By week ten of my trip I have been on every form of transportation imaginable. Well, all except for say a horse/mule, but close enough. At the end of this entire excursion I will have been on nine different planes, two different subway systems, long and mid distance trains, a scooter, numerous taxis, a friend's car and recently a bus. How fortunate are we to have such an expansive system that makes it possible to see most anything and everything you could ever want to see in the world! And if the destination ends up being lackluster, the journey to it will always yield a good story.
The Martin Place train station in Sydney is where I started my journey to Wollongong to visit friends Steffanie, Denny and Jasmine Sentelle who've been living in Australia for over a year now. Interestingly you walk to Martin Place where you have to lug your bag down a set of stairs to then take an escalator back up to enter the main train station then back down escalators to the platform. Is this how it is everywhere; I have no idea but this was what I endured.
Moving on- below is the walk way to the main train/ticketing area.
The second set of escalators which you have to go down to get to the actual train platform. Who's idea was all of this? Is a straight line with one escalator to the platform too complicated?
The train right before mine. I've been on a double decker bus and commuter train but this is more like a subway.
The inside of the train car; not too shabby a train - right?
I make it safely (and comfortably) to Shell harbor, where my friends live, (about 30 minutes south of Wollongong) and decide to explore. Best way to do this is via bus; not timely by any means but who's in a rush? The challenges I've encountered at least on the bus system here isn't the pace but actually finding the bus stop and names/indications regarding what stop you're at. So, for example, the picture below is the bus stop I needed in Shell Harbor. Yep, that's it. A stick in the ground that has "bus stop" written on it. Notice there's no indication as to the stop name and inside the bus itself there is no announcement or scrolling board with the next stop listed on it. As such - pay attention, otherwise who the hell knows where you'll end up!
Despite no visual indication of where I was, I did reach my destination with the help of the very friendly bus drivers.
Below is the back entrance to Nan Tien Temple in Berkley, Wollongong - the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere.
A picture approaching the Pilgrim Lodge, where you can stay and take classes at the temple.
A stone carving outside of the Pilgrim Lodge.
Covered walking path to the main temple.
Hopefully with the coming of Spring water will flow over these rocks again?
The Main Shrine which houses the five Buddha's of Confidence, Longevity, Wisdom, Inner Beauty and Peace.
The rooftop of surrounding buildings from the main temple with a view of the mountains in the back. The Buddhist flag shown here has six colors which are believed to have appeared above the head of the Buddha after he attained Enlightenment. The horizontal stripes signify peace and harmony between all races in the world and the vertical stripes symbolize external peach within the world.
Stairs leading to the Great Compassion Hall which houses Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Kuan Yin), a symbol of great compassion, listening to people's prayers to alleviate suffering for all.
The walk to the Gratitude Bell.
The Gratitude Bell.
The Pagoda off in the (near) distance
Intricate rail carvings at the Pagoda.
Tranquil scenery as you walk the grounds.
Statues outside of the tea house.
You're not supposed to take pictures inside but I captured a bit while snapping a photo of the incense holder outside one of the Great Compassion Hall (explained in previous pictures)
Statues outside the main Temple.
Walking from the Pagoda back to the main temple you come upon this buddha with the story of how the Nan Tien Temple came to be in Wollongong Australia. I won't belabor you with the story but will highly recommend that any visit to Australia include a stop here.
Have a seat and enjoy the scenery. Despite it being spring here it was hard for me to personally distinguish if it felt like spring or fall. Regardless, the trees swaying in a nice breeze is always very relaxing.
The iPhone has captured some truly amazing pictures on this trip but unfortunately its not doing this tree justice. It has these bright orange leaves placed sporadically throughout just adding the perfect hint of color to the sea of green leaves.
Not sure what this is but it was pretty enough to share.
After all this exploring I sat down to enjoy a tasty lunch and, below, a latte.
Lunch is served. Vegetable mince with rice. No meat, fish or anything other than vegetarian meals are served or even allowed on the premise. I have zero idea what vegetable mince is but it was delicious.
Vegetable dumplings
So the day had drawn to a close and it was time for me to head back to Shell Harbor (about a hour total bus ride with an estimated 70 stops or so but there's no way to really know... there's nothing indicating a stop. I'm pretty sure if you hit the stop button they'd probably stop right in front of your house)
The transfer point between buses was the Westfield Mall so I decided to have a look. I'm guessing this is their equivalent of Wal-Mart but don't assume you'll get an better bargain here than elsewhere - make-up will still cost you $20+ (for even brands considered cheap in the US).
