Finding Enlightenment…well, maybe not.
Just to clear things up, I didn’t post anything yesterday because it was kind of a boring day and wasn’t really worth its own post. Basically I taught class all day, ate lunch at a place called ‘Happy Face Noodle’ (I shit you not) and then went out with my coworkers from Singapore for a bit after class to an area called Wanchai. Now, most expat areas of cities tend to be a little gritty, and Wanchai is no exception. The thing is, there are some fantastic restaurants and pubs to be had if you can run the gauntlet of girlie bars and old women yelling out ‘massagee! massagee!’ and such.
We started out at a local bar called Joe Bananas, a pretty typical expat hangout that is open to the street. After a couple of beers there, we went to eat at a Thai place called Chili Club, which did a pretty good job of clearing out my sinuses. To cap off the night, we went to see a band at a dodgy little place called The Wanch, where the bartender tried to show me a magic trick involving a napkin and a lighter and wound up nursing a rather nasty burn. Remember, kids - don’t drink and try to do shitty magic tricks.
Today was a half day of class which wrapped up just after lunch. Some dim sum randomness to fill my stomach, then off to Lantau to get the hell out of the city for awhile. I was getting pretty tired of neon overload and massive overpopulation, so going somewhere with trees and such seemed like a good idea.
Lantau is an island west of Hong Kong island, and it’s much more sparsely populated. More trees, less neon = good. Anyways, I went to see the largest Buddha statue in the area called Ngong Ping. To get there, you take a train that goes out past the airport and leads to a really long cable car run that takes you up the mountain (okay, hill) to where the statue is. The photo below gives you an idea of the view as you’re climbing. The car rocks a decent amount in the wind, so it’s not exactly a good idea for those afraid of heights. Also, all of the development to the left is the airport you fly into when visiting Hong Kong.
Once you finish the cable car trip (about 15min) you get dumped off in a pretty touristy area that was built around 5 years ago when the statue was erected. Yes, I said erected. It’s Buddha - have some respect, dammit. It’s a short walk to get to the foot of the Buddha…
…or so I thought. It’s never that easy. Stairs. Gotta love em.
Okay, stairs aside, the statue itself is very impressive. It’s called Tian Tan Buddha, and it’s 34m high, which in American terms is…fucking huge. It’s cast in bronze and there’s apparently a bell inside that is rung for special events.
Now, most people don’t realize this, but Buddha was one of the original pimps. The pic below is of a few of his bitches bringing him his tribute. (I’m hoping any Buddha fans reading this truly do adhere to that whole non-violence thing right about now…)
A view from the top that overlooks the temple called Po Lin. More on that in a moment, after I finish trudging down lots of steps…
A view of the main temple building. It’s a very serene, peaceful place, which made me feel a bit uneasy because I so don’t belong there. Incense burners, flowers, monks - the whole deal.
Inside the main building was truly amazing. There’s the obvious gold statues, but everything in the temple is so intricate it’s hard to describe. In front of the statues are rows of orchids and potted citrus trees, and there are offerings of different foods on the tables. Lanterns hang from the ceiling, which is also decorated, and the sides of the room are covered in pads upon which to kneel.
In all, a very worthwhile excursion, and I think it helped my soul a bit to escape the city. But, then again, I’m a hypocrite and I know it. Buddhists are supposed to not say bad things about people, not drink, and not eat meat, amongst other things. So, when two hours later I was sitting at a pub eating a steak and drinking a beer while wishing hateful shit on the weather….well, you see the problem. And yes, I know I should be eating local, but I’ve been doing so all week and I finally broke down.
Tomorrow I’m going to head to Macau. Maybe. I’ll let you know.
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