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Now I've Seen It All - Plastic Tree

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  1. #1

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    Now I've Seen It All - Plastic Tree

    Recently took a visiting friend up to the Big Buddha, I hadn't been there for about 8 years and my how it's changed, we did enjoy the cable care ride, but Ngong Ping - oh how special is that place!?

    (Hong Kong, where they force rural villagers out of their homes because the houses need to be demolished for developement, then build fake rural villages in more 'appropriate' locations for people to buy Starbucks and MaccyD's in....)

    But best of all had to be the giant plastic and fibreglass banyan 'wishing tree'. Building plastic trees outside carries a whole platter of interesting debate points in itself, but what I found most unfathomable were all the people (adults) smiling and having their pictures taken in front of it and paying to hang their wishes on. It's a plastic tree, what level of mystical wish granting powers can it possibly be gifted with?

    When we reach the point where it's decided that removing real trees and building 'better' plastic trees is a good idea, where can we possibly go from here?

    MovingIn07 likes this.

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by kogia:
    It's a plastic tree, what level of mystical wish granting powers can it possibly be gifted with?
    No more and no less than any other type of tree (or any other plant / statue / thing for that matter).

  3. #3

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    You can got to the mainland. There are more fake trees and tourist traps than hairs on your head!


  4. #4

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    Well, the only good thing about that damn tree is that - it retains its factory fresh poly vinyl chloride smell all year round!


  5. #5

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    so you visit Ngong Ping every 8 years for half a day and have seen it all?
    I am laughing my ass off !


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Morrison:
    so you visit Ngong Ping every 8 years for half a day and have seen it all?
    I am laughing my ass off !
    Why, what else out there in this grand old world could there possibly be to teach me?? Surely an 8 yearly trip to Ngong Ping covers all bases?

    Besides what made you think we were there for half a day? I think we managed it all in about 3 hours.

    PDLM - Totally with you on that, I definitely felt weird about judging the trees mystical merits on its plastic origins, as if a natural tree would carry more power, it just felt dafter that people were still happily throwing their cash away to wish on it.... I think I was suffering from shock.
    dear giant likes this.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by kogia:
    Why, what else out there in this grand old world could there possibly be to teach me?? Surely an 8 yearly trip to Ngong Ping covers all bases?

    Besides what made you think we were there for half a day? I think we managed it all in about 3 hours.

    ........
    3 hours, even worse.
    There are many more monasteries nestled in the mountains, two of them a 30 minutes walk away from Ngong Ping.
    and apart from the western chain brands that you have mentioned there are many more facilities that are nice and useful to the tourists and to the people who actually live here.
    Yeah, it's all brand new and it's an imitation of a village.
    But what was there before ? Do you know it ?

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Morrison:
    3 hours, even worse.
    There are many more monasteries nestled in the mountains, two of them a 30 minutes walk away from Ngong Ping.
    and apart from the western chain brands that you have mentioned there are many more facilities that are nice and useful to the tourists and to the people who actually live here.
    Yeah, it's all brand new and it's an imitation of a village.
    But what was there before ? Do you know it ?
    I think before Ngong Ping was put there it was a lush and verdant mangrove swampland delta filled with the calls and cries of wild animals and native tribe people. Did I get it right?

    TigerSun - And that is what is weird about staring up in the glorious sunshine at a life size plastic tree, you forget to even question the other logic of the wishing processes.

  9. #9

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    in other words, you don't know what Ngong Ping looked like before they built the big buddha.
    This puts your initial post into the right perspective.
    ( btw, there are youtube clips about old Lantau )

    It also amazes me that you seem to know what's best for a place that is plagued by hordes of visitors a day. ( And since you come only every 8 years you can not possibly know just how bad it is sometimes.)
    That reminds me of the "bull incident' we had a few weeks ago in MuiWo.
    City dudes flock to the island, tease bulls, bulls get annoyed over time and retaliate, bulls get killed because they attacked humans. So as to your complaint about the plastic tree, I feel it is better like this than having visitors carving inscriptions on a real one.

    And if you want real Banyan trees, do hike around, they are still here on Lantau.

    Last edited by Morrison; 11-04-2011 at 09:39 AM.

  10. #10

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    Morrison you are just too intuitive for me to ever hope to compare to, I wish I could gain quite so much knowledge about another person from few lines on a web forum as you are able.

    I am happy to bow reverently to your clearly superior knowledge about me and Ngong Ping, perhaps you could also tell me what the best route home is for me when I next visit the area (in 8 years).