Treefern

Originally you would write your wish on a piece of paper and tie it to an orange. Then you would throw your orange at the tree and it would become lodged somewhere in the mass and tangle of branches and other wishes with oranges.
Apparently sometime in 2005 one of the branches came tumbling down and the previous practice was deemed unsafe.
I think I was first there in the year 2000 and it was a sight to behold. Thousands of wishes on coloured paper and hundreds of rotting oranges. I remember thinking if they had problems with small creatures (birds, bats, rats and bugs) who could feast from the oranges at night.
Since times have changed, now you write your wish and place it on a rack near the trees.
I did not take this picture above as for me this was a time before I owned a digital camera, so my pictures are all in albums. I am planning on going here again soon to see how things have changed.

This was a magical book to read as a child.

http://www.wetlandpark.com/en/index.asp

This is one of the best bird-watching sites adjacent to the Mai Po marshes, particularly good for viewing wetland birds like wintering ducks and a wide variety of shorebirds that pass through the area. On the landward side, a tidal lagoon, fishponds, an egretry and roadside scrub provide a range of habitats. The small hills near the Tsim Bei Tsui pavilion are good places to search for migrating raptors. Right along the Mainland boundary fence near the village of Mong Tseng there are patches of woodland and abandoned farmland, fishponds and orchards.

Chuk Lam Sin Monastery or the Bamboo Forrest Monastery was an older style monastery. I liked the colours of the temple, it was more Autumn colourer, rather than the brightly coloured temples I have been to recently.
There was a definite happy mellow vibe about the place.

This place was simply gorgeous.
It was like a dream.

The Yuen Yuen Institute is right next to the Western Monastery, so you can easily visit both.
The Yuen Yuen institute has a really nice vegetarian restaurant.

The photo above is some of the paper items you can buy at the temple for your ancestors. They believe that the living should take care or the dead as the dead take care of the living.

They buy these paper items which can include designer label handbags, shoes, clothing, bottles of alcohol, cigarettes, miniature cars and mansions. They are then burned and then the ancestors can use them in the afterlife.

The Wisdom Path is 38 column in the shape of a figure eight. Each of the wooden columns except one has calligraphy inscriptions. The 37 inscribed columns make up a treasured text, the heart sutra.
It’s a nice place to visit for a stroll, the views from the top of the hill are lovely, especially on a clear day.

Victoria Park

pretty temple