On the way in to the city, I passed through many different suburbs, all of which seem to have their own heritage buildings. So I'm guessing the gold fields were dotted all over the place here.
My plan was next to take the talking tram but since there was a considerable wait for it I went to find a Baker's Delight; it would have been quicker to walk. But anyway I found it and since I was in a 3-hour free parking area, and only 800 m from the nearest tram stop, I chose to walk. So I sat in the cold wind, waiting for the talking tram.
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| Alexandra Fountain |
While I'm waiting, there are a few rather lovely heritage buildings (and the Alexandra Fountain) to admire, along with the statue of Queen Victoria, I presume, surrounded by tulips which are coming out into flower and looking beautiful.
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Queen Victoria surrounded by tulips
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| Another gorgeous heritage building |
The tram itself is lovely both inside and out.
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| Tram interior |
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| An even older tram at the depot |
The tram ride pointed out many interesting features.
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| Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral |
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| The restored Town Hall |
I did like the piece of information that any of the tram workers who arrived at work wearing new shoes would be suspected of 'tickling the till' since the wages were inadequate for purchase of new shoes.
Another snippet of information that I found interesting was that gold was discovered in Bendigo by two ladies whose husbands worked as pastoralists.
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| Rebecca Mine |
I wandered around a bit exploring and looking at some of the buildings and checked out the tulips with a most delightful ruffled tulip in one of the beds.
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| Just one gorgeous tulip |
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| Ruffled tulip |
Next was Chancery Lane, where I admired the street art, none of which was really able to be photographed simply because the lane was too narrow. Anyway, I enjoyed it
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| Chancery Lane |
I went for a short walk in the conservatory gardens. Again admiring some lovely plants there, including some very pretty grape hyacinths
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| Grape Hyacinth |
I admired the facade of the Shamrock Hotel which over the years has provided accommodation to the rich and the famous. But I did feel the tab and the pokies signs detracted somewhat.
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| Shamrock Hotel |
And then of course there's Myers which is only notable because it was from Bendigo that Sydney Myer established what was to become a major chainstore. A Russian immigrant of humble origins, he clearly had major entrepreneurial skills.
I had put the Golden Dragon Museum on my itinerary, however it's closed on Mondays. But I did explore the precincts, including the lotus flower sculpture and another light installation of oversized daisies. I had been told the adjacent Chinese garden was gorgeous but that was also closed today. I had to settle for admiring its gate and the small pagoda outside.
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| Lotus Flower Sculpture |
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| Daisies? |
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| Pergola outside precinct |
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| Gate to Chinese Garden |
I have been told the Bendigo art gallery was a must visit, but if you're me, you can have too many art galleries in a short time and I did see an art gallery 2 days ago.
It seems Bendigo boasts the oldest, the first, the only surviving, all sorts of firsts in relation to various things.
I returned to the Great Stupa and spent some time walking around the peace trail admiring not only the landscaping, but also the integration of items sacred to so many different faiths into the grounds of this Tibetan Buddhist stupa. Included amongst the various items was the (to me) familiar '4 Friends' symbolising the interconnectedness and interdependence of living beings I was particularly enamoured of the Bodhi Tree sapling - taken from a cutting from a Sri Lankan Bodhi tree which was derived directly from the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.
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| The Four Friends |
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The Bodhi Tree
well protected from Bendigo frosts |
I visited the Stupa again. One may not approach the main altars because of the work that's happening on the ceiling; first world occupational health and safety deems it a building site and therefore the general public must not enter. However, most of the main statues are visible and can be enjoyed, respected and prayed to.
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Guru Rimpoche
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1000 Arm Chenrezig
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I also noticed the display of the halo of the Jade Buddha - which one was invited to touch. I did.
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| Jade Buddha |
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| The Jade Buddha's halo |
I asked the monk in attendance about opportunities to light butter lamps and he informed me there are no open flames in the whole complex. It's way too much of a fire risk in this environment; the butter lamps one sees at the altars are all electric.
Certainly the lack of butter lamps would keep the place smelling sweeter and keep the artwork much more free from the sooty grime that butter lamps tend to generate.
I did light an incense stick instead.
I noted the memorial walls along at least one of the terraces surrounding the Stupa and did think that it would be rather a wonderful place for one's ashes to end up.
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| The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion |
I returned to the Atisha complex, noting that from the Atisha complex one does have 24-hour access to the ground surrounding the Stupa, as opposed to the general public which may only be there from 9:00 to 5:00.
I explored the grounds of the complex with all its sacred statuary and visited the goempa (meditation hall) where I chatted briefly with a nun who was engaged in washing the floor before resuming my reasons for going there.
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| Reclining Buddha |
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| A small stupa in the Atisha Complex grounds |
Since I could approach the altar I did my prostrations, which had not seemed as relevant to do inside the Great Stupa because of the huge distance between me and the altars. My friends in Bhutan had trained me well in appropriate actions in such sacred places.
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| Inside the Atisha Complex Goempa |
As the sun set, while it's light no longer lit the complex, its final rays did light the top of the stupa, a rather beautiful sight through the gum trees. There aren't many places one could see such a view as this.
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| The rays of the setting sun light the top of the Stupa |
As I came back from the kitchen after washing my dinner dishes, a very large kangaroo hopped across the grass nearby and a full moon peeped from very low among the trees. I went outside later to admire the full moon after it had risen sufficiently to give me a good view.
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| Full moon rising |
I was reminded of Christmas 2015 in Thimphu, when I headed, in the company of Scott, up to the big Buddha to watch full moonrise on Christmas night from Buddha point.
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