 Attached to Shatin station is a vast expanse of shopping malls, all interconnected in maze like ways. New Town Plaza, the shiniest of them all recently underwent refurbishment and has a wide range of stores with both international and local brands thrown into the mix. Shatin Plaza and Shatin Centre house independent local style boutiques and tout outdoor walking balconies. It’s easy to see how one could spend days here, and never get enough of the shopping. There’s even something to keep the kids busy while you damage the strip on the cards by excessive swiping - the Snoopy themed playground, Snoopy’s World, has large statues of the Peanuts characters, and even a mini canoe ride. A short walk away is the guilty pleasure that is IKEA – as many can attest too, it’s difficult to go through this Swedish furniture giant and leave empty handed. But it’s not all about consumerism here – hark back to simpler lifestyles by walking through the front yards of the inhabitants of Pai Tau village and take a closer look at someone’s washing hanging out on the line, for all to see. A short saunter past the village leads you to a Buddhist crematorium and the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, which I remember from visiting with my grandfather as a child as having many, many stairs to get to the pagoda at the top – turns out my memory wasn’t flawed, there are still many, many stairs but it’s worth the climb to see each different Buddha statue, and the myriad ways in which Buddha is depicted. Just think at least at the end of the climb, no one will be rubbing your belly for luck!
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