We were startled by an explosion of lightning at 4:00 in the morning. I peeled one eye open to see an incredible light show going on outside the window but couldn't muster enough energy to stay awake. Besides, we've seen this before in Chicago.
At 6:00 we woke up and went to Starbucks to get the (sort of) free wifi. We did have to buy coffee and muffins to get 20 minutes of Internet connection.
What a surprise to see my blog suddenly pop up in Kowloon! (Thank you everybody for commenting and keeping me company throughout the trip even though I couldn't visit or respond while in China. I did read the comments on my e-mail whenever we had connection.)
Marilyn and Mandy would be going to Macao on a tour. Allwyn would be visiting friends and Janet was feeling ill so she and Richard decided to rest in the morning.
That left Pearl, Guy, Art and me to figure out what to do. When we walked out the door, we discovered that the spectacular lightning and thunder storm in the early morning hours (which is called Black Rain) in Hong Kong and Kowloon was serious. Schools and stores were closed. The hotel shuttle was not running.
We've dealt with other metro systems, but the MTR subway was a little confusing. We walked from our hotel to the subway and had to transfer from our Hung Hom station stop on the purple line to the red line. Pearl and Art worked together to figure out the transportation system.
With a little help and luck, we managed to find our way to the red line's Mong Kok stop for the Ladies' Market shopping area.
But it was raining...a lot.
I was puzzled at first about rooms being sold for only 2 hour stays. It didn't make sense until my naive brain figured it out. Could this be the other reason they called this the "Ladies' Market?" (Just kidding)
We stood in the area for the longest time trying to decide what to do in the rain. The market stalls were all closed. Should we wait hoping that they would open up eventually? Should we take the ferry and go to Hong Kong and see Victoria Peak? Should we go back to the hotel?
Finally Guy said, "Here's my suggestion. Let's go see the Bronze Buddha on Lantau Island. This is our last day and we should do something."
Guy was teasing me about my poses and smiles for the trip photos. His earlier photos were so serious. I love looking at these. It makes me laugh every time I see it.
Back on the subway we traveled from the Mong Kok stop to Tung Chung which is the last stop on the orange line to Lantau Island. Along the way they announced that the cable car to the Buddha was not operating due to the bad weather.
Tour guide, Daniel had told us the day before that we'd have no trouble because most people spoke British English instead of what he called Chinglish.
However, Calvin at the Tung Chung stop was the first person we'd met who spoke easily understood British English.
I asked him to point us in the direction of the mountain where the bronze Buddha was so I could just take a photo of it even if we couldn't see it up close.
He burst out laughing saying it was much too far away. He suggested we take the bus which would cost us $17.20 Hong Kong dollars. We thought it was pretty pricey until we figured out it was $2.25 U.S., one way. We decided to take a chance.
We were glad we came despite the unexpectedly long 45 minute bus ride when we disembarked and saw the huge bronze Buddha. It was constructed in 1993 and located near the Po Lin Monastery.
From Wikipedia:
The scenery was still overcast but lovely.
I always prefer going down stairs than up. We took the photo on the right of our daughter's zodiac sign, the rabbit.
Just as we were leaving the area on the bus, the heavens opened up with another downpour.
We decided to have dinner at the Citygate Outlet Mall's Pizza Hut. We'd seen it earlier before we boarded the bus going to the bronze Buddha.
The seafood pizza wasn't quite what we expected. The sauce was Thousand Island which we weren't used to on a pizza.
We got back to the hotel at 7:00 PM and got ready for the busy day of travel ahead.
We were tired and ready to go back home.
At 6:00 we woke up and went to Starbucks to get the (sort of) free wifi. We did have to buy coffee and muffins to get 20 minutes of Internet connection.
What a surprise to see my blog suddenly pop up in Kowloon! (Thank you everybody for commenting and keeping me company throughout the trip even though I couldn't visit or respond while in China. I did read the comments on my e-mail whenever we had connection.)
That left Pearl, Guy, Art and me to figure out what to do. When we walked out the door, we discovered that the spectacular lightning and thunder storm in the early morning hours (which is called Black Rain) in Hong Kong and Kowloon was serious. Schools and stores were closed. The hotel shuttle was not running.
With a little help and luck, we managed to find our way to the red line's Mong Kok stop for the Ladies' Market shopping area.
But it was raining...a lot.
I was puzzled at first about rooms being sold for only 2 hour stays. It didn't make sense until my naive brain figured it out. Could this be the other reason they called this the "Ladies' Market?" (Just kidding)
We stood in the area for the longest time trying to decide what to do in the rain. The market stalls were all closed. Should we wait hoping that they would open up eventually? Should we take the ferry and go to Hong Kong and see Victoria Peak? Should we go back to the hotel?
Finally Guy said, "Here's my suggestion. Let's go see the Bronze Buddha on Lantau Island. This is our last day and we should do something."
Guy was teasing me about my poses and smiles for the trip photos. His earlier photos were so serious. I love looking at these. It makes me laugh every time I see it.
Tour guide, Daniel had told us the day before that we'd have no trouble because most people spoke British English instead of what he called Chinglish.
However, Calvin at the Tung Chung stop was the first person we'd met who spoke easily understood British English.
I asked him to point us in the direction of the mountain where the bronze Buddha was so I could just take a photo of it even if we couldn't see it up close.
He burst out laughing saying it was much too far away. He suggested we take the bus which would cost us $17.20 Hong Kong dollars. We thought it was pretty pricey until we figured out it was $2.25 U.S., one way. We decided to take a chance.
We were glad we came despite the unexpectedly long 45 minute bus ride when we disembarked and saw the huge bronze Buddha. It was constructed in 1993 and located near the Po Lin Monastery.
The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana.
The scenery was still overcast but lovely.
Just as we were leaving the area on the bus, the heavens opened up with another downpour.
We decided to have dinner at the Citygate Outlet Mall's Pizza Hut. We'd seen it earlier before we boarded the bus going to the bronze Buddha.
The seafood pizza wasn't quite what we expected. The sauce was Thousand Island which we weren't used to on a pizza.
We got back to the hotel at 7:00 PM and got ready for the busy day of travel ahead.
We were tired and ready to go back home.
Wow, I don't think I've ever experienced rain like that. I can see why they would close the stores for it. The buddha is really interesting; I am glad you went there, giving you something to do for the day! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm tired reading this tour! It's exhausting, but you learned so much.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I couldn't do that pizza.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you day in Hong Kong was a good one in spite of the rain....you did get some good pictures. It's fun that you took a pic of your blog in the Starbucks.
ReplyDeleteSimply wonderful adventuring. I love seeing the images of this city as one of my mother's friend was the first architect of high rise housing there. The Buddha is stunning, but the view from the top captured my imagination.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding? That's amazing! There are sure a LOT of skyscrapers there.
DeleteHaven't heard of lightening closing a town; had they lost power to the schools and stores? Your running around Hong Kong is pretty extensive. Charlie needs to start a tour company there! The area does look pretty green with all that rain. Glad you were a successful tourist. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteApparently it was a rarely seen Black Rain. I was telling them Chicago doesn't close schools during a blizzard... and they're closing schools for rain? It was a surprise.
Delete16 days is a long time on tour, while keeping a hectic daily schedule. I can see why it's best to tour in your 60s. I enjoyed reading your trip report!!
ReplyDeleteL...w
The Alaskan Cruise was VERY doable for mom and my aunt. This would have been tricky, especially the squat toilets.
DeleteThe pictures look worth the trip even in the rain. We dedicated tourists can't let a little rain stop us. Hong Kong looks like an interesting place to visit.
ReplyDeleteHave been to Hong Kong twice and never seen any rain. We went to the Tian Tan Buddha both times but this was before the tram was opened so we also took the bus. We rode the metro system a lot but we were with someone that lived in Hong Kong so it was easy to get where we wanted to go.
ReplyDeleteWe never ate at Pizza Hut while we were there but noticed it seemed to be more "fine dining" then anything I had seen in the states. They even had white tablecloths and people were standing in line to get in.
Did you get to see the light show that they have with all the tall buildings that are on the Hong Kong side? All colors of lights and designs blinking off and on.
Once you knew the system, the Metro was fine. It was just a matter of doing that learning very quickly. Oh darn! We missed the light show. The weather was really bad and we were too exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. Ah yes, the Pizza Hut really was nice dining now that you mention it.
DeleteI love the Budda. One of my favorites sitting on his lotus leaf. Dianne
ReplyDeletenever heard of thousand island on a pizza
ReplyDeleteIt was OK, but just not appealing since we just couldn't get used to having that Thousand Island on the pizza.
DeleteGood for you for being resourceful and making the last day a successful tourist day despite the weather. That Buddha, and the view, are something to see.
ReplyDeleteYou must be in great shape now. Seems every major sight was at the end of a long flight of stairs. Phew. It was good timing that the downpour waited. You have really made good use of your time.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious about Black Rain. Is it really black? Why is it dangerous? I remember a movie called Black Rain but don't remember the rain in it. Love the large statue of Buddha. You and Art seem to always push on undaunted.
ReplyDeleteWow, Kay! That Tian Tan Buddha statue is truly awesome, well worth the 45 minute bus ride to go see it. Thank you for your detailed report of all the wonderful sights, sounds, and 'tastes' (lol).
ReplyDelete