Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

We ventured into the New territories, apparently more than a third of the Hong Kong population stays there and this is where Hong Kong borders with China. Bought a tourist day pass as the whole trip was made up of riding the rails - with three different MTR trains, total traveling time maybe only 45 mins in total.

This has been by far one of the easiest trips we have done in terms of transport. 

Now the monastery in question is no longer active and is basically run by members of the community. Admission is free and I think they mostly rely on donations, not even sure if the government contributes. Members of the public do use it for prayer/ dedication. 

The 10 000 is actually closer to 13 000 and basically it relates to the buddhas which are stacked on shelves in the main hall of the hillside sanctuary located in the town of Sha Tin. No two buddhas are the same, they are all different.

Sha Tin is also the location of the second most popular horse racing track in Hong Kong. This track was re-developed for the 2008 Olympics and hosted the dressage and show jumping events.
Anyway, the racetrack is closed to the public unless its racing season.


Going back to the buddhas, there are just over 400 steps to get to the monastery. So that involved Ingrid and caleb on the steps on the one side and me and the push chair on the other side, sweating our way up the stairs. With the humidity nearly at 150% (that is how humid it feels), it is not for the faint hearted nor for looking pretty.

It is worth it in the end, especially cooling down with a cold drink in the vegetarian canteen, which serves all sorts of snacks and meals with a good dose of a friendly host.

The beginning of the road

Place of dedication/ prayer on the way up

In the distance the blue and white dots - Ingrid and Caleb taking a breather

Nearing the end

Almost at the top

The entrance

Just inside

View from the top

Temple Plaza

All the little buddhas

Look closely they are all different

The trek down was a bit like running downhill comrades on the legs - after that we went into Ikea to see how it works - quite a cool shop if you live here for all your household things. Example a single bed with a safety rail - HK$ 550, a whole new kitchen for about HK$ 5 000.
 After that we went to have coffee with fake grass on the outside on top of the roof of a building. Caleb thought this was great as he could crawl around on it with his cars for 40 mins.

So tomorrow is our last day - best the Peak be clear.