Kung Fu Movie Capitol

Honestly, I never updated this when I was in Hong Kong or even after I got back home. It's now well into January and I am forced to recap what feels like years ago. I got into Hong Kong after high tailing it out of Thailand with my ass literally in my hands. I got in on a cool evening and there weren't that many cars out on the road. I ended up crashing pretty hard at my hostel, which was tiny, but nice. The next day I laid low and just did some minor walking around. After roaming for a bit I figured out that Hong Kong was going to be real expensive and that I had best find some free stuff to do.

I next day I continued my walking tour but ventured out even further. It is now that I want to take just a minute and talk about that man made wonder that is the Hong Kong skyline. If the Himalayas were in building form, this would be it. Monster buildings lined up one after the other. I remember thinking that New York City was impressive (and it still is, the Yankees suck, but NYC is awesome). I remember being uptown and looking at the WTC in the distance and thinking that it was a marvel to notice that in the distance it looked like a mountain. The thing about it though, it looked like "a" mountain. In Hong Kong, you can look down an ally and see an entire range. And the view at night? Breathtaking. So many lights that I figured the debt of 6 countries in Africa could be wiped out if Hong Kong could chill on the kHz for a couple minutes. I saw the light show that happens here every night at 8pm and as cheesy as it was, it was still pretty cool that they have a light show on their buildings.

I walked down the Ave. Of Stars, a Hollywood type walk of fame of all the Hong Kong film stars of past and present. I took a good long time here as its set next to the water and the view across is amazing. There was a life size statue of Bruce Lee kicking some ass which made me smile thinking of all the times I've watched Hong Kong flicks set in this town. I walked around the rest of the day checking out some random parks and called it a night.

The next day I took the ferry to Lanteau Island in search of the Po Lin Buddha statue. On the way there for just a fleeting moment I saw the big mutha sitting peacefully atop this mountain. It passed and I got very excited to see it close up. When I got up to the top I set my eyes upon what would have to be the biggest Buddha I'd ever seen. I climbed the 438 steps to the top and took a bunch of pictures and soaked in the scenery that this Buddha sees all the time. I walked back down and explored the monastery that the Buddha watches over. It was a modest complex trying to capitalize on the tourism that the big guy brings in but not in a greedy way. It was such a gift to me that I got to spend a little time with some monks here. I was with Tibetan monks, Nepalese monks, Thai monks, Chinese monks. Cool. That night I went to 007:Casino Royale, because if this was my intro back into Western culture, who better to do it than Bond?

The next day I spent the day on Hong Kong island which would be considered the business side between them and Kowloon. Bigger buildings, more suits, less local flare. Hong Kong park was a man made triumph. Green spaces were accented by little ponds, rivers, and fountains. There was a tai chi garden with Bonsai trees and an aviary where I got stuck watching this Great Argus with a red eye. I moved along to the Victoria Peak tram which took me well above the skyline in a tram that went seemingly straight up at points much like the ol' Cog Railway back home. I got up there in enough time to see the skyline during the day and then went to keep busy for a bit until the sun went down. I actually played video games for awhile in the huge mall that sits on the peak. Hadn't done that for about 6 months, which very soon would be a reoccurring theme. After the sun went down I took some pictures and stared dumbfounded at the skyline. I went for some Peking duck (so very, really, really good), and crashed.

My last full day on my trip was very calming and cooling. I had dim sum in the afternoon for the last time. For those of you who don't know dim sum is a lunch time event that Hong Kong is famous for. People come around with a bunch of super good food on rolling trays and stop in front of you while you choose which one you want. Whatever looks good to you will then be marked on your card to paid for at the end of the meal. MMMmmm. After dim sum I went to 10,000 Buddha monastery. When I got there I realized that it wasn't just a clever name. There's actually well over 10,000 Buddhas lining the long walkway up, on the buildings, big ones, small ones, smiling ones, holding things, eyes closed, eyes averted, wise, silly, laughing, standing, leaning, shouting, you name it. I spent a couple hours here and decided to head back and turn in early.

I got up early and set out of Hong Kong with the feeling of exhaustion from being away from home for a long time. Hong Kong was a funny place. A lot of people but organized. I was happy to be there, but wanted to be home. I didn't really meet anyone but I talked to so many people. It made me miss the third world actually. The plane ride was loooooooooooooong across the pacific and landing for a 3 hour layover in Vancouver was torture. No worry though, I would see my lady love in mere minutes.