Over the river and through the woods...

A delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Taipei is to climb Green Mountain, one of the rolling hills around the city, and visit Pishan Temple. It takes about one hour to hike up to the temple, and the view is breathtaking. So is the temple. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy today, so I didn't get the full effect. But I was lucky in that today is the Taiwanese National Holiday called Tomb Sweep Day, when people visit and clean the graves of their ancestors. On the altars of the temples they leave offerings of items that the person enjoyed in his or her life. Most often you see fruit and flowers, but you get the occasional six-pack of beer or bag of potato chips. On Tomb Sweep Day, they also burn ghost money, which their departed ancestors can use in the after-life. But rather than me rambling on, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves on this one.

01Gate to Pishan Temple

02Me on the Steps to Pishan Temple

03Dragon decorating Pishan Temple

04People Burning Ghost Money

05Roof of Pishan Temple

06A Peek Inside Pishan Temple

06View From Pishan Temple

07Chiang Kai-Shek Reflection Temple

08Chiang Kai Shek Statue

09Looking Towards Taipei From Pishan Temple

10Another View From My Balcony