Sightseeing - the Golden Temple

OK - this one is from yesterday, but I couldn't resist.

At the entrance from the road, halfway up a mountain. I wonder if the friendly neighborhood roofer back home knows how to do one of these roofs.

The locals all think Cassie is adorable. Smart people, these.

This gate protects the entry to the temple. Stone and wood construction.

These flowers bloom eternally. Cassie and Sherry, that is. Coincidentally, so do the flowers on that tree behind them. Kunming is the city of eternal spring. Everything is in bloom, year-round.

This dragon stands guard at the gate. Look closely to see the baby dragons on momma's back.

And then on the other side of the gate, an elephant watches over the temple.

More dragons, carved in stone. This is a big barrel of water. A wishing well of sorts.







Inside the wishing well, a fish waits with its mouth open to catch your coin. If your coin makes it into the mouth of the fish, it is said that you will have good luck. It's not clear whether this would also be lucky for the coin, or for the fish. :) By the way, the fish's mouth is about 2 feet under water, so getting a coin into its mouth is no easy task.

This is the inside of the Golden Temple. The entire temple appears to be made of brass. Most of it has turned black from oxydation. They keep the statues polished clean.

This is a piece of the temple. Again, this is all brass. Most of it is oxydized. The symbols stand for longevity. The locals like to touch them in order to obtain longevity. Constant touching keeps them somewhat polished.

This is one of 6 stone etchings. Each tells an old Chinese story. This one is of a boy who dressed up as a deer so that he could sneak into the deer herd to get some deer milk. But a hunter encountered him and shot him, thinking he was a deer. Then he took the milk. Great. One more thing for me to worry about during hunting season.

Mommy, Daddy, and Cassie standing in front of a rice-paddy pond.
Now here is something you don't see every day. Two leopards attacking a pig, while a big snake tangles with all of them. "I saw me a mermaid once, but I ain't never seen me one of these."

By the way, the guy on the left is Jerry, our guide. He tells us a little story about everything we see, including this statue.

Later in the day, we visited a tea merchant. Two young ladies prepared samples of 5 different kinds of tea. We ended up buying some Oolong tea. By the way, the table you see here is made from a great big tree trunk.

Naptime - my favorite time. She's decided to sleep upside down today. Feet up on the pillow, and head pointed to the foot of the bed. Whatever works. She is SOOOO cute.

Same pose, different camera angle.
Nothing like putting your feet up on the pillow after a hard day.