On Steampunk

I don't think I've made it a secret that I'm a little bit (read: a lot) obsessed with steampunk. I guess in part it's because my dad's an engineer and takes me on tours of steamships, and in part because I think gears and goggles are pretty freaking cool. It's to the point where I carry around my own windup clockwork-showing on-a-chain pocketwatch and made a steampunkish dress.

Oh, and writing a steampunk book.

(Well, kind of. It's more clockpunk, and also, faeries. And Czech culture.) 

From Gearfuse.com

But steampunk as a genre and as a movement kind of bothers me. It seems really...superficial. I'm being the worst kind of hypocrite when I say that, because I love all the shiny gears and corsets and stuff, but it's true. Steampunk is superficial. It's about the cool clothes! airships! clockwork creatures! machines! gears! pirates! and so forth. It's pretty and shiny and we geeks are attracted to it like Twihards are attracted to the latest paranormal romance novel.

This realization happened upon me after reading several "steampunk" novels that have been published within the last few years or so: Clockwork Heart, Leviathan, Boneshaker, Soulless, Mortal Engines, The Scar, Perdido Street Station (though the last two aren't so much steampunk as they are...weird...) ...and so forth. And it's kind of weird, but to me, the less steampunky novels (that is, ones that had some elements but were more general fantasy/weird fiction) were the better ones. 


Airborn is a great YA novel. The Scar/Perdido Street Station are favourites of mine. The others weren't bad (except for Leviathan, which caused me to lose faith in Scott Westerfield, and Mortal Engines, which are super steampunk but I can't help but adore) but they were all kind of plagued with a certain sameness. They seemed to be running on the "holy crap, STEAMPUNK!" feeling. Like someone was stuffing shiny things into our gazes. Look, mechanical wings! Oooh, giant mecha-ships! Corsets! Leviathan was the worst of the bunch - World War I became nothing more than a backdrop to lots of gears and living ships. Trivializing something like that bothered me. But they were all kind of...well, shallow. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, the two Fathers of Steampunk, had many similar elements, but they also had interesting themes and interesting commentaries on society and a whole lot of stuff that could be an essay in its own.

So, I don't know. This sameness issue isn't limited to the steampunk genre - don't we all wish people would stop writing books about the Ordinary Girl falling in love with the Supernatural Hottie? Or the Farm Boy Destined For Greatness? I know that trends happen, and once a trend is set there's not a whole lot of originality. The difference for me, at least, is the fact that steampunk has potential. A whole lot of it.  There's so much to be done with it, because it's a *relatively* new movement. It's hard to write an original fantasy book about dragons or vampires or werewolves because there are literally millions of other stories with those same elements. Steampunk's still in the toddler stage, for me.

But instead of going for that distance and trying to make a really good book, authors are satisfied with rehashing all the cool stuff. Which, on a level, I understand. Steampunk is cool. Steampunk is fun. Writing steampunk books (as I'm experiencing) is incredibly fun. I just wish people would try to make something more of it, and dig beneath the shiny layer of pretty Victorian lace and brass goggles.

I'm going to give it a shot.

Excerpt: Chiaroscuro

I've been talking about putting up an excerpt here and there of my writing for a long, long time. Well, here we go. This is one of the more recently-written bits from my novel-in-progress, Chiaroscuro. It's hard to explain the plot, but it's the story of two teenagers, Nathan and Tessa, and how they help each other out of the darkness. It's a play on the idea of this: what if your reflection didn't show who you were on the outside, but who you were on the inside? The *real* synopsis is below.

(There’s something wrong with Nathan’s reflection.)

It’s been four months since Tessa’s boyfriend, David, died, and she’s still coping with the grief. When she accidentally makes eye contact with the strange boy in the woods, though, things change. Stricken by nightmares that aren’t hers and haunted by a monster in the mirrors, Tessa realizes that there’s something dark in the woods. Something that is going to kill her. Something that needs her help…

Chapter Twenty: Chiaroscuro

I stare at him, my fingers twisting around the spiral binding of my old sketchbook. It soothes me, and I finally gather up the courage to say what I have been thinking for the last three days.

        “Let me draw you,” I say. I inhale and wait for his response.

      Nate looks confused at first, like he doesn’t understand the language I’m speaking. “Draw…?”

        “I want to draw you,” I tell him again, nodding as I pull out a handful of pencils and my sketchbook. “Please.”

        He inclines his head. “Why?”

        “I don’t know,” I mutter, unable to meet his eyes. “I just thought, you know, I haven’t been able to really draw anything in awhile, and a challenge…”

        “Sure.” He almost smiles and sits down on the floor. “Sure, okay, I guess.”

        He doesn’t get it, and I wince. “Not you,” I say quietly, taking the large handheld mirror out of my backpack. “The other you.”

        Nathan up on his feet instantly, shaking his head, and for the first time I’m a little scared. He’s so much taller than me, and the look in his eyes – blazing – makes something in my stomach twist. “No,” he says brusquely, backing away from me and moving towards the corner of the tiny room. “You can’t do that.”

        “Why not?”

        He glares at me, hunched up in the shadows like a wounded bird. “Why do you want to?”

        This time I don’t know what to say. Why would I want to draw the creature in the mirror? It’s hideous. More than that, it’s terrifying. Looking at it makes me want to run away, because there’s something wrong about it, something that sparks a deeply wound instinct to flee. This isn’t just about looks; it’s primal.

        But it’s Nathan. It’s him. That monster is him.

        Or at least a part of him. And that means something important. Not good, but important.

        “Please,” I say. “It’s the only way I can understand this.”

        Perhaps it’s the desperation in my voice or the look on my face or a million other little cues that told him that I was completely serious, but something breaks through. Nathan nods.

        “Okay,” he says. “Do it.”

        I stand up. “Come over here.”

        Nathan sits on the ground, and I hand him the mirror, then move to sit behind him. He holds it up, and we both see the monster again. It stares eerily at me – no, not it. Him. Nathan stares at me.

        “Sorry,” he mutters, and I realize that he can see the abject look of horror painted on my face.

        “It’s fine.” I flip open the sketchbook and turn to a new page. Here we go.

        Look at me!

        Yes. Don't worry. 

        I am.

        Against my will, I force myself to stare at Nathan’s reflection. I focus on details. The texture of the skin, the way light and shadows mix together in this strange little hut. The mouth. And the eyes. My pencil moves quickly.

        The eyes are Nathan’s, I realize. I never saw it before. I never looked close enough. But right in the middle of the monster, amidst the horror and hideousness, are his eyes. Nathan’s green eyes.

        It’s jarring to see such beauty, such humanity, surrounding by something crafted out of a nightmare. But at the same time, it’s absolutely hopeful. That monster isn’t just a monster. It’s Nathan’s monster, and it’s him, at least a little bit. I wonder if anyone else ever noticed that the monster in the mirror has the eyes of a human.

        I continue drawing.

        There’s an art style that I learned about a few years ago. It’s called chiaroscuro. It’s Italian. The meaning of it translates into darkness, or something similar. Instead of focusing on the lines and the structure, you look to the shadows, the intricate and delicate relationship between darkness and light. You can breathe life into your art. It’s used as a focus, as a way to indirectly direct the attention to something that may not have been seen before. I use chiaroscuro to bring all the attention to Nathan’s eyes. They are the focus of this piece of art. 

Back from Hiatus

Hey folks,

I know, I know - it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. Too long, unfortunately. It was partially because I've been busy (what as surprise) and partially because I switched email accounts before remembering that my login to this blog is one of my older emails. I had to reactivate it to get back online.

There's a lot to talk about, namely how some cool stuff has happened to me since last June (more traveling, recovering from illness) and how I'm going to be going to college next fall - I don't know where, but it's going to be in the States. :) I won't be traveling as much anymore, but I plan on keeping this blog going as a record of my reactions to America. It's going to be interesting.

There's not much else to say. I've been working hard, writing hard, and now I'm going to be blogging hard again. I hope you guys keep reading.

Cheers,
Ari

The Bishan Suspension Bridge + Temple

It's been a good while since I've updated this blog, and since then, summer has settled upon the island. The weather has turned even more humid, and rainy days are a common sight. Up here on the mountain, though, life is flourishing - birds and butterflies of all sorts are constantly arcing through the air, and all the ivy and vegetation looks like a green winter. School has been out for me for about a week and a half, and I've been taking some time to write, relax, and, of course, explore the island. 


A great note - this summer, we're taking a vacation to the Mediterranean, travelling around in Spain and Morocco. We're also going on a cruise for about a week, and the spots include Tunisia (a country in northern Africa) Turkey, and Italy. It's going to be amazing. I'm not taking my laptop, and internet spots will be few and far between, but I'll be taking lots of photos, which I'll post as soon as I return home. 

Yesterday was a national Taiwanese holiday: The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as duanwu. It's supposed to stem from the celebration of a man named Qu Yuan, who was an ancient Chinese scholar, and to remember his death, but these days it's more about the dragon boat racing, which is both fun to watch and fun to do. I didn't have a chance to head down to Danshui, where the races took place, but we did go somewhere: the Bishan Suspension Bridge. It was one of the few sunny days this summer. 


By the time we got there (about four o'clock) it was pretty crowded, full of other locals that had just the same thought as us. It didn't take away from the natural beauty of the land, though. The bridge was supposedly built to look like a "wriggling dragon bone." I didn't really see that image, but maybe I just wasn't looking at it the right way. 


The bridge itself was pretty packed, but it must have been built pretty well, because it barely wobbled as we trekked across it. It's not that long - maybe a few hundred feet at the most, but it looked quite impressive. 


At the other end of the bridge was a trail, which led onwards to a kind of "tourist" spot...actually, I'm not quite sure what it was. But there were fields of strawberries, lemongrass, and ponds full of koi and lillypads wherever we went. Flowers were everywhere - a kind of preperation for the 2010 Flower Expo, which is coming up soon. 


Anyways, we walked along the trail for awhile, watching the birds and smelling the strawberries, until we found the best part of the entire walk: the temple. 


Okay, I just have to say that I absolutely love the temples in Taiwan. They're beautifully built, with amazing carvings and colors everywhere. But this temple is by far the most magnificent one I've ever seen. 


It's called Bishan temple, which I *think* translates to "Jade Mountain" temple - it makes sense, seeing as it's so green here. I could be wrong, but that sounds pretty logical to me. One great thing about Taiwan is that the people are much more relaxed about having tourists like me poke around their temples; in China, you were barely allowed to look inside, let alone take photos. Maybe it's the island "chill" vibes, but it was really awesome. One of the temple guards told me in plain English, "Go look inside, look around." Thanks, temple guard. 


I suppose I could go on about the temple, but pictures are worth a thousand words: 

I'll be posting more pictures on my DeviantART account - there are a lot of really good ones. When I do, I'll post a link on here. Until then, zaijian. 


-Ari

Special Post: "Shinken" Review and Exclusive Interview

Hey there, everyone,

It's finally getting to be May around here on the island, which means the weather has taken a turn for the warmer, which is great. I can finally go outside without having to bring a jacket. On the down side, it's humid, and foggy a lot of the time, but we'll see how that goes. I'm sorry to go so long without a substantial post, but it's been busy (IB exams) and I've been pretty sick for the last few months, so yeah. But no worries, I'm back. 

I'm here today with a special post: a detailed review and synopsis of Shinken, a book published by a newfound friend of mine, Kaiyuh Rose Cornberg. It was published a few months ago by Outskirts Press, a self-publishing company based in the United States. I ordered the book off Amazon a few weeks ago, and it arrived last Thursday - since then, I've been reading it, and I've actually been impressed. 

Self-publishing has a kind of bad image in the literary world and I can see why. I myself usually scorn self-published books, mostly because the majority of them just aren't that good. They're clichéd, with hackneyed writing and flat characters, and the only difference between them and all the other unpublished novels in the world is that the author paid a lot of money to get it printed. But it never hurts to keep an open mind, so I decided to hold judgement until I actually read the book. And hey, guess what? I actually really enjoyed it. 

Shinken is 339 page fantasy/science fiction book that takes place on the planet of Asthekia, a world situated on the other side of our moon. In Kaiyuh's story, the people of Earth and the people of Asthekia (who look like Earthlings superficially in almost every way) have discovered each other, and have become fast allies and eager friends. People from Earth have migrated to Asthekia, and a small population now lives there, mixed in with the natives. The book itself focuses on an Asthekian girl named Sagel, who lives in the remote mountain-town of Shinken. Since it's obvious I know Kaiyuh in real life, I'm going to mention here that I'll be doing my best to give a fair, unbiased review, without slamming anyone too hard. Let's get started with the review of Kaiyuh Rose Cornberg's debut novel. 


(There are spoilers if you haven't read the book!)

The Cover

I'll admit, the cover kind of turned me off. It had distinct Twilight vibes emanating from it, just like all the recently published YA novels, and I've never been fond of the Papyrus font. Not to mention that the fact that the title wasn't properly centered....however, it's important to remember that this is a self-published book, and it's not really Kaiyuh's fault that she didn't have a team of design editors at her hand to make her book look pretty. So I'm not going to judge here. 

Plot

Shinken is one of those books can't can't really be pegged into fantasy or science fiction - it has elements of both, and integrates both pretty smoothly. The book begins with a lengthy, and, I'll admit, kind of unnecessary prologue. It details the history of Asthekia, and how the people of Earth discovered it, etc., and lists some of the facts about this world on the other side of the moon. For people who have an interest in evolution or zoology, try to suspend your disbelief here - Asthekia is basically the same as Earth, with a few minimal differences. This is where the story swings away from science fiction and more towards fantasy, but it can be let go. 

The main story is told, as I mentioned before, through a girl named Sagel, who lives in the town of Shinken. She's your normal, kind of wide-eyed, innocent protagonist, with a bit of a stubborn streak and a natural tendency towards bravery that fantasy writers love so much. Something's wrong in Shinken, though: there's a strange disease that's cropped up, and more and more people are getting sick. Even the trees are being affected. The only sign of hope is the appearance of Elenry, a wandering Medicine Woman, who learns of a cure for the disease, and needs someone to go with her to find it...

In short, the plot is basic, but surprisingly fresh. I expected a storm of cliches to barrage me, and while there were a few, many of the plot twists were unexpected, even a bit of a surprise. There's aspects of the good old Hero's Journey, but most of the book actually is composed of foreshadowing and set-up. It's kind of a double-edged sword: I was prepared to have the main characters romp through the fantasy world that Kaiyuh created for the majority of the book, but they don't get started on their journey until nearly the end of the book. Much of the story is composed of exposition, which can get a little tedious after awhile - but it's forgivable. 

Plot: 6/10

Characters and Worldbuilding

Where the plot is enjoyable, I'm reluctant to admit that the characters are Shinken aren't the most impressive part of the book. The main character, Sagel, is moderately fleshed out, but there are no defining traits that really make her stand out from other fantasy characters - at least, at the beginning. By the end of the book, there's a fair bit of character development, which makes up for the lack of detail. Other characters, like Elenry, the mysterious Medicine Woman, are more interesting - and don't worry, there's chapters from her point of view as well. The rest of the characters range from nicely written to a little flat, but overall, Shinken has a nice cast. 

The worldbuilding, in my opinion, is much better than the characters - though at first the world of Asthekia seems a little like the generic high fantasy world, it has some redeeming qualities that, in retrospect, make it pretty interesting. My favorite parts are the culture - there's some nifty writing on Kaiyuh's part here; the language of Asthekia is called Sdrawkcab (for people who are like me and aren't that good at word puzzles, it's backwards - backwards.) Other tidbits like this fill the novel, so that by the end, Asthekia is a good-natured reflection of our own rural Earth. What it lacks in originality and believability, it makes up for in charm. Some of the details are unnecessary, but it still makes for a good trek through Kaiyuh's imaginary world. 

Characters: 5/10

Worldbuilding: 7/10

Writing

I'll say it here first: I was a little apprehensive about the writing, even before I read the book. I've written and read enough prose by young authors to know that most of us are still in the stage of "more is more, and the more, the better." I used to be terrible adding in big words I didn't know (the layman's term is thesaurus rape - kind of crude, but it gets the point across) and avoiding the word said at all cost (why use it when there are words like assuage to be taken advantage of?). Thankfully, Shinken stays clear of this - mostly. There's a mention of eyes as "orbs", and describing something as an "orgy" (what?). For the most part, though, the writing is clear and brisk, without getting dragged down too much. Some of the descriptions are quite nice, but others don't really stand out. Some of the dialogue is kind of awkward (there's a distinct lack of contractions) but for the most part if flows quite nicely, and sounds appropriately realistic. 

As a self-published novel, however, Shinken lacks the typographical finesse of a traditionally published book- the only "editors" here were Kaiyuh and here father, and though they did a fine job themselves, some grammatical, spelling, and formatting errors got through. They're not abound, but they're numerous enough to be noticeable, and if you're stringent when it comes to grammar and spelling, you might be bothered a little. I myself was fine, and the errors aren't numerous enough to detract from the story. 

Writing: 5/10

Total score: 5.75/10

That's the end of the review, guys; thanks for sticking through it. Now, onto the good part - Kaiyuh was gracious enough to answer some of my questions, so I have an exclusive (it sounds haughty, but nobody else is posting this) interview with the author herself. You can visit Kaiyuh's own blog here. Thanks!

1. Where did you get the inspiration for Shinken?
Unequivocally, my dreams. I have always dreamed in vivid color and oddly developed plots. Shinken, the actual village, came to me in a dream about a beautiful village on a mountainside. I pretty much crafted a plot around that one little hole in the rock.

2. How has living in Taiwan and being an expatriate influenced your writing?
Probably subconsciously more than consciously. The characters and the feel of Shinken is pretty grounded and familiar, which is everything Taiwan wasn't when I first moved here. Of course, I love Taiwan; it has become a second home to me.

3. How long did it take you to write Shinken?
I started writing under my desk in math class in the eighth grade. Including editing, it took about two years. [Note from Ari: Just to say, she started it in 2007, and finished in late 2009.]

4. Who's your favorite character in your book? Why?
Call me cliche, but I love Elenry. She is the epitome of the person I would love to be. She doesn't settle with common-day social castes or "the way things should be done". She is a hardcore medical, and spiritual dissident. She's enlightened, and that's always a nice quality.

5. Why did you decide to self-publish? Are you glad you did?
Mostly the fact that I didn't have any other connections. Fortunately, there are companies like Outskirts Press, which is a company that facilitates the entire publishing process and makes it really simple for people like me who just like to write and walk away(okay, I've done my promoting!).

6. Do you want to be an author as a living, or is it just a hobby?
I would love to become a self-sustaining author. It is truly my dream. Actually, I am in the process of looking at a high school of the arts in Boston where I would be able to write as my main focus in school. I must apply and such, so fingers crossed!

7. Who are your favorite authors? Why? Did they inspire you at all?
In recent months, I have fallen in love with William Faulkner. Thus, in my recent writing, I feel that I have developed beyond the standard shades of young writing and am finding my own voice as I mature and read. Reading for me is an essential part of my writing. There is nothing new under the sun in literature, but if I can glean some good stuff from good writers (John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Homer, Annie Dillard, J.K. Rowling...), then I think I'll be in functional shape.

8. Do you listen to music when you write?
For Shinken specifically, I listened to a lot of Enya and, brace yourselves, Lord of the Rings. Dorky as it may be, they have really eerie melodies perfect for channeling sick little village people with.

9. Any other stories in the works?

Yes indeed. It is called The Master. It has absolutely no relation whatsoever to Shinken (i.e., not a sequel, prequel...). I don't know when I'll be finished, of IF it will be finished. That's half the fun.

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for tuning in. Until next time. 

-Ari 

Music: "Captain" by Biffy Clyro

Spark Progress: 122,000 words, currently editing

When Birds Attack

It was a really beautiful day today, so I decided to go up onto the roof with my laptop and stare out over the jungle and the city of Taipei as I wrote. I was only up there for a moment when - wham! There's some kind of black-and-white-and-orange bird flying at my face! 


I managed to scare it away by screaming and cowering on the ground like a little girl, which I am, and ran inside. When I peered back outside, it's hanging over the roof that covers the doorway, looking right at me. It flew at me again, and then starting swooping over my head again and again. 


Eventually, after the attack, I climbed up the ladder to see if it had a nest or not - I thought I had heard other birds chirping. Nah. 

A myna. Just a myna. Technically a jungle myna.


One really jaunty, annoying, myna. Really tiny,  really brave. I stayed on the roof for awhile, watching the birds - there are swallows, doves,white-eared sibias, and loads of these guys. I also had the chance to watch a white-tailed tropicbird wheel around the valley for a few minutes. 


Just thought it would be cool to show. There's some great bird species in Taiwan; this island is actually a prime bird-watching site. Especially my house, apparently.


I'm getting my friend's book, Shinken, tomorrow, and I'll read it ASAP - a review and interview will be up soon. 


-Ari

A Visit to Hui Chi Temple...

(Note that this post is relatively image-heavy and might take awhile to load if you have a slow internet connection. My apologies! You should know that you can click on all the pictures to see a larger version of them.) 

Hey guys. The weather here in Taiwan has been vacillating between crappy and less crappy as of late. Today it's crappy, but yesterday it was quite nice. So what did I do? Took my dogs down the mountain and decided to visit a temple that's on my bus route. Now, Taiwan is one of the most dog-friendly countries in the world, so it wasn't a problem to bring them along. You see them everywhere: in shops, restraunts, stores...and not just the little ones, either. It's great to be in a country of dog-loving people.Anyways, we went on down, and found Hui Chi Temple, which, translated, literally means "Good Fortune Temple." It's really beautiful, as you can see, very ornate but not tacky. The picture you see to the left is only the gateway to it. 


 As we walked onwards, my dogs and I saw the temple's two guardians. They're Chinese lions, and they're pretty common around temple areas, and even houses or bridges. There's usually a male and a female, and in Chinese they're known as shizi. (Side note: the two dogs I own, Daisy and Happy, are known as Shih-Tzu dogs, which is basically the American way of pronouncing the Chinese word for lion. Yes, my two furballs were actually bred to look like miniature lions...which they kind of don't, but the statue above doesn't exactly look like a lion, either. I'm not sure if the ancient Chinese actually ever saw a live lion.) 

We went through the gates, and saw that the temple had only just begun: as you can see, there are steps that lead up and up, towards the real temple. It's not much of a hike, since the steps are relatively low and very wide, but it was fun to look around. The pictures here don't do the place justice; with all the lanterns and the surrounding greenery, it looked truly magnificent. 

As my dogs and I traveled upwards (meeting many other dogs on the way, most of them Shih-Tzu as well) it began to grow darker, and our only light was that of the lanterns, as you can see to the left. They're really gorgeous in real life, and are probably one of my favorite parts about Asian arcitecture.  

Here's a closer look at the statues that line the stairway (look to the right.)  I'm not exactly sure what they're supposed to be (lion? dragon?) but they're a cross between adorable and hideous. A face only a Chinese mother could love, I suppose. 

The stairways continued going upwards, and began to twist and turn. To the right there was a beatiful garden area, filled with statues of what I'm guessing to be Buddhist deities. Buddhist deities that ride tigers for fun. That. Is. Awesome. Though the tiger doesn't look too happy, from the look of his face. There are other ones as well, including a pedophile-looking old man riding a deer (not as awesome as a tiger, but it probably takes skill) and another guy on top of a mini elephant. The tiger still wins in my book, though. 

 By now my dogs and I were about a third of the way up, and continued. It got continually more tropical as we did so, and the stairway rails started showing carved panels on them, most of which had a) dragons b) people riding dragons c) dragons fighting each other d) or tigers. If you're reading this blog and know you're not going to remember anything I'm writing, at least remember this: China and Taiwan like their dragons. And I can see why - they're awesome. Forget those nasty Western dragons, man. I want an Oriental dragon. 

By now we're finally at the top, and we've passed a koi pond, another garden, several trails, and a couple of locals who were giving me some strange looks (I'm not sure if it was the dogs or the camera, or the fact that I'm white. Probably a combination.)  By the time we got the the top, my poor dogs were panting (they're lazy) while I was doing just fine. And, let's just say, the views got even better at the top. (The picture to the right is one of the carved dragons on one of the incense burners. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a big fan of dragons.) 

Because, at the top, we saw the temple. The actual temple. Yeah, all the preceeding stuff was just a precursor to the big show up on top of the mountain. Needless to say, I was kind of impressed. The cool thing about living in Asia so long is that I've been able to see how temple styles differ in various countries. In Korea, they're very bright and have a lot of woodwork; in Thailand, there's a lot of gold used; in China, the style is darker in color but much more ornate. Taiwan is like a mix of all three, and the resulting buildings are beautiful. Very colorful, very ornate, with some beautiful stone and wood carvings. It also smells great. 

After wandering around the courtyard area for awhile (see the link below to see all the photos in the album, since too may on here will overload the post) I tied my dogs outside and decided to take a look inside. Since this is one of the more "touristy" temples, I didn't have to take off my shoes or anything, and even though taking pictures wasn't exactly condoned, nobody yelled at me for doing it. I just tried to look nice and innocent while taking a look around. 

The inside, obviously, was quite lovely. Besides smelling strongly of sandalwood incense, it was really quite beautiful. I don't know...it had this kind of aura around it, I guess. Even though I'm a pretty devout Christian, I couldn't help by be impressed by all of this. Within, there's a large statue of Buddha; around there are more minor gods. There's a place where people can kneel and pray and burn incense and give offerings. I kept walking forward, and found another koi pond, as well as a pretty cool dragon engraving. It kind of amazes me, how much effort that people put into this temple, which is kind of out of the way to see. 

After a few minutes of quietly looking around, I went back outside to find some pretty impatient dogs waiting for me, so I decided to take them back home. Back down the stairs we went! By this time it was getting pretty dark, and the lanterns had started to light up properly. They have the name of the temple painted on them: Hui Chi Temple. The character on the bottom looks kind of like a temple, I suppose. 

That's all for now - until next time I go out and find some other part of Taiwan to explore. If you want to see more of the pictures, you can view them at my Facebook album, here. (If for some reason you can't get onto my album, comment and I'll see what I can do.) 

Until next time, guys. 

~Ari

Spark Wordcount: 120,00 words, currently writing the ending
Music: Vienna Teng, Recessional