As we got really, really cheap flights (from Barcelona Lufthansa is usually 20 – 40% cheaper than from Frankfurt…) we couldn’t resist to visit good old Hong Kong once more. Being a bit “longing for something different” this was just the right thing to do and some 6 days in Dim Sum heaven is not to be sneezed at as well… Especially as Hong Kong has so much to offer in terms of hiking as well. Most people think it’s just a huge sprawl of buildings and an urban mess, but in reality it’s very, very compact and loads of space is preserved for nature and recreation. So you e.g. have the Maclehose trail which runs for approx. 100 km east to west and is in principle completely in open nature.

Yet still there is the “classic” Hong Kong:

In addition to all that Hong Kong is China, yet a very civilized and gentle version of it. Being Cantonese makes it even more different as people are (to our impression) less hectic than in the North (classic Han-China). The extent English is spoken for sure helps you to appreciate the wonders as well

We were staying in Sha Tin (New Territories) which was built up in the 1980s as a sleeping town and thus serves us nicely. Using the MTR (metro system) brings you everywhere in blink and thus nothing is far.

Room with a view…

As we arrived rather late next morning was breakfast in bed Rice ball with meat in lotus leaf

Then we headed off for the trail… The next morning we were so muscle sore as making some 900 m in altitude (most hikes are always up, down, up, down, up… and the peaks here are between 400 – 980m) takes its toll as well as does heat and humidity. I don’t know if I ever sweated so much in my life… 29° at 85% humidity – after some time you keep dripping but the cooling is not there

So instead of doing another hike we decided to go for the 10,000 Buddha Monastery

Well, you get the impression why it’s called this way

Each is unique (some are female as well) and some even quite or very strange

These 432 stairs (no, we didn’t count them but trusted a somehow reliable source) brought us to the top

Looks like he shouldn’t consider gardening as his profession…

These are supposed to be symbols for the animals in the Chinese calendar, yet we couldn’t figure out what the elephant has to do there…

A more common one

Very beautiful figures!

People burning the wrapping paper for the gifts for the gods

Or just chatting some time away

Others devote incense

And we indulged in the vegetarian temple restaurant…

What a treat!

Very simple, very bare bone, but good

Washing up (at the table you are served a small washing bowl with hot water as well where you can dip your spoon and chopsticks in as well)

The workshop of the monastery

Some buildings need quite some repair

And there is always new growth!

Well, quite some repair indeed..

We liked these two very much

When descending you can clearly see what makes Hong Kong so unique – forest everywhere around the skyscrapers

In Sha Tin there is a lovely supermarket which we used to support our longing for fruit and vegetable

As it is a Japanese market there has to be pickled vegetable, too

Classical meat

And local delicacies

What a fish counter!

In the end we brought our gatherings to our room and had a wild sampling session

With a nice glass of sparkly… Salut!