Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O Village: Week 9 / Day 57 / March 8
Hong Kong: Rob and I headed out to Lantau Island via subway to see Tian Tan Buddha (aka the Giant Buddha or the Big Buddha) and visit the fishing village of Tai O. Upon arriving at the end of the subway line we exited to head over to the gondola station that heads up to the Giant Buddha. Along the way we saw another group of helpful people happy to explain to us the dangers of Falung Gong.
Upon arrival at the gondola station we found out that the gondola was closed for repairs during the entire month of March. Instead we hopped into a cab and headed up to the top of the island. At the parking lot for the Giant Buddha we saw some dogs that looked like they would have fit in at the temples in India.
The Giant Buddha can be seen from the entrance to the complex and is, well, quite large.
The walkway into the complex has statues of the Twelve Heavenly Generals on each side of the path.
The Giant Buddha is reached by walking up a long staircase that ascends the hill.
Once up the hill at the base of the statue, there is a small exhibit hall about the nearby monastery and the construction of the statue. There is also a walkway around the base of the statue. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed in the exhibition.
Back down at the base of the hill is the entrance gate that leads towards the monastery.
Of course, there were also some pretty flowers in the area as well.
Heading into the monastery we first walked through the Welto Temple.
Proceeding further we then walked through the Buddha Hall.
Directly behind the Buddha Hall is the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
We did not actually count them, but, based upon how many were on each wall, I think there are well over ten thousand.
At this point, we headed back out of the complex and took a bus to the village of Tai O. Although there is evidence of human habitation dating back to the stone age in the area, the current village has only existed for the last three centuries. The fishing lifestyle that once supported the community is now dying out and the villagers barely eke out a living from the remaining fishing and tourism.
We walked through a number of streets with small shops and markets. At a park we saw a lot of cats, and this one that seemed to really like having his tongue out.
There were also a few temples on the streets of the village.
The main point of interest in the village is the stilt houses that line the main river and side canals.
Walking past the stilt houses we saw several small shrines out in front of the houses.
We then headed back to the bus stop to head back to the subway line and Hong Kong. Rather than going back to the apartment, we went to the Hong Kong velodrome. We had purchased tickets a few days ago for the PruRide 6 Day. This is an international bike racing series that is holding an event in Asia for the first time. When we arrived the racers were still warming up.
A 6-Day is a bike racing format with a variety of racing events spread out over six days (well, at least typically six days as the name would imply, this particular event was actually three days – I have no explanation). This being the first bike racing event either Rob or I have ever been to, we were a bit confused by some of the races. Some of them were pretty straightforward (go fast – first to finish line wins), but some others (the Madison) involved point systems for laps led, getting lapped, mini-sprint sequences within the race, and other things. There were also a variety of sprint and distance events.
There was a woman rider (Emily Nelson from Great Britain) who dominated quite a few of the events. It seemed as though in many of the races should we just hang out near the front of the pack and then totally destroy everybody in the last lap or so.
I think my favorite events were the team (typically two person teams) events. In these events, as the riders exchange who is actually racing (which happens several times during the race), they need to touch hands. In addition to touching hands, they also grab each other and the one rider will then sling the other along for a speed boost as shown below in one of the men’s races.
At the end of the evening, we left the racing and went back to the apartment for the night.
