my, what big OMMMM you have - vacation notes four

the biggest sitting buddha in the world is on an island in hong kong. and its crazy big. so big, that people tell you its the biggest buddha and you're all, "yeh, ok, i get it, its the biggest." and you know its going to be the biggest, and you're expecting the buddha to be, well, big. but then you see it in the distance, when you're suspended about 1,000 feet in the air in an aerial tram hung between two mountains, and the damn thing DOMINATES the skyline and even from three mountains away its like, "my lord is that a big buddha!"

which does nothing to damper the surprised when you've climbed up 70 billion (exaggeration) stairs to stand at the foot of the buddha, and you realize the both of you could fit in one of the outstretched hand, and its like, blocking the sun, and once again you just marvel in how DAMN BIG THIS BUDDHA IS. its that big. fo' real.

what was also disconcerting is that this buddha was only completed in 1996, its not ancient and was probably designed to get chinese and tourist money alike, but its pretty crazy and super worth it, so, so what.

after the buddha tara and i took the amazingly clean and fast subway back to central town, and wandered around. this is what you think of when you see hong kong in movies, etc. a billion balconies with laundry and signs, signs just EVERYWHERE, shops, little cobblestone side streets, scooters, vegetable stands, restaurants, weird shops selling roots in jars and for some reason, an amazing amount of Seven11s. Weird. but amazing. i walked around like the people i hate in new york city -- slack jawed and staring up at it all with wonder.

we went to this cuban place for drinks, well, i drank, tara had a virgin daiquiri. funny thing in hong kong, i have been begging the latini's to go for asian food. i guess it would be like if they came to new york city and wanted to go to diners. i really could eat asian cuisine every single day, and have been laying off for the past few weeks in anticipation, and although they have promised to take me to their fave chinese place and for dim sum, i want more! we went for thai tonight and it was excellent.

tomorrow morning early, as most of you are leaving work today, we get on a plane for hanoi, and i plan on partaking in the tradition of pho for breakfast. we're also set to take a cooking class while there, so i am going to come back prepared to cook my own! lucky pete...

after dinner the three of us went and got a private room at happy feet, which is a foot reflexology place. my feet, are, very happy. apparently the foot is supposed to control all your organs, and the calculated massage makes your body happy too. no, not in that way, but i did tell her to take extra care of my liver. i heard the beer in vietnam rocks.

xx