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On the weekend, I had the pleasure of introducing Taipei to one of my friends from Taichung. Well, actually he's from Colombia - but he'll be working in Taichung for a year and a half! We're both here on AIESEC internships, and that's how we met each other.

Then, he told me that he would be visiting Taipei for a meeting. So we decided that we could go and see some interesting things in Taipei together! Some of our friends went to Longshan Temple with us - for a day of laughter, wishes and friends!

Diego (from Colombia), Linen and I 在龍山寺

It was fun because Diego hadn't been to any of the temples yet, and so this was going to be a whole new experience for him! I have been to Longshan Temple once before, when I first arrived in Taipei. My friends took me there to pray for a good year working in Taipei, and also so I could see some special Taiwanese culture!

I remember following through the same path - we first walked into the entrance of the Longshan temple. The gates are magnificant! They are big and colorful, and keep the sacred atmosphere of the temple separate from the city life. Once we entered there is a beautiful waterfall to the right, immediately making you feel cool and refreshed. If you stand near it and watch the water falling you can even feel a sense of peace and tranquility~!

The waterfalls inside the entrance of Longshan Temple:

We then moved into the temple, past the walls decorated with animal and human figures, Chinese characters and dragons. I love the architecture of Longshan. I think it is truly beautiful and very fascinating to take a closer look! My friends explained to Diego what each God looked after - some people prayed to a certain God for luck with their exams, family, health or love.

Some of the lovely artworks covering the temple:

Eventually we stopped at the same shrine where I prayed for luck with my job. One of my friends showed Diego how to throw the red wooden blocks. One side of these blocks is curved, while the other side is flat. You need to throw two blocks and have them land with one side curved and one side flat 3 times. After they have landed like this 3 times in a row, you can then choose a wooden stick with a number on it.

Diego throws the red blocks with advice from my friend.

The number tells you which piece of paper to take, which will tell your fortune or answer your wish. So we travelled back to a special place where a person can tell us what the fortune paper meant!

The last thing we did was a surprise for Diego. My friends bought him a special good luck charm, so that he can keep safe while in Taiwan. They explained the meaning of it to him, and then told him that he needs to introduce himself to the God who will protect him. They explained that he has to say his name and where he lives. Then he needs to wave the charm through the smoke 3 times in a circular way. 

After he did that, other people came and prayed as well ... and then there was a lot of fire suddenly! My friend said that when there is fire, it means that something will happen! How exciting :) 

The special fire - something is about the happen!

At the end of our visit, everyone was pretty tired. We'd walked around Longshan Temple and through the markets around the temple too; it had been a busy day. And everyone was so tired, we wanted to sleep already...