The last word on Hong Kong

In between the karaoke and drinking and drinking till we made page 3 we got some sight seeing in as well. On our second day we visited the Big Buddha.

New Year's day was the first clear day since we arrived so we headed for the Peak. Apparently we weren't the only ones with this idea and we waited in line for the Peak tram for a good hour or two. After fighting our way onto the tram, I reflected a bit a came to the conclusion that there is a certain hustle and bustle to the people of Hong Kong. I'm generalizing here, but most people have this way of bobing and weaving through traffic and craming their way to the front of a queue. At first everyone is a respectful distance from one another, then through quick but tiny steps we jockey for position as the queue tightens around a particular bottleneck. First a foot angled just so carefully in front of the next guys, then a shoulder. The movements are infectious, building with intensity as we reach the funnel point.

Michelle can't stand this game, and I'm convinced that she'd still be in queue somewhere if we weren't traveling together. On the other hand I get sucked right into it. I go into pedestrian commute mode and subtly fight for position with everyone else. The worst for us was the final funnel point for the Peak tram. As we boarded the tram I literally had to shove a guy out of the way to let Michelle onto the train.

The next day it felt like Buddha time so we hit up the temple of 10,000 Buddhas. The temple is on the side of hill and the path leading up is lined with a multitude of Buddha statues in countless poses. There's even a Buddha in ice cream eating pose.

It was a decent attraction, but the statues looked like they were made of plastic and the pace of development at the monastery gave me the impression that they had recognized the value in making the monastery a tourist attraction. In the end we enjoyed it, but I would only recommend it if you're looking for something to do in Hong Kong on day 5.

We capped off our final night with one of the best Indian meals I've had at a restaurant in ChungKing Mansions . Then we rode the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island for the view. I can thing of no other reason to take the ferry as anyone who visits Hong Kong quickly learns that the subway will take you everywhere - and fast. All in all I have to say we both really liked Hong Kong. It felt like a very safe city and every night the streets had the energy of a Saturday night in a party city.

written by

soloshell3 on January 3, 2009 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong

from the travel blog: Solomon and Michelle's Southeast Asian escape

tagged HongKong

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