Big Buddha (Eric)

I am writing this Tuesday morning as Monday was a great day filled with adventures. We did not get back to our condo until 11:00 p.m. -- the night owls reading this can stop laughing now. For us (still adjusting to the new time zone), it was a late night. In fact we both fell asleep on the ferry ride back to Discovery Bay last night.

Anyway, I digress (so unlike me 😜)...
Monday morning, we were both wide awake at 4:00 a.m.  It was the only day so far that it was not raining, so we decided to eat breakfast locally and head out to the Big Buddha statue located on this island. Unfortunately, this area has many restaurants but very few places open for breakfast, so we ate a McDonald's breakfast (typical Chinese breakfast). I ordered a Sausage Mcmuffin, and surprisingly enough, it was actually better than the American version -- less greasy.

Next, we hopped on a bus to get to the cable car station that would take us up the mountain to Big Buddha. The journey up the mountain was incredible with panoramic views of the island. Jenny, who is terrified of heights, had a firm grip on my thigh the whole way up. But she was quite brave, and one of the other passengers, God bless him, must of picked up on her fear because he began to talk to her about current events. It seemed to help because Jenny's death grip on my leg loosened slightly. Thank you kind sir wherever you are.

At the top, you arrive at a tourist trap that you might find in many places in the world (i.e. Disney or Universal Studios), a walking thoroughfare filled with restaurants and shops. This part was a little cheesy, but then you look up, and on top of the tallest peak is a 112 foot tall Buddha (the tallest outdoor seated Buddha). It was surreal. I've been to a few Buddhist sites in my travels, and I am always struck by how serene and peaceful they are. I appreciate the Buddhist faith, especially in light of current events. But don't worry, I'm not converting yet.

By the way, I mentioned that it wasn't raining, but unfortunately, the low lying cloud cover obstructed the views from the top. But it was still a magical experience. We walked through several statues and gates to a Buddhist temple that was both magnificent and calming. Finally, we came to the 200+ stairs (our old nemesis) that we would have to climb to the foot of Buddha. The cloud cover made the statue difficult to see at times, but it actually added to the dreamlike quality of the whole experience. The climb was exhausting but worth it. Seeing the Buddha up close was simply magical. Words cannot express the Zen-like feeling that overcame both Jenny and me.

After spending a few moments with Buddha, it was time for the journey down. This decimated the peaceful feelings in an instant 😢.
The first disruption occurred as we were waiting in line for the cable car to return to the foot of the mountain. The cars just stopped. I have been skiing my whole life, so I'm used to these delays on lifts, but this one seemed different as staff were running around trying to solve the problem. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally got it running, but in the meantime, we are both drenched in sweat from waiting in the crowded line, and needless to say, Jenny's anxiety had hit an all time high. The journey down was also not uneventful as we stopped numerous times dangling above the ground much to Jenny's chagrin. And unfortunately, the strangers with us this time did not speak a word of English. But they did offer us a sweet treat to help take our mind off the unpleasantness. It had the desired effect because it was plain awful (some strange combination of licorice and chilies that I think I can still taste).  I also did my best to keep Jenny calm, and she did make it through the experience with remarkable resolve although she also resolved never to ride anything similar ever again.

And now some photos of the adventure (I will post a separate entry on the second part of our day -- Kowloon). Enjoy!