Religious Landmarks, Oh My!!!!

   
      The next day brought us many new adventures. After getting up in the morning and getting ready to set out for the day we took the subway and traversed the streets of Hong Kong until we made it to the Hong Kong temple. We spent some time outside of the temple taking pictures and enjoying its beauty. After we were done taking pictures we headed inside for our appointment and did some baptisms for the dead in the Hong Kong temple. We were able to enjoy the spirit that was invited in, the beauty, and to perform baptisms for some of the dead. It was interesting listening to all of the names as they were Chinese names for the most part that we couldn't easily pronounce. It was a great experience. After we were done we crossed the street and took the opportunity to change in the church that was across the street from the temple. We hoped to visit the distribution center, but it was closed so we would have to stop by another day. We left the church and took a few more pictures of the temple and headed out for the next adventure of the day.
       We headed back to the subway station and made our way next to a Buddhist landmark. After the subway we took a bus out to the location of the Big Buddha. We explored all around and experienced the Po Lin monastery. At the monastery we also were able to see many statues of different kinds of soldiers and photographed ourselves with the one we felt we related with the most. After we had made our way down the statute lined path and while the other girls in our group opted out of the experience and opted for something a little bit different, Lorilei and I decided to pay to experience a traditional vegetarian meal at the monastery. We enjoyed some tasty tofu and other vegetarian dishes, It was a great experience.

     Once we were done with our meal we began our journey up to the Buddha. We hiked up several flights of stairs to make our way up to the Buddha, which was placed atop a museum. We made it to the top and took many pictures and looked around the outside of the Buddha. Then, as our vegetarian meal ticket also included the cost to enter the museum we entered into the museum which the statue was placed atop. We looked around and were educated on much of the life of the Buddha as well as the Buddhist beliefs. As we were headed out of the museum we were also able to see several Buddhist monks, come to experience the monument to the Buddha and be enlightened. After we had spent a good deal of time at the Buddha we headed back down from the Buddha and looked around some of the shops that were around, some of us buying souvenirs. Once we were done we hopped on the bus and headed back toward Hong Kong-Kowloon to enjoy the rest of our evening and then to head back to our hostel to turn in for the night. Another  day and another adventure were at an end.

The Escalator and Victoria's Peak

    Once we were done eating at TGI fridays the first thing we did in Hong Kong was headed to the Escalator, this Escalator is one of the longest in the world and travels one day in the morning and another direction in the evening, several people take this Escalator everyday to travel to work. We headed up just for fun and traveled most of it before finding a street to head down rather than walking down several stairs back to the beginning.

   After the adventure of the escalator we traversed the streets of Hong Kong until we made our way to the starting point of the Victoria's Peak tram. We waited in line to head up to the peak to see the beauty and excitement that waited for us at the top. After a long wait we took a ride along a rather steep tram rail up to the top of Victoria's peak. Once we got to the top we looked around in some of the shops that were located on the peak and then traveled outside to see the view of Victoria's peak. We got some beautiful pictures of the top of the peak, while shivering a little bit as it was just a tad bit chill at that point. Once we were done taking pictures we headed inside and explored some of the shops that were located at the peak. After exploring we decided that we were a bit hungry so we found one of the restaurants on the peak and grabbed a bite to eat.
    Exhausted from our adventures of the day after we were done eating we headed towards the tram heading back down the peak and went down. At the bottom back at the tram entrance we made our way back to a subway station so we could head back to our hostel. At the other girls block we bid them goodnight and headed upstairs to get ready for bed, set our alarm, and get a good nights sleep before the next days exploration.

Welcome to Hong Kong

       After trekking a little ways through no man's land we made it to the Hong Kong customs. We each took our turn getting through customs and then headed into the subway station in Hong Kong. We got a type of card known as an Octopus card and used our card to purchase subway tickets and drug our suitcases onto the subway and made it down a couple of stops only to realize that the initial subway station was where we needed to be so we hopped back on the subway going the other direction and got off at the station we had started at. Once we got back we made our way to another train that transported us across the way to the proper location in Hong Kong where we would be staying.
       Once we were on the train we relaxed for a little bit after being so exhausted from the trek across the border. After awhile when our train journey was near its end we gathered our belongings and got ready to get off of the train. Once we got off the subway train we searched our way to the exit we needed. We were somewhat lost and eventually Lorilei found a kind lady who guided us in the right direction to the Chungking mansions to get to our hostels. Once we got up the steps we dropped Ashley, Katie, and Dayna off at their block to head up to their hostel while we continued on to our hostel which was on a different block. We got all checked in at our hostel and freshened up then headed back down to meet the other girls. We had to wait for awhile as they weren't ready yet. Once they got their they told us stories of their technicalities and we headed to dinner. As it had been a long day we headed to TGI fridays and grabbed a bite to eat, enjoying the food and the time we had together.