Hong Kong for Not So Long Long
Trip Start
Oct 02, 2009
1
9
Trip End
Oct 26, 2009
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
We went to Lantau island and went up the tram to see the Big Buddha and the Lo Pin Monastery. The tram ride was very scenic. We crossed water and hills and saw a few planes take off since it is next to the airport. The Big Buddha is the world's largest outdoor Buddha. It is quite impressive and you have to walk up approximately 200 stairs to get to it. It is made of copper and I believe was built in the early 1980s. Next to the Big Buddha is the Lo Pin Monastery and it is quite ornate. Paul and I saw a few humming birds pollinating flowers next to the temple. It was amazing to see such small birds up close (Paul thought they were large bumble bees at first).
We took the trolley ride up to the Peak on HK Island. The ride up is steep, at times we were at a 45 degree angle. At the top was a nice view of the Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. Visability wasn't the greatest because there was a lot of smog but it was a nice view. It was interesting to watch all the ships pass through the harbour. It is a very active harbour with cruise ships, ferries and container ships passing through.
Since HK is a shoppers paradise we had to check out the shopping. We went to Mong Kok which is a shopping area where you can find techie stuff (Paul was in heaven), ladies clothing and tons of running shoes. There was a huge selection of everything. We were there around 8pm and it felt like the the middle of the day. The bright lights can probably compete with the Vegas strip. Incredible!
Today we are going to Repulse Bay and Stanley Park...to be continued.
Oh yes, and Paul was able to get a direct flight to Toronto via Vancouver. We leave on Sunday and we're happy not to have to do a 30 hour journey instead we have a 19 hour journey. Yeah!
