Today was our last day in Hong Kong. Tomorrow morning we leave for the US and leave Luci to her grand adventure.... Today we went to a couple of religious sites and took a walk along the waterfront.
Our first stop was the Chi Lin Nunnery, a Buddhist convent a few stops away via metro. - Its where we were trying to go when we got lost. We entered the subway under sunny skies and exited to a strong wind, thunder, and rain. The rain soon stopped and we made our way to the nunnery. What an oasis of serenity in a world of chaos. We wandered around the temple area and were amazed by the various statues of the Buddha and other bodhisattvas. It is disrespectful to take pictures of the altars so my description will have to do. There was golden statue of the Buddha, reminiscent of the Tian Tian Buddha we saw yesterday. He was flanked to either side by two of his disciples and, next to each of them was a seated bodhisattva, an enlightened one. The statues were brilliant gold and at least 10 feet tall.
Our first stop was the Chi Lin Nunnery, a Buddhist convent a few stops away via metro. - Its where we were trying to go when we got lost. We entered the subway under sunny skies and exited to a strong wind, thunder, and rain. The rain soon stopped and we made our way to the nunnery. What an oasis of serenity in a world of chaos. We wandered around the temple area and were amazed by the various statues of the Buddha and other bodhisattvas. It is disrespectful to take pictures of the altars so my description will have to do. There was golden statue of the Buddha, reminiscent of the Tian Tian Buddha we saw yesterday. He was flanked to either side by two of his disciples and, next to each of them was a seated bodhisattva, an enlightened one. The statues were brilliant gold and at least 10 feet tall.
We then went to the Lotus Pond Garden.
Next we were off to the Wong Tai Sin Temple and the rain decided to join us. This is a famous Taoist temple that supposedly answers many prayers. It was, again, a peaceful retreat in the city.
Next was a subway ride back to Tsim Sha Tsui. The cars were super crowded with black shirted students going to the protest rally in Victoria Park in Hong Kong. As crowded as the cars were, and I am sure that there were people on there that were pro-China, we never felt any danger. People were calm and polite.....
After the subway we walked through Kowloon Park (no flamingoes) down Nathan Road and took a detour through the (in)famous Chungking Mansions. Chungking Mansions is a giant building that is full of immigrants. We walked through and saw Turkish and Indian restaurants and all sorts of stalls selling all sorts of things. Unfortunately the video I took did not turn out. We then walked down to the waterfront and looked out upon the Hong Kong skyline. A perfect rainy conclusion for our amazing trip.
After the subway we walked through Kowloon Park (no flamingoes) down Nathan Road and took a detour through the (in)famous Chungking Mansions. Chungking Mansions is a giant building that is full of immigrants. We walked through and saw Turkish and Indian restaurants and all sorts of stalls selling all sorts of things. Unfortunately the video I took did not turn out. We then walked down to the waterfront and looked out upon the Hong Kong skyline. A perfect rainy conclusion for our amazing trip.
Luci's off to an amazing adventure in Kunming China and we won't see her again until December. I'll get off the plane Tuesday evening and then be off to my first day of school on Wednesday!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next adventure in the Galapagos Islands in October!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next adventure in the Galapagos Islands in October!