Home Travel Diving Running Kids Mail us		1-5 October 2003 Back to Hong Kong on Tuesday night and in to work on Wednesday. It's China National day so streets very quiet as everyone lies in on a National Holiday. In the evening we go down to the exhibition centre on the harbour front with about a million other people to watch the most spectacular fireworks display. As well as the huge starbursts there are rings, hearts, balls of fire on parachutes, and BIG bangs. An international offering after the main display only shows that the Chinese got there first and still know best. Room with a view this week. The hotel overlooks the ferry and you get a great view of traffic in the harbour. There is much speculation about continual land reclamation shrinking the harbour to nothing but this is not noticable yet. Saturday afternoon and off on further explorations of HK - this time to Tau Ma Tei and the Reclamation Street market in Kowloon. From exotic fruit and veg to well hung meat and festive coconuts you can get it all here. On Saturday night we head up to the Peak on the tram for dinner with a view. Paul, Monica and Nick looking cool and relaxed, not sure about Susanna? Can't resist one more shot of the IFC tower, taken from my room window. This still had bamboo scaffolding around the top of it when we first arrived here but it has gone now. A new reclamation scheme is earmarked for the current site of the Star Ferry - this will move the ferry further west - towards the other ferry quays and no doubt make room for even more skyscrapers, and spoiling the view of the Ritz Carlton (right). On Sunday morning we head off to Lantau island for some open space and to see the giant Buddha at Po Lin Monastery. The ferry takes 40 minutes from Central pier and passes the amazing Tsing Ma bridge, built to link up the new airport. On the way we spot a few fisherman trying to catch something and dodge the container ships. The bus from Miu Wo winds around the South of Lantau and you get a first spectacular view of the statue from across the Shek Pik reservoir. It stands on a hill top on the ridge below Lantau peak with great views to the South and East. Inside the Statue are more Buddhas, a huge and ornate bronze bell and a relic carefully preserved in a glass case. Around the walls are hundreds of names and photos of benefactors, each of whom contributed at least HK$100,000. Carved on the Lotus leaves on which the Buddha sits are the names of those who gave HK$1000,000 or more. We pose in front of the statue one more time then head into the monastery for a 'deluxe vegetarian lunch' - not bad actually. Then escape from the crowds walking down the mountaing to Tung Chung. The landscape could be Scotland until the concrete jungle of Tung Chung appears through the trees.