World ExploraSean: King of Kong

Hong Kong is essentially a sprawling series of skyscrapers, but if you make the journey out of the city, it offers pretty impressive scenery...It is a group of islands after all. I decided to head to the island of Lantau, which houses a 34 meter tall, 250 ton bronze buddha called Tian Tan. Lantau Island is about an hour from the city using the metro and when you arrive you have two options to get to Big Buddha, you can either ride the gondola or take the bus. Being poor, I was reduced to option two.

Tian Tan is in the middle of a Buddhist monastary, so it's packed with tourists and worshipers. You have to climb a few hundred steps to get to the statue, which would normally take about three minutes, but people randomly just stop to kneel down and pray along the steps, so it's like an obstacle course to the top. I didn't really understand the rules, so I wasn't sure if I was offending people by climbing past or if I was supposed to stop while they prayed. Luckily people expect Americans to be ignorant idiots, so I played to the stereotype and kept hiking.

There are statues of the 12 Divine Generals in the courtyard. Most have kick ass weapons like swords or spears...This dude has a fucking sea shell

Tian Tan faces uniquely faces North, while other big Buddha statues face South

The swastika means success and good fortune in Buddhism and symbolizes the Buddha's footprints and heart, which is why it's on his chest.

The base of the statue also serves as a little museum, so I checked that out and then roamed into the main temple area, where people were burning hundreds if not thousands of incense sticks. A lot of people say it's good luck to burn them, but I don't want to buy my luck. I follow Hurley's strategy and make my own, so I just watched the worshipers with appreciation.

There happened to be some hiking paths in the complex, so I figured I might as well get some exercise while I was there, plus it's a free activity! Twas a super foggy day, so you couldn't really see anything, but I wandered into something called the Wisdom Path, which was an elaborate series of giant pillars jutting out from the ground in a bizarre pattern, which made me feel like I was in stone henge or something. Eventually I found a path that led to Lantau Peak, which is the second highest mountain in Hong Kong, but the highest that you are allowed to climb.

Rich people travel via glass floored gondolas, poor people travel by bus

Are you sure those incense sticks are large enough bro?

The Wisdom Path

It was pretty similar to Machu Picchu, you just keep climbing steps, probably around 2000, until you reach the top. On a clear day you can apparently see as far as Macau, but it was so foggy I could barely see past my armpits. The view may not have been great, but I got a good workout and got to breathe the fresh mountain air. You can't control the weather, but you can control how you look at it. #TheArtOfHappiness

I was dead after climbing down since I hadn't eaten that day and it was already 2. I had to wait in line at the Vegetarian cafe for about 40 minutes, but the food was pretty awesome. It's a really weird setup, you start at the dessert section and then work your way towards the entrees. It's actually kind of brilliant because you just see all these small desserts on your tray and think this isn't going to fill me, so you keep ordering more. Then you get to the end and get a giant plate of noodles and realize you probably didn't need all of those puddings.

We feel nothing so we jump into the fog, In the hope that we hit he ground upright. We feel nothing so we jump into the fog, I just hope it's your bones that shatter and not mine.

I had no idea what most of the food was, so I just pointed at some stuff... Delicious!

Hong Kong is really famous for it's skyline, so that evening I hit up another tourist activity, taking a tram to "The Peak". Rich people can pay $5 and see views from the top deck, but if you're poor you leave the main building and follow the walking trails until you get a clear view. $5 may not seem like much, but that's the difference between me eating dinner or not. Besides, it was so foggy the view wasn't going to be perfect, so why shell out the cash?

Seeing the skyline at night in itself is worth a trip to Hong Kong...Unbelievable

My secret spot where the MTR is empty :)

For my last full day, I went to Ocean Park, because it is the only place outside of mainland China that I was going to be able to see pandas. When I first walked in and saw the cheesy bright colors and obnoxious statues, I was thinking it was going to be pretty ghetto, but it was actually really awesome and I ended up spending the whole day there. They had a massive aquarium full of sharks and stingrays, carnival games, and a dozen or so roller coasters!

Most people don't know this, but the octopus is my favorite sea creature. Highly intelligent, capable of camoflauge, super creepy looking. They're fascinating.

That's a pretty awesome aquarium for an adventure park

I love pandas, from Kung Fu Panda to the panda that attacked Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder. I'm pretty sure I even had zoo shoes of pandas as a kid. Yeah Zoo shoes, look that shit up, they were awesome. After I hung out with the pandas, I randomly stumbled upon an arctic zone between some roller coasters. Turns out they had a penguin exhibit too!!! Ladies, if you want to get into my pants, this is the place to take me.

Pandas, check.

Kung Fu Panda!!!!!!!!! The fact that I saw a panda doing Kung Fu is clearly destiny!

This penguin's neck bending abilities are insane, this thing looks decapitated. Animals = Amazing

What you lookin at?!?! You got a problem bro?

Look at this guy, going out on a limb to catch the eye of the bird he fancies....and she just ignores him. Typical

After I had my fill of the animals, I hit up every major roller coaster the park had and bought the customarily overpriced $4 hot dog. Since I was having such a terrible day, I decided to cheer myself up by going to Ozone Bar in the Ritz Carlton Hotel, which is the world's highest bar! The prices were absurd, the cheapest bottle of beer was $11. Mixed drinks were $21! I thought about being a man and getting an Old Fashioned, but I'm not that guy. I don't enjoy Old Fashioneds, straight scotch, or Vespers. I'm a dude that orders Dragontinis. So what exactly is in a Dragonitini you ask? Vodka, Raspberry Liqueur, Raspberry, Yuzu and Basil Foam, then you put a little piece of dragon fruit on the rim. In other words, it's the kind of drink that puts hair on a man's chest, which is clearly evidenced in all my shirtless photos.

There's a bone in my hand that connects to a drink in a crowded room where the glasses clink, and I'll buy you a beer and we'll drink it in deep, because that keeps me from falling asleep!

Barkeep, I'll have a Dragonitini please

I loved Hong Kong. It has cheap options for accomodation, food, and transportation and is the easiest place to get a Chinese visa while traveling overseas. I definitely recommend it to anyone that is backpacking. My next stop was Seoul, so I made my way to the airport, where I learned that my flight was already delayed 2 hours, which then turned into 4 hours. After we boarded the plane we got delayed another 2 hours because of rain! However, it actually worked out better for me, because we were supposed to arrive at 2 AM and Seoul's train system doesn't start running until 6 AM, so I was saved from spending a night in the airport.

Outside of Japan, Korea was the place I was most excited to see on this trip. To make things even better, one of my brosephs and his friend decided to meet me there! Would Seoul live up to my lofty expectations? That, my friends, is a story for another blog...

Extra Panda Photos