The matchmaking temple

Last weekend in Taipei I had the pleasure of being treated to dinner and dessert by Ariel and Melanie and their friend Robert. I met Ariel and Melanie through Hiroto-san, one of my stellar guides in Tokyo. Ariel looked exactly like Mandy Moore, but Asian. I forgot to take photos, sorry. We had delicious steamed dumplings at Din Tai Feng, a very popular Taipei restaurant, followed by shaved ice with cream, red beans, mango, and tapioca pearls at a nearby ice stall; then they took me to Shilin night market. One stall there was selling the cutest fake LeSportsac bags, but it was so crowded I couldn't think straight enough to purchase anything.
At one point in the evening Asian Mandy Moore asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said no; she and Melanie then excitedly proclaimed that I should go to the Taipei matchmaking temple - Xia-Hai City God Temple. She said that girls go there to pray for boyfriends (it worked for her); she also mentioned that you need to buy a piece of red thread at the temple and carry it in your wallet to bring good luck in love. So the next day I of course made a bee-line for this temple. It was a bit of a walk from the metro station, through an old part of town that is a bit dusty, and I had a hard time finding the temple as it was not on the exact block depicted on the tourist map and it was much smaller than I expected. But I made it. There were some English (as well as Japanese) signs and instructions posted but I didn't see them at first. I had visited other temples on my trip before but more as a tourist, to just observe the worshippers and take photos. This time was serious; I knew I had to had to go through the customary steps if I was to have any chance of this working for me. I knew that I needed the red thread, but how to get it? There was no sign saying "Red thread here." There was a lady at a counter near the temple entrance selling something so I went up to her and tried to communicate that I needed the red thread, but she did not understand me or seem very amused by me at all. She put out an A.P.B. for someone, anyone, to figure out what I wanted. Soon a very friendly young woman about my age - just another person visiting the temple that day - came over to help. I explained my mission. I expected her to just review the necessary steps and show me where to buy the goods, but she actually took me by the hand and walked me through each step of the process. She was so nice! I later found out her name was Ellen, the same name as one of my best friends back home!
The process we followed was a bit complicated and involved these steps, which differ slightly from what is written in the brochure (but I think we got the jist of it):

1. Buy "god money" (fake paper money) and 3 incense sticks at the god money stand. (This cost about $1.50.)
2. Buy the offering set at the counter. (This cost about $8 and contained the red thread and a piece of chewy lychee-flavored candy. The brochure says that the set also includes 2 coins but I never got these.)
3. Light up the 3 incense sticks (you will carry these until step 10; be careful to tilt them away from you so the ash falls on the ground and not on your clothes).
4. Face the incense burner (looks like a cauldron) outside the temple and pray to the Sky God. Briefly introduce yourself to the Sky God and explain why you are there. (Praying also involves bowing 3 times; it takes a while for an outsider to master the intracacies of bowing)
5. Inside the temple, pray to the City God and the Matchmaker (statues on the main alter). Introduce yourself to the gods and explain the type of person you would like to meet, their personality, etc., or let them know if you have a specific person in mind.
6. (In the side room), pray to the Buddha for blessings of wisdom, peaceful mind, and good fortune.
7. Pray to the wife of the City God for blessings of good marital and family relationships.
8. Pray to Yi-Yong Gong (guardians) to keep away evil spirits.
9. Have some engagement cookies, to get luck from the married couples. Eat the candy later.
10. Outside again, place incense sticks together in the incense burner. Move the red thread 3 times clockwise through the smoke. Then keep the red thread in your wallet.
11. Put the god money in the box. The temple will burn it for you.
12. Have some sweet "blessed tea." (provided free of charge from big coolers)

You only need to buy the offering set the first time you visit the temple. On repeated visits you can update your matchmaking requests and pass your red thread over the incense smoke again for good luck. When you find your mate you have to return to the temple to give thanks and bring a box of engagement cookies. According to the brochure, "5,229 couples got married in 2005 due to the miracles of the Matchmaker." Not bad stats. But it seems help from the gods is still needed after matchmaking: Women with partners also come to the temple and pray to the wife of the City God for their husbands to behave themselves!

I was very grateful to Ellen for helping me and I offered to treat her and her friend to tea afterward, but they had a date - with Andy Lau! no really, they did. (Andy Lau is a very popular Chinese actor and singer.) They are members of his fan club and drove into Taipei (from their town 2 hours away) to attend a members-only meet and greet session with him, the third or fourth such event they have attended so far. They are huge Andy Lau fans and joked that he is their husband. They offered to give me a ride in their car to wherever I was visiting next, on their way to seeing Andy. This was so nice of them. I wish I could have hung out with them more!

Taipei 101

Taipei is pretty cool. It would be even cooler if it wasn't 95 degrees (35 C). I'm enjoying the sites here as my big Asia tour comes to a close. The highlights of Taipei for me have been the temples and the foot massages. The Taipei 101 building (currently the tallest in the world but soon to be outdone by one in Dubai) is also impressive, especially the elevator that swiftly zooms you up to the observatory on the 89th floor in what seems like only 5 seconds. The night markets can be fun, but they can also be extremely crowded. You can find a lot of interesting snack food at the markets. I'm not brave enough to try some of it, especially the various meat parts, as well as stinky tofu. Stinky tofu really, really stinks. I'm not putting that in my mouth. But they have lots of delicious sweets here, such as shaved ice piled high with fruit or sweet beans, milk tea (with or without bubbles), and herbal jelly drinks and juices. I also had some of the best dumplings ever here in Taipei. On Saturday I went to Fulong beach, a little over 1 hour away by train; it was a lovely beach, worth the trip, although I got my first jellyfish sting there! Not a serious sting. The pain didn't last long. It really caught me by surprise as I never saw or felt any jellyfish in the water.
I have really enjoyed the temples here because they're very colorful and lively, especially Longshan Temple, and a nice change from the restrained temples of Japan. I went to Longshan in the evening and was surprised to see so many worshippers there at that time, praying, chanting, lighting incense, making offering to the gods, and throwing divination blocks. Also I went to the small City God temple, which will receive its own blog entry and captivating, detailed story soon! But I can elaborate on the foot massages now. I had two, the second being better than the first and also cheaper and at more of a traditional establishment, where they take reflexology seriously. It hurt like hell at certain points, but I felt so good afterward... Each area of the foot (and also the calves) is thought to correspond to another part of the body or a specific organ. I had major pain and tightness in the areas linked to my kidney, colon, pancreas, and vocal chords. Then again, it could just be that I haven't been wearing shoes with proper arch support. The funny thing about reflexology is that nothing on the map corresponds to the feet.
Today I will see the renowned National Palace museum and pack my bags for my red-eye flight to Los Angeles.