I took one of those disposable cameras with me to Hong Kong so I wouldn’t risk losing something valuable.  Here are some of the photos I took while in the Far East.  Let me just say in advance that I’m slightly disappointed with the quality of the photos.  Oh well.

The view from my hotel room:

 Nice pool.  Never went in it.

  The sky is indicative of the weather every day I was there – overcast and rainy.

Random shots of populated areas:

 I know, it’s blurry.  This is a photo of the “Ladies Market”, an open air market named after the ladies who shopped here when it used to sell clothing.  Now it’s a free-for-all of thousands of different kinds of products, notably copy watches and handbags.  You can get some good deals here!

 This is Stanley – an area of Hong Kong Island famous for an open air market and the Murray House (the two story building in the center-left).  The Murray House was built by the British in the early 1900s and later moved block by block to this area of Stanley so it’s original location could be used for a gigantic skyscraper Bank of China building.  Now the Murray House is full of restaurants

 Central Hong Kong.  What you can barely see is that between the tall buildings, in the middle of the photo, is a mountain wreathed in fog.  The entire city is built into and on mountains!  Lots of steep hills here.  I’m taking this photo from the dock where the Star Ferry arrives on Hong Kong Island.

 This shot is really grainy, not sure why.  Anyway, the glittering glass tower on the right is the Bank of China building (I think) – the original site of the Murray House.  The city stretches on past what the eye can see.

Lantau Island is home to Hong Kong’s homage to Buddhism – the world’s largest outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha.  Apparently every country boasts that is has the worlds largest Buddha of some sort (standing, reclining, stone, bronze, etc).  This big guy is about 30 feet tall, on the top of a plateau.  To get there you have to climb 261 extremely slippery marble steps.  Underneath the Buddha is an educational museum and vegetarian dining hall.  The project to build this statue was conceived in the early 1970s and finally completed in 1991.

 Standing on the ground, you can get a real feel for the size of the Buddha.  The 261 stairs are directly in front of me.  I’m currently standing in some sort of spirit circle.

   In these two shots I’m climbing up to the top of the plateau.

 These bodhisattvas (there are six statues of them at the top of the platform) are shown giving gifts to Buddha.

 Finally the fog cleared for a moment.  Long enough for me to take this photo.

 Looking down from the top.  On the left you can see the spirit circle I mentioned before.  To the right of that is an enormous free standing gateway.  To the far right you can see the dormitories and study area of the monastery.

— Matt Ranlett

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