The Big Buddha

May 7, 2007
HK - Day 2

Making our way through Kowloon Park

After a morning of fresh faced introductions at Hong Kong's Kowloon park, the class headed towards the famous Chungking Mansion near the YMCA. Among my classmates, the mansion is famous for its shabby, almost ghastly exterior. The fact that we were advised to stay away from it added to its intrigue.

Chungking Mansion!

Chungking Mansion is an old residential building with two levels of retail space at the bottom. The interior, however, does not hold up the menacing persona projected by the exterior. The two bottom floors look like any other old style shopping malls in Hong Kong. What is intriguing, however, is the location's strong representation of South Asians and Middle Easterners. They comprise of the majority of shoppers and shopkeepers.

Central on a Sunday morning

I am starting to notice a strong social stratification in this city. Central, during Sundays, is a gathering point for another ethnic minority: Filipino maids. They use cardboard mats like picnic cloths on sidewalks, subway tunnels and any other open space where they can sit and socialize. In Central Park, clusters of Indonesians and Malaysians can be found.

In the afternoon, the UBC crowd headed to Lantau Island to visit the big Buddha. We took the Ngong Ping 360 sky rail and caught a glimpse of the smoggy but breathtaking skyline of Hong Kong.

Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail

When we got there, we passed by a touristy Chinese style village. This "village" houses convenience stores, a Starbucks, and even a shop devoted to selling sets of fancy chopsticks. It's interesting how Buddhism serves an important purpose for both locals and tourists.

Starbucks

The Big Buddha

Feeling small next to Buddha

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