Hong Kong: Day One

I've finally made my way back to our big trip this last May, having left off at the end of the New Zealand leg. Now, it's onto the five days we spent in Hong Kong on our way around the globe.

After a great last dinner in Auckland with Kristin and Matt, we hopped a late flight to Hong Kong... and about twelve hours later, we got there.

Saturday, May 21

As we arrived fairly early in the morning, and the airport is on the same island as "The Big Buddha," we made use of the fabulous airport services (that include renting time in a private bathroom, complete with toilet, shower, mirror, and hair dryer), stored our luggage in the lockers and headed across Lantau Island. One short rip-off of a cab ride later, we found ourselves at the Ngong Ping 360 cable car station that would provide us with a ride to the home of the Tian Tan (aka, Big) Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, and Wisdom Path.

The ride lasted about twenty-five minutes, as we rose above Tung Chung Bay  and drifted silently over the green hills.

Our first sighting of the Tian Tan Buddha. The statue's right hand is raised to represent the removal of affliction, the left resting in the lap. This statue symbolizes a harmonious relationship between nature and man, as well as people and religion.  The Tian Tan Buddha is said to be the largest outdoor in the world, and is the only that faces north.

Once back on solid ground, we walked through a Disnified version of an old Chinese village, complete with souvenir shops and a Starbucks.

(Hey, 12 more hours on a plane with no air conditioning, stuck in our seats by a sleeping passenger is a good reason for some Frappuccino goodness if I've ever heard one!)



Above, the Wishing Tree, where visitors can write their wishes on scrolls to be hung among the branches.

As we made our way toward the Big Buddha, we walked up the Bodhi Path which was lined with statues of 'The Twelve Divine Generals.' These Generals serve as protectors of Buddhism, and each  represent one of the Chinese Zodiac signs. For the record, if you were born in 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, or 2004, you'd be a Monkey like me. If you're a child from 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, or 2002, you're a Horse like Chris. Not that my personality really matches the Monkey's description, but a monkey I've always been :)

As a Monkey, my Divine General was General Andira who wields an intimidating mallet.




Chris' Horse General, on the other hand, wields a conch shell...this made me giggle. Please, no! Not the conch shell!

It was time to follow the signs and climb all 268 steps to the Big Buddha...with a couple breathing breaks. It looked so very, very far away, but these steps were conquered by people from toddlers to the elderly, many of whom stopped along the way to bow and chant prayers.

 

Made it!

I've come to understand that there are many things that a photograph simply cannot capture. The enormity of this Buddha is one of those things.

 

                         Buddha says hey.

The views from atop the Buddha's platform were breathtaking, as we peered out across the mountainous spread of lush green. Regardless of your faith or beliefs, I think it would be difficult to stand here and not feel moved by something deeply serene. The air was hot and damp, but the breeze always seemed to find its way across the hills to cool our faces.

Resting upon its lotus throne, the Tian Tan Buddha is faced by The Six Devas, smaller bronze statues posed with offerings of music, fruit, ointment, a lamp, incense, and flowers to the Buddha. "These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana."

(Details taken from http://www.hongkongsunday.com/?p=81)

These women stood before the main door at the Buddha's base praying together in song, sometimes catching themselves messing up and laughing as they went. It was all very reverent and we watched for a while, taking in the music of these people's faith and love.

Like I said, young and old.

After our time with the Tian Tan Buddha, we descended the steps and found our way to the Wisdom Path, a short trek through the forest to an outdoor replica of the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra is hundreds of years old and is one of the world's best-known prayers revered by not only Buddhists, but Confucians and Taoists, as well. 











As we'd arrived early enough in the day to have beaten the inevitable busloads of tourists, we were able to enjoy the moments between the destinations, fully able to appreciate the quiet beauty that surrounded us.

The Heart Sutra words have been carved into wooden pillars, which stand tall in a figure eight to symbolize splendor and infinity. As we approached the site of this time-honored sutra, I couldn't help but take a moment to notice and appreciate its ferocious guards. Asleep equidistant from one another and the plaques that explained the Heart Sutra replica were two slumbering pups. They must've sensed the peace in our hearts and felt it acceptable to take a snooze. I saw a little bit of Heidi in this one, his white ears pointing out to catch anything of interest while he dozed. She was this kind of guard dog.

Beyond the pillars, a map of the words displayed - why didn't we learn Chinese for this trip?

If we found ourselves surrounded by reverence and prayer before, at the Po Lin Monastery, it was impossible not to feel it filling your lungs. Everywhere were places to light and burn the traditional incense sticks used for prayer around temples.

With the Tian Tan Buddha watching from afar, this faithful man lit his incense stick, reciting prayers to himself as we watched.


While some of the incense beds were plain, others were beautifully created to house the rising smoke of the faithful.

Outside of the Po Lin Monastery 

Inside the Po Lin Monastery temple. 

The three bronze statues within represent the Buddha's past, present, and future lives.

At such monasteries as this, there tends to be a place to get tea and something to eat, but it is always vegetarian. We had our first meal in Hong Kong at the small restaurant at the monastery, complete with noodles, dim sum, and hot tea.



After lunch, it was time to make our way back to the airport to collect our luggage and make our way to Kowloon Island to check into the hotel.

                  Bye-bye, Buddha.

By the time we got to Kowloon, navigated the public transportation system and found the hotel, we were somewhat wiped out, so the rest of day one consisted of wandering the streets until we eventually settled on a casual restaurant where we could enjoy something yummy before conking out for the night. Armed with plastic chopsticks (actually everything was plastic), we eagerly put away some kind of soup, some kind of pork plate, and some kind of greens. Trust in a menu takes some time, but we've found in our travels that we often wind up with some of the best meals we've had when we're not sure what we're ordering.

Goodnight, Hong Kong. See you in the morning.

A Little Bit of Puppy Love

Lola & Che

It was a long weekend - Columbus Day - one during which we chose not to travel, but rather to play Weekend Mom and Dad to a couple of pups. Their names are Lola and Che, not biological siblings, though you'd never know it. Lola, the clear alpha, eats first, generally gets the toy she wants, and is quick to give a little grumble if Che gets too close. Che, on the other hand, kind of bounces around, sometimes stealing the toy Lola's been hogging and laying on it, and sometimes happy just to find a snug spot near Chris or me to take a snooze. They're adorable little dogs, and it was nice having this kind of energy around the house. They reminded us of how energetic Heidi used to be, the games we played with her, and the particular kind of joy a dog brings into a home. Come Monday afternoon, the moment they were gone the house felt still. We missed them immediately.

I was happy to share some of Heidi's old toys with our little friends, and even ended sending a few home with them after attachments became evident :)

Lola discovered she both loved and hated a ball that makes a funny noise when it rolls. She attacked it with fury, but cried when I took it away to silence the barking.

Che took the prime spot atop the love seat whenever Lola was off playing.

They may appear to be foo-foo dogs, but foo-foo, they are not. Their little bodies are solid and when Che starts jumping around, going crazy because you've just walked in the door, you'd swear a tiny bear was about to knock you over. They're smart little lovers, too, and their personalities have pretty much forced Chris and I to fall in love with them.

Merciless!

Aside from our weekend parental duties, we did venture outside to enjoy the sunny, chilly weather (despite the forecast's call for rain all weekend). Dinner with friends and a visit to Stuttgart's Volksfest during daylight hours was a nice way to spend some time out, but it was always nice to come home because we knew there'd be two little pups excited to see us. 

When the timing is right, I can't wait to bring home a new family member to add a little more love to the mix, but until then, it's nice to know we have friends who are willing to share a little bit of their own puppy love with us. 

It's amazing how such a tiny soul can leave behind such an enormous void in our lives. Even though there will never be another Heidi, dogs like Lola and Che are a welcome balm to the ache in our hearts. 

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Back in Town

Sometimes this blog feels like a beloved old friend I constantly lose touch with; sometimes it's like a place I haven't been in a while, like home. Either way, each time I find my way back is like a new chance at something potentially great and there's a certain level of excitement when I find myself actually fighting may way back in, instead of feeling nagged by obligation.

So here I am again, struggling against other obligations to make the time for my friend, my lover, my blog. I want to be here in this place, peeking around dusty corners and searching for the story I'm pretty sure I left there. I miss the daily ritual of writing here, but my time has become so limited...I guess this is where priorities come into play. My priority has become one manuscript in particular, and I was getting a lot done for a while. Then schedules changed and a month and a half has passed like nothing. Blogging has been my daily exercise to limber up the writing muscles, my place to explore the randomness that lives in my head, and more recently, my warm-up before long stretches of work on a novel I'm falling in love with all over again. Time management has never been my strength, but I'm working on it.

So I'm trying not to think about the list of trips and festivals I haven't blogged about in the past year...and a half. I'm just going to write what feels right, and hope I eventually get it all in. I hope you'll stick around to read, and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Get ready. It's been a while, but I'm coming back home.

Finishing it off in Auckland

Thursday, May 19
North Island


Thursday morning we left Rotorua for our last stop in New Zealand, Auckland. We were both sad the New Zealand part of the trip was nearly over, but we were also looking forward to exploring Hong Kong on our way back to Germany. 

On the way to Auckland we drove through the small town of Tirau. Though the main stretch through town was short and its roadside shops limited, we had to stop when we saw this unique building, and those people who knew Heidi will know why.  


There had recently been a celebration of veterans from the area, and red banners devoted to their remembrance lined the road hanging from the street lamps. 

I stood across the street from this enormous likeness of my dear baby girl and had to laugh. It was strange and a little comforting, though there's no logical reason I can see for the latter. We joked that Heidi was so beloved that upon hearing of her passing, the people of Tirau hurriedly built this monument to her, knowing, of course, that we'd be passing through. The red banner reading, "We'll Always Remember" hanging in front of her only fed that fantasy.

When it was time to get back on the road, I paused a moment to say goodbye to the big white dog of Tirau, and in that, took a small step toward saying the same to her.

When we got to Auckland we were a little tired, a little bummed to already be there, and unsure of what exactly we wanted to do in this city. So since the rest of the trip had been so busy, we took it easy in Auckland. We walked the streets up into the artsy part of town to find dinner, and we strolled around by the docks. Sometimes the best way to see a city is just to walk it and absorb its life, and we were okay with toning it down a bit here.




It turned out Kristin and Matt were in town the same weekend so we met up with them at an Irish pub by the water for some drinks and conversation. Matt is from Auckland, and much of his family still lives there, so they were spending one last week with them before moving to the States to start their married life together.






The next day we checked out and stored our bags, then set out to get one last day in before our late flight to Hong Kong.

Auckland's Sky Tower is probably the city's most recognizable structure. There's a jump you can do from the Sky Tower's top deck and it looked crazy! I wanted to do it at first, plunge toward the city below from this staggering height, but decided against it in the end. I'd already had some amazing adventures on this trip, funds and energy were a little low by that point, and we still had Hong Kong to go.

This was a fun wine bar we came across downtown called The Library. Hey, it was our vacation so we indulged! I loved that the whole place was packed with books so that if you wanted, you could read while you lounged on the cushy, velvety couches with your glass of cabernet.

We stayed a couple hours... 

After a laid back day of strolling and lounging, we met up with Kristin and Matt one more time. The plan was to get dinner together, after which they offered to drive us to the airport, which was great. We drank hard cider, ate yummy food, and laughed at how weird and cool it was to be having dinner with each other and our husbands in New Zealand 10+ years after high school. Who'da thought?


One of the finer points of any trip, in my opinion, is the personal touch brought by sharing time with friends. Our trip to New Zealand was book-ended by hanging out with an old friend and her new husband, two very cool people who added another dimension of enjoyment to an already amazing trip.

We weren't ready to leave when the time came to board the plane, but such is life and most things enjoyable, right? We absolutely loved our time in this incredible place, and though we may never make it back for another go, we can dream. The sense of adventure was only rivaled by the sheer and raw (and varied) beauty of the land and the people we met, and we could not have asked for a better experience. And even though we lost Heidi while on the east coast of the south island, when I think of the town of Kaikoura, instead of sadness I feel gratitude for the love we received there in the wake of our grief.

I'm not sure how this trip could ever be topped.

...to Hong Kong!