Largest outside seated Buddha.

We decided to embark on an adventure this weekend before we saw one of Emily's roommates when she worked in Cairo.

We stopped off at a local mall to have lunch. The mall is where all the restaurants seem to be, none are stand alone from what we can tell. There was an ice rink....with pretty professional little kids skating. As you can see from the picture the mall is teeming with people.

Then we set off to see the biggest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. You have to take a 15 minute cable car, which was really fun to get there and saw the most amazing scenery along the way.

We arrived in the cute little village at the base of the Buddha. We had to take the following picture for Tyler....there was a "real live ninja" doing a demonstration, so we will have to bring you here when you come for Christmas :-)

As we walked towards the Buddha Brad and I found out Chinese year we were born or what we like to call our "power animals".The statues were actually generals with the animal on their head. I (Emily) was born in the year of the dog, which means I am loyal and honest but tend of be stubborn.

And Brad was born in the yea of the monkey, which means he has a deep desire for knowledge and has an excellent memory, but they also tend to be strong willed. Based on Chinese zodiacs Brad and I are NOT compatible, so good thing we don't believe in them!

We then climbed the 260 steps in the heat and humidity and finally go to the top. The Buddha was HUGE and the lush greenery around it was amazing. As you can see I am armed with my umbrella as it can rain at any moment.

We had dinner with our friends and then made the long trek home. After one bus ride and 4 transfers on the MTR (metro) we arrive home. This next picture is in honor of my cousin Austin. While most MTR stops have Chinese name there are a few in English, our favorites so far are Austin and Jordan :-) There is a Portland street, which we also like.

School for Brad starts on Tuesday (high school) and school for me (elementary) starts on Wednesday, so we have a few more days to get things ready in our classrooms. Thanks for reading the following our life in Hong Kong.