Another grave visit, followed by fooood
Jan. 1st, 2003 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ilaiWe went to visit my grandmother's grave up on the mountain today. Since it's been months since my dad's last visit, the grave was overrun with vines and weeds. With a scythe and other garden implements, my dad and I cut away the excess foliage, and my brother and mother moved it away. Afterward we burned incense and gold- and silver-plated money for her and for the Earth God.
Apparently legend has it that if you visit a graveyard after dark, you run the risk of having wayward spirits come home with you. To get them to go away, Dad drove us over to a Buddhist temple in 汐止 (Xizhi/Sikchi). Located on Dajianshan (大尖山/Duachiamsuan), Cihang Temple (慈航堂/Chuhangtong) is a large, recently rebuilt temple housing a gilded monk. From the temple one can look down to the whole town of Xizhi, and the flowers and shrubbery decorate the premises. I'd go there just to relax, if not to get away from mischievous spirits.
At night we went over to the night market around Huaxi Street (華西街/Huaseke), famous for the live snake butchering in Snake Alley. I wasn't in the mood for seeing the snakes again, so we just had dinner. We ordered thick squid soup (魷魚焿/youyugeng/liuhiken), stir-fried rice vermicelli, and burdock (牛蒡/niupang/guphang) tempura at one restaurant. The portions were small, but the food was very tasty--the restaurant was an old established eatery in the old section of Taipei called Bangka (艋舺/萬華/Wanhua). At another place we ordered pork buns (割包/gebao/kuapao), a sandwich with strips of pork, vegetables, and ground peanuts.
Maybe I should stop talking about food....
Apparently legend has it that if you visit a graveyard after dark, you run the risk of having wayward spirits come home with you. To get them to go away, Dad drove us over to a Buddhist temple in 汐止 (Xizhi/Sikchi). Located on Dajianshan (大尖山/Duachiamsuan), Cihang Temple (慈航堂/Chuhangtong) is a large, recently rebuilt temple housing a gilded monk. From the temple one can look down to the whole town of Xizhi, and the flowers and shrubbery decorate the premises. I'd go there just to relax, if not to get away from mischievous spirits.
At night we went over to the night market around Huaxi Street (華西街/Huaseke), famous for the live snake butchering in Snake Alley. I wasn't in the mood for seeing the snakes again, so we just had dinner. We ordered thick squid soup (魷魚焿/youyugeng/liuhiken), stir-fried rice vermicelli, and burdock (牛蒡/niupang/guphang) tempura at one restaurant. The portions were small, but the food was very tasty--the restaurant was an old established eatery in the old section of Taipei called Bangka (艋舺/萬華/Wanhua). At another place we ordered pork buns (割包/gebao/kuapao), a sandwich with strips of pork, vegetables, and ground peanuts.
Maybe I should stop talking about food....
