Hong Kong (Macau)

At last, I made it to Hong Kong.  Before you make the flight, I strongly recommend that you find yourself a friend who has free seat upgrades to hand out.  (Thanks Simon.)

As a place that previously had not caught my attention, Hong Kong is a pleasant surprise.  It's crowded, but orderly, complicated, yet accessibly.  The harbor setting surrounded by mountains is beautiful.  I understand that Hong Kong is really an archipelago of 260 islands so getting around could be rough, but public transportation in the main areas is a breeze.  While the weather has been hazy, humid and hot, my summertime training in Houston is paying off.

On Friday the 20th, my first full day in the city, I took a cable ride to the top of Victoria Peek.  It's the highest point on Hong Kong island and offers great views the harbor and Hong Kong's business district.  It also has some paths around the summit that leave you immersed in the thick understory of vegetation that covers the hill in all directions.  It was unexpectedly peaceful.

Next was a trip to Lantau Island, home of the Tian Tan Buddha Statue, or as many refer to him, the Big Buddha.  This was awesome!  He sits perched atop a mountain next to the Po Lin Monastery. 

The site is quite sheltered so except for the stream of tourists, the congestion of Hong Kong seems far away.  Besides visiting the Buddha, whose 112 foot heigth is striking, there are also several mountain trails worth hiking including one known as the Wisdom Path which leads you by 38 massive wooden columns carved with Chinese symbols depicting the Heart Sutra, which is apparently one of the most popular of all Buddhist scriptures.  The setting is utterly serene. 

The Wisdom Path is also something that many tourists miss because it's somewhat removed from the fakey little village (Ngong Ping) which lies at the base of the Buddha. 

Po Lin Monastery was similarly beautiful and was rendered more so by the scores of devotees burning incence outside the entrance.  The mix of colors, sounds and fragrances was magical.

The evening ended with the famous laser light show over the harbor viewed from the Kowloon side. 

Saturday took us on a hydrofoil ride to Macau.  This Special Administrative Region of China was formerly a Portuguese colony.  Remnants of this history are still found in its narrow streets, numerous plazas and Portuguese signage.  Now its economy seems happily dependent on the thriving gambling industry that has made Macau the Las Vegas of Asia.  Although given that gambling revenues in Macao (largely driven by the wealth of mainland China) have surpassed those of Las Vegas, it might be more accurate to say that Las Vegas has become the Macau of the West.  Regardless of its ultimate standing, it's nice to know (from a global-competitiveness perspective) that millions of hard-working Chinese can also be persuaded to spend untold hours in the smoke-filled  floors (smoking is allowed) of the casino-labyrinths tossing away their newly acquired money faster than you can say "This is a holdup, give me all of your cash!"

THE ZEN OF T-SHIRTS

Butterflies are Free Like You and Me

(metro in Hong Kong)