May 10, 2004
10,000 Buddhas and a Wi-Fi Connection
Because I needed to leave the Metropark Hotel later today in order to move to the location of the conference, over on the southwest corner of the island, I got up bright and early, eager to accomplish at least one tourist activity before having to get to work. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I started to make my way to the New Territories -- the swath of land north of Kowloon leading up to the mainland Chinese border -- to pay a visit to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Although it’s not an important monastery as far as history is concerned – it’s only a few decades’ old – it’s supposedly a nice place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
Getting there seemed like it would be a difficult task – it involved several subway transfers, plus a switch to the commuter train that runs to the Chinese border crossing – but in reality it was very straightforward. The subways in Hong Kong are as efficient as they come; in particular, the fact that you can see a little arrow moving along the digital map of the subway system displayed inside the train guarantees that you won’t accidentally head in the wrong direction (or at least not for long).
So after heading in the wrong direction, for only one stop, thanks to that little blinking arrow, I was able to get to Sha Tin, one of the largest “new towns” in the New Territories. The train terminal was attached to a large mall, full of American stores ranging from Mrs. Fields Cookies to Tie Rack. Apart from the fact no one was speaking in English, I could have easily been in any US suburb. Stepping outside, though, I was quickly overwhelmed by the syrupy humidity, reminiscent of Bali or southern India. Fortunately the walk to the temple was only 10 minutes or so, but then I’d have to climb about 450 steps to get to the monastery. I just hoped my bottle of water would last the entire journey.
I followed the map to reach the trail head leading up to the monastery. The setting was rather strange; one moment I’m walking past a giant IKEA store and government offices; the next moment I’m in a bamboo forest. No exaggeration. But that’s the New Territories for you – even though it’s crammed with enormous housing estates and malls, it’s surrounded by lush green hillsides, making it easy to disappear for a verdant hike through the countryside.
Following the signs to the monastery, I reached the first of what would be nearly 500 steps to the top. The entire path upwards was lined with Buddha statues, statues different from any Buddha I’d seen at a previous temple. In fact, each statue was probably unique. There were thin Buddhas, chubby Buddhas, bald Buddhas, hairy Buddhas, Buddhas with walking sticks, Buddhas with dogs and dragons and frogs, macho Buddhas, androgynous Buddhas. The entire climb was a lesson in Buddha diversity.
The only Buddha I didn’t see, though, was a sweaty, exhausted Buddha, which is exactly what I felt like by the time I reached the top of the hill. I entered the monastery and made eye contact with a Chinese visitor who probably had just spent the last 10 minutes recovering from her climb to the top. She smiled broadly and shook her water bottle in the air as if she were waving a championship sports trophy. I was almost too exhausted to laugh, but I had to nod and snicker.
 |
| Courtyard of the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery |
At the front of the plaza was the main temple. The interior was crowded with 10,000 Buddhas – or at least I surmised as such, given the name of the complex. The walls were covered with niches each featuring a miniature Buddha. There were so many of them, if you blurred your eyes they would have looked like a wallpaper pattern. At the center of the temple was a statue of a serene-looking monk. As I approached I realized it wasn’t actually a statue – there was a sign in English above him saying it was the corpse of the monk who founded the monastery. His entire body was covered in gold paint. He looked like he was straight out of the James Bond movie, Goldfinger – quite appropriate considering some of the film took place in Hong Kong.
Once my pulse had returned to normal I was ready to start the downward walk from the monastery. Of course it was a lot easier than going up, but my thighs started to quiver by the time I got to the bottom. The entire experience made for quite a workout, but it was a pleasant excursion that showed me a sign of Hong Kong that I hadn’t seen before.
Returning to Kowloon from the New Territories, I visited the tailor that was making a suit for me. I tried on the suit to see how it fit; it wasn’t bad for a first fitting. I also tried on the two shirts he was making for me; I liked them so much I immediately ordered another four. At $25 a shirt, how could you not get more?
Before heading back to the hotel I had a quick lunch at a Vietnamese noodle restaurant, enjoying a large bowl of chicken and cellophane noodle soup. I then returned to Hong Kong island by way of the Star Ferry, soaking up the view and the relatively cool breeze as the boat made its way from Kowloon. Exiting the ferry at Central, I walked among the skyscrapers, admiring the architecture of the HSBC and Bank of China buildings before swinging over to the Bank of America building to take advantage of my home bank’s no-fee ATM. By 1pm, I was back at the hotel to pick up my bags and catch a taxi to the Meridien CyberPort Hotel, home of the ICT summit I was going to attend. The taxi went past the Happy Valley Racecourse and through a long tunnel under Hong Kong’s central hills, ending up on the far southern side of the island. The hotel was located near the southwest corner of Hong Kong, with a fine view of Lamma Island and several smaller islands, with over a dozen large freight ships riding through the channel.
The hotel is incredibly swank and modern – it literally opened only two weeks ago. Because it’s part of the Cyberport complex, Hong Kong’s new silicon valley, the hotel is wired to the hilt. In my room I discovered a plasma screen TV with full Internet access and a multimedia deck that allows me to plug in DVDs, CDs and a variety of flash memory cards. The room also had one of the nicest views I’ve ever had in a hotel, with a view of the western sun hovering over Lamma Island and the East Lamma Channel. The room seemed even more spectacular because of the strategic use of mirrors on the walls, making it appear as if I was surrounded by water on three sides.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get email to work through their plasma screen PC, and my laptop wouldn’t connect via their wireless Internet connection. The hotel’s guest relations manager came by to help, and she ended up staying 90 minutes as she talked to tech support, who seemed baffled by the fact that I owned a Macintosh. Eventually we were able to get the Internet to work, though I discovered while walking my laptop around the room that the best Wi-Fi signal in my suite was curiously by the bathtub.
Our first official gathering was to start in a couple hours, so I headed outside for a quick swim in the hotel’s gorgeous pool. I jumped in and enjoyed the fresh, warm water, only to spot a pool boy running towards me as if I were drowning.
“Please get out of the pool!,” he yelled. “The bacteria levels are too high!”
Needless to say I got out as fast as I could. I asked him if there had been a sign posted, and he posted to a piece of paper that had been plastered below two pages’ worth of pool rules. No wonder I missed it.
I returned to my room and bathed as thoroughly as possible. And to think SARS had been my only worry on this trip.... -andy