Day 3 in Hong Kong. It's a Saturday. And weekends in HK would generally mean tourist flocking most of the theme parks. I, for one, know that we need to be way ahead of our fellow tourists especially because on this day, we are Ngong Ping bound.
We left the hostel at 8:30 AM just in time for Ngong Ping 360's weekend opening at 9 AM. Travel time from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tung Chung, where the NP 360 cable car is, is around 40 minutes. Note again that, there is one interchange station in this particular journey - Lai King - where you have to transfer from the Tsuen Wan Line to the Tung Chung Line. The Tung Chung Line is another MTR Rail that's not found in a subway.
Ngong Ping 360
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| Tung Chung bound: Waiting for the next train to arrive. |
As soon as we got out of the MTR, we looked for Exit B on the way to the Ngong Ping 360 cable car terminal.
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| Proceed up for the Ticketing Office |
We immediately queued for the NP 360 tickets. Again, we were really lucky enough not to experience the long lines as what I have been reading in most travel blogs. Talk about the benefits of being an early bird.
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| If you are an early bird like us, CTS ticket purchase is not really necessary. |
We availed of the round trip standard cabin at HKD 125/pax, which proved advantageous as the long queues were with that of the crystal cabin passengers. Apparently, there are only a few crystal cabins, whereas the frequency of the standard cabins is higher - the very reason why we were seated at the cable car in less than 10 minutes. We were 6 people inside the cable car. But during their peak hours, it can seat as much as 10 people at the same time.
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| Boarding platform of the cable cars: we were eagerly waiting for our turn! |
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| Finally! The view was just spectacular. Thank goodness the weather also cooperated. |
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| Happy HK idiot! Hahaha. |
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| We're about to enter Lantau Island |
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| Lantau Trail |
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| View of the HKIA from the cable car |
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| 360 degree view of the Lantau Island terrain |
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| Approaching another Cable Car Tower |
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| The Tian Tan Buddha is already in sight. |
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| Approaching the Ngong Ping Cable Car terminal |
Ngong Ping Village
Soon as we arrived in Ngong Ping Village, we noticed the installations present in celebration of the Village's 360 Lantau Carnival theme, which was basically a showcase of everything and anything Lantau.
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| NP 360 Cable Car Terminal |
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| One of the installations. I was afraid of taking a pic with the true one. Haha. (See later post) |
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| Li Nong Tea House greets you at the Village entrance |
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| Ngong Ping Village Entrance Arch |
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| Walking towards the Tian Tan Buddha |
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| NP 360's marker for other famous world landmarks |
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| Three-arch entrance on the way to the Tian Tan Buddha |
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| And I got excited, yet again! |
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| We also got a chance to witness the Lantau Carnival Parade with performers in colorful costumes by Kenneth Leung - a Hong Kong renowned costume designer. According to NP 360's website, the various characters' outfits depict Lantau's traditional food and special creatures, as well as those of Danja people. |
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| I love Ngong Ping! |
Tian Tan Buddha
The Tian Tan Buddha, or "Giant Buddha" as it is commonly called, is located a few meters away from the Ngong Ping Village proper. You only need to climb 268 steps up in order to get a closer look of this famous Lantau attraction. That's really easy, right? After all, we already got two days of "walkathon" practice, it should be a breeze. Whew! Hahaha. The sun was high up as it was already 10 AM when we decided to take on this challenge. Remember to pack on enough water (and some knick knacks too, if you prefer) on the way up.
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| The Drama: So near, yet so far. |
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| Halfway to the Tian Tan Buddha. |
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| Buddha is waiting for us! |
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| Finally, the Tian Tan Buddha! |
We spent an hour at the top - enjoying another unobstructed 360 degree view of the Ngong Ping Village and the rest of the Lantau Island. The sun was playing around at that time - shifting from overcast skies to clear skies alternately. Although, I really think this is where I got most of my sunburn. San ka pa? Sun kissed in Hong Kong! Haha. So just in case you go there on a high noon, don't forget to put on sunscreen protection. Or better yet, just bring an umbrella for your skin sake. Hehehe.
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| The Tian Tan Buddha and the Six Devas |
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| The Devas with an awesome Lantau backdrop |
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| View from the top |
The Wisdom Path
It was 11:30 PM when we finally got down of the Buddha steps. Almost time for lunch, but we thought of going straight ahead to our next destination: The Wisdom Path. It's a mere 10-minute walk from the foot of the Buddha.
Wisdom Path traces a series of 38 wooden steles (upright monuments) containing verses from the centuries-old Heart Sutra; one of the world's best known prayers revered by Confucians, Buddhists and Taoists alike. These steles display the Chinese version of the prayer, based on the calligraphy of famous contemporary scholar Professor Jao Tsung-I, and are arranged in a ∞ pattern, which represents infinity.
Source: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/see-do/great-outdoors/outlying-islands/lantau-island/wisdom-path.jsp#ixzz2ADkcfI8t
Always look for the signs and directions. They're everywhere even in Ngong Ping Village. ;)
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| Follow the signs! |
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| Looks like a Haunted House to me on the right side of the road. Would you still think I am in busy Hong Kong? |
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| It was obvious. |
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| Jouhsan! - that's Good Morning in Cantonese. We were greeted by those Hongkie cyclists on our way to the Wisdom Path, apparently they were headed in the same direction. There were only few people brave enough to walk this path. There were hikers, obviously those who hiked the longer trails, and some tourists, plus the cyclists, of course. |
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| Right beside the Wisdom Path was the starting point of the Lantau Trail. We just took a picture. We didn't even dare hike. Hahaha. |
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| This was supposed to be a viewing platform for the Wisdom Path, a short distance from the Lantau Trail entrance, but we thought it hasn't been maintained for quite some time. The view is already partly obstructed. |
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| The Wisdom Path: A closer view |
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| These wooden steles stretch all the way up the hills. |
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| Chinese calligraphy inscribed on each stele |
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| Lantau Peak |
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| The cyclists on a photo op before leaving the Wisdom Path |
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| Tambay muna! Pagod eh. |
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| On the way back to Ngong Ping Village. |
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| Authentic Hongkie cow! Her nostrils are ripped. Tsk tsk tsk. Poor animal. But I was just too afraid to take a picture with her. |
Po Lin Monastery
We went back to Ngong Ping Village at around 12 NN hoping to catch the Lantau Carnival Parade at 12:30 PM. We also had a quick break and bought some refreshments at 7/11 before heading to our next stop: The Po Lin Monastery.
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| Incense offering outside the Po Lin Monastery grounds |
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| Some locals lighting incense for Buddha |
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| The entrance to the Po Lin Monastery |
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| The Po Lin Monastery |
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| The Main Altar |
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| On the Altar's left side |
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| Inside the Monastery grounds |
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| A monk freely walking the Monastery grounds. We were currently resting at this moment. |
Food Republic
It was around 2 PM when we boarded the cable car back to Tung Chung. There was considerable queuing, we waited for around 15 minutes before finally being seated on the cable car.
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| Back to Tung Chung cable car terminal |
Finally, it was time for lunch. I just had to take a picture of this car on our way out of the cable car terminal. Hahaha. Funny thing was that the we didn't know the owner was already approaching his car; the good thing, we already took a pic of it just in the nick of time. Smart ass!
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| Fancy car! I really loved it. Time to save up! Hahaha. |
As we we're walking to the Citygate Outlet Mall, we chanced upon this child tourist who was enjoying the water fountain outside. The people, locals and tourists alike, enjoyed watching him play as well, just as the child also enjoyed his new found water bliss. Cute!
I knew, again because of reading up ahead, that you can choose to dine at Food Republic when you're at Citygate. It's like a food court where you can choose from a variety of cuisines available at your disposal. We chose to eat at Macau Cuisine and we're glad we were not disappointed.
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| Honestly, I already forgot what this was called. But I'm sure it's a chicken dish and it's really delicious! |
After the meal, we managed to explore Citygate. And we there were really a lot of good bargains. But since we were carefully playing on a tight budget, we just settled ourselves with merely looking at some of the great deals [while drooling]. Let's just say we were only generous enough to save up the remaining money for our
pasalubongs! Hahaha. I'd like to leave it at that.
We went back to Tsim Sha Tsui at around 4 PM and decided to rest for a bit before going out again and making the most of our last night in Hong Kong.
[DAY 3 IN HONG KONG... To be continued...]
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