It's already December. I can't believe I am greeting another month on the road. I greeted October in Busan, November in Seoul, and now, December in Hong Kong.
Christmas decorations are everywhere in Hong Kong, where freedom of religion is still alive and well. Buddhists and Taoists dominate, though Christians are in healthy numbers, and Muslim women with headscarves are also common. I love this.
Christy Cole of Louisiana has just let me know that the Happy Buddha figurine from me has arrived in her mailbox. Her entire family can't stop rubbing its belly! I bought the Happy Buddha at Seoul's Bongeunsa Temple and mailed it from Seoul's main post office, and it carried the unbreakable democratic spirit of the South Korean people, in addition to its traditional connotation of good luck and lots of money. May that spirit inspire Americans as well, as they guide the new Obama Administration into a saner future - and the South Koreans themselves while at it too, so that the current Republican Christo-fascist colonial nightmare can come to an end. The best part: it didn't cost all that much. 4,000 won for the Happy Buddha, 60 won to write and print a letter to Christy at a local FedEx Kinko's, 300 won for the official Korea Post box with packaging and tapes, and 3,770 won for postage. 8,130 won is just pocket change - now even more so, thanks to the colonial government's outdated economic policies resulting in severe depreciation of the won.
Now, time to hit the streets of Hong Kong again. Another feature of my Hong Kong visit is that I am quite spontaneous in my daily agenda - something extremely unusual, as I am normally known to plan every day's list of sights to the letter, days before my trip even begins. I love being spontaneous, and may have to carry this spirit into my future trips elsewhere as well. My agenda today should include the Hong Kong History Museum in Kowloon as well as the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas up in the New Territories, but I'm open to anything. I'll finish off with Lantau day trip tomorrow, and if time remains, I'll cover the gaps.
