The MTR line ended at Tung Chung Station, a.k.a. not Ngong Ping. To get there, you have 2 options: (1) double-decker bus, and (2) cable car. Double-decker buses are fun, but you can ride them anywhere in Hong Kong. Plus, the route's longer and not as scenic as with the cable car. You can probably guess which one we took. This is the Cable Car Terminal at Tung Chung.
We took the escalator up to the departure platform and got a look at the view:
Here's a look at our sweet ride. Supposedly, they can fit 17 people in one of these babies.
Things started off a little slowly in the cable car, but they soon picked up. I took a ridiculous number of scenery shots on the way to Lantau Island. I mean, come on, how many times am I going to ride the cable car? Anyway, the weather today was gorgeous. Just look at those clouds and that bright blue sky. Of course today, for the first time since my arrival in Hong Kong, a heat warning was issued. Let me point out that almost every day here has had a heat index of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, but today's was closer to 120 degrees. The actual temperature was 92 degrees Fahrenheit, but it certainly felt like more. Everyone was sweating bullets.
Finally, we caught our first glimpse of the Buddha. I've heard that, on a clear day like today, you can see him from Macau. By the way, that's the South China Sea in the background.
And that's Macau way back there along the horizon, China's only other Special Administrative Region--also known as "Oriental Vegas."
Eventually, we arrived in Ngong Ping Village, which is a total tourist trap since it's right at the end of the cable car. However, we still had a little over an hour before our tour would begin so we decided to look around:
Everywhere, aren't they?
Unfortunately, so are photo-bombers...
We found the rally-point for our tour, just to use for future reference:
And this is the Bodhi Tree. Below this picture, I took another one of the description so you can read for yourselves.
If your wish was to see more pictures of your favorite blogger, congratulations! Bodhi Tree magic!
At 2:15pm, we met up with our tour guide and group (a grand total of 6 people, us and guide included). The first stop on our itinerary was Tai O Fishing Village. This was one stop that wasn't available without the tour because it was about a 20 minute drive through pure countryside. Bet you didn't think there were rural places in Hong Kong, did you?
Going to Tai O was like going to a different world, and by far it was my favorite part of the tour. This tiny fishing village is over 800 years old and its residents have lived there generation after generation for centuries. It is so isolated from the rest of Hong Kong that the village has really developed its own culture and lives a way of life that to call outdated would be a vast understatement. In other words, meet the Hong Kong Amish. OK, they aren't anti-technology, but most of the residents here are elderly people who live and make a living the same way as their parents, their grandparents, and even their grandparents' grandparents.
Still, something has to be said for catering to the occasional tourist. These people were trying to sell tickets for "dolphin tours" on dubious-looking dinghies.
What we really wanted to see, though, was the fish market.
Sadly, there were a few more photo-bombers.
These are some examples of the housing. Tai O Village is quite poverty-stricken, and many of its inhabitants rely on government-subsidized housing. These homes are examples of those who can afford to be off of welfare. Just being an American made this sight a humbling experience.
We did eventually find the fish market, though, because all we had to do was follow our noses. Don't worry, it didn't smell like dead fish, despite the following picture:
It actually smelled like sea salt because the practice in Tai O is the preserve most of the seafood in salt so that it can be cooked on the grill brushed with (you guessed it) soy sauce. Here are some examples of the goods for sale:
There were some live fish, too:
And there were a lot of street vendors. This lady was selling grilled mussels that smelled wonderful.
We also passed the local temple. No, this is not a Buddhist shrine. The people of Tai O do practice Buddhism but, like most Chinese, they practice it alongside worship of native Chinese deities. This temple is like the local church and the town hall all in one.
Of course, even a place as isolated as Tai O can't get away from the ever-present Vitasoy.
We even saw a shop cat. I personally think this kitty had a sweet deal working in a seafood store.
I also had a sweet deal: HK$4 for this little piece of delicious street food. This is my yummy afternoon snack: a Sweet Peanut Tea Bun. It was sticky beyond belief, but so full of sweet crushed peanuts and tea-flavored goo that it was completely worth the hassle.
We left Tai O after a while and drove back to the Ngong Ping area. Our next stop was Po Lin Monastery. The monks had just finished the daily ceremony when we arrived, but that's OK. Our guide took us to the incense-burning area. This is part of all Buddhist temples, but I'll explain a little about the significance here. Temples are available year-round, but most Buddhists come only 2 times a year: once at the beginning to ask for a good year, and again at the end to give thanks for the past year. Other than that, they tend to practice within the home. Devout Buddhist usually offer incense twice daily: once at the beginning of the day and again just before dinner. The reasons parallel those of the year-round offerings. Here, you can see a woman burning 3 sticks of incense:
The reasoning behind the 3 incense sticks is this: one stick represents heaven, another earth, and the last humanity. You always burn 3 sticks together.
Finally, we entered the monastery itself:
The Buddha on the far-left is the Buddha of Past. In the middle is the Buddha of Present, and on the far-right is the Buddha of Future. Buddhism portrays time as a circular cycle that comes back around and repeats itself. Therefore, past, present, and future are all parts of one larger entity. Thus, all the Buddhas are really one and the same.
Soon, there will be even more little Buddhas to be part of the big Buddha. This is the plan for the construction you could see in the backgrounds of some of the other photos. This new structure is set to be called the "Hall of 10,000 Statues." Wow.
Just behind the past, present, and future Buddhas was this small statue. She's actually a Chinese goddess of mercy, who the tour guide likened to Christian depictions of the Virgin Mary.
From Po Lin Monastery, you could definitely see the Buddha very well.
Here he looks relatively close, but don't be fooled. To really get close to this guy, you have to climb up a grand total of 268 steps in the grueling summer heat. That was enlightening.
Thus began our journey up to see the big guy:
Finally, we got up to the top. I still don't know why little Buddha statues are so much fatter than the big ones, but this guy was still pretty impressive.
Here's the view from the top of the steps.
And these are the maidens offering their gifts to the Buddha. My favorite is the one on the far-right, who is offering a lotus flower, the symbol of pure love.
Finally, we rode the cable car back, hot, sweaty, and very pleased with the day. We caught a cool glimpse of the Hong Kong International Airport:
We made it back to the University in the same number of pieces we left with and, as always, the ride back seemed a lot faster. We arrived at CUHK around 6:00pm and I went to grab dinner at the Chung Chi Student Canteen. I thought I'd finally give y'all a look at my true love: Chinese fast food. This is the 2-item version. I have a glass of iced lemon water on the side, but on the plate the dishes are as follows: soy rice and chinese cabbage (comes with all fast food orders), and my 2 selections were sweet potatoes with chicken, and pork with carrots and cucumbers in sweet & sour sauce. Yum! A good end to a good day.
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