This is Hong Kong's prime example of a budding satellite town, with a population around 640,000. Fewer than 13km (8 miles) north of Tsim Sha Tsui, it's also home to a modern horse racetrack, as well as a huge shopping mall called the New Town Plaza (tel. 852/2684 9175; www.newtownplaza.com.hk), located next to the Sha Tin KCR Station and featuring a frequent 10-minute performance by an illuminated, computer-controlled musical indoor fountain and Asia's first Snoopy's World outdoor playground. Shops here are open from 10am to 10pm daily.
Most interesting for the visitor here, however, is the Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas (tel. 852/2691 1067; www.10kbuddhas.org), located on a hill west of Sha Tin KCR station (take the left-hand exit from the station and follow the signs a couple minutes past Grand Central Plaza to the foot of the hill). It takes about a half-hour's energetic walk to reach the actual monastery; first you have to climb more than 400 twisting steps, flanked by gold-colored statues. The temple was established in the 1950s by a monk named Yuet Kai, who wrote 98 books on Buddhism. He's still at the temple -- well, actually, his body is still there. He's been embalmed and covered in gold leaf and sits behind a glass case. In attendance are more Buddha images than you've probably ever seen gathered in one place. In fact, despite the monastery's name, there are almost 13,000 of the tiny statues lining the walls, and no two are exactly alike. Also on the grounds are a nine-story pink pagoda and a very simple vegetarian dining hall. The temple affords a good view of Sha Tin's high-rise housing estates and the surrounding mountains. Admission is free, and it's open daily from 9am to 6pm.
Where to Dine
The Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas has a very simple dining hall (tel. 852/2699 4144) serving vegetarian dishes from an English menu, sweet-and-sour garoupa (not real fish, of course), deep-fried taro "fish," fried bean curd, and other choices, with dishes costing HK$35 to HK$45 (US$4.55-US$5.85/£2.50-£3.20). No credit cards are accepted and it's open daily from 10am to 5pm.
Otherwise, the New Town Plaza, Sha Tin's massive shopping mall located beside the Sha Tin KCR station, is a good place for a snack or quick meal, with cafeterias, fast-food outlets, and restaurants serving both Western and Chinese fare. The largest restaurant here is Maxim's Palace Chinese Restaurant on the sixth floor (tel. 852/2693 6918), open daily from 8am to 11:45pm and serving dim sum and Cantonese food, including barbecued Peking duck, roasted goose, deep-fried crispy chicken, and seafood. Otherwise, restaurants with branches here are the Spaghetti House, in Shop 153 of Phase I (tel. 852/2697 9009), one in a chain of successful American-style spaghetti-and-pizza parlors; Genki Sushi, Shop A197a, Phase III (tel. 852/2608 9322), with conveyor-belt sushi; and Koh-I-Noor, Shop A181, Phase III (tel. 852/2601 4696), an Indian restaurant.
