Hong Kong’s Big Buddha

During my Asian Winter Odyssey of 2010-2011, I made several short stopovers in Hong Kong.  It was a convenient location to rest for a day or two between trips and also to meet up with friends from Macau.  One on of these stopovers, my friends and I went to Lantau Island to see Hong Kong’s Tian Tan Buddha (Heaven Buddha) and Po Lin Monastery.

Big Buddha

To travel to the Buddha from Central, you need to take a ferry to Lantau Island and then a bus to the site.  All in all it takes about an hour and a half.

As you may or may not know, Hong Kong is a fairly polluted city.  The air quality and visibility are usually pretty crappy.  Our visit happened on an average day, so the photos seems a bit yucky, but at least you can actually see the Buddha and surrounding hills.

Before heading back to Central, we had a tasty vegetarian lunch at the Po Lin Monastery.

Me and Marshall in front of the monastery

I fully recommend taking a trip to the Big Buddha if you visit Hong Kong.  It’s a peaceful location and there are several hiking trails nearby.

 

See more photos of Hong Kong here.

The One Where They Tried to Scam Me

In December of 2010, I made a very quick (and very rainy) trip to Shanghai.

Oriental Pearl Tower in the Mist

Wikipedia says, “Shanghai is the largest city by population in the People’s Republic of China and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.”  That being said, I didn’t find it too crowded or uncomfortable.  Maybe that’s because the weather was yucky the whole time and people were hiding indoors.

A very empty People’s Square

To tell the story of my trip, I’m going to go out of chronological order and tell the story of my near-scam first.  After that I’ll share the nicer highlights of Shanghai.

One of the most popular things to do in Shanghai is to walk along the Bund and view the skyline at Pudong.  Despite the rain, I trudged through the business district from my hostel to the Huangpu river to catch a gray and misty view of Shanghai’s famous skyscraper skyline.

At the hostel, there had been warnings posted on the bulletin board.  Handwritten notes said, “If someone offers to take you to a tea house- SAY NO- It’s scam.”  This piqued my curiosity but didn’t over concern me, so I set off towards the Bund.

On the way, I saw this AWESOME Chinglish sign.

While looking at the limited view of the buildings, a group of three Chinese tourists approached me and asked me to take their picture.  I obliged, of course, and then one of the girls started asking me a bunch of questions.  “Where do I come from?” “How long do I stay in Shanghai?” “Do I like China?” etc.  I barely had time to answer a question before she was asking another.  She said they were students from Xian and studying English.  After a few minutes of intense questioning, she asked me to go to a teahouse.  I said no that I don’t drink tea and hightailed it out of there.

Initially, I was shocked and appalled!  First, I hate being seen as a target. I’m a traveler, a woman of the world! I’m supposed to be better than that.  However, I am whitey-white-white-white and I guess that can mean “easy mark” to some people.

And then I was pissed, I should have done something.  I should have stalked them and prevented them from talking to anyone else.  I should have yelled and caused a scene.  I should have done something more than just walk away and let me move on to someone more gullible.

Later back at the hostel I googled (well, yahoo searched because google is banned) the “Shanghai Tea House Scam” to see what the deal is.  Basically, if I had gone with them to the tea house, I would have been served some decent tea at super-inflated prices and been expected to pay for their tea as well.  Other tourists have ended up with bills of $200 to $500 USD when clearly no tea should cost that much.

Luckily I dodged the scam.  I don’t even like tea anyway.

What a view, eh?

My trip to Shanghai wasn’t all the bad.  I had a nice drink at the original Blue Frog bar (only important because the Macau branch was a popular hangout when I lived there).

Armed with my trusty umbrella, I also saw a lot of the city on foot.

A welcoming shrubbery

Trash collection bikes

No visit to Shanghai would be complete without the obligatory stop at the Shanghai Museum.  It’s huge, it’s free and it’s filled with all manors of cool Chinese art (bronze, ceramic, stamps, jade, etc).   It can be a challenge to take it in at your own pace because the Chinese tourists stop and take a photo of every single object.  I’m sure they thought I was crazy because I only took pictures of the pieces of genuinely liked.

The Shanghai Museum- even the building is art.  It’s shaped like a ding (bronze vessel).

A favorite ding from inside the museum. Too bad the building doesn’t look like this one…

Some other highlights.

See more photos from the Shanghai Museum and the rest of Shanghai here.

Read more about my other Asian Winter Odyssey travels here.

Weekly Travel Theme- Ripples

Here you go! Another installment of Weekly Travel Theme (as inspired by Where’s My Backpack)– Ripples.

A ripply self-portrait at the Dali exhibit at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore

Ripples of fire in Boracay, Philippines

Undulating Rice Paddies at Long Shi, China

Artistic metal ripples- The Sibelius Monument by Eila Hiltunen in Helsinki, Finland

Architectural Ripples at the University Library in Zurich, Switzerland

Peacock ripples at Lazienski Park in Warsaw, Poland

Sara ponders the glassy waves in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Thus completes my non-water collection of ripples.

See my other contributions to Weekly Travel Themes here.

Weekly Travel Theme: Light

Another version of Where’s My Backpack‘s Weekly Travel Themes — LIGHT.  I could not resist such an awesome theme.

Boston, USA

NYC, USA

Paris, France

NYC, USA

Macau

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Macau

Hangzhou, China

Singapore

Larnaka, Cyprus

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Singapore

Kathmandu, Nepal

Weekly Travel Themes: Benches

I have to say thank you to my friend Luc, who prompted me to write a new blog post.  It’s been ages and I have no good excuse other than laziness.  So merci, Luc!  No more laziness for me!

Anyway, I’ll offer another segment of Weekly Travel Theme and this week it’s Benches. I am particularly inspired by this theme because my favorite way to see a new city is to walk.  I often set off with no direction and just wander and watch.  Benches provide a wonderful resting point during my travels.  I’ve sat upon some beautiful benches in beautiful spots.

Get on the bench. The banana bench. Prague, Czech Republic.

Even Rubber Ducky needs a rest in Dublin, Ireland.

A very welcoming bench in the port of Kusadasi, Turkey.

Aya and Sita save a spot for me at Lou Lim Ieoc Park in Macau.

This bench tells it like it is in Naples, Italy.

Dragon bench in Bruges, Belgium.

Don’t mind if I do in Singapore. (I think this is the ONLY graffitied bench in all of Singapore)

Dali’s lip bench in Berlin, Germany.

Comfortable? In Hangzhou, China.

A Gaudi-esque mosaic bench at Grant’s Tomb in NYC.

The real deal in Barcelona, Spain.

and lastly…

Not exactly a bench…but freaking cool. Marshall poses with “Blue Guy Sitting”*

* part of “The Art of the Brick” exhibit by Nathan Sawaya at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.

Travel theme: Multiples

Another contribution to Where’s My Backpack’s Weekly Travel Themes, Multiples.

Multiple scorpions, bugs and unidentified creatures on sticks ready for deep frying in Hangzhou, China

Many mini Buddhas in Tokyo, Japan

Origami cranes at the Killing Fields in Cambodia

Young coconuts in Boracay, Philippines (yummy)

Several prayer wheels at the Sakya Monastery in Tibet

Candles at the Duomo of Milano, Italy

Larger than life lily pads in Uppsala, Sweden

One of the best April Fool’s Day pranks ever. My office covered in little yellow rubber duckies. (Lint, Belgium)

Multiple Marshmallows for rehearsal at Blue Man Group at Astor Place, NYC

In Amsterdam…can’t entirely say how many goldfish there actually were…

Multiples at the Playa at Burning Man 2007

Oranges in NYC

Travel Theme: Transportation

Recently, I found the blog “Where’s my Backpack.”  I instantly fell in love with the site’s Weekly Travel Themes. The author posts photos from her travels highlighting a particular theme and invites other bloggers to do so as well.

This week’s theme is Transportation.  And here is my contribution.

In 2010, I took a train ride from Xi Ning, China to Lhasa, Tibet with my co-worker Kevin and his boyfriend Matt.  This photo shows them enjoying the view of the amazing mountains during our 25-hour trip.

In order to get to the top of the hill and visit Changdrok Temple, visitors have the option of walking the steep rocky path or riding a pony.  I chose the pony.

This is not necessarily a fantastic photo, nor do I particularly like cruises.  My mom, however, does and she invited me to join her and my dad on a Mediterranean cruise in 2009 and we had a brilliant trip across the seas and visited Italy, Greece and Turkey.

A few years back, while living in Belgium, a group of Dragone employees visited Planckendael Zoo accompanied by our trusty TV camera crew.  Shown in the picture above: Andy, Lidia and I transport ourselves across a stream using a boat and a rope.  Out of frame is the camera crew capturing this moment for product placement on our TV Show “From Lint to Macau.”

While traveling in Siem Reap, Cambodia with my friend Lea, we had a very adventurous day trying to get to the temples at Angkor Wat.  The traditional (tourist) method for transport in Siem Reap is to hire a tuk-tuk driver for the duration of your stay and the driver will take you to the nearby temples and water villages.  All had been going well until one day…  Our tuk-tuk broke down on the side of the road – TWICE.   The photo above shows the roadside repair process.

There are many modes of transportation I have used in my travels.  My favorite would have to be…

FLYING!!!

My Face is Frozen- My Tibetan Trek

My Face is Frozen!!

At the beginning of my Asian Winter Odyssey, I spent a few days in Lhasa, Tibet.  After a few days of sightseeing there, we began our journey through Tibet on our way to Mt. Everest.  We visited several amazing sights along the way.

13 November- Nam Tso Lake

Our first stop outside of Lhasa was Tibet’s Nam Tso Lake. It is the largest lake in Tibet.  We were among the last few visitors to this turquoise lake in the clouds.  I would love to visit Nam Tso in the summer.  I imagine it is even more gorgeous.  There are some rocks that look like they would be amazing to climb.  (I don’t think you’re allowed to climb them , though.  😦  )

The Couple Stone

Peace Monument (just outside Nam Tso area)

14 November- Tombs of the Kings and 

We went to Shannan to visit the Tombs of the Tibetan Kings.  The monastery is really small and on top of a hill overlooking the valley of tombs.

The giant mounds are the burial sites

That day we also visited the teeny tiny Changdrok Temple.  It is the oldest temple in Tibet.

As the monastery is situated atop a very steep hill, we rode horses to the top

My friend the camel.

15 November- A Long Day in a Car to Gyantse

We set out in the morning on our way to the town of Gyantse.  We made several stops along to way to see the sights.

Reminds me of Jacob's Ladder- Tibetan prayer drawings

Yamdrok Lake

Kharola Glacier- 5560 meters above sea level!

We arrived in Gyantse in the later afternoon.  We set out to explore town before the sun went down.

Many doors have these swastikas. The Buddhist symbol of good luck

16 November- Gyantse Fort and Palcho Monastery

Don't fall off the fort!

We visited the ruins of the Gyantse Fortress.  It involved hiking up a lot of stairs and climbing over a lot of rubble, but gave us a great view of the town.

A view of the Palcho Monastery from Gyantse Fort

DANGER

Our next stop was the Palcho Monastery.

The monastery is most notable for its Kumbum, which looks like a giant stupa with a golden dome on its top.  It has nine levels and you can walk inside and see countless holy images of buddha and other holy icons.

The Kumbum

Buddha

Offerings at Buddha's feet

Green Tara

Tibetans carry melted yak butter in these thermos to pour into the butter lamps that burn as offerings in the temples

One last view of the Kumbum

17 November- Shigatse, Tingri, Tashilhunpo and Sakya Monasteries

At the Tashilhunpo Monastery

Our last day before Everest, we headed to Shigatse, stopping at the Tashilhunpo and Sakya Monsteries along the way.

A monk sorting prayer scarves at Tashilhunpo

Prayer Wheels at Sakya Monastery

A guardian at Sakya

That evening we arrived in New Tingri for our last night before Everest!

A yak along the road to New Tingri

 

By the end of our Tibetan Trek, our clothes smelled like incense and our cameras were filled with lots of amazing photos of many inspirational people and sights.  We were ready to head up, up, up to the Top of the World!

See more photos of Tibet here.

A Macau Chinglish Farewell

Lhasa, Tibet

Sign does not lie

I consider the Tibetan capital city, Lhasa my first official stop in my Asian Winter Odyssey.  I was traveling for this first leg of my journeys with my former co-worker Kevin and his boyfriend Matt.

Me, Matt and Kevin outside the Lhasa Train Station

After our 25-hour train journey from XiNing, we arrived at the chilly city of Lhasa.  We were ready to be on solid ground and enjoy the comfort of a 3 star hotel bathroom.  (Mind you, my bedroom in this 3-star hotel had a hole the size of my first in the wall to the outside.)

8 November- Arrival Day and Kevin’s Birthday

Upon arrival we met our tour guide, Phuntsok. (SIDE NOTE: The pronunciation of his name sounds like “Pencil”.  Therefore the three of us still affectionately refer to him as and think of him as Pencil.  And furtherly therefore, I will spell his name as Pencil throughout the rest of my blog.)  Pencil delivered us to our hotel and made arrangements to meet in 2 days to begin our tour.

That night, we celebrated Kevin’s birthday at a Hot Pot restaurant.  We ate lots of mushroom soup and drank the famous local yoghurt drink.   (It was very tart.)

That night I was cold while trying to sleep.  I pulled my blanket over my head and thus drastically reduced the amount of oxygen I could breathe.  With the already high altitude (3490 m (11450 ft)) in Lhasa, I started to feel pretty sick.  I’ll spare you the details and skip to the part when I get some bottled oxygen and begin to feel much better.  🙂

9 November- Free Day in Lhasa and My Birthday

We used our first full day to acclimate to the altitude and explore the area on foot.

Potala Palace and Its Reflection

Yak!

We ate dinner that night at a vegetarian restaurant in honor of my birthday.  🙂

We met a very talkative kid at the restaurant. All he could say in English was "Hello!"

We also found a cute little café with free wi-fi and street signs from Hong Kong.

10 November- Sera Monastery and Jokhang Temple

We met up with Pencil again and began our guided tour of Tibet.  We went to the Sera Monastery and the Jokhang Temple.

The Sera Monastery

 

Jokhang Temple Prayer Pole

After visiting both of Buddhist Temples/Monasteries, we wandered through the outdoor market stalls.

11 November- Potala Palace

Tibet’s most famous palace is certainly, the large Potala Palace.  It is the former seat of the Dalai Lama.  For history of the current (14th) Dalai Lama read here.

12 November- Drepung Monastery

We visited the Drepung Monastery, which is located on the side of a mountain and offers a nice view of Lhasa and has many nooks and crannies in the rocks where people have built small shrines.   The highlight of this day was sitting in the assembly hall during the monks’ chanting.  It was so powerful and beautiful that I got a little weepy.

Stupas

I SO need one of these!

My stay in Lhasa was COLD, COLD, COLD and TOTALLY stunning.  I was floored by the constant prayer of the natives.  They carry prayer wheels and build prayers into flags, scarves and everyday actions.  I fell in love with Tibet and its brilliant colors.

We did not photograph the insides of the temples and monasteries, however, they were also amazing.  Pilgrims carry yak butter to pour into vats to burn in offering.  They stuff low denomination notes into any crevice in the wood or brick and toss them at the feet of all the icons.  At most places, the pilgrims were lined up by the hundreds.

In the city center, the Chinese military was very visibly present.  They have sheltered stalls with 3 to 6 men in each at most intersections.  We were told that it is illegal to photograph the army.  See more information about this here.

See more (many) more photos of Lhasa here.

Read more about my Asian Winter Odyssey here.