1 month before my wedding, I went to Taiwan with my family. I was there for more than a week, quite a lot of time to explore the entire country as Taiwan isn't as big as Indonesia.
Fo Guang Shan is one of many popular destinations in Taiwan. People from different countries retreat to this place to find a peace of mind.
I was there with my family (minus my mom) for sightseeing, we didn't plan to have a retreat here so I can't give you any insight for this. I wasn't too excited as I thought this place just another monastery (like others I've had visited before). It turned out the opposite as this place is tourist-friendly. I became interested in reading the history of this place, there're many things I can learn inside.
The open garden outside is large and splendid. I can't find another word to describe this place other than those two. From the outside, the architecture is very oriental mixed with some modern vibes. All the trees and grass were planted graciously, very artsy! What a treat for the eye.
No wonder many people love to visit this place to find inner peace.
As usual, collecting memories is one of my favourite thing to do while I'm travelling. Although most of the photos I took was stored safely in my extended hardware (I didn't post everything on my social media), but I still love doing it for my personal pleasure.
There're many coffee shops and cafes inside Fo Guang Shan. They sell vegetarian food, so if you're a Vegetarian or Muslim, it's safe for you to have lunch here. Some stalls in the building are selling many kinds of snacks made by nuts and seeds. Nuts and Seeds are healthy and vegan-friendly. But before you buy anything, you need to ask the seller whether the product they sell contained egg or not.
I love nuts and seeds a lot because they're healthy, they're packed with lots of protein and healthy fats. Sometimes I change my diet to vegetarian food if I'm tired of eating meat every day.
At the back of the building, there's a big space with many Pagodas lined up from the entrance to the Buddha statue. It looks so beautiful and amazing.
Before I came to this place, I was googling the picture first and not really impressed. At the real scene, the rows of the PAGODAS lined up gallantly with well-designed garden, it feels so different and leaves me in awe.
Looking at the Pagoda brings many memories, one of them was a popular movie called 'Legend of the white snake' where the main character is a white snake spirit imprisoned inside the pagoda for a couple of years.
At that time, my hair still got a dash of blue at the bottom. When I'm scrolling through my old photos before I'm getting married, I really miss my coloured hair. Even though I was tempted to bleach it again many many times but I decided to put it on a break first. I stopped from bleaching my hair so it'll grow faster and healthier. I never like using hair clip as it looks kinda fake in real life IMHO.
top: Katie
skirt: Ank Rouge
Shoes: Wego
Socks: Tutuanna
Bag: Nine West
I was wearing top from Katie, skirt from Ank Rouge, shoes from Wego, socks from Tutuanna and a backpack from Nine West. All of the brands I was wearing are from Japan except for Nine West.
The weather was exceptionally humid and hot in June. Even though it was cloudy, there was no sign of rain that day.
The garden is wonderfully made for serenity, if you're seeing this with your own eyes, you'll get what I mean. I guess no wonder people come for meditation and inner peace.
Apart from the religion aspect, I realised there were so many things I can learn here. We can learn philoshopical teaching and the values of life. It's nice for self-improvement and the quality of our life.
There're some museums inside where you can visit when you're there. One of them is a museum about the origin of this place. I think It's interesting. I love the story of the monk who wants to make this world a better place. The philosophy is beautiful and should be spread everywhere.
Besides that, there's a museum about the life of Siddharta Gautama that I find fascinating. The museum provides interactive pieces of information for the visitor and some games, obviously interesting for people of all ages.
If you're planning to visit this place someday, I'm sure you'll learn something deep on your trip. For me, travelling is not only about beautiful pictures and good local foods. There's something more than that, something you won't find anywhere else besides that place, and I think it's unique.