Scooter Sights #4 & Hsin Tong Bridge

This weekend I went about an hour south to see what I would run into.  Ended up seeing a lot of cool stuff, but mainly one giant awesome bridge.

lots of pictures (as usual)...

Cemetery

I love how the land here is split into millions of little sections.

I have no idea what pant this is, but it's pretty bright in person.

Deserted basketball court.

I eventually came across the Hsin Tong Bridge, in Miaoli (said Me-owl-ee).  I discovered it was straight through the middle of a park area, and over a simple river.

Mid-bottom center.

Two white dots.

Missionaries.

The farther you got out on these stones the more covered in water they got.  

I made it pretty far.  

Bridge reflection.

I love this picture.

As the sun was setting the lights on the bridge came on.

I've quickly fallen in love with the bridges here.

Scooter Sights #3 & Maitreya Buddhist Monastery

I scootered about 20 minutes east of where I live, and little did I know, it was gorgeous.  Lots of green and lots of valleys and rivers and lakes and bridges and mountain ranges.

I came across a huge dam.

You can see the higher level of water in the background 

(with all the green lily-pads covering the water).

Dam fishers.

I also came across a huge Buddhist monastery.

It had just closed when I was passing by.

I later did some research online and found out that this giant Buddha is the 25th tallest statue in the world (189 ft!).  The Statue of Liberty is 38th.  He's a Maitreya Buddha.

More info from google (may need a dictionary):

"Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor of the historic Śākyamuni Buddha. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya references a time when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Jambudvipa. It is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna), and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an event that will take place when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Earth."

I love this picture for the background and the layering mountains.

I never really know how to end a post without just saying -

It was neat!