Hong Kong- Tai O and the Big Buddha

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I love Hong Kong! I've been hanging out with my friend Kit here, who I met on flickr- she's a fantastic photographer.

Yesterday I spent the day on Lantau island- I rode a cable car up to the Big Buddha, which is about 34 meters high. It takes about half an hour to get there by cable car and then you walk up stairs for 15 minutes to get to the top.

I also caught a bus out to the old fishing village of Tai O. It's amazing that something like this exists such a short distance away from Hong Kong island. I've been to some busy cities before- London, NYC- Hong Kong is a million times busier than any place I've ever seen. When the crosswalk signal turns green, you become lost in a sea of hundreds of people, it's the weirdest feeling.

Tai O was the exact opposite of the island- men playing Mah Jong on porches, houses on stilts, empty fishing boats floating in the harbour... I could have spent hours there taking photos but it started to get dark outside.

I tried a few new foods since I've been here. The weirdest one so far was "Turtle Jelly." It's made with ground up turtle shell and chinese herbs. It makes a kind of ink-like black jello, that you pour syrup on top of. It's supposed to be good for your skin and detoxify your system. I was hoping for instant results, but Kit says you need to eat it every day for at least a month.

I also had my fortune told by a fortune teller at the Temple Street night market. Oddly enough, he said a few of the same things that the Chinese Doctor told me about my health (things I haven't mentioned in this blog.) Very strange and kind of creepy. He also told me that I'm going to be famous! The down side is that apparently I will never get rich from my fame. Hopefully I don't become famous for something bad. I'll keep his other predictions a secret because I want to see if they come true.

I head to Shanghai on Sunday. I'll be taking an overnight train that leaves at 3pm in the afternoon and arrives at 11am the next day. The only seat available was a "hard sleeper"- apparently I'll be sleeping in close quarters with 8 other people. Hopefully no one snores. Luckily I have my sleeping pills with me- I think I may need them.

I'm going to check out a more remote town in one of the territories tomorrow. I'm kind of sad to leave. I definitely would like to come back here some day.

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Photos

Kit at the Peak
To get to the peak, you take a tram up a 45 degree incline for about 15 minutes. It's a really cool ride and the views at the top are amazing.

Durian pancake
Smelled like my high school locker, tasted even worse.

Kit at the IFC building
great views of the city at night...

Typhoon warning
Before the end of the day, the typhoon had reached level 8 that day. When it reaches level 7, people don't have to go to work.

School uniforms
No, they're not studying to be nurses. These are high school students.

Ordering dim sum
You mark down which kinds you'd like on a piece of paper. (Thank god Kit was there to order!)

Cat market
The cat market sells trinkets and knock off antiques...

Cat market
Trinkets for sale...

Comments

[Steffie C]

Happy to read about your trip!!! :)