Hong Kong - November 2009

Hong Kong was the first destination of our three week vacation. We spent the first full day on Lantau Island which is probably best known for the Tian Tan Buddha. The Tian Tan Buddha is the largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha. We rode the cable car up to Ngong Ping. Near the cable car station, there is some thing called Ngong Ping Village. It consists of a bunch of restaurants, shops, and other entertainment geared toward tourists. From the village, it's a short walk to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha. We also went to the Wisdom Path, a path around large wooden slabs with Buddhist inscriptions carved in them. The second day, we took a quick tour of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, courtesy of a cousin, and then went to downtown Hong Kong. after walking around downtown, we took the Peak Tram up to Victoria's Peak. We met another cousin for dinner and then watched the downtown light show from the Kowloon side, across Victoria Harbor. We finished up the day with a quick walk through of the Temple Street Night Market. The third day was mainly spent shopping, but we finished the day empty handed. On the fourth day, we had dim sum and hopped on a bus for Shenzhen to catch a plane for Xi'an.

This is the Ngong Ping cable car ride up to the Po Lin Monastery.
hong kong china lantau island tram Ngong Ping
Another view from the Ngong Ping cable car.
hong kong china lantau island tram Ngong Ping
Another view from the Ngong Ping cable car.
hong kong china lantau island tram Ngong Ping
Buddha was supposed to have slept under this tree in the Ngong Ping Village.
hong kong china lantau island
This platform reminds me of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
hong kong china lantau island
This is the gate that marks the entrance to the grounds of the Po Lin Monastery. The gate was actually roped off so you couldn't get too close. Apparently, parts of the gate are crumbling, so it wasn't safe to get too close.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
A close up of the base of the cauldron shown in the previous photograph.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
Incense is very common at the Buddhist shrines and temples.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
The temple at the Po Lin Monastery.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
This is a close up of one of the pillars.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
Another dragon found on one of the pillars.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
Worshipers inside.
hong kong china lantau island Po Lin Monastery
A phoenix found just outside the Wisdom Path.
hong kong china lantau island
The Wisdom Path. It consists of 38 wooden slabs each inscribed with text from the Heart Sutra. The slabs are arranged in a figure eight pattern representing infinity. It's a relatively recent addition, completed in 2005.
hong kong china lantau island wisdom path
The Wisdom Path.
hong kong china lantau island wisdom path
The Wisdom Path.
hong kong china lantau island wisdom path
The Wisdom Path.
hong kong china lantau island wisdom path
The Wisdom Path.
hong kong china lantau island wisdom path
hong kong china lantau island
The base of the 268 steps up to the Tian Tan Buddha.
hong kong china lantau island buddha
On our way up to see the Tian Tan Buddha.
hong kong china lantau island buddha
On our way up to see the Tian Tan Buddha.
hong kong china lantau island buddha
hong kong china lantau island buddha
hong kong china lantau island buddha
Three of the six devas kneeling below Buddha with their offerings.
hong kong china lantau island
The other three of the six devas kneeling below Buddha.
hong kong china lantau island
hong kong china lantau island
hong kong china lantau island buddha
This sign shows the direction and distance to other famous sites from around the world.
hong kong china lantau island buddha
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It's located on the east side of Kowloon with a great view of water.
hong kong china
A view from one of buildings on the campus of HKUST.
hong kong china
Students studying (and napping) at HKUST.
hong kong china
Saint John's Cathedral is surrounded by skyscrapers in the middle of downtown.
hong kong china
Saint John's Cathedral and its much taller neighbors including the Bank of China (second from the left).
hong kong china
This is a shot of the inside of the Peak Tram. While ascending the mountain, the floor of the tram is probably angled some where between 30 and 40 degrees.
hong kong china victoria peak tram
This is a view of down town Hong Kong from the top of Victoria Peak.
hong kong china victoria peak
This is a view of down town Hong Kong from the top of Victoria Peak.
hong kong china victoria peak
hong kong china victoria peak
The Peak Tower - basically full of shops and restaurants and an observation deck on top.
hong kong china victoria peak
We rode a bus back from the Peak Tram to the harbor.
hong kong china
If you're into big designer brands, you can probably find it in downtown Hong Kong.
hong kong china
The view of the urban canyon from the open deck of the bus.
hong kong china
The Landmark Mall.
hong kong china landmark
hong kong china
There's a light show daily at 8pm in down town Hong Kong. The show is best seen from the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbor.
hong kong china night victoria harbor
Outdoor dining near the Temple Street Night Market.
hong kong china temple street
hong kong china

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Hong Kong - November 2009