Dali - Part IV - Late September

I'm not going to give any explanations for these photos, just know they were taken on one day where we rented bikes and checked out the surrounding area.

And this one's my favorite.

And this one was from the roof of our hotel at sunset.

Dali - Part III - Late September

After leaving Wu Wei Su we had a few days until our flight to Bangkok so we went on a hike, visited our friend Ying Chang who gave us calligraphy instruction and just enjoyed the town.

This pagoda was closed and not yet open as a tourist attraction but you can still walk up to it.

Man and donkey, both wondering why we are there.

This one is for Tracey.

Some critters on the hike.

Graves up in the hills.

The hills.

Dali from above.

Ying Chang's studio.

We stayed at a hotel for Chinese, there is a separation between tourist hotels and Chinese hotels, some of which won't let you stay. We found this place by luck and a lot of walking but it was cheaper than any tourist place and we had our own room, bathroom, hot water thermos for tea and a really nice owner, Mr Lee.

Testing the water.

Wu Wei Su - Part II

Here are some more shots of the monastery. These were taken on my last day there. Below is a tree we were told is 1300 years old and is sacred to the monastery.

Due to rain the training grounds were closed so we practiced here on stone yard. This was the main entrance to the monastery, the figures on either side are to protect the monastery from demons. One represents water the other fire.

Inside the central courtyard.

The side entrance.

This is the door for Shifu's private study, calligraphy studio and tea room.

He doesn't mind visitors. This was the just inside the entrance, a solid stone pool.

Shifu's calligraphy brushes and ink well.

Shifu doesn't speak any english and abhors travel as unnecessary for all that you need to learn is within you, which is a very buddhist thought. So I couldn't ask what this was for but from my calligraphy instruction in Dali I believe it to be a way of practicing before you commit with pen and paper what you want to write.

These are the steps leading up to the temple where I would go to mediate.

The pavilion in front of the temple with the view over the valley.

As I said before you were often taught Kung Fu by kids. There were two Tibetan orphans who have been at the monastery for years. They wouldn't tell me their names and they try not to be attached to the visitors as they see so many. This one was my favorite. He made me feel like a big brother except that he could kick my ass if he wanted to.

The three instructors. There was an older one who ran the classes but wouldn't let us take a picture with him. Also, I think he was sad to see us leave. I would like to have stayed a year to be honest but leaving would be even harder then. On the right is the other orphan, and to the right of Jacqueline is a boy given by his wealthy parents to the monastery and seems to be in training to take over for Shifu in the future. Between the two is the boy from the picture above. They would share any treats people gave them with us and try to refuse and treats we brought for them.

This is a truly special place and I owe my knowledge of it to a bear of a man in body and soul we met in Thailand. Thank you Witold.

Wu Wei Su - Part I

So this is the Wu Wei Su Monastery near Dali, China. It is run by a Shaolin monk and you can stay there, live as they do, train as they do and get really sore, unlike they do.

One thing before I get into this, they don't allow photos of either the training nor the monks, you can get around the second part but not the first.

The day starts at 7am with the morning run to a river where you find a stone and carry it back on your head. The stones are used to line a long series of stairs and you take some pride in looking for one with an aesthetic appeal. The monks start their day chanting, the beginning of which is announced with a large bell, about a meter in diameter, so you are generally awake at the same time which is around 5am.

After the run you practice the taolu, which are forms or a series of preset moves some of which are named after various animals, ie. Mantis... yes you heard right, I studied Mantis. It sounds more awesome than it looks when I do it but when the monks do it, well, it looks like Kung Fu.

8am, breakfast is announced via a dinner bell, you are provided one bowl and a set of chopsticks which are yours to use for the duration of your stay. There is a communal dinning hall where everyone, you, the monks and even the Shifu (master) eats. Food is placed on plates at the center of the table with serving chopsticks to be used to place the food in your own bowl. Any food you take, or drop, is to be eaten, there is no waste. Uneaten food from the center plates will be reused/cooked for later meals and nobody eats until the master is there and everyone says Ami Tofu, which is basically a name for the Buddha of Internal Light. After each meal you wait till at least one other person is done, leave your bowl at your table and move from table to table bowing, hands pressed together in a prayer, and say Ami Tofu to each table which replies in kind. You collect your bowl and sticks, wash them and return them to you room or the common area in a safe place.

9-12am is training. Starts with stretching ends with the taolu. After the first day you're sore, after the second you can't walk downstairs without winching and after a week you start to get your mobility back until the bones and joints start to hurt. I'm serious, it is like you are breaking your body down only to rebuild it stronger.

12pm, lunch, like dinner but you are starving rather than just hungry.

1-4pm, relax, read, many take a nap, I did all and spent time in the temple mediating.

4-6pm more training.

6pm is dinner. After which you are most likely trying to stay awake until 9ish when you go to bed. Lights out at 9:30 but rarely are your lights not already out.

Repeat.

Anyway, on to some photos. Like I said, photos are not really allowed but here are some to give you a feel of the monastery.

The women below are from the area and about to go to the temple for chanting on the autumn full moon.

One of the kids, preparing for temple.

The Shifu on his way.

The inner courtyard of the monastery from my room's window.

Us and the kids playing Go in the common room.

Night fall, chanting continuing.

Dali - Part II - September

The reason that we went to China was to go to a Kung Fu monastery in the hills near Dali. We were unsure what day it started, or where it was, so we took a day and decided to find it on foot. Three hours later and 20kms we found it in the hills nearby. Below are some shots from the walk.

Dali is known for it's marble, the name in China for marble actually includes Dali in it's name. Some marble is carried by trucks, some by mule and some by hand. Anyway there isn't much in the way of workers safety here, we in the West enjoy cheap goods partially as a result of this. The man below is hand grinding a marble sink without a mask... he and the air around him are saturated with marble dust.

Some offerings being burnt by local people. There are many different ethnic groups in China, so many it feels like a world unto itself.

Between us and what we thought was our destination there was a golf course. This is the long, long wall skirting the premises which we had to circle. Jacqueline, keeping to the shade.

This is the road we should have taken... near the bottom is the lake near Dali, but you probably can't see it.

Now it's starting to feel like we're approaching a monastery, rock paths, the smell of pine trees, dew on the leaves, clean air, and most of all, silence.

Feel free to use this as a wallpaper for your desktop.

We got there, arranged to stay there and then left. Those photos are for later, below the East Gate by night.