My Day with Buddah

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Today I went to vist the Buddah on Lantau Island. A simple boat ride and a bus ride around the island got me to the Po Lin Monastery. The first thing to see is the Giant Bronze Buddah. It is 23 meters tall and sits atop a hill. After paying $8.50 US and climbing 256 steps I was at the foot of the Buddah. The views from up here were pretty nice but it was a hazy day so photos were no good. After a good look around I went down to the Monastery to see what was cooking (literally, the ticket included a vegetarian lunch). There were lots of offerings of food and incense and a temple where the held a ceremony after I ate. Before getting back on the bus I walked up the 256 steps again, just for fun. I caught a quick nap on the boat home and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Hong Kong.

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Photos

The steps to the Buddah
This is from the base before climbing all those stairs

Me hanging with the Big B
It was cold and windy at the top.

Giving an Offering
There were statues all around the Buddah making offering gestures, I liked this one becuase I could capture the little pagoda on the hill behind it.

Incense pot
There pots like this filled with incense all over the monastery grounds.
They even had 15' long racks for the bigger sticks, some of which were 3.5' tall and as thick as a beer bottle.

Ceremony
Not sure what was being celebrated but there was lots of chanting, brightly colored flags and lots of offerings being made, following a long processional from the temple to the foot of the stairs.

Colorful flags
Found these on one wall of the temple, the picture would have been better if the sun had been out.