Chinese Whispers

Po Lin Monastery

Hong Kong was a lovely surprise.



There I was, traipsing in with lots of preconceived ideas of grotty greyness found in most other large cities. I was expecting that my short trip would not reveal the colour that is usually only found after spending more than 24 hours in a place...


Our international layovers (airhostess jargon for a stay of 24 hours or more in any one particular city, put up in a hotel by the airline before we work the flight back the following day) are mostly large, massively-populated cities. Passing places for the more adventurous traveller. Faceless destinations for busy businessmen. London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Rio, Rome, Hong Kong...



So I'd been expecting lots of skyscrapers (check), lots of people (check), a near-unfathomable metro (check) and lots of grey stone (check)... but what I hadn't been expecting is the volume of trees and exotic plants everywhere. Bursting from the pavement, tumbling from the kerb into the road, and accompanying you round the city like a silent green guide.


Beautiful palm fronds, in beautiful Hong Kong


Another notably nice aspect of HK is the friendliness of nearly everyone I met/bumped into/asked for directions. There are tourists everywhere of course, and expats galore, but it didn't seem to matter the nationality, everyone was just jolly nice :) I like.

"Hi," said Buddha

WHERE DID I GO?
I made my way to the 'Big Buddha', I don't know if there's a more official name, but that's catchy enough and sums him up, so I stuck with it. He's big and bronze and buddha-y, and undoubtedly beautiful. You can take a (very long) walk up one side of Lantao Island to the Ngong Ping Plateau (say it three times quickly - impossible) where the buddha sits, or you can take the rather novel glass-bottomed cable car, which is better for clock-watchers like me. My favourite part of getting anywhere in China is trying to pronounce the names of places properly, and consequently seeing the locals fall about laughing when I sound like a giant Jackie Chan gone horribly wrong.
After my stint up the mountain, I took a walk around Hong Kong Island, just to see a bit of the city itself.

City skyscrapers, in downton HK



I like this shiny little red Hong Kong taxi more than the big yellow ones stateside, sorry!



WHO DID I GO WITH?

I was out on my tod, but I did meet three lovely ladies from the US who I still keep in touch with and some buddhist monks, who, safe to say, I couldn't find on facebook.

Thanks for letting me tag along everyone ;)

The Monks and Me

THE BEST BIT...
For me, the atmosphere at the Po Lin Monastery. Quiet, calm, and designed with delicate detail in a way that only the Chinese can master.
 

Fluttering decorations welcome you to Po Lin


Hong Kong, I can't wait to come back!




Love from Dolly


P.S. Check out my Tumblr site for more  of my photos!