Out of Norm Travels

Myanmar recently reintroduced itself to the world after it held its  first general election in 2010 following the release of politician and human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi and the lifting of  EU sanctions  in 2012. I was fortunate to have visited this beautiful country with world renowned national geographic photographer, Michael Yamashita and Jock Montgomery of Compass Rose expeditions in early 2014.  Of the many locations visited during this whirlwind 10 days photography experience,  Bagan   stood out as a must visit location.    Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). It was the former capital of the Kingdom of Pagan in the 9th to 13th century. There remains over 2200 temples, monasteries, stupas and monuments and pagodas day. Info taken from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan . It houses the highest density of Buddhist architecture in the world and ...

Getting to Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery was an adventure for me as I am not too familiar with places outside the usual touristy areas. Located at 221 Pai Tau Village, Shatin, New Territories, I had to take MTR East Rail line to Shatin Station (exit B), walk towards the end of Sheung Wo Che Road before reaching the path that will make the journey all worthwhile.  Tips for travelers:  1. Once there, take your time to climb uphill leading up to the monastery as both sides of the pathway are lined with golden colored Buddha statues. I had quite a lovely time making the climb as I reached there around 10a.m., took a leisurely breakfast / lunch at the vegetarian restaurant located at the grounds before heading down at 1p.m.  2. Do make the climb ALL the way up and you will be rewarded with a beautiful white gigantic Guan Yin statue. Oh yes! Did I mention that there is no admission charge? Personally, this was a definite plus since almost everything costs here in HK. Fo...