Published by Swiss James on 09 May 2007
hoopla
Longhua temple is in the umm, South West of Shanghai? My geography is still patchy at best, but that seems about right.
Anyway it’s a big place, much bigger than Jing-An temple (the one next to my house), is easy to get to (unlike those temples buried in the jungle in Cambodia), and over the May holiday it hosted a funfair (which I don’t remember happening at that Temple Of Doom Indianna Jones visited).
I went there with Craig, once he’d forced open the door to my bedroom (not a euphemism)- the sun was blazing, the place was packed and everything smelt like “Chou Dofu”*
Craig trying to win another teddy bear for his collection
All along one side of the temple were the kind of carnival games where you have three chances to do something that’s basically impossible, and if you somehow fluke your way to doing it, you win something you don’t want.
Please note the total lack of bitterness in my voice here- yes Craig won a massive pink deformed mouse creature and a cuddly lion, and I won nothing, but I don’t care anyway. Winning stuff is for losers.
A solemn religious figure @ Longhua temple
More photos later on (when I remember to take enough money to the photo shop to pay for the bloody things).
*Chou Dofu is a street snack made of tofu that smells like someone has eaten a block of the ripest French cheese , then thrown it up onto a hobo’s hot feet.