Hong Kong

As some of you may or may not know, I just returned from a business trip to China... as much as I dislike leaving home for a week, I do appreciate the opportunity it gives me to see things I probably would never have seen otherwise.

This was the view from my room - the Hong Kong skyline at night...

and this when I'm up at dawn...

Since there really is hardly anything I could do for work on Sundays, I took advantage of a long day of walking, walking, and more walking! I was lucky enough to get a chance to visit the Big Buddha at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. It's something I was vaguely aware of for years and vaguely on the list of things I've always wanted to see.

You can reach the Buddha by bus, but we took the MTR subway to Lantau Island then it took about 20 minutes by cable car. We were seated with about 8 other people in our car and we all had to hop in and hop out while it was moving.

Once we got going it was really quiet up in the air! We could see up and down the bay, the airport, and all the mountain peaks. Towards the end of the ride you could see the 110 foot tall Tian Tan Buddha emerging from the mountain - it's so gigantic and so random and crazy!

There is a little tourist-y village at the top filled with restaurants and gift shops. You have to take a little walk to the Buddha, then climb the 268 steps to the top...
When you climb to the top of the stairs, you can get a closer look at the lady statues surrounding the Buddha...

and a closer look at the Buddha...Also nearby is the Po Lin Monastery and an outside area where people were burning gigantic incense sticks...