The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

This place is pretty damn cool. It is much easier to get to than you would think, just get the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui or Kowloon Tong, transfer to the KCR, and get it to Sha Tin. This takes about 15-20 minutes tops (depending on where you are coming from), then you walk down about two streets and you are there (take exit B, walk down the ramp on the left, turn left, then right, go to the end of the street, and there are signs from there). I almost didn’t go because it all sounded to complicated but it was actually really easy.

So, here’s what it’s like. You start walking up these steps and there are all these golden buddhas there, all with a different facial expression, hair, implement, accompanying pet, or some strange variation, all about human size. This is set among gardens of bamboo and jungle. You start to hear noisy people walking through the jungle, till you get there and realise they are monkeys. The monkeys jump along the buddha’s heads and scuttle away. You get to the top and there is a temple there, looking over a great view of Hong Kong. The temple has tall walls covered in small golden buddhas. They sell you soup and drinks at the top, which is great since you are sweating like a white person after your walk up the steps. It is totally relaxing, and totally unexpected, and I’ve been to many a temple in my day.