By Michael
Our day began as we met with our local guide, Gabi, to head out to Wong Tai Sin to meet with William Ng, a tai chi master. He is 79 years old, and he has over 20+ years of experience. He was so energetic to meet with us, and he then led us to a nearby park, Fung Tak Park, to teach us the art of Tai Chi. He first explained what Tai Chi was and how it is very beneficial to one’s health, such as physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Although it is a physical exercise, according to Mr. Ng, he said this art form is integrated with a variety of elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, martial arts, and medical learning. After he was done lecturing, he then asked us to spread out as he began to facilitate a meditation exercise, and he also asked us to be mindful of our breathing and to make sure to do our movements slowly. After the meditation exercise, he then turned on music and taught us the several forms and stances of Tai Chi. Once we completed the exercise, Mr. Ng demonstrated a few styles of Tai Chi while using a sword and then with a fan. It was amazing how graceful he looked while he was performing because each movement was so slow and smooth.
After an amazing workout, we headed out to Wong Tai Sin Temple for a tour. This temple has attracted crowds and crowds of people because many people believed that if they prayed here their wishes would come true. As we walked inside, we got the chance to pray to the deities of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism by grabbing nine incense sticks and placing three incense sticks in each of the deities’ alter. Once we were done, some of us then participated in the fortune telling sticks to request for answers/wishes anywhere from relationships to career paths. Each stick has a designated number and meaning. As a result, an individual must shake the cup of sticks and depend on which stick falls out first, the number then must be recorded and be brought to a fortuneteller to interpret he or her wish.
Once we completed the tour, we then hopped into the MTR and took a short ride to Diamond Hill to visit the Nan Lian Garden, which is also connected to a Buddhist temple. The garden is fairly new as it was completed and opened to the public in 2006. The architecture of the buildings and the landscape of the garden were absolutely gorgeous! Even though the park is surrounded by freeways and noises of the city, the park was unbelievable peaceful with ambiance music being played throughout the whole park. It is a great place to be with your thoughts and get away from the fast pace of reality for awhile. After walking around throughout the park and visiting the nearby temple, we went to a vegetarian restaurant, Chi Lan Vegetarian, within the park for lunch. The fascinating thing about the restaurant was that it was located behind a waterfall! The food was very delicious as we all got to try so many types of mushrooms and vegetables.
Finally, after a long day of touring, we hopped on the MTR to go to Causeway Bay for a surprise activity that Dr. Mauldin had planned for us. To our amazement, our much awaited surprise was a trip to the karaoke bar! It was a well-needed break as we all got a chance to relax and sing our hearts out to our favorite songs. We sang for three hours, and we then went to Citysuper mall for dinner to end the night.
Today was definitely a memorable day filled with knowledge and fun, but I cannot wait what tomorrow has in store for us!