Taiyuan. Yesterday was a odd day for us life-workers. We took a break from our usual schedule of working at the orphanage, and we spent our day touring around Dat Ong. We woke up at 5:30 in the morning to start our four hour journey to the incredible Buddhist caves. My roommate, Andy, and I mistakenly stayed up watching the movie 'The Masque of Red Death', which was the only English speaking program we could find. I wish that I could say the trip to the caves went by quickly, but I cannot. However, the ride was worth it. The caves were awe inspiring. Stone Buddhas were carved into a mountain, some of which were over 18.5 meters in height. We toured around the caves for about two hours. We then headed back to the bus for a trip to the Hanging Monastery. This was a Buddhist monastery which was built into the side of a cliff and was supported by wooden beams. It is remarkable how such a seemingly unstable monastery withstood the test of time, and the statues, murals, and architectural design all portrayed the history and culture of China beautifully. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. Near the end of the meal, we sang Father Irek 'Happy Birthday' in all the languages we could (5 total!). Once we finished there, we headed back on yet another four hour bus ride, which felt no shorter than the first. We got back to the hotel all tired and aching, and the first thing we did was...go to McDonalds for Irek's glorious birthday dinner. Finally, we all went to our rooms, and had a long awaited nights sleep.

Today, we slept until 8am! We headed downstairs and got breakfast. There was an auction during breakfast for Chinese scroll paintings. I bought one for my mother. Then we left to go to a Catholic church, which was erected due to the sighting of Mother Mary on top of the hill. We all climbed to the top and walked around the ground. We went inside the church and collected some holy water, so we could bless the orphanage where we work. We headed down the mountain and walked back to the bus. We then headed to lunch at a very nice restaurant, where a wedding was taking place. We ordered and took in the beautiful atmosphere of a running stream through the area and fireworks going off. When we finished, we went to the orphanage and played with the kids. While we played we painted a mural of Donald Duck, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, and Pluto on the wall (thanks to the beautiful sketching of fellow Lifeworkers, Zoe and Cat). We left at 4:30 for the train station. We are now on the hi-speed train back to Beijing.
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage