Hong Kong - Gondola Trip

I needed to give fair time to the Gondola trip, as it was amazing to me...

View from the Gondola of the Giant Buddha in the distance...

 After our gondola arrived, we rushed into this little village...

It was funny, because we glided through the air, over the mountains for almost half an hour, with nothing but mountains and sea in view....

Then we arrive at this little village nestled in the hills....

 

Cute, yes???

First thing I noticed was - A Subway?! 

 

 Oh, and where was the meeting location for the tour?

Yes, the Starbucks?!  

Something seemed wrong about that to me!

 We were quickly rushed off on to a bus...

Zig and Zoey were excited.

View from the bus.

 

We drove on the winding roads, with beautiful views and arrived:

 

 seemed strange to see the buses in contrast...

 The people in this village are the remnants of a time past...

We were told that this village has existed for 100's of years, by catching and drying fish...

They live on the waters edge in stilt houses.....

 But, now, due to the relatively recent expansion and ease of access to that area, the children are growing up and leaving for a better life....

So, when these people die off the little fishing village will be no more....

It was almost like walking through the pages of history (with a slight commercial flare).

 

They even have dogs too...

What a cutie...  Passed out under a table...

 

 Happy little greeters

 The people from the tours filled the empty streets...

The smell of Fish was strong to the point of being tangible...

 Everything was VERY clean though...

 albeit strange to us...

 fresh fish available in buckets...

they were still sort of alive...

 Different types of fish jerky was available too

The stilt houses on the edge of the sea...

If you look closely, you can see people sitting in the houses.

 

and Yes, they have cats too...

  

more walking....

 and more dried fish!  YUMMY (no, not really... Couldn't convince Todd to get some)

 seriously, the shops looked very clean

 and of course - souvenirs...

 more food stands

 

 and another food stand...

  

Can You imagine living on a stilt house at the edge of the ocean?

No, I can't...

 We continued our trek through town...

 and arrived at an ancient Tao Temple, that is still operated today.

Upon entering, the smell of fish is replaced with the scent of incense...

 We were invited to light three sticks of incense (that is lucky)

and make a wish.   Todd and I both did of course!

and of course, you can purchase the incense there.

 It was a beautiful temple, and fun to see an authentic Tao Temple!

 Look how handsome my hubby is! Really, so cute!

A 'self-timer' pic in front of the alter.

Of course, at this point we needed to use the bathroom (well, the Toilet)...

Yah, always an experience....  

heading out....

back through the canopies of the streets...

and back to the bus, next stop Big BUDDHA

and the Buddhist temple.

 

Hong Kong is very Fung Shui

all about balance...

If you look through the gate, you will see a matching one in the distance...

There are also 12 generals along the path to the Temple,

Each represents a different Chinese Zodiac animal.

Todd and I posed with ours

 As you walk along the path if you look to the left,

you see the circle of flags...

If you stand in the middle of the cirle - you can whisper and it echos loudly...

 

If you look to the right...

 You see the Big Buddha (and a LOT of steps)

As you draw near to the Temple,

the scent of incense fills the air...

REally, that is a LOT of incense!!!

which makes this sign more interesting

Entrance, to the first building, before the Temple.

 The courtyard between the buildings

The temple

 

 

 

 

k

Reach for the sky!

Brother and sister admire ceiling...

f

 l
TNT

 

 The details were impressive

 After the temple, we were able to partake in an authentic Vegan lunch...

My chopstick skills are GREATLY improving...

I mean, there was only that one time that I was offered a fork...  the other night and I was very tired...

I will have you know - I REFUSED the fork and explained obviously I need practice.

Much better now!  

 

that does NOT look Asian, other than the writing?!

Souvenirs, of course

Ok. those are super sized incense next to Todd.

(Sorry Dad, wanted to get you one, but it wouldn't fit in my purse)

Ok, so now time to go visit the Big BUDDHA

There are a LOT of steps - 268 to be exact...

we walked up...

and walked

and walked up and up

 and finally, Buddha was smiling down at us..

Welcoming us to his Mountain

 The view was amazing.

There was an exhibit inside the Buddha, but no cameras were allowed....

Inside the Buddha there was lots of ancient art and scrolls...

and a piece of the actual Buddha...

the Bone relic is what they called it.

It was a little piece of bone that was left after cremation...

We did in fact see it.

The statues are waiting to serve him.

Amazing views...

It was a truly wonderful day....

Thank You again Todd, for bringing me to Hong Kong.  (:

Ok.   Remember, I said that the 'Toilet' is an interesting experience?

Well, back in town the Toilets (or bathrooms as we call them) are NICE, they are fine!

Well, in the fishing village and the buddhist temple not so much...

Seriously, what would a woman do with this:

???? 

Then back to the Gondola for our return trip home...  

We were in the fast line and it took an hour before our turn.

But, finally, after an hour in line waiting for our return flight...
We were on the Gondola at my favorite time of day.

Sunset, in the sky. 

Doesn't get much better than that!

and we were back!

Tomorrow, I will post about our next adventure! (: