Temples are a must-see wherever you go in Asia, be they Buddhist, Hindi, or Muslim. Depending on what you are searching for, you have to do a bit of research. Some temples are calm and befits the typical Western image of a place fit for meditation. Other temples can be chaotic, as the crowd of worshippers stream in and out, mixed in with the sounds of gongs, the recitation of the Buddhist scriptures, and the sound of wooden sticks knocking against their containers, a popular fortune-telling device.
The Pishan (Green Mountain) temple falls into the first category. Perched on a side of the mountain with breathtaking view of Taipei, on a loop road through the mountains, the temple gets fewer than expected visitors, and therefore manage to maintain some sense of serenity and calm. The scenery is grand, and you can hike the many trails that lace through it, and imagine yourself, if you are a kung fu buff, in the confine of the Shaolin Temple. Maybe it does take a lot of imagination, for with Taipei in the distance, well, maybe not the Shaolin Temple.