Continuing a series on the wedding and honeymoon that I wrote up a while ago and haven’t posted, here are my thoughts on the Portland Classical Chinese Garden.

the water
On Sunday, the inviting landscapes of Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden (or ‘Lan Su Yuan’: the Garden of Awakening Orchids) offered us a serene walk through exotic pavilions and lakes. This is the kind of thing that needs to be seen to be understood. The immersion was impressive: it was a block in the middle of the city, yet it seemed seperate and distant from the commotion.

The garden is billed as ‘never twice the same’, and I can see how the claim holds. The atmosphere changed even in the short time of our visit, but I can only imagine the shift a covering of snow or a blanket of raindrops would have brought about. The shallow water which covered about a third of the garden’s area made the view dynamic, and the reflections brought out the symmetry in the architecture in new ways. The way in which water, leaf, stone, and sky interplayed showed something subtle and unique about the eastern ideas of harmony that must be undeniably true, or it could not affect the viewer so powerfully.

tea
The highlight of the trip had to be our visit to the Tower of Cosmic Reflections, the two-story tea house opposite the lake. As soon as we entered the building the atmosphere of calmness and relaxation took hold of us. We went upstairs and ordered a Jasmine Tuo Cha and a High Mountain Oolong with Ginseng. They brought us each our own individual teapots, and as our supply emptied, they would refill our water, allowing more tea to brew with the potent leaves that were left.

I enjoyed the drinks immensely, although I have to say that this method allowed my Jasmine to overbrew a great deal. I don’t know if I needed to be drinking it faster to avoid it, but it ended up being quite bitter before the pot was refilled with water. On the other hand, Alisha’s oolong was fantastic. I’ve never been too excited about the roasted taste of oolong, but this one was definitely different. Neither tea was sweet upon the sip, but after drinking hers, there was a terrifically sweet hint of flavour on the breath along with all kinds of subtle nuances. I can only compare it with Yogi Licorice Tea, only not quite so overpowering.

We had to start thinking about leaving when the sun hid because, well, Portland is definitely cold this time of year. Even the tension of being outdoors in bitter cold was affected by the walk through the beautiful scenes of the ancient Chinese display. An air of tranquility made me slow down and take things as they came. The contrast to the outside city was striking, and I welcomed the many sensations the garden left with us.