Buddha Bellies, Junk in the Trunk and a Birthday Bash to Boot!

It's been a rainy week here, but I took advantage of a clear Thursday and joined Jesse and Joel, another law student from Toronto for a day of adventure in the New Territories.  Prior to the 1980s, the New Territories were made up of little more than sleepy villages and farming communities, but today, the region, which stretches across the Mainland from Kowloon to the Chinese Boarder is home to 3.3 million people- close to half of Hong Kong's total population.  According to my guidebook, many of the people who live in this part of the SAR live in subsidized housing, but you wouldn't know it upon initial inspection (although we would find out later in the day).  Exiting the MTR at Sha Tin, we found ourselves in familiar Hong Kong surroundings: an air conditioned super mall.  We skipped the Gucci and sadly the air con and made our way toward the Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas.

At the entrance, we were accosted by two monks who shook us down for some HKDs. Not being the type who readily parts with his money, Joel was less than impressed when one of the monks slapped a beaded prayer bracelet on his arm and then demanded more money, but we were left alone for the rest of the trip and the Monastery was well-worth the couple bucks we ended up forking over.

We began the Buddha experience by trekking up more than 400 stairs flanked on both sides by life-sized golden buddhas, each one wearing a different expression or striking a different pose.  With the mercury rising to a balmy 38+ degrees this was no easy trek and by the time we had reached the top of the hill we all looked like we had gone for a swim rather than a 20 minute hike.  The journey was well worth it though, and we were rewarded with some good views of the endless rows of high rises and the surrounding mountains of the New Territories.  We took our time enjoying the monastery grounds and the vibrant nine story pink pagoda but the highlight was the temple itself which was built in the 1950s by Yuet Kai, a monk who wrote 98 books on Buddhism.  The walls of the temple are lined with over 13,000 tiny buddhas and no two are exactly alike.

Our next stop was the Hong Kong Heritage Museum which showcased the region's history- both ancient and recent.  Not my favourite stop of the day, but a good way to take advantage of some serious air conditioning for the whopping admission price of CAD$0.75.  The T.T. Tsui Gallery parallels the exhibit at the ROM in Toronto and features Chines art, porcelins, bronzes, conch shells and jade dating all the way from the Neolithic period to the 20th century.  There was even a ceremonial cup made from a human skull.  Other exhibits provided insight into the history of Chinese Opera and Cinematography and a collection of photographs from throughout the 20th century illustrated the transformation of Hong Kong and the Territories over the past decades.

After the museum we hopped a bus to Sai Kung- a small fishing village way out in the middle of the Hong Kong Hinterland famous among in-the-know tourists (like us, thanks to Joel!) as a seafood mecca. Of course, no seascape in Hong Kong seems to be complete without at least one token British Pub, and Sai Kung town was no exception.  A hole in the wall tavern off the main street served up traditional roasts and meat pies and hosted happy hour ales between noon and nine.  We passed on the pies and headed straight for the pier where we employed a bilingual agent to negotiate a fair price on a boat ride out to the surrounding islands with an old local woman who didn't speak a word of English.

At first, I was more than convinced that we were going to be taken far out to sea and sold to pirates, especially when the woman pointed at a rickety old ladder dangling from the promenade down to our vessel and instructed us in Chinese to climb aboard.  However, when we boarded the boat, we quickly realized that the junk was also her home and that there wasn't really any room to hide pirates, let alone three hostages.




The boat proved sea worthy (barely) and we had a really great ride around the bay.  The highlight was when our toothless driver, who had been casually maneuvering the rudder with her bare foot stopped suddenly in the middle of the bay to use the toilet, which was separated from the rest of the boat by little more than a shower curtain.  Needless to say, despite the heat, none of us felt like going for a swim afterward.

We arrived back on shore in one piece and after joining the millions of Hong Kongers for rush hour on the MTR we got back onto the island just in time to enjoy a well-deserved feast at Sweet Basil Thai in Causeway Bay.

After an early night (midnight) on Thursday and a slow start to the morning on Friday,  I was ready for my first true Dim Sum experience, hosted and paid for by HKU.  The food was delicious and fairly safe, although Joel mustered the courage to try a chicken foot, which, based on his reaction and my distaste for meat on bones, I will not be indulging in anytime soon!

I spent the rest of the day wandering fairly aimlessly around the city taking some pictures and headed to the gym before getting ready for Kora's birthday dinner.  She had picked out a really great American-style smokehouse in SoHo called The Bourbon so we delighted in hearty New York strips and full-bodied reds before devouring a velvety cheesecake for dessert.  Post dinner we went to Yumla- a serious techno/electronic club just down the road.  It was a fantastic night.

That is, until I returned home to find that my residence had transformed into Noah's Arc after a couple hours of heavy rains.  Water was cascading in through the ceilings above both staircases creating actual waterfalls between the building entrance and my room.  I made it to bed safe, but only after trudging through some suspiciously murky waters in the halls.  By early morning, there was a four foot deep puddle barring the exits on both sides of my hallways, but building staff had it dry by the afternoon and I was able to make a quick escape.  Hopefully this will be the last act of God plaguing my dorm, at least for the month- otherwise it's hotel time for me!