May 4: Either entrance to the Temple of 10,000 Buddas is tucked away nearby the KCR Sha Tin Railway Station. I had trouble finding the entry last time I visited Sha Tin. Now, I’m prepared with a map: I walk out the station’s northwest exit, I walk straight. Where the road becomes an overpass, I turn left, cross a mud alley, find the lower temple gate.
According to the official Web site, “The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery was constructed beginning in 1949. At that rough time, (its creator) Reverend Yuet Kai, despite of his old age, carried the building materials personally from the foot mountain together with his disciples to build this monastery. It spent eight years to complete all buildings and another ten years to finish the all more than 12,000 Buddha's statues."
Even with the path paved up the mountain, the walk can be exhausting, with more than 500-some steps. Bring water, or, you can purchase refreshments at the top (along with souvouniers).
The southern entry takes me back to Sha Tin station, from behind the pizza shop. I cross through New Town Plaza and over Lek Yuen Bridge and the Shing Mun River Channel. A bus takes me to Lion Rock Tunnel Road near World-Wide Gardens), from where I hike to Ammah Rock. This is a different spelling for A-Ma, also known as Tin Hau.
Legend has it that a local fisherman's wife went to the mountaintop every day, carrying their infant child on her back, to wait for her husband’s return. The fisherman had been killed in a storm, but she remained faithful. The goddess Tin Hau/Ammah took pity on her and turned her to stone. Thus, Ammah Rock's distinctive shape.
Graffiti now covers the base of the rock, but the site provides nice views of Sha Tin Below.
The sky is quickly turning dark, but a sign says “45 min.” until Lion Rock, the namesake for the country park and geographic formation separating Kowloon from New Territories. By rushing, I make it to Lion Rock in closer to 15 minutes. Still, it’s dark when I reach the top.
I should have started my day earlier – I got out to the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas around 3:30 p.m. – it took about an hour and a half to reach Sha Tin from Ap Lei Chau... for this reason, I’m slipping on the muddy stone path, and creepy green frog eyes (I think frog eyes) are shining at me from the water rivulets coursing through the surrounding forest.
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