Thoughts on Hong Kong 4

Lantau Island

I was disappointed when I got to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. In all the guide books you only see the serene image of the Buddha rising up between the trees on the mountain top. It looks like an isolated site, one that would suggest that you could trek up there and maybe sit and meditate and feel at peace. That's what I was hoping for anyway. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. For a spiritual landmark there were WAY too many souvenir stands, at least four of them all selling nearly the exact same things! Funny, but no where in my guide book did it mention that on the path to visiting this spiritual site that you'd be bombarded with so much rampant consumerism along the way. And I'm not just saying that because I was bitter at not having discovered the tea shop that everyone else did! I think I would feel differently if there was one stand or one shop and the proceeds went to benefit the monastery, as they did at the nunnery. But I don't think that's how things worked here. By the time I did weave in and out of the shops and make my way up to the Buddha, I only had time to climb the stairs, take a few pictures, then walk back down. So much for meditating and feeling at peace. There were too many other tourists around to really do that anyway. The only thing I can think to compare this to in the states is going to visit the Statue of Liberty. I guess to most people visiting the Buddha is just about seeing a famous monument and there isn't any spiritual purpose behind it.

Ironically, the fishing village of Tai O, which was actually busy and crowded, had more of a peaceful vibe to it than the Buddha did. Maybe it was the tranquil effect of being near the water or the more rural setting of the village. Either way I really enjoyed being able to walk around at my own pace and observe the village in greater detail. Some of my best photos from the whole trip were taken here and it seemed that this was one of the only places were the environment was natural and genuine, instead of being engineered to simply "look" natural.