After two stormy days in Hong Kong, Jake and I woke up on our third day hoping for some good luck and better weather. In the hills above the apartment we were staying in on Lantau island is a giant Buddha (or Tian Tan Buddha) and probably on a clear day you could see it from the apartment resort. It was the largest sitting bronze Buddha in the world prior to 2007 until another Buddha took this status. It is still impressive sitting at 36 meters tall. You can get to it by gondola, bus or walk one of the many trails in the hills behind us. Finally the weather seemed to have calmed down enough for us to brave going up. In typical fashion however as soon as we stepped foot outside the winds picked up and a light shower started overhead. Walking the 5 mins to the hotel and mall where we could catch the bus or gondola we thought about our options deciding against the gondola. The day before we had seen how quick the weather changed and weren't keen on sitting in a gondola swaying back and forth wildly. With the low cloud we also wouldn't get the panoramic views of the island promised from using the gondola. Opting for the bus was actually a nice choice in the end as we got to see a bit more of the island on our 40 minute drive The middle is steep hills lush with vegetation and then coming down over the other side of the central hills we got to see the smaller outer islands of Hong Kong scattered around as well as some of the wide beaches. With little traffic here it would be ideal to hire a scooter and check out these beaches and other small towns. Next time our travels bring us via Hong Kong it is something we will try look into.
At the top where our bus dropped us off is a small strip of shops a few restaurants and other paid touristic activities at a place called Ngong Ping, greeting people who caught the gondola up. As the clouds were thicker up here and our t-shirts weren't providing quite enough cover we were able to buy some cheap ponchos to protect us from the rain. Near the bottom of the stairs to the Buddha was a small office selling tickets for meals and to check out the inside of the Buddha. We opted out of this preferring to try some of the vendors food selling outside. About 250 steps later we arrived at the Buddha only to be met by more cloud and fog swirling around playing peek a boo with us and the Buddha. About half way up the stairs we were able to get a glimpse of the outline of it but even up the top we could only get rare sightings of it when the fog decided to part for a few seconds. It was still pretty impressive and grand but I am sure on a sunny clear day it would be magnificent seeing it in all it's glory and then being able to look down on Lantau Island and it's surrounds.
A quick walk down one of the paths named wisdom path was supposed to lead to a place to eat called tea garden but all we found was a rundown empty building with the remnants of what I guess was the cafe. We did find some very large and pretty butterflies in the flowers around here though and had a bit of fun chasing them around trying to get photos. At the base of the Buddha there is also a monastery where everyone was praying and lighting up incense sticks some as big as a small child to. The monastery is currently under renovations so we were only able to go into part of it but inside was beautifully decorated with some intrinsic designs and statues. We left the sweet smell of incense and clouds of smoke behind to try again for somewhere to eat. Maybe due to the bad weather there was little options except for the few big crowded restaurants. We found one old man selling a variety of fried food and chose the fishballs for something a little different to tie us over until we got back down to the mall and food court near our apartment.
The food court at this mall has some pretty amazing food and large plates of food. By the time we got there we were starving and a bit wet. Still trying to think positive thoughts for the weather jake went for the tropical looking fried rice served in a pineapple well I had the most amazing spicy chicken noodle soup which was so big that Jake and I both couldn't finish it off. Walking back to the apartment for a lazy afternoon nap we past several people out walking their dogs. Jake and I had already found it strange that so many people owned dogs in the apartment complex and not the small handbag dogs these dogs were all sizes. We felt sorry that they would be stuck cramped up in the tiny apartments most of
the day and didn't understand how it worked or the people's need to keep dogs such as huskies on a hot tropical island. What made us even more sad and angry when walking back was that there was more than one person walking their dog but not tied to a leash, rather the oversize dogs were being pushed around in prams by their owners. I hope for the dogs sake that the couple we walked past were injured or just coming back from the vet or that there was some other reasonable explanation for them to be inside a pram.
the day and didn't understand how it worked or the people's need to keep dogs such as huskies on a hot tropical island. What made us even more sad and angry when walking back was that there was more than one person walking their dog but not tied to a leash, rather the oversize dogs were being pushed around in prams by their owners. I hope for the dogs sake that the couple we walked past were injured or just coming back from the vet or that there was some other reasonable explanation for them to be inside a pram.
Our last night in Hong Kong Jakes cousin wanted to take us out again. We had spoken briefly about Macau and so Semi made sure we brought our passports. Something I wasn't so keen on given my reputation for losing stuff and the fact that we had a flight the next day where we would need them. It wouldn't be the first time I had lost my passport. In the end we didn't need them as we were enjoying ourselves too much in Hong Kong to want to catch the hour long ferry to Macau so next time we come we will make sure we have a few more days and some money to burn at the casinos there. First stop after dinner was Ozone bar, located on the top floor of the Ritz hotel in Kowloon. 118 stories high you get a pretty
impressive view over Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour. The price tag of the drinks is matched with the views but Jakes cousin who was too generous the whole time we were in Hong Kong shouted the first few rounds. Although the view was amazing and the company great the music was nothing to get excited about and we headed out to Hong Kong Island to check out a few more bars and party our last night away.
By the way, I came home with both our passports
impressive view over Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour. The price tag of the drinks is matched with the views but Jakes cousin who was too generous the whole time we were in Hong Kong shouted the first few rounds. Although the view was amazing and the company great the music was nothing to get excited about and we headed out to Hong Kong Island to check out a few more bars and party our last night away.
By the way, I came home with both our passports
Next stop: Finally in Europe- first stop Italy