Lots of stairs.. from buddhism to consumerism.

Today we headed up North a little ways to the 10,000 Buddhist Monks Monastery, which is exactly what it sounds like. Navigating our way there was a little difficult and when we arrived there is a little tiny side path that weaves around a giant building that looks like a monastery (and is apparently mistaken for the 10,000 Buddhist Monks often) that we followed till we arrived at some steep stairs. When we started our climb there were dozens of golden statues of Monks along either side of us that just continued up as far as the eye could see. Each one was unique and we couldn't believe there were actually 10,000 but it soon became clear we were wrong. It was one of the most impressive things we have seen here and it just kept getting more impressive the further up we climbed. It was extremely humid, and we were dripping sweat soaking completely through our shirts. At the highest point there was a single giant statue that sat in the middle of a pond with a waterfall falling behind it, and behind us a view overlooking much of Kowloon. It was an extremely exhausting and amazing hike up to the monastery.

On our way down and out of the monastery we chose a small back path instead of the way we came and were weaving down stairs that ran next to small rural cottages and shanty houses. We saw a crude sign for a bookstore and decided to investigate. Needless to say we were taken aback by what we found when we were greeted by a old man who looked like a holocaust survivor who beckoned us into his "book store" which contained only 5 books, all of which he wrote himself. His english was excellent and he loved walking us around his small bare house explaining to us the "story" of his books and art which mainly focused on stars and the cosmos. He gave us each a free original calligraphy print of his and we each went ahead and bought a painting from him, and a book. He introduced us to his neighbors who had a bee farm in their back yard and we bought some honey and took pictures of the bees. They brought us into their home where we got the honey and found out they had been raising the bees for decades.

We also ended up at the Nan Lian Garden and the Chi Lin Nunnery where we explored for a while and then stopped in the mall before hopping on the MTR back home. At the mall we stopped in an arcade which was as bright and loud as you would expect, and just a great experience being there.