Hong Kong, part 3

My last day, I took the double-decker city bus up to the top of Victoria Peak, which looks out over the harbor. The ride reminded me of crazy bus rides in Costa Rica or Hawaii, but with more buildings. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day so the view wasn't amazing, but it was still nice.



I ended the journey with my own temple tour of Hong Kong. The first stop was the Nan Lian gardens and the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was crazy how such a beautiful place is right in the middle of the highways and the city.





After that, I went to the Wong Tai Sin temple, which was also nice (though I think I spoiled it by going to Chi Lin first).




My final stop was supposed to be the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, but the signage was a bit confusing to get there. I finally thought I found it, and after taking pictures and getting to the top, I realized I was actually in a temple to honor ancestors and deceased family members. It was beautiful, but kind of awkward riding the tiny, cramped inclined elevator back to the bottom with grieving families.



Once at the bottom, I set out in the direction of the Buddhas I had thought I had seen. This time I was in the right place. But by this time it was getting late, so I had to nearly run to the top in order to get there before it closed. I had heard that it was an amazing place, but when I got to the top I was tired and gross, and I had really high expectations, so I wasn't really happy with the tiny temple area that I found.




All in all, it was a fun trip.


Now it's just three and a half more months left! I have big plans for the rest of my time here. I have an upcoming short break when I plan on going to Gyeongju (the "museum without walls" city, which is one of the historically significant cities in Korea). I also have two more vacation days that I plan to use in June to go to Jeju Island. Finally, there's the summer break, and I have tentative plans to go to Beijing. Also, there's a big Woodstock 2010 concert at the DMZ in August. So there are plenty of good things to come!

Hong Kong, part 2

On the third day, I went to Macau. Macau is a very interesting place - it's very confusing because you're never quite sure where you are. One second you're in Asia, then colonial Europe, then Las Vegas. It's quite interesting.

Macau was also interesting because I got off the ferry with very little idea of what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. Because of this, I ended up being roped into a car tour with two strangers - a girl from China and a guy from Egypt. We got to see a lot, though the poor girl had to translate the whole time. It was a different experience.

Here are a few of the stops we made :

The golden lotus, a gift from China

Monte Fort, an old Portuguese fort is on one of the hills. The top of the fort is very pretty, with gardens and a museum.

One of the cannons points at the Grand Lisboa casino

The view from Monte Fort (including the ruins of St. Paul's)

The ruins of St. Paul's

The lady with the amazing egg tarts

The Kun Lam statue

The Las Vegas part (the MGM, where we went later and I watched a weird dice game)

Church of Our Lady of Penha

View from the Church of Our Lady of Penha

An interesting mix of cultures

Largo do Senado

After returning to Hong Kong, I stayed at the pier to watch the Symphony of Lights. The Symphony of Lights is the nightly laser show put on by a number of buildings along both sides of the harbor. While it was pretty, it was packed with people so I didn't get the best pictures, but it's one of those things that is listed as a "must do" so I had to do it.

Hong Kong, part 1

Last week I took my first solo vacation to Hong Kong and Macau. I had a really good time, despite the shockingly high temperatures and the 95% humidity.

In short, I would describe Hong Kong as "a lot" - a lot of people and of things to do and see, and at times a bit overwhelming. The city is extremely busy and efficient, which is great sometimes (public transportation), but it can make human interaction a little difficult.

Upon arriving, I went to the harbor to take a tour on the Star Ferry. Between the mainland and the main island, Hong Kong has a pretty amazing skyline.



My second day, I took a fast ferry out to Lantau Island. Lantau is the largest of the Hong Kong islands, and is home to the world's largest, seated, outdoor bronze Buddha statue. It really was huge, and it was quite the hike up to the top. The worst part was that by about halfway up, you lose the tree coverage, so after this I had a bit of a sunburn (the views were worth it, though).







After seeing seeing the Buddha, I went to a small fishing village called Tai-O. Tai-O is most well known because the village is built up on sticks because of frequent flooding. It's also one of the last spots where Chinese white (pink) dolphins can still be found. I went on a boat tour, and even though there were no sightings on the scary little ride out (there was a point when I realized that if the boat went down, no one would have any idea where I was), it was a lot of fun.



These posts are going to have quite a few pictures, so I'll get the next part up soon.