east of omaha

Since we had the day off my Thai friends N. and F. invited me and D. to take a trip with a group of people to Changhua City (彰化市). I probably wouldn't have worn a long flowing skirt and flats if I'd know we were going to walk like ten kilometers and up a freaking hill—I am basically in horrible pain right now. Like, really a lot of pain. It hurts. As we walked up that picturesque, winding path that followed the river, accented with all those statues painstakingly carved into the rock, I was just thinking, omg ooooow.

The temple was pretty incredible though, at the very top of the hill was this massive Buddha statue with a shrine on the inside, I snapped a picture of it with my cell phone but it doesn't really convey the size of the thing. (This blog post, however, sort of does.) Buddha enjoys a panoramic view of the city sprawling in every direction, and after my friends paid their respects at the shrine (they're from Thailand and Indonesia, and are all Buddhists) and after the sun set, we sat on the balcony and watched what seemed like the entire city set off fireworks to celebrate the Moon Festival.

When I look back on it, I'll remember all the neat stuff and not the fact that my legs are on fire and I have to get up early for calligraphy class tomorrow, oh man.