Friday,
May 1, 2009
LAST DAY IN HONG KONG
What an absolutely amazing day – utterly exhausting but amazing.
We had such an adventure! We took the metro line – 3 times! – a
taxi, an open air bus, a gondola, and a ferry. All on our own!
We saw Lantau Island , a little of Kowloon and of course, Hong
Kong . Our day lasted a full 11 hours non-stop – and we’re
feeling it.
At first, we took the metro (train) to the Ngong Ping cable
cars, which took us to the Po Lin Monastery and the Giant Buddha
statue. That was a great trip. But before we get to that portion
of the adventure, I have to tell you that the metro is the
easiest train network ever, and exceptionally clean. There is a
Disney dedicated line where the cars themselves were so
beautifully done, I kept taking photos. That line connects to
the major lines throughout the sections/islands. And thankfully,
all the routes are color coded and easily marked. They even have
signs in the cars that light up for the stops you’ve passed and
blink for the stop you’re approaching – its like train-travel
for dummies – which was incredibly helpful for me……
Ok, back to the sightseeing stops……First stop: Ngong Ping 360,
which is what they call the cable car trip to the monastery and
Buddha. The views from the cable car were beautiful, and again,
I’m in awe of these mountainous islands. The village at the top
included a number of restaurants and shops (touristy yes, but as
tasteful as touristy gets), and this huge stairway up to the
Buddha. Emma and I walked all the way to the top, and then there
were even more amazing views! From there, we went to the
monastery, where Emma saw 17 monks (yes, she counted), and we
climbed some more stairs to a temple which was absolutely
beautifully decorated in golds and reds and flowers. We were
very lucky while we were there; there was a performance (we
think because it’s the Buddha’s birthday celebration), and there
were acrobatic dancers and one dancer in particular was
performing what is known as the Dance of the Changing Masks. We
didn’t get all the significance, but we overheard one person
telling an Australian couple that they were very very lucky to
be seeing this, and the crowd’s reaction definitely indicated
this was of some significance – for us it was just fun, and Emma
was awed. The dancer would, in mid step, change his mask
instantaneously – you never saw it happen. It was wild. We also
took in a little children’s show – the Monkey Tale Theater. I
was wondering how they would pull off such a show when 3
languages are given equal weight, but there was no speaking,
just animation about being grateful for what we get, and giving
is better than receiving We also saw a multi-media show about
the Buddha story, which was enlightening for both of us. And of
course, lunch was made up of noodle soup. Emma’s been living on
noodles and dumplings for lunch and dinner, while I’ve been
eating a lot of duck and chicken.
From there we took another metro to the ferry to ride through
Hong Kong harbor. Part of the way to the ferry we got off at an
earlier stop and took a taxi through some parts of Hong Kong
city (our driver/guide, Alex’s idea). That was nice. I had
always wanted to see the harbor, and I had to keep telling
myself I was really there. After the ferry, we took a double
decker, open top bus (a public transportation bus) to the
Victoria Peak Tram. It was a complete mob scene, and was
estimating a 2.5-3 hour wait, so we promptly got back on the
bus, sat at the top again, and took a ride through Hong Kong
once again. Then more metro lines (with connections, I might
add), and back to the hotel, where we tried a very authentic
Chinese restaurant. I don’t know if it’s the fatigue or just not
quite ready yet, but while the food was good, it was harder to
get used to than we thought it would be.
With all that we did today, it was hard to narrow it down to
only 6 photos!
Now its time to shower and pack, and tomorrow, our next leg of
the journey begins. We’re so much closer to Ethan – tomorrow
we’ll be in Beijing and only 1 day away from meeting him. And,
we’ll be reunited with Gregg.
We’ll write more tomorrow. Thanks so much for being a part of
this journey and story with us.
Love, Dawn and Emma (and soon Gregg, and then….Ethan!)
Emma’s Corner
Hi everyone. We had a long day today. It started with a
character breakfast and a hug from Mickey Mouse. My mom told me
to eat well because we were going on a big adventure. We sure
had one. I saw a giant Buddha with a 1000 steps to get there,
and a monastery which is a place where people pray and monks
live (I saw 16 monks!). We took subways and buses, a cable car
high in the air, a taxi and a ferry. We saw a lot today. I miss
you all! Love, Emma |
|
Emma hanging out on train
View from cable car (Ngong Ping 360)
Path to Buddha
The view from the base of the Buddha statue
Monastery Temple
View from the Harbor |
