Last week we went to Lantau Island to explore, it's about an hour away by ferry from the student halls so we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out.. tired.
We made it to a small town that was full of bicycles called Mui Wo (wanted to ride them), but didn't stay to explore and instead hopped on a bus to head to the top of the mountain to see the world's largest Buddha statue. The bus rides are almost like riding roller coasters, it is as if they took taxi drivers and just stuck them in buses, but did not tell them they were driving buses. They take these tiny winding roads at 60 or 70 km/hr, weaving between bicyclists and often trying to pass other cars all the while swerving up and down these tiny roads with cliffs on the side. Sometimes we drive straight through low hanging trees and the branches smack the bus like thunder or you go over bumps and are almost thrown from your seat.. very fun stuff. After about an hour bus ride we made it to the top and piled on out to see the big guy.
Walking up the 268 steps to the top he really is an impressive site as he just seems impossibly large. In fact, there is a museum beneath him and you can walk up stairs to reach him and walk out of his hip and get a great 360 deg view of the surrounding area. Just near the Big Buddha is a temple that we walked over to where people were burning incense outside of, and nearby a small vegetarian restaurant. We ended up having a nice meal there with some friends we met up with and just enjoyed the clean air and great weather and views.
Afterwards we decided to head to Tai O, a small fishing village on the southern tip of the island, but we stopped off in a little Chopstick Gallery first. The post on Tai O will come a little later.
Hey, caught your mom up on the blog - we continue to be awed by the sights of the city behind the scenes, and the human side of China/HK.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Buddha was actually carved in Korea by slaves and shipped over and built on the mount bit by bit - check it out I am not kidding.
You know those bus drivers are required to get their licenses here in Amelia, Ohio. I've seen 'em. Avoid riding them at all costs.
Meanwhile, H1N1 continues to decimate the population over here in the New World. Hope you guys are taking the necessary precautions like not breathing except when necessary...
We should start a blog for you - like, "Leaves Starting to Turn Colors of Fall," or, "OSU Loses to Purdue - Thousands OSU Faithful Commit Hari Kari," or, "UC Ranked #5 in BCS Poll. Parents Glad they Have UC Tickets not OSU Tickets." It only gets better.