Miu Fat Monastery

I had initially planned to go to Macau for the day, but decided to explore Hong Kong's "New Territories" instead. Hong Kong is a lot larger than I initially thought, and the greenery is quite a change from the city. The monastery is in Lam Tei, about 1 hour by bus from Kowloon.

There are actually two shrines - an older pagoda which is lavishly decorated in traditional style, and a newer glass and concrete shrine, which, while still shiny, is significantly less ornate.

The older shrine is protected by dragons, lions and six toothed elephants (or are they Oliphants from Lord of the Rings?) - and has murals of Buddha in various forms before a lavish display in the main shrine three stories up. The external shrine of Buddha in front of a koi pond is equally cool. The ceiling of the shrine is mostly obscured but features numerous panels, which seem to be the telling of Buddha's life story.

The newer shrine is not as interesting, although I understand it lights up at night. It also features a few different forms of buddha , and it seems like a larger capacity overall, but is rather plain.