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Published: July 29th 2006
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Christie and Piers go on the cable car
Jane, Christie, Piers and Abraham posed at the first entrance of the Cable Car Terminal at Ngong Ping. Christie and Abraham smiled happily. Note to my readers: The person who usually assisting in my post has been gone, so please for give the long delay in updates about my aventures😊
Adventures in Ngong Ping
I had an exclusive opportunity to go to
Ngong Ping Village on Lantau Island in Hong Kong about a month ago. The Secondary 2 class from the
http://www.ebenezer.org.hk/]Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired in Hong Kong were invited to visit as their field trip for the year. Since I’ve voluntarily taught English to them for about five months, Piers Kuan - their teacher and my Orientation and Mobility Instructor and friend - asked me to accompany them. Before I describe exactly what we did, let me whet your appetite with our itinerary.
1. Ngong Ping Skyrail
2. Ngong Ping Village
3. Walking with Buddha
4. Monkey's Tale Theatre
5. Ngong Ping Tea House
After reading all of this, I was ready for another adventure. But, I had no idea how very cool it would be until I got there!
I arrived at Ebenezer at 8:45 a.m. (practically the crack of dawn according to Hong Kong time). We all clambered aboard a bus and were driven to Lantau Island. There were seven blind or visually impaired students on
Christie and Pier in the cable car
Piers and Christie were sitting on the bench of one side of the cable car. You can imagine we two could tilt the car to one side. So dangerous! the trip. Incidentally, only one of them was female. Three teachers came along. One was the head Chinese history teacher. Chris was a computers teacher. I’ve mentioned Piers before; he was the third teacher on the trip. He was very kind and stuck by my side the whole day. He got to practice his English, and I got a superb guide!
As is inevitable on field trips, we spent a considerable amount of time waiting in line for the cable car which would take us across a scenic lake and several breath-taking mountains. Apparently, the communication radios in the cars were still being tested. The wait was well worth it.
The cars were eerily quiet as they carried us along. The only sound came from the wind whistling through numerous air vents placed all over the car. As we climbed the mountains, the air cooled, and I was delightfully chilled. (One must understand what a rare treat, indeed, this is during Hong Kong’s summer). The cable car gently swung back and forth, lulling me into a pleasant trance-like state. This was one of the times when I figuratively pinched myself. “Christie, you are on a Fulbright in Hong Kong in
Christie in the cable car
Christie was so relaxed that she was leaning against the glass wall of the cable car (while Piers might be fearing of falling down into a valley!). What’s behind are mountains covered with green trees. So foggy outside. the People’s Republic of China. You eat delicacies, encounter exotic smells, and meet heaps of fascinating people everyday! You’ve met people with disabilities from all over the world. Your dissertation research is amply funded. You have an extremely loving family and supportive friends. Your devoted guide dog awaits your return to America. Hasn’t God blessed you richly?”
After alighting from the cable car we walked around Ngong Ping Village. I have several pictures from our trip which I’ll post up here. The descriptions that go along with the pictures are classic! My friend, Piers, wrote them up! For someone who can’t appreciate the pictures themselves, Piers’ commentary makes up for it!
Our exploration of Ngong Ping began as we ducked into a Chinese tea house. Notice the table made out of the trunk of a tree, where I drank tea out of a cup only about an inch and a half tall. I bought two packets of tea there. One is called phoenix and the other is “Monkey pick”. The reason for the strange name of the latter kind of tea is that there is a legend that only monkeys can pick the tea leaves, since they grow on
Christie and the Ebeneezer kids
Christie, Piers, Chris, Miss Yiu and all students posed happily for a group photo at the other terminal once we got out of the cable car. Thanks God, the car was not suspended in the middle of air that happened one day after we went for Ngong Ping. Many passengers were caught in the air for more than 2 hours! How could they pee pee? I cannot imagine! a cliffside too steep for humans. We visited a surround sound and screen theatre to watch a delightful cartoon about monkeys. There was no speaking during the show, just lots of monkey chatter! We could hear the monkeys sliding around on vines in the forest. The show lifted all of our spirits and made us smile.
Our next stop was a Buddhist temple. I remember how my dad went to one in Vietnam. So, this was especially meaningful for me. I knelt at an altar and thanked Jesus Christ and the God of the Christian Bible for my life, His blessings, and His watchful and protective eye over my family. I affirmed my faith in my God and rose with incredible peace in my heart. I hope the Buddhists weren’t offended by my worship of my God in their temple; I doubt they were. Outside the temple was a gigantic barrel of incense. Piers estimated that there must have been 100 sticks burning at once! It sounded like the crackling of a bonfire, rather than the placid smoldering of incense.
As we walked from the temple to a café for lunch, I again thanked God for how peaceful I felt
Christie, Ebeneezer kids and tea time
Christie, Piers, Chris, Miss Yiu and all students posed happily for a group photo at the other terminal once we got out of the cable car. Thanks God, the car was not suspended in the middle of air that happened one day after we went for Ngong Ping. Many passengers were caught in the air for more than 2 hours! How could they pee pee? I cannot imagine! strolling along in this village. I think the fresh air and relatively uncrowded conditions were part of the reason for my contentment. After being in Hong Kong’s dense population for so long, having room to breathe is a real treat!
We had delicious vegetarian food for lunch. We started with generous plates of noodles. We ate several Chinese dishes prepared to have the taste and texture of meat. There were tofu dumplings reminiscent of sweet and sour pork. Fresh, Chinese vegetables were delicately seasoned. We ended with healthy dessert drinks of white bean juice/paste. This wasn’t my favorite part of the meal, but at least the drink was wet!
[meeting the challenge
After lunch Piers asked me if I wanted to climb the mountain to where the Buddha sat. I asked him to estimate about how many stairs there would be. He estimated eighty something. Well, actually, there were 256. For this very plump woman from Illinois, that was quite a hike! I apologized to Piers that I would have to pause for breaks. He patiently understood my need and waited for me to partially catch my breath before climbing higher. The last few flights were making me dizzy. So,
Christie and Peirs on the way to Buddha
Christie and Piers were “climbing” up towards the baggiest Buddha in Asia, like most Muslims going on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. Actually, we two are Christians, not the Sunday ones but the devoted ones. God, please redeem us! Help!!! I was really glad to come to the top. A kind woman had given me a bottle of water to drink, and I downed it in two gulps.
We couldn’t touch the Buddha, but we can say that we made it to the top - a true goal for me. Let’s just say that by this time I was sweating everywhere! It was pouring off of me, and I was exhausted. But,
I did it, y’all! I’d like to point out an interesting intersection between disability and religion that was brought to my attention. The pathway to the Buddha was built recently. There is no elevator to transport people with mobility impairments to the top. Piers explained that Buddhists prefer humans to use their own energy during pilgrimages. From my Western/advocacy perspective, I still wish they would have at least installed an elevator for people who really cannot walk up all of those stairs.
Our last event of the day was to watch another surround sound/surround screen movie. This one was about Buddha’s life and the founding of his religion. As we learned about him, we walked from station to station. We each were supplied with headphones that
Christie and Peirs with Buddha
Christie and Piers were posing satisfactorily before the big Buddha. We two are not overweight any more as the Buddha is so obese that he may need to go for a slimming program. Sorry, Buddha! narrated in either English, Cantonese, or Mandarin. During one portion of the movie, we were directed to stand on a bridge above some water. The bridge was so narrow that everyone had to walk sideways. The contrast between that and the typical plush, wide-seated movie theatres at home is rather striking. But, I found it to be an interesting way of presenting content to us. I think that one’s posture influences one’s mood state substantially.
I’ll just end my description of that day with another mention of the tranquility I felt at Ngong Ping. As we embarked on the return cable car journey, I still felt peaceful from my time with God in the temple. And, after climbing and descending 256 stone steps, I was physically exhausted. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of rest after utter exhaustion. And with that, dear readers, I’ll end for today.
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