Up early today because I’m off to see one of the 10 wonders of the Buddhist world. I am of course talking about the “Big Buddha”. I can’t even begin to convey how easy it is to travel in Hong Kong on the subway system. I walk out of the station and I’m in an outdoor shopping area. I make my way over to the Ngong Ping Tram station and buy my ticket, I opt for the more expensive “crystal cabin” where the floor of your gondola is made of glass so you get a better view of your impending death, if the cable were to snap. I jump on with a family of Chinese tourists and we begin out 30 minute ride up to the top. About three quarters the way up you see it, the Big Buddha. It is HUGE!
Just like any other tourist I have my camera at the ready, I try to look more like a photographer than some random tourist though. So I have my camera strap wrapped around my wrist, NEVER around my neck. I take a walk around the small village, and check out the temple. Monks here wear gray clothing, something new since the only monks I’ve encountered were in Thailand where they wear a BRIGHT orange. I’m one of those people that likes to see things that the locals see, So besides walking around where all the tourists are I always find back hallways and other areas where others wouldn’t normally go. You learn a lot about places when you do this, you get to see how authentic a place is.
OK its time to check out the Buddha. I pay a few dollars extra so I can go inside and see the relic inside. All temples house a relic, which is a piece of Buddha; basically its a bone. After about 1000 stairs I reach the base, the books and documentaries I’ve seen on this place can’t describe the feeling you get when you’re standing here. A woman takes my ticket and tells me that I am not allowed to photograph anything inside the Buddha. Inside are original paintings and drawings made with blood since ink pens didn’t exist back then. Up some more stairs and I arrive at the relic. Sitting in a glass box behind a bullet proof window is a bone, it looks old; like a metatarsal. I’ll admit it was a little underwhelming, but what do you expect? Some glowing beating heart? I exit the Buddha and find a place to take my Summit Photo.
National Geographic says its one of the things everyone should see before they die. I am speaking of course about the “Symphony of Lights” in the Hong Kong Bay. Forty-four buildings participate in the worlds largest and longest running light show. I cross the Harbor on the subway and make my way to the Star Ferry Pier. Ticket in hand I wait for our boat to arrive. We all jump on and we’re off for a tour of the Harbor. I learn about all the buildings, their significance, and more importantly who owns them. After the one hour tour we set up in the middle of the harbor and the music starts. A few of the larger buildings are introduced, each flashing their lights and lasers. Then for the next fifteen minutes you are visually stimulated by a choreographed symphony of lights that goes along with music. Definitely worth seeing! After the show I take my exit at a pier closer to my hotel. As I walk across a bridge towards the subway a ray of light glens on me. Its the APPLE STORE! One of the largest in the world, just opened a few months ago. So of course I make my way over and take a look inside.
