Tam Kung Temple 2

Many of the buildings in Chinatown are so narrow that they have fractional addresses. The entrance to the Tam Kung Temple is one such address. I hope you enjoy the funny looking photographer reflected in the doorway's glass.

The architectural oddness continues once you enter the red door. You face three flights of stairs but they don't go back and forth like most stairwells but continue in a long straight line up the side of the building. While it makes perfect sense, it contributes greatly to the feeling of entering another world.

Tam Kung Temple

If you stand on the corner of Fisgard and Government Streets in Victoria's Chinatown and look northeast you will see this large dragon on the side of a narrow building. The dragon mural is by artist Robert Amos assisted by the children of the Chinese Public School and commemorates Chinatown's 150th anniversary a few years ago. But the building holds another treasure, the Tam Kung Temple. That tiny sign on the upper left corner of the above building says, "Chinese Temple Top Floor". Come along with me tomorrow to explore this a little more.

Looking West...

...towards the Metchosin Hills. Saxe Point Park sunset.

August

In August the light changes and takes on a different quality altogether. This stretch of country road becomes a sheet of silver winding though the forest. The part of the scene not shown here is the black bear that had just ambled across the road in front of us. Too quick for a photo but amazing all the same! - Fern

Another Maltby in Chinatown

Yesterday's Maltby mural was a group portrait. Today's, barely a hundred meters distant, is a striking trompe l'oeil that invites the passerby into 19th century Victoria.