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The TV said we’d have rain all day, but it was over by 10:00AM, with patches of blue in the mostly overcast skies. After kicking around the idea of a harbor cruise, we decided instead to head out to Lantau Island, home of the new airport, Hong Kong Disneyland, and our destination, the largest sitting Buddha statue in the world. We toyed with taking a ferry to the island, but were unsure the weather would hold up, plus we wanted to get Dan back by 5:00 so he could pack and get out to Shenzhen. In the end, we opted for the faster & more frequent MTR. It took a little over ½ hour to get to Ting Shung, then a very SLOW 45 minute bus trip across the island to Ngong Ping, home of the monastery & the Buddha. There’s a much more direct cable car that would’ve been cool, but it was down for the day.
The world’s biggest sitting Buddha is… well, BIG. The weather was great, so it was a nice hike up and we got some great pictures (all Hong Kong pics are at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172069620/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539).
The world’s biggest sitting Buddha is… well, BIG. The weather was great, so it was a nice hike up and we got some great pictures (all Hong Kong pics are at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172069620/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539).
Judy had wanted to visit a traditional fishing village on the island – Tai O – but everything took longer than expected and time was running short for Dan. We hadn’t eaten and there was a free shuttle from the statue to Ngong Ping village, which supposedly had some food. So we hopped on the shuttle… and waited… and waited… about 15 minutes later, the bus driver returned and drove us around the corner to the village, less than 100 meters from where we’d started.
We found a restaurant with a mix of Asian foods – Indian, Thai, Malaysia, Chinese and more. It was pretty good. But the “village” was about as authentic as “Main Street USA” in Disneyworld. There was a troupe doing a dragon dance in t-shirts with Chinese characters. The bathroom was the cleanest I saw in China, with western toilets, A/C, soap, and even soft toilet paper. Not very traditional, but very welcome.
We got back later than we had hoped, so Dan packed quickly and we ran with him to the Central MTR to say our goodbyes. We continued to the ferry piers, thinking we might try to get that harbor cruise, but we weren’t in the right place and hadn’t brought any maps our guides. We ultimately decided to just take the ferry to Hung Hom, a pier further east in Kowloon. We had never been there and we’d be following the coast of Hong Kong eastward across Central & Admiralty – and the sun had set so the town was lighting up again. It was a nice ride & we got some good shots. When we got off the ferry, though, we realized that the ferry we’d taken was the last one, and we didn’t have any idea about alternative transportation back.
I wanted to figure out how we were going to get back first, but I was overruled. Everyone else wanted food. We went to Whampoa Garden Place, a building that houses dozens of restaurants. It is not a western hangout. The restaurant we chose was selected because it had one English menu. After ordering, I went out to talk to the receptionist about getting back to the Island. She didn’t speak any English.
I returned to our meal: our cheapest in Hong Kong, but nothing to write home about. After Hunan, Hong Kong Chinese is really bland. But at least we’re ending our trip with a real Chinese meal: beef, extremely fatty pork, green beans, cooked cabbage, all drowning in oil. All except the Dim Sum.
I asked for the bill & the girl spoke English, so I asked if there was an MTR anywhere nearby. She laughed: not good! But she said we could take the 115 bus all the way to the Macau Ferry Pier in Central. Good. And we could pick it up downstairs. Very good! And we did, and it was fast, and 35 minutes later we were picking up supplies from the grocery and heading back to the room to pack up. And Judy noticed that her stomach was bothering her.
We found a restaurant with a mix of Asian foods – Indian, Thai, Malaysia, Chinese and more. It was pretty good. But the “village” was about as authentic as “Main Street USA” in Disneyworld. There was a troupe doing a dragon dance in t-shirts with Chinese characters. The bathroom was the cleanest I saw in China, with western toilets, A/C, soap, and even soft toilet paper. Not very traditional, but very welcome.
We got back later than we had hoped, so Dan packed quickly and we ran with him to the Central MTR to say our goodbyes. We continued to the ferry piers, thinking we might try to get that harbor cruise, but we weren’t in the right place and hadn’t brought any maps our guides. We ultimately decided to just take the ferry to Hung Hom, a pier further east in Kowloon. We had never been there and we’d be following the coast of Hong Kong eastward across Central & Admiralty – and the sun had set so the town was lighting up again. It was a nice ride & we got some good shots. When we got off the ferry, though, we realized that the ferry we’d taken was the last one, and we didn’t have any idea about alternative transportation back.
I wanted to figure out how we were going to get back first, but I was overruled. Everyone else wanted food. We went to Whampoa Garden Place, a building that houses dozens of restaurants. It is not a western hangout. The restaurant we chose was selected because it had one English menu. After ordering, I went out to talk to the receptionist about getting back to the Island. She didn’t speak any English.
I returned to our meal: our cheapest in Hong Kong, but nothing to write home about. After Hunan, Hong Kong Chinese is really bland. But at least we’re ending our trip with a real Chinese meal: beef, extremely fatty pork, green beans, cooked cabbage, all drowning in oil. All except the Dim Sum.
I asked for the bill & the girl spoke English, so I asked if there was an MTR anywhere nearby. She laughed: not good! But she said we could take the 115 bus all the way to the Macau Ferry Pier in Central. Good. And we could pick it up downstairs. Very good! And we did, and it was fast, and 35 minutes later we were picking up supplies from the grocery and heading back to the room to pack up. And Judy noticed that her stomach was bothering her.
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