Hong Kong Trip IV

One glimpse at the silhouette below and you know where we were. Yes, it's the Tian Tan Big Buddha at Lantau Island. The monastery on the mountain is a peaceful place in pursuit of the bodhisattvahood. One could reach the monastery by cable car, by bus or by tracking. CM and I took the bus up and the captivating sceneries of lush meadow reminds me of "The Sound of Music".

The great Buddha statue sits on the Wooden Fish Peak (木鱼峰) surrounded by bodhisattvas like the one below. This shot was taken by CM using her compact cam, one of the best from the trip which I appreciate very much.

The best part is that the monastery actually has chalets for rent. Probably we will stay a couple of days there and help out on our next trip to HK:p

The Po Lin Monastery entrance gate with the majestic mountain as backdrop.

We made our descent via cable car and we share the same cabin with a mother, her daughter and son. Throughout the journey, they conversed enthusiastically about the trip to visit the Big Buddha, how well the government has developed the tourist spot. From their conversation, I knew that they are local. This reminds me that I don't remember hearing anyone says," Wah, the Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort is really a good place for vacation!" If anyone of you have been to BMLTRM, then you will know what I mean. Then I thought of the Visit Malaysia 200X posters I saw the other day at the railway station. It seems that the poster design remains the same every year, even the pictures. Same old slogan, just that we change the year's figure. It's like telling people, visit sekali dah cukup (once is enough). Then I thought about the drummings to beef up Malaysian tourism by our politicians every year, the budgets...then I wonder, where'd all the money gone to? Care to tell us, Datuk Azalina Othman Said?

We had our Twin Peak this day, after decending Lantau Peak by cable car, immediately we were on our way up The Peak.

This is for all Americans and the people in the whole wide world, "Bush sucks!" (my sis told me i should throw my shoes at him.)

Too bad Mahathir/Abdullah/Najib's wax figures are not (qualified to be) in place, otherwise I would do all Malaysians a favor. (BTW, MM Lee Kuan Yew's wax figure has been there don't know since when. Power!)

The Peak

(FYI, you do not need to pay HKD20 to get this view. Photography kaki will know.)

Memorabilia:

I had the best roadside seafood at Temple Street. When I say roadside, I meant that the vehicles inch past you by less than 5 inches away. Tsing-dao beer, fried mee hoon, HK-style chilli crab is indeed the best combo!

Although we were really exhausted, physically and financially, but the trip worth each and every ringgit and sen. The experiences and memories we brought back are priceless and I would like to end this by proposing a toast, "Many more to come."

NZ next?