At 9:00 AM we met our tour guide, Ashley, in the lobby of the Disney Explorers Lodge. I've been chatting with her for months about this tour, so she had a really good and long tour planned for us! The first part of our tour with her takes place on Lantau Island.
We hopped into a taxi and headed back towards the airport. Ashely took us to the Tung Chung Development Pier and from there we took a ferry to Tai O. During the ferry ride we passed long side and under the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB). This 34 mile bridge and tunnel is the longest in the world and connects Hong Kong to Macau. At one point the road dives under the water for 4.2 miles, so that ships can easily get through and there's no worry about them hitting the bridge. The tall legs of the bridge had huge platforms where we saw many fishermen. We also kept looking for the famous pink dolphins, but we didn't see any.
After a nice ride we arrived at Tai O. This historic fishing village is home to the Tanka people and dates back to the 1600s. Most of the houses are built on stilts, but are falling into disrepair as the owners have to compete with large commercial fishers.
We walked though a small wet market while Ashely told us more about the history of Tai O and Hong Kong. We made our way to a small Taoist Temple: Kwan Tai. This is Tai O's oldest temple and dates back to the 15th century during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty.
According to Ashley, the main beam of the temple is intricately carved with fine stoneware sculptures depicting the well-known characters from the Yang Family Generals. The temple primarily worships Kwan Tai, referring to the famous general Guan Yu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). He is historically referred to as "the one man who holds out ten thousand." Folklore attributes to him qualities of "wisdom, trust, benevolence, righteousness, and courage," making him a symbol of might and loyalty, widely revered by the people. In 2010, the Tai O Kwan Tai Temple was designated as a Grade II historic building.
After walking through the temple we continued to zig-zag through the tight streets of Tai O.
[Fresh seafood]
After we were done wandering through Tai O, we grabbed a cab and headed up the mountain to Ngong Ping. The drive was very windy and we climbed very quickly to the top of the island where the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha are located.
The Po Lin Monastery was founded in 1906, but it suddenly became the "it" spot when the magnificent Śākyamuni, better known as the Big Buddha, opened its doors in 1993.
We were dropped off at the Archway and then walked among statues depicting the Chinese Zodiac signs towards the Piazza.
[Luke and the Monkey]
[Courtney and the Ox]
[Piazza]
Once we reached the Piazza we turned right and saw the Big Buddha! Towering at 34 meters and perched 520 meters above sea level, this is the tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha in the world!
But getting to this giant is a workout! You'll have to tackle 268 steps to reach the top, where 207 bronze pieces (165 for the Buddha, 36 for his lotus throne, and 6 for the clouds) come together in a stunning display that weighs in at a hefty 250 metric tons.
We started the climb and I got about half way before I started to feel nauseated. We hiked slowly and eventually made it to see the beautiful Buddha in the clouds!
We took a few pictures and then headed into the pedestal. The pedestal is three stories and has large, beautiful paintings that depict the life and death of Buddha. There is also a large bell, more statues, a gift shop (I bought an obsidian bracelet), and what is claimed to be remains of Buddha himself.
*SIDE NOTE: There will be a lot of places that I will talk about, but I don't have pictures of. This is because a lot of sites we visited are sacred and they sometimes ask that you don't take pictures. It just depends on the location and the wishes of the people who oversee the sites.
As we toured the Pedestal I started to feel more and more nauseated. Luckily, I was able to get out to the Pedestal and to the side of the platform so I could throw up in the bushes. I know. Gross. But after it happened I felt much better.
We then took more picture of the Big Buddha and the beautiful scenery!
[The large building with the red roof is the Po Lin Monastery where we are heading next]
[High five!]
We then walked down the 268 steps and made our way to the Po Lin Monastery.
The entrance to the Worship Plaza was lined with pots that were growing lotus flowers. We were a little too early in the season to see them in bloom. Bummer.
[Worship Plaza and the main temple]
[Koi Pond]
[Monastery with the Big Buddha in the distance]
We then looped around to the Piazza, walked through the village, and ended up at the Ngong Ping 360.
I was SOOO happy that we were not taking a taxi back down the mountain! I can do a Cable Car no problem! The Ngong Ping 360 is a long Cable Car Lift that goes from the top of the mountain in Ngong Pin all the way to Tung Chung. This Cable Car is the longest double-cable car in all of Asia!
We took a glass bottom Cable Car (aka "Crystal Cabin"), which was really cool! We were able to see the long Ngong Ping Trail that people can hike from the sea all the way up to the Big Buddha. Ashely said that she's done the hike before and it takes about four hours. We were able to get a good view of the HZMB and the two artificial islands that have the underwater tunnel between them.
[Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB)]
We ended up back at Tung Chung, which is close to where we caught our ferry to Tai O. We covered a lot of ground during the first part of our tour. In the next post we'll take a train to Hong Kong island and continue our tour there!
Map of our tour:
Yellow dotted line = ferry ride
Red dotted line = Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride
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