Hong Kong, our last day.

Our last day in Hong Kong I wanted to just take in all the 

culture and beauty around me, so I made to sure to take

more photos of my surroundings.

That day we decided to go see the Ten Thousand Buddha's Monastery.

A man by the name of Yuet Kai who was a devout Buddhist dedicated

the last years of his life constructing the elaborate temple.

Side note: Before we walked into the monastery 

some Monks literally attacked us with putting

bracelets on our wrists and 'blessing' us.

We thought they were real, we quickly

realized they were scam monks and 

walked away...sneaky guys!

So if you ever go, and encounter monks 

at the entrance they're not the real deal ( ;

It was fun to see all the different facial expressions each Buddha had.

We had a good time posing and trying to mimic each face.

While we were up there admiring the many Buddha's we noticed

the commotion in one corner.  We went to see what all the fuss

was about and noticed monkeys in a small group.

It was crazy! They were all over the place.

After the Monastery we had some time to kill before our 

flight that evening so we went on a hunt for some Dim Sum.

To be honest I can't even remember the name of the place

we went to, but it had awesome reviews so we tried it.

It was delicious, I just wished we'd have been with a

local to give us some better pointers on what to get.

Hong Kong was an awesome city, with luxurious

malls, delicious pastries, great jade markets and full

of so many cultures...a true melting pot.

I hope to make it back someday with a bit more time to explore!

^^Loved the contrast of old and new in HK.

^^Fakers!

^^Annika making an impressive impersonation.

^^Look flying monkeys!!

^^Dim Sum!

From Honk Kong we flew back to Thailand
for more fun with elephants and floating markets.
More on that later!

Hong Kong {part II}

We were only in Hong Kong for a few days
and we wanted to take advantage of all
the culture and beauty that Hong Kong offered.

I'd heard how beautiful the Big Buddha or
Tian Tan Buddha was
so we decided it was a must see.

Unfortunately for us the tram was being repaired so we didn't
get to ride up and see the awesome views to get to the Buddha.
After waiting  in a line for the 'blue taxi's' for nearly an hour in the
hot and humid heat we decided to take the crowded bus up the
very windy and narrow streets to the top of the mountain.

Once we got out we thought we'd need to walk
to see the infamous Buddha, and then we turned to
our right and saw Buddha in all his glory...he was huge.

It was beautiful at the top of that mountain,
the views were amazing, the heat and humidity, not so much.
Especially while walking up those stairs to the top where Buddha was.
I'd worn a long cotton maxi-skirt that clung to me and trapped the heat in...
ugh what was I thinking!?

But nonetheless it was an amazing experience to see this beautiful statue
and to see so many people from all over the world taking in the beauty as well.

^^Getting ready to climb all those steps.

^^We decided it looked like scenes from the Disney movie Mulan...we Americans always comparing 

everything to movies we've seen!

^^After walking and sweating, crepes with ice-cream were a necessity.

Next up...10,000 Buddhas and fake scam artist monks!

Hong Kong {part I}

We arrived to Hong Kong late in the evening and took a taxi

to our hotel in Kowloon.  We kept driving through jungles of tall buildings

and passing bridges for what seemed like hours.  

I can't begin to describe how huge Hong Kong is and how many people reside there. 

According to Wikipedia Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated

areas in the world, 6,300 people per square kilometer.

No wonder there were people every which way I turned!

Once we got settled in our hotel we looked out the window and were amazed at

the many lights that were outside.  The first picture above is

the view from our room.  

The next day we had made plans to go to the Mormon temple, 

since we are all Mormon we thought it'd be cool to see

a temple of our faith across the world. It was beautiful inside and out.

At the temple we met a nice couple from the U.S. that directed us to 

a nice mall with a huge food court.  We ate and then walked around

in awe of the most beautiful mall, complete with an ice-skating

rink inside.  This one of the things that struck me most about Hong Kong, 

were the luxurious malls.  They make the malls back home look like shacks.

After getting well acquainted with the metro system we made our way

to Times Square.  I gotta be honest, I hate Times Square in NYC, 

I find it so touristy and obnoxious, but when in Rome or Hong Kong....

We walked around TS, looked around some of the shops and

then saw people walking around with waffles folded in half.  We knew we

needed some of that sweet goodness.  So we filled our tummies with

waffles lathered with condensed milk...delish!

Afterwards we took a taxi and headed to the famous Victoria Peak

to see Hong Kong at night.  Wow is all I can say...the 

jungled city was just spectacular with all the lights aglow 

amidst the thin fog that surrounded the skyline.  It was 

so beautiful up there, a bit windy, but we loved

seeing Hong Kong show off  for us.

^^Our hotel, The Cosmo.

^^Skyline from our hotel room in the morning.

^^Mormon temple.

^^Jade market.

^^Times Square hustle and bustle.

^^The most delicious waffles with condensed milk in between.

^^View from Victoria Peak.

Next up...Big Buddha.