A Fondness for the City

It seems that it has been a while since I wrote last. I suppose this is due to the fact that my exploration has become more sparse. Throughout these last two weeks, much more time has been dedicated to personal study (ok, and I am also making my way through Lord of the Rings). Waking up in Hong Kong is beginning to feel quite normal, so it seems that I am settled here. However, tomorrow I begin training and teaching with ELIC, which will be a relatively drastic change of pace from this past month; this also involves moving and living somewhere else in the city. The quiet life of waking up, reading, and running shall be replaced with training and teaching. I say this with joy, for this is what I came here for, to share English, yes, but also to share Hope.

As I begin the process of training and teaching, I will update and share about that experience.

Though explorations have been sparse, the few sights that I have seen in these past couple of weeks are well worth a few words and pictures.

Last week, I went to a rather large Buddhist temple in Wan Tai Sin. This was my first experience at a Buddhist temple and I must say that it was quite different then I had imagined. I suspect that all Buddhist temples are not like this one, but I felt that the temple reflects the religious posture of Hong Kong quite well. It was a strange blend of a supposed sacredness and obvious casualness. While an older Chinese woman offered incense, a young Chinese couple posed in front of the alter for an opportune photo shoot. Outside the worship complex, different shops competed to sell the worship articles that people left at the alters. It was a bizarre spectacle to witness. Observe:





Just today, I went to one of the places that I have been intending to visit all along, the Nan Lian Garden. In Hong Kong, gardens are the closest thing to a "park" that one can find. Large patches of green land are not common in this city, which is quite understandable when thinking about fitting 7.5 million people into this small country. It was quite lovely, though it would have been even better if it were had not been the temperature of a broiler. Even so, here are a few of the sites:



I shall cap off the last of these posts on the city rather appropriately. High above the city of Hong Kong there sits a mountain-top structure known as The Peak. This viewing center, in my opinion, is the best way to few the brilliance of the city, the dazzling structures that man has created here. I shall share these with you now as I close.