Day 5 - God of Wealth, Did You Get My Request?
Last update: 25 August 2011 2:30PM (GMT+08:00)
Reported by Chan Chi Tim.

The Taiwan Excursion has been blessed with good summer weather so far, which made the entire journey pleasant and smooth. Day 5 was no different.

After a productive Day 4 - where Joey and the participants visited and assessed a total of four sites - the itinerary for Day 5 took on a rather relaxing pace, targeting three destinations.

The first site they visited was the famous Jin Shan Cai Shen Temple or the God of Wealth Temple 金山財神廟 located in Jinshan District, the rural area north of New Taipei City. The participants were even more excited when they were told by the local guide that they can ask the God of Wealth for, well, wealth.

The temple sits on the Jin Mountain and the view there was absolutely breathtaking. The participants spent quite some time at this temple, mostly because a number of them took the opportunity to make an offering to the God of Wealth, and explored around the temple grounds. The temple visit here was particularly interesting for the non-Chinese participants, as they get to witness the activity going around this popular temple - such as the burning of incense and gold joss paper (also known as ghost money) according to the Chinese custom.

Thereafter, it was back to business: the first Feng Shui assessment of the day with Joey. He told the participants that the temple is seated on a spot, which is backed by a Huge Door mountain. It has a unique formation called Golden Snake Coming Out of Cave. This feature, coupled with the peaks at Yin 寅, (Tiger), Si 巳(Snake), Shen 申(Monkey) and Hai 亥(Pig), has enabled the site and temple to usher wealth. It is no wonder this is a temple that worships the God of Wealth!

After the whole morning there, the entourage headed down for lunch at the base of the mountain.

With the participants feeling reenergized after lunch, Joey brought them up another mountain, the Fa Gu Mountain 法鼓山, to visit the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education. This is the international headquarters of Buddhist teachings, which comprises a massive complex of monasteries and education centers.

One could feel the incredible sense of serenity here, as they toured around the compound of the center. Joey pointed out the two Nobility mountains, Tang Lang 貪狼, and showed that the compound is seated on Literary Arts 文曲 and at the same time, facing a Literary Arts Table Mountain. At all four Growth directions, there were also peaks. Thus, this makes the center a good site for education purposes. He also pointed out a special water formation known as Saving the People Water.

The name Teresa Teng is known across many parts of Asia. She was the legendary, popular and influential Chinese songstress from Taiwan. On this day, the Excursion participants were brought to visit her grave.

When Teresa Teng died in 1995, she was led to rest at Chin Pao San (or Jinbaoshan) 金寶山鄧麗君墓, a private cemetery near Jin Mountain. The first thing the participants noticed upon arrival - to their amazement - was the stone structure of piano keys at the center of the square at the entrance. There is also a life-size statue of Teng at the site.

As Teng does not have any descendants, no Feng Shui audit was done at this site. This visit was merely - like for most visitors here - to pay respect to the late singer.

The day's Excursion agenda ended early, and those who were still up for more exploring were brought on to tour the Jiu Fen Night Market, where the main focus was to try as much of Taiwan's local snacks as possible before they leave the country. They savored Taiwanese sausages, pastries, yam ball with beancurd desserts, and many more, including grilled escargots! Some of the female participants also managed to get some last-minute shopping done.

At the end of the day, everyone gathered back at the hotel for dinner,and had a good time sharing their adventures and memories with each other since the beginning of the trip. This Taiwan Excursion with Joey was truly a memorable one for all.