Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha

One of the switching stations coming up

One of the great things about having Mondays and Saturdays off is that I've gotten to do a lot of "touristy" things here.  I think it's important to visit these places so that when any visitors come, I can actually be of use!  Last Monday was a fantastic day, weather-wise here in Hong Kong, and when I awoke to blue skies, I knew that I had to get out to one of the top items on my list: The Big Buddha.

The only scary part.  Right over a lagoon.

I will confess that the first time I ever heard of the "Big Buddha" was in the movie "The Family Stone".  This is a movie that I love and adore - and once I moved here, I wanted to check it out.  The Big Buddha is located on Lantau Island, which is to the Northwest of Hong Kong.  It is also where Hong Kong Disneyland is, for some comparison.  I hopped on the MTR and headed out there.

Apparently, the only way to get to the Buddha in the past was to take a boat or a very scary bus ride up the side of the mountain.  Now, however, they've erected a huge cable car system that takes you directly there.  I chose this option as a) I'm a fan of cable cars and b) the view this way was going to be a lot better.

First glimpse of the Buddha

 After purchasing my ticket, I boarded our little car.  In my cabin was a family of Mom, Dad, and two sons, who were Hong Kongers and the Mom's brother and his wife, who were Mainlanders.  Oh, and some random guy from South America next to me who spoke neither English nor Chinese.

Anyway.  As we went, the dad was pointing out some things in Mandarin to his family.  At one point, he said something funny, and I laughed.  The family looked at me and immediately barraged me with questions in Mandarin.  This led us into a whole discussion about where we were from, etc, and culminated with me getting asked to take a picture with each family member.  I had heard before moving here that this could happen to light-skinned, light-eyed, light-haired Westerners, but really hadn't encountered it in HK too much. We finally got over the high point of the cable car ride, and the view was GORGEOUS on the other side.  Pictures seriously do not do this view justice.  Out the right side of the car, you could see a lagoon with mountainous islands in the distance, and on the left
 side of the car, you could see the Buddha with rolling hills all around.  And the weather was absolutely perfect.

Some factoids about the Big Buddha that I learned for you history people:

The Buddha is 112 feet tall, and weighs 250 tons.

He is made of bronze.

Construction started in 1990, and finished in 1993 (so he's younger than me!)

There are 240 steps leading up to the Buddha. (Which yes, I climbed).

There is a circular platform around the Buddha where you can see him from different angles and get a great view of the surrounding area (360 degrees worth).

There is also a monastery onsite, but it was undergoing renovations, so I opted to come back another time for that.  I have heard that it's a pretty cool experience, too.

 Here are some more pictures from my explorations...

Entrance to the Buddha

View from the "Village" below

Up, Up, and Up

Adherents praising the Buddha

Indeed, a very big Buddha.

Beautiful view from the top.  I can't believe I live here. 

Corner of the 3 story pedestal that houses the Buddha

The ONLY thing I wasn't a fan of was the "village" at the exit of the cable car.  You have to walk through this area in order to get to the Buddha and monastery. There were options there ranging from Mediterranean food to a cartoon theater telling Buddhist stories, to kitschy shops, and, who could be without Starbucks.  I don't know, but something about this just felt over the top to me.  It was well done, but it felt like a Disney effort at replicating something Chinese, and we're IN China, for crying out loud.  That is my only negative feedback from the whole experience.  If you ever visit, I'd suggest speeding through this area in favor of the much more authentic things to be seen further on.

On the way back down, I chose to sit on the other side of the car.  One of the other cool things about the Cable Car is that you have a great birds-eye view of the airport.  Maybe this wouldn't be impressive to everyone, but I loved seeing all the huge planes take off and land.  The picture on the left is of a Cathay Pacific 747 taking off.  It's crazy when you see just how big these planes are. And they look like they just take off effortlessly. 





This is a view out the other side of the car.  High Rise living at its finest.  Totally typical of HK, even in outlying areas like this.  There is also a fabulous outlet mall right adjacent to where the cable car takes off where I did a little bit of perusing while cooling down! Thank goodness for air conditioning!



That sums it up for now!

Chinglish O' the Day:

NO DAMAGE OF PLANTING!

-The Adventurer