The cripps in Hong Kong Hong Kong, Repulse Bay, Cripps, Crippo, Mark Cripps, Joss Cripps

Zai Jian 再見 (Hope to see you again soon)

A diary about our expedition to Hong Kong

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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛), Ngong Ping, Lantau Island






There's a huge Buddha on Lantau which you can see for miles. Lantau's where the new airport is, and if you take off in the right direction, you get to touch his face.

A new cable car opened to take you up to see it .... fantastic cable car with great views over the airport. We took Mum to see it when they were over for New Year ... luckily we were with an official tour company -- they whisked us through the queues ... it was a Bank Holiday ... everybody else had to wait 3-4 hours!

Here's Wiki on the quite stunning statue:

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits peacefully on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representing gods or immortals.

The Buddha is 34 meters high, weighs 250 tons, and is the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha.

The Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction. His left hand lies near his groin, signifying human happiness. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues. (All others face South.)

In addition there are 3 floors at the bottom of Buddha: The Hall of Universe, The Hall of Benevolent Merit and The Hall of Remembrance. One of the most renowned features inside is a relic of Sakyamuni, consisting of some of his alleged cremated remains. There is a huge carved bell inscribed with images of Buddhas in the show room. It was designed to ring every seven minutes, 108 times a day, symbolizing the release of 108 kinds of human vexations.

The Tian Tan Buddha was constructed beginning in 1990, and was finished on December 29, 1993, the birthday of Sakyamuni. The construction costs of the giant Buddha were estimated to be up to $68 million. It was formed out of 202 separate pieces of bronze lifted to the top of the hill by helicopter.


M

Speedy boys






I love these photos of the kids running in the park - sums them up well.

I esp. like the one of Archie looking directly at the camera!

M

Sunday, April 08, 2007

The MOST frustrating football team EVER part V





No I'm not talking England, I'm talking West Ham of course.

To have beaten Man Utd. To have done the double on Arsenal.

"One shot, we only had one shot, we only had one shot".


And yet to get relegated (probably) is sheer madness.

We were the last team to win @ Highbury and the first team to won @ Emirates.

Not much consolation really.

Is this a team we (I) should be encouraging the boys to support? (Archie shows depressing signs of disappearing to the dark side [well his initials are AFC ... a big oversight on my behalf I admit] and Billy keeps asking which team Frank Lampard plays for).

Mirons

Friday, April 06, 2007

Incredible India

Mark and I recently came back from 8 amazing days in India. Can't really decide where to begin because it was such an experience. We saw some stunning palaces, temples and forts. Cliched as it may sound, the Taj Mahal was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
Nothing prepares you for the first sight of it.

And all the more poignant because a) it was built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favourite wife who died in childbirth and b) his son later shut him up for some 15 years in Agra fort where he eventually died, and from which he could see views of Taj Mahal from the tower where was imprisoned.

We got up at sunrise on our 2nd day in Agra, there were only about 6 people around the Taj Mahal and I was just sitting quietly and taking in the atmosphere when I heard a very familiar voice ring out - 'Bloody hell, it's a bloody eclipse'.
Needless to say M got some great pics which you will no doubt see posted on this blog at some stage. Mark has already told me off for loading pictures up here out of sequence so you will have to wait for him to get around to it.

So, some wonderful sights and beautiful places but it just leaves one wondering what needs to happen for India to sort out its infrastructure, and to get a handle on the poverty and disease. It was common place to see children younger than Archie wandering in and out of traffic - even in Delhi, selling magazines. On our car journey from Agra to Jaipur we saw buildings with the sides and roofs ripped off, wires hanging out and half demolished to make way for a bypass that was half finished, with people still living in them. I don't think they had actually decided on the route for the bypass even though it was half built; most of the drivers didn't know where to go so they just steered around the bulldozers and we hoped we wouldn't fall into any trenches. the young women are so beautiful and they dazzle in their wonderful clothes, it's unbelievable how, even in the villages in the countryside, they manage to look so clean and pristine, even when they are carrying children or piles of branches on their heads. The men certainly don't. Most of them were very dishevelled, and not for the work - mostly they were sitting around chatting to their mates or flat out for the count!

My favourite place was Udaipur; perhaps not as much to see as in Jaipur, but it was much less frenetic, and we were less hassled by beggars everywhere we went. We took a boat across to the Lake Palace Hotel for dinner - it should have been very romantic, moonlight over the lake, Mark and I in a little speedboat being whisked back to the Oberoi Udaivillas after a wonderful meal, just the lights of the palaces lit up - and I realise I have left my mobile phone in the bar so back we go and the mood is lost..

On our last night we were introduced to a man named Dr Dadi who is a guru to one of my work mates. Turns out that he is responsible for the best known brand of bottled water in India, called Dadi - and he invited us to stay in the hotel where he lives - I think he has the whole floor. It was certainly a massive improvement on the very nasty Uppals Orchid airport hotel and we were very pleased to have made his acquaintance as we sipped cocktails on our last day by the pool..

Monday, April 02, 2007

Hong Kong Sevens : What an insane weekend






I knew it was going to be rowdy - but nothing prepared me for the reality of non-stop drinking and mayhem in the Southern Stand from Friday afternoon until Sunday night.

Hong Kong Sevens is a BLAST. You must come out next year to experience it.

Absolute party-central.

And, as someone said to me, if you get bored you can always watch the rugby.

Note the Ozzie Osborne lookalikes; Heff & playgirl/boy; the bloke in the pink tennis gear was a 6' 8" samoan (samoa won the tournament BTW) and check out the Italian team who, once knocked out of the tournament, decided to come to the stand to drink; smoke; make love to ANY passing woman/man in drag. The Borats were hilarious as were the dancing penguins.

Total and utter carnage.

M