Where is Hong Kong?

A lot of people don't really know where Hong Kong Is on the Map.  Here's the Google Maps answer:

View Larger Map

Looking at this map, you can see that Hong Kong is on the southern coast of China roughly half way between Fuzhou and Nanning.  Vietnam is the nearest country to the west and Taiwan is roughly due East.  

It's geo-coordinates are 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E right on the East edge of the Pearl river estuary.

it is less than 12 hours flight from more than half the world's population and is the hub of some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

My answer to the question Where is Hong Kong reads more like this:  Hong Kong is right on the edge of the boundary between the culture of the West and the power of the East.  It is an amazing city of the future full of shopping and hotels and more food than you can imagine.  A place that will be as instrumental to the 21st century as New York or London was to the 20th.

Where is Hong Kong?  Hong Kong is is the very middle of everything!

Ngong Ping 360 Back in Operation

Quick update:  As of 4/12/2012 Discover Hong Kong is reporting that Ngong Ping 360, the cable car to Ngong Ping and the Giant Buddha, is back in service.

Catch the Ngong Ping 360 at Tung Chung on Lantau Island and ride up to the Buddha in style.

Here's the website for the Ngong Ping 360.  Good luck!

Ground Transportation to and From Hong Kong International Airport is So Easy!!

Ground transportation to and from Hong Kong International Airport is sooooo easy!!!  The whole city is basically designed like a big funnel into and out of HKIA.   This is not immediately obvious on the map.  On a map it looks sort of like the Hong Kong airport is built on this little side island on the side of an already side island.  On this map, Chek Lap Kok (as it's called) appears as the two white lines on the furthest West big island.

Hong Kong Airport Information

That's not really how it works though.  If you drew a ground transportation map of Hong Kong it would look like a big octopus laying on its side with the airport as the big, bulbous head, the arms are highways, subways, and ferry routes, dotted with hotels, guesthouses, famous sites and restaurants. You will have no problem getting to and from the airport.  Basically, just get in anything with wheels (or a hull) and you'll end up at the airport sooner or later.  I would imagine there is no hotel in Hong Kong more than 40 minutes from the airport.  

The one thing you need, and the name fits, is an Octopus Card.  

We're going to do more on the Octopus later.  For now just understand that this card is available at the airport, MTR stations, and other stops.  It is rechargeable, swipeable, and works on taxis, subways, buses, ferryies, 7-11s, grocery stores, etc.  It is all your holiday travel needs in a little plastic card.   The Octopus, don't leave your hotel or guesthouse without it.

probably the most common form of transport to and from Hong Kong International is the bus.  There are three major public bus lines in Hong Kong and many smaller ones.  They all take the Octopus and, on routes running to and from the airport, they have luggage racks.  Each company keeps its own route maps and schedules but they all meet at the bus terminal just down from the massive line of luggage pickups downstairs in the terminal.  Call your hotel ahead of time.  Odds are, they are on a bus route.

My personal favorite way to get around Hong Kong is the subway, the MTR.  

Hong Kong MTR Map from China Highlights

  The light blue "teal" route running from the main terminal on Hong Kong Island to the airport is the "airport express."  The MTR terminal is downstairs right at the end of the terminal and is kind of hard to miss.   It's the big subway terminal looking thing across from the luggage carousels. It's a great way to get into town.  Be aware though that many of the MRT stations are one, two or even three floors below ground and you may end up wrestling your bags up escalators in a crowd.  

Another exciting and different option, if you're flying into Hong Kong is to catch a ferry at the sky ferry pier in the terminal.  Several ferrys run from the airport and you can even catch one directly to Macau or mainland China without passing through Hong Kong.

There  you go, transportation to and from the Hong Kong International Airport, as easy as saying "Octopus." 

The Nice People at Hong Kong Stuff

Minxi and I recently got invited to join Hong Kong Stuff:

Hong Kong stuff is a fun, not stuffy social website by and for expats living in Hong Kong.   It's format is very open and friendly.  Everyone has their own blog and the main occupation seems to be to post pictures of your latest adventure in Hong Kong.  They are more the local crowd than the hotel crowd but they probably know where the good guesthouses are.

The site is divided into what part of Hong Kong you are living in.  My invite came from someone in the New Territories.  Some of the groups seem to be very active taking their socialization off the internet and into the real world in the form of dinners, Hiking events and the like.

Minxi and I are members (see our flair below) but we can't really do much at the moment because she's still in China and I'm back in Topeka.  If you're interested in Hong Kong and expat life, or if you are an expat in Hong Kong, I strongly suggest you try out HKS.  They're a great bunch of folks and I'm sure they'd love to have you on board.

Good luck exploring Hong Kong.

Who is Kwan Yin (Quan Yin)

I first met Kwan Yin, bodhisattva of compassion, in the Neslon Atkins art Museum in Kansas City of all places.

Guan Yin

I consider her to be a sort of guiding spirit for my life and never pass up an opportunity to have my picture taken with her or at least get a good picture of her:

Kuan Yin on Macau

Me very tired but Hanging with Quan Yin in the Hong Kong Art Museum

But who is Kwan Yin and why is she so cool?

It's maybe easiest to think of Kwan Yin as a female version of the Buddha.  She's a bodhisattva, which is to say she's a being who, like the Buddha, has seen through the veil of life but, rather than enter Nirvana immediately, she decided to wait and help others on the path.  She is waiting until all beings are free of suffering before she herself will release the last of her bonds to the Earthly plane.

Nice that someone would be looking out for us like this.  She is a subtle but constant presence in Hong Kong where Buddhism is common.  You'll find shrines to her at major temples and the odd doorway, and she appears frequently in the local art.

I don't really understand her relationship to the Buddha.  The Buddha was a very real person and Quan Yin is part of the religion that grew up around his teachings.  I think she makes Buddhism more accessible in some ways.  The culture of the Buddha's day, was so male dominated that even the enlightened one was hesitant to allow the existence of nuns.  Maybe Kwan Yin is a balancing response in Buddhism.  Through her we can see the opportunity for enlightenment shared equally between men and women.

I was captured as a child by the serene power of the Kuan Yin in Kansas City and have always held a special place for her in my heart.  I suppose it is the child in me that still seeks the caring woman who will hold me while I grow.  It was a home coming of sorts for me to travel to Hong Kong to a place where the ideals of Kwan Yin are celebrated openly.   Thank you Kwan Yin.  Thank you Hong Kong.

*Small update.  When I told Minxi I had written about Kwan Yin, she made two comments that I thought were worth sharing.  First she told me that Kwan Yin was originally a male.  Second, she told me that she is widely viewed as a fertility Goddess in China.  If you are having trouble making a baby, an offering to Kwan Yin is in order.   Good luck.

Funny Stuff: The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything

I happened to hear the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Or rather, I happened to hear the Ultimate Question to which the answer is 42.

In his book, "Life, The Universe, and Everything" author Douglas Adams posits that the answer to the Ultimate Question, the Question of Life the Universe and everything is 42, but that we don't really understand the question.

During his life, which ended far too soon, Adams never revealed what the question was and it's turned into one of those long running mysteries that keep philosophers, wise men, and redditors up all night.

Strangely, the question was answered, or the answer questioned clear back in 1988 by Dan Smith of Leavenworth, Kansas.

The answer 42, and the mystery of the question came up during a role-playing session that I was participating in that summer.  Dan, who had never read "Life, the Universe, and Everything," or any of Douglas Adams' books, listened to the conversation for a while then piped up.

"So the question would be, 'What is the sum of paradise?'"  He asked.

We all looked at him like he'd farted in church.  "What?"  We asked.

"42."  He said.  "The question that goes with the answer 42 is 'What is the sum of paradise?'"

We all made squeaky condescending noises at him but he stuck to his guns.  He held up a six sided die from one of the role playing sets we were using.  "Look."  He said, "There are a total of 21 dots on this die, right?  One dot for the one, two for the two and so on...21.  So the sum total of a 'pair-o-dice' is 42."

The stunning, blinding brilliance of it staggers me to this day.  The question, the ultimate question of life the universe and everything, to which the answer is 42, is:  "What is the sum of paradise?"

Rest well Douglas Adams.

The Big Buddha...The Giant Statue in Hong Kong

The Tian Tan buddha also known as The Big Buddha, is one of the major tourist attractions in Hong kong.

The Big Buddha, Lantau Island Hong Kong

Situated high on a mountain top on Lantau Island near the Po Lin monastery, The Big Buddha is a staggering 112ft tall and weighs in 250 metric tons; quite a monument to a guy who was fond of saying he was nothing.  

The best way to get to the Big Buddha is by bus.  The nearest stop is Ngong Ping.  The NLB #2 can be taken from Mui Wo or the NLB #23 leaves from Tung Chung.  For many visitors the #23 is the best bet because the MTR runs out to Tung Chung.  It is easy to take the MTR from anywhere in the city to Tung Chung and then catch the NLB #23 from the bus terminal just West of of the Tung Chung MTR station.

Visiting the Big Buddha is free but you need to make an offereing if you want to go into the temple underneath were ashed said to be from the Buddha's cremation are kept.

For an additional adventure take the Ngong Ping cable car up to Po Lin and the big Buddha.   Be aware that the cable car has been closed over the winder 2011-2012.  It's a good idea to check ahead of time and make sure it's running.   

Do remember that the Big Buddha, while designed as a tourist attraction, is part of the Po Lin monastery.  Please be respectful of the monks of tian tan and their way of life.

Big Buddha...High Fashion Handbags?

Minxi is a fashionista.  Her sense of style is fun and fresh and always catches me off guard.

Oh yeah.  You're working that belt!

Nature Girl Chic!

On our last night in Hong Kong, I told her I wanted to buy her something she could take home with her to remind her of Hong Kong.  Her choice?  I giant black handbag with black sequins and silver trim.  It's amazing.  It's so big it comes with its own postal code, so flashy it appears on radar, and so fabulous that Lady Gaga wannabe's followed us around all night.  

I was pleasantly surprised this morning, when doing research for an upcoming post on the 112 foot tall Big Buddha on Lantau Island:

Big Buddha, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

to learn that "Big Buddha" is also the name of a famous hand bag company.

Fabulous Big Buddha Handbag

I feel a shopping spree coming on!   

Big Buddha makes the most awesome hand bags on the planet!

Check out the Big Buddha selection at Zappo's

Or at Amazon.

Or heck, just go to the source, the Big Buddha homepage.

There's a funky style at work at Big Buddha that is hard to beat.  Check it out!

Hong Kong Fashion Alert! Glassless Glasses

There's a very strange fashion going around among the young people of Hong Kong these days.  I saw it is China too.  It's big, black plastic frames for glasses with no lenses:

Frames with No Glasses

Glasses with no...er...glasses seems a little strange to me but I can't complain too much I grew up with Elton John:

Elton John's Fabulous Glasses

And we all remember that Elton John did for glasses was electric razors did for poodles:

Shaved Poodles

Made them fabulous!

It really reminds of some of the the cheap plastic fashions we were wearing back in the 80s.  Remember wearing 99 black plastic bracelets?   The glass free glasses belong in the same territory to me.  

They also seem to be spreading.  I found this photo on a Chicago underground fashion website.

Chicago Fashion

I think it's a pretty good bet that within the next year or two, glasses without glasses will be the fashion norm in Europe and the USA as well.  If only they'd bring back laser ties.  I looked great in those!

The Cherry Blossoms in China

The cherry trees are blooming in Southern China right now.  Go see them if you can.

Cherry Blossoms at Nanxi Hill Park, Guilin China

The cherry Blossoms are a big deal in China.  I think there is some tie in between the arrival of the cherry blossoms and the spring festival of the dead which happens April 4th and 5th.

If you happen to be in Guilin, or anywhere near Guilin, Minxi suggest you stop by the Nanxi Hill Park. Which is where these photos were taken.   There's also a caution for westerners in these photo.  Please notice the 43,000 other people enjoying the cherry blossoms with Minxi.

Cherry Blossoms at Nanxi Hill Park, Guilin China

Cherry Blossoms at Nanxi Hill Park, Guilin China

China really does have 1.4 billion people and, generally speaking, the whole place is this packed, especially if you're going to an event or attraction and doubly so if you hit a local holiday.  Strangely, crowds like this are not nearly as stressful in China as they are in the US.  I don't know if it's just that Chinese people are used to crowds like this or if it's the national sunny disposition but people stand in mad throngs just chatting and having a good time.  No one seems to mind.   It was a little weird to a wide open spaces Kansan like me though so be aware.  

Also please notice Minxi's awesome Elton John glasses and leopard print belt.  The people who know me best understand why I'm so wild about Minxi.

The cherry blossoms are popping out all over China.  If  you don't happen to be in Guilin, you can probably still find them where  you are.  Good luck!