Kowloon

The last day in Hong Kong was going to be a bit of a doozy, after two days of being in nature, it was actually time to explore the city!

As I was waiting for the bus, I realized that one of the temples I had planned to see was really near my hotel and I had almost forgotten about it. I backtracked and up a lot of stairs to reach Man Mo Temple. It was a very visually aesthetic temple with a lot of incense and tags hanging above the ceiling. Inside was a golden deer statue. It was also very small but it had amazing contrasts with the red lanterns and tags and the black darkness. I went back to catch the bus again going to Waterfall Bay Park.

I wanted to see the idol graveyard located here but I couldn't find it at first so after a lot of backtracking, I gave up in search for the waterfall. As the name implies, there was a waterfall here but to reach it, I had to cross over a lot of blocked routes which was apparently normal to do as the locals were doing it all the time to see the waterfall below. It was actually pretty beautiful and so strange to see a waterfall in the city but there it was. I went back up but didn't want to give up so I tried one more time to find the idol graveyard and I don't know how but I did end up finding it and it was magnificent. Idols from all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and even Taoism. I felt so blessed to be in the presence of so many deities. It seems like it's bad luck to dispose of idols so the locals just started to leave them here. It was a nice resting place for them as they were all facing the ocean.

Finally satisfied, I got on the bus heading to Kowloon. On the way, we got stuck and I got a bit impatient and just took the nearby metro instead. I first stopped by the famous Monster Building which was an apartment complex of four other nearby estates. The people here weren't exactly living in good conditions and it was a really good experience to see this other side of life in Hong Kong. Moving on, I went to Choi Hung Estate to find the very photogenic rainbow colored building. It was empty bar for a granny playing basketball which made for an excellent shot by luck. I went to the nearby Ping Shek Estate next to try and snag that wonderful "look up" shot.

A bit hungry after so much walking, I pushed on to Nan Lian Garden to see a beautiful greenery reminiscent of Japanese Zen gardens. It was a welcome oasis in the middle of the city. Nearby was the Chi Lin Nunnery, this is where I realized that the mantra being played this whole time was Namo Amitabha Buddha. It was really mindblowing for me and I felt a huge sense of reverence as I went around the temple, paying respect to the deities enshrined there. My last stop in this part of town was Wong Tai Sin Temple, it was a unique temple because it's a blend of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Having all three belief systems in one temple really proves that it's possible for people of different walks of life to coexist in harmony.

I was contemplating if I should still go for the Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery which was a bit further up the city but I still had so much time before my flight so I just went for it. Arriving at the station near the monastery, I was so hungry I ended up ordering two dishes at the nearby Cantonese restaurant. It was one of the most amazing meals I've had so far! Energized, I pushed forward to find the monastery which required another long hike. At first, I thought I was going the right way and I was able to see a lot of interesting places as there were a bunch of temples and Buddha statues but it turns out I was in the wrong part of the mountain and I had to go back down before finding the correct trail. This trail seems about right as there were golden Buddha statues from both sides that accompanied me all the way to the top. There were a lot of interesting sights up there but the highlight was the main temple with ten thousand Buddhas on each side of the wall.

Finally, I hiked back down and made my way to the bus stop that had the airport bus. It was still for a while so I had time to wait, I sat down for the longest of times only to realize last minute that the bus arrived earlier than expected and shot pass me! Oh man, I was in a state of panic as I realized I missed my only way to the airport and as I checked Google Maps, all other routes would equate to me missing my flight. I didn't have anymore money to afford a taxi (I sure could have used that deposit by now!) My thoughts were rapidly forming possible solutions, maybe go to a bank to exchange my dollars? I tried to download a taxi hailing app but it required a phone number. I was really at a loss and every minute that passed made it even more dreadful. I was trying to find a local cab as well but I didn't know where anywhere. I was able to flag one down with an old man and with my broken Chinese, I asked him if I could use credit card or my dollars and he said yes , at that point oh whatever let's just go! At the end of the day, I did lost a couple of dollars but the old man was a blessing to have taken me all the way to the airport and accepting foreign currency. All's well, ends well!Read more