A Big Adventure

(this happened on 18^th November 2010 in Hong Kong)

Once again we arose latish (10am) with plans to go and see the huge brass Buddha on Lantau Island.

Starbucks provided brunch, which was very nice actually, I had a chicken and mushroom pie and Tes had a spinach and ricotta cheese pie. I wish I could get food like this at Starbucks in the Philippines.

Buoyed up with caffeine and food we set off on the MTR to the Buddha; If I have not already said so, the Hong Kong MTR (underground rail) is fantastic and very cheap, I recommend it for getting around, but watch out for rush hour. The journey was uneventful; it follows the same direction as the Airport express for much of the way. We passed the cargo airport and swapped the MTR for a cable car with a glass bottom, this was a long ride perhaps 20 minutes; the ride alone is quite something. Arriving near the temple we could see the gigantic Buddha on the horizon, and everyone in the cable car gasped at it’s sheer size.

You arrive in this rather artificial village, full of tourist shops and restaurants; in spite of it’s obvious aims to fleas the tourist of as much money as possible, it was notable how much better setup, designed and managed it was compared to similar places in China, for example at the Terracotta soldiers.

We were hungry and wanted a snack, but it was lunch time and everyone else had had the same idea, so we headed to a posh looking Chinese restaurant, leaving the Pizza and Starbucks behind. The food was actually really good for a touristy place.

We had: -

-       Chicken & Sweetcorn soup (me)

-       Hot Sour Soup (Tes)

-       Sweet & Sour King prawns

-       Beef with ginger and spring onions

-       Rice

I don’t think Tes liked her soup much but I loved mine. We both enjoyed the beef very much, and Tes declared that the prawns were not bad, although not her thing.

Onward and upward we climbed the stairs to the Buddha, it really was a mystical experience, the sun was behind the Buddha giving him/her an aural glow. I didn’t count the steps but it’s well over 100 and we had to stop a couple of times to catch our breath, making out that we were just taking photos and not really that unfit.

At the top we walked around took photos and were really awestruck at the sheer size and beauty of this Buddha. You start asking those questions like “How did they do that?”.

We were not certain we were going to see the Buddha, I’m really glad we did, I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who visits Hong Kong.

A Cable Car and MRT ride brought us back to Central, where we jumped into a cab and headed back to the Peak. We had done the Peak by day, now it was time to do it at night. With views of the colorfully lit skyscrapers, and the harbor it really is worth doing at night, you get the impression that the skyscrapers are in competition with each other over their colored lighting schemes. Unfortunately we chose a very popular time (around 7pm) and the lookout platform was so crowded we were hampered in getting some good shots

The Peak Café again.. the food was every bit as good as before, and that’s why we returned there. If you get to the Peak… eat at the Peak Café, and not at the rather touristy restaurants on the main building.

We took a cab home and slept well.