October 11, 2024
Bilbao, Spain well worth the wait for me!
I have wanted to see Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in person, ever since I read about it years ago! It did not disappoint and I can totally see why it put Bilbao on the tourist map. The whole river's edge neighborhood benefited from it's installation. The Zubizuri or "white bridge" in Basque, by Santiago Calatrava was erected in 1997, the same time the Guggenheim was under constructed.
Below is a look around town. A fabulous start to this amazing adventure. Absolute Perfection for our first visited port! Amazing sites, yummy food, lots of fun and laughs & plenty of new friends to share it all with, Excelente!
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.
500 Lohan Temple or Vihara Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the most interesting place we visited on Bintan Island . It features 500 hand sculpted, life sized, distinctively expressive statues of Buddhist disciplines (Lohans) surrounding a tranquil courtyard. They are arranged symetrical, in an arc and it's interesting how some pop out, as you look down the rows. The statues were crafted by artist in China from 2010 to 2017 when the temple was inaugurated; no two are alike.