Day 7: Boats, buses, and Buddhas

 Today we took two boats and a bus to visit a big Buddha.  It is located on the island of Lantau and is next to the Po Lin monastery.  We had to take a (boat) ferry to Hong Kong Island, then a boat to Lantau island, then a bus to the monastery.  The ferry was not air conditioned, but the other two were, so all was good!  Another hot, very humid day.  It rained yesterday (when we were at Victoria Peak) and the rain just made the air heavier and the sun is out, so it is very hot.   We looked at the big buildings and Joshua explained that they were built with feng shui to keep the energy of the mountains. There is construction everywhere!  Public infrastructure as well as commercial.   The scaffolding is all made out of bamboo poles tied together with what looks like black tape.  Looks rickety, but it must work.


When we arrived at the monastery, it was quite cloudy with fog.  There is a giant Buddha on a hill and we could barely see it (its actual name is Tian Tan Buddha, but even the signs pointing the way call it Big Buddha).  Right next to the bus stop, there is a tiny "village" that is actually a series of souvenir and tourist shops built to look like a village with music piped in.  We went to the 7-11 and got some snacks, then as we were sitting on a bench eating them and looking at the freakishly large butterflies, it started to rain.  Everyone went under the building overhangs.  We waited until it let up, then went to the monastery, hoping that the fog would lift later so that we could see the big Buddha.  We saw the  great hall, the hall of 10,000 buddhas, the koi ponds, and ate at their famous vegetarian restaurant.  We weren't allowed to take photos or go more than a few feet into the halls because they are places of worship. 

These photos don't show how incredibly large and bat-like thise butterflies are

Tian Tan Buddha (the Big Buddha) in the mist

Gateway to the monastery

One of the 12 generals lining the approach

Little posed buddhas in the window of a souvenir stall

Buddhas protecting the entrance

The clapper for the bell swings on cables

The central courtyard where people can purchase and burn
incense (the air is smoky with the incense)

A brass cauldron

This says:  Brass Cauldron for the Return of Sovereignty referring to the end of the
50 year contract which will place Hong Kong back under Chinese rule instead of the
 independent rule it has now.  The Chinese government is not very tolerant of religion.

The symbol of Hong Kong.  The stars were added when the British gave
Hong Kong back to China.

It rained off and on the entire time (making the air even heavier), causing people to go under overhangs and into the entrances of the halls.  The hall of 10,000 buddhas is also air conditioned, so we spent a longer time in there.  We went to the vegetarian restaurant and shared  a plate of When the rain stopped,  the sun came out and the fog cleared a little.  Randy still didn't think we would be able to see the big buddha, but Joshua wanted to try, so we did.  We climbed up the 268 steps to see it and it was cloudy, but visible. 

A spider I spied on the way

The buddha is surrounded by statues of people offering gifts.

The monastery down below

After that, we took the bus, then the subway back to our apartment.  We had planned to go to a museum, but decided to do that tomorrow morning before we head to the airport around 1:00.  We had a short rest at our apartment, then went out and found a Chinese noodle shop for dinner.  You could choose your meat, your noodle, and your broth.  It was very filling, though a bit bland.  There was no option of forks for Randy, so Joshua and I gave Randy a quick tutorial on using chopsticks to eat.  Each table in each of the Chinese food restaurants has a little drawer that pulls out from under the table with silverware, napkins, sugar packets, etc. This time our tray also had special spoons for the broth. 

Our dinner

Then we went back to our apartment.  I was going to stay in (and write this blog post) while Joshua and Randy were going back to the harbor to see the light show.  Joshua wants to try filming it using his iPad.  Tomorrow we go to the museum and leave for the flight to Singapore.  Joshua and Randy have both assured me that the temps and humidity levels for everywhere else are better than Hong Kong.  It will get hot, but it will be a dry heat.