Yesterday, Sumit and I went to the infamous Po Lin Monastery. The house of the Big Buddha. We spent and entire day there, taking the cable car (Me being freaked out and fearing the worst on way up), having the delicious 'satwick' food- An authentic spread of buddhist vegetarian Cantonese food, climbing the steps to do the darshan and then taking a moment to breathe it all in.
As we looked around, hand in hand, I realized- How peaceful it really was. After the Monastery, we did a hike, climbed on top of two rocks and sat for a long time looking around to the Gnong Ping Valley and the Shek Pak area on one side and the Lantau Peak on the other. It was breathtaking. Wonderful and serene. No words were spoken, no ooh and no aah's, after the wonderful hike, the only thing that Sumit and I did was hold hands, rest on each other and breathe.
Time did stand still and in the misty clouds, small trees below, and large mountains around me- reminded me- breathe!
When you do visit the Big Buddha, I highly recommend going beyond the monastery and do one of the trails. If you are fitter than I am, then do the straight up hike of 973 m. to the peak. I was huffing and puffing on the foot hills. One can even hike up all the way from base to Big Buddha. A trip that takes 22 minutes by cable car, takes a few hours on the well marked trail. But make it a day trip and enjoy the serenity, the peace and tranquility. Enjoy the hikes per your liking, feel the fragrant incense around you, close your eyes and let the breeze blow you over!
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