Lantau Island Trail (and a little Buddhism)

Still wanting to do a bit of hiking, we headed off for Lantau Island. There is a well developed 70 km (50 mile) loop from the ferry terminal over the two major peaks (about 3000 feet elevation), across to the other side, and then back near the seashore. We didn't want to take the time for the whole thing, so we caught a bus up to a youth hostel a few miles from the peak, and then hiked the peak the next morning. Unfortunately, we picked a day that was overcast, so the view was just gray. It was still a good hike though. The trail doesn't really have much path; instead it is mostly stairs. Relentless, upward stairs. We must be getting in pretty good shape because we mostly just climbed stairs non-stop for about an hour.

Near the hostel is another attraction, the world's biggest outdoor, sitting, bronze Buddha. That is a lot of qualifiers to become #1, but they make a big deal about it here. It was impressive, placed on the top of a bluff visible from many parts of the island. There was also a Buddhist monastery there, so we visited it. We had studied Buddhism some at a monastery in Thailand, and in further readings, but still don't claim to understand it very well. It seems like a very self-focused religion, with the principle aim to be development of your mind for concentration. That is all well and good, but it seems like the part of religions that teach service to others is missing. At this monastery there were several English language books written for skeptics. Apparently our reaction to Buddhism is not uncommon because several of the topics attempt to describe Buddhism as more than just a mind experiment, and instead an ethical way of life in service of others. We will read these books over the next few weeks to see if we can understand a bit better.

Buddhism in Thailand is Theravada Buddhism, but the Chinese follow a different school with more emphasis on serving others --the key difference is that no one can achieve nirvana alone, but that once you have perfected your life and are ready to attain nirvana you have to wait until everyone else is also ready. That helps to force the followers to help each other. However, since Buddhism is more concerned with the religious development than the worldly situation (which Buddhism considers just an illusion), there is still little helping others other than religious instruction. The only assistance they provide to others is an opportunity for them to come to the monastery and learn to practice Buddhism.

Another difference is that in Thailand, being a monk is a noble choice. It brings honor to a family to have a son become a monk. Every male, even the King, spends a period of their life as a monk. Other people will go out of their way to help a monk, such as free groceries, cooking and cleaning, inexpensive travel tickets, etc. They believe this earns them merit, which helps their overall Karma. In China, the population at large has much less interest in the monks. The monks can be seen on street corners with their begging bowls. And since the monks really didn't seem to be doing any service to others, in the end they do seem just like street beggars on their own personal quest. I guess the Cultural Revolution was successful in stamping out beliefs in most religions. There is now a great revival going on as China again embraces religions, with considerable reconstruction of Buddhist temples, Christian churches, and Muslim mosques. But unfortunately, thirty years of suppression has caused a whole generation to have little religious education, so it will take a long time for China to regain its past.

Anyway, this was about the Lantau Island Trail. The second day we again cheated, and caught a bus down to the camp at the beach. From there we hiked several hours out to the point for an incredible view. We only saw a couple of other people, and had a glorious sunny day with a perfect view. We could even look up and see the peak we hiked yesterday. Ah, what a difference a day makes!

The campground at the beach was interesting. It had maybe 40 camp sites, and was well developed and maintained. It was adjacent to a public beach with a large swimming area, kayaks for rent, and even a small restaurant. There was new construction going on in the campground (shower house?). But the few visitors were far outnumbered by the park workers. I'm not sure how it makes sense economically, since the campground was free, but maybe we were just very early in the season.

The swimming area had two large ropes with buoys around it. The inner area marked the swimming boundary. The outer buoys supported the shark net. Signs on the shore cautioned that sharks are a concern whenever the temperature is 24 degrees C or higher, and then noted that today's water temperature was 24 degrees.

But the sharks weren't really the problem. This area of the sea is quite warm and fertile, and algae are prolific. The high tide left a bright green mat of algae several inches thick on the beach. To our amazement, a dozen workers showed up to rake it all up, bag it, load it onto trucks and haul it away. They spent many hours cleaning the beach. They do this every day! The result is a wonderful beach, but at such a cost!

Our visit proceeded the popular summer season for the beaches. So the swimming area had several lifeguards on duty, a dozen workers cleaning the beach, and other park workers busily engaged on other tasks. Taking advantage of this were just a few visitors, so that most of the time the beach and swimming area were in fact empty except the workers!