Review on the Run: Big Buddha (2.5 of 5), Po Lin Monastery (0 of 5)

For every highlight there is a lowlight that I can tell all my friends to skip.  Although the Big Buddha was alright, the Po Lin Monastery was one of the worst sites we've ever seen.  Right up there with the Palace of Knossis in Greece.  If you want to see Buddha's and avoid the crowds and could only pick one, go with the 10,000 Buddha Monastery in Sha Tin instead of here.  Less headaches and more impressive.

Big Buddha (2.5 of 5)
We should've took the warning sign more to heart.  While at Central just about to transfer to Tung Chung to see the Big Buddha and Po Lin, we heard on the intercom that the cable car that takes you from the MTR station to the top was broken.  We thought that we came this far anyways that we'd just take the bus up.  What was advertised as a quaint bus ride taking you through the winding roads across Lantau Island to the top, turned into a white knuckle experience of motion sickness due to both our bus drivers (on the way up and down) treating the narrow roads as their own F1 track.  Upon arriving, I'd have to say that the scene was quite mystical.  It was *surprise* foggy and it added to the aura of the place.  We climbed the ~300 steps to the top and it is exactly as advertised... a Big Buddha.  Pretty neat but not too exciting when I hear of the ones in Thailand.  Onto the adjacent Po Lin Monastery for a vegetarian meal and to see the hall.


Po Lin Monastery (0 of 5)
Ok.  Where to start?  The meal, understood was vegetarian, but I guess I was expecting more gluten products that looked like meat.  It was by far the worst meal we've had in Hong Kong.  Next on to all the grand halls in the Monastery right?  There was a total of one building open for viewing.  The rest of the place was under renovation.  I'm giving this site zero stars because I felt it was just so tacky and a pure tourist trap. All the facades of the buildings were made of cement casts that looked really fake.  Unless you wanted to buy incense (3 for 100HKD or 6 for 150HKD) there was nothing else to look at.  In fact the Calgary Chinese Cultural Center looks more authentic than this place... yikes.

Review on the Run: 10,000 Buddha Monastery (4.5 of 5), HK Heritage Museum (4.5 of 5)

We had a dinner to attend to in Kowloon City so we took advantage of this and made our way to Sha Tin in the New Territories for what turned out to be the best day of sightseeing in HK so far!

10,000 Buddha Monastery (4.5 of 5)
Located right by the Sha Tin MTR station in the New Territories, this temple (technically not a monastery since there are no monks living there) was finished in 1957.  When you start the trek of more than 400 steps to the top, the path is lined with hundreds of life sized monks that are painted in gold - no two looking alike.  Making your way up to the top is really the highlight.  At the top though, there is a temple with 13,000+ (not 10,000 like advertised) miniature Buddhas and offers some great panoramic sights of Sha Tin.  There is also a 9 story pagoda you can climb and another couple hundred gold monks for good measure.  Stroller alert: even though there is a ramp along with stairs, the ramp I believe is meant for a motorcycle to haul goods up to the restaurant. It is like a 45 degree incline the whole way...

HK Heritage Museum (4.5 of 5)
Even though we go here a little too late to take in everything - we were seriously impressed by the exhibits.  Located only a 10 minute walk from the 10,000 Buddha Monastery, the Heritage Museum is dedicated to displaying different cultural aspects of HK - like fashion, music (opera and modern), visual arts, and crafts.  One of my favourite displays were featuring the works of Huang Xinbo who pioneered Chinese woodcut art.  Check out some examples here.

Review on the Run: HK Science Museum (3.5 of 5), HK History Museum (4 of 5)

The day of the wedding we wanted to tire the kids out so they would ideally have a nap and have energy for the wedding... it didn't happen.  Isaac napped for only an hour and Chloe stayed up from 9am - 12:45am the next morning.  There seems to be no off switch on these kids.  Here's what we did though.

HK Science Museum (3.5 of 5)
Unlike the rotty HK Space museum we saw, this is a state of the art place that will keep the kids occupied for hours.  It was extremely interactive and the place was so big in fact that we didn't have enough time to go through it all while the kids kept on calling for more.  The kids favourite was the hall of mirrors where they have neat gimmicky tricks using reflection.  One of the more impressive structures though was a three story high marble machine - except they use bowling balls instead.  Total cost: 25 HKD for the family... which works out to a little over $3 CDN.  Yes you read that right.  I believe the new Telus World of Science in Calgary is $25 CDN/person!


HK History Museum (4 of 5)
This museum is attached to the Science Museum, and I didn't know what to expect when coming here - but we've never seen anything like it in Asia.  It displays the full history of the Hong Kong area from the dinosaur age, to first settlement, pre-occupation, opium wars, and to modernization.  The displays were all first rate and really gave you a feel for what it was like back in the day.  Total cost: Again a mere 25 HKD.

The Most Spectacular Wedding I've Ever Attended...

So the big day has finally come and gone.  The whole reason (and excuse) for us coming to Hong Kong is to see our good friend Vicki get married.  The wedding left us floored by how swank the production really was.  Everything from the decor, to the food, to the ambiance was perfect.  We've had some great opportunities to see some friends and family get married in great locales that include Jamaica, Hawaii, Scotch Creek, and Banff - but this blew all of them away and makes our wedding at Marco Polo (yes the one closed down because of mice) in Edmonton look ghetto... which it was.

Some random thoughts that caught my attention:

• A huge 3d sign that spanned 10 ft high and 20 m long with "Victoria and Keith Tie the Knot" engraved in wood.
• The Grand Ballroom with 3 story high ceilings and full windows offering great views of the harbour.
• Instead of putting all the dishes in the middle of the table and every man for themselves, they did individual portions on the side and brought them to us... which I'm totally not accustomed to.
• Unique dish of the night - Seafood stuffed avocado.
• Best dish of the night - Grouper fish... so good!
• I saw about 10 people attended the wedding wearing jeans... come on who does that?