hong kong march 2007 - day 4

Today is a day at Lantau Island (大屿山). Got up early for congee nearby, then took the MTR towards Lai King (荔景) and transferred to the Tung Chung Line. The MTR went under the Tsing Ma Bridge (青马大桥) towards Tsing Yi (青衣), Sunny Bay (欣澳) and finally Tung Cheng (东涌). Some trains on this line are special as the doors are “plug-out” type, no noise when doors are closing. The LED destination board is also standard throughout the MTR system. The ride from Prince Edward to Tung Chung costs us HKD 18 each though.

Tung Chung Line, one of the newest in HK

Had to top up my Octopus card because i used up HKD 100 by now

After a brief walk around CityGate Outlets, home to many branded wholesale shops, we took the cable car to Giant Buddha (天坛大佛) via Ngong Ping 360 (昂坪360缆车). We opted for the single way trip without any added frills, at HKD 58. As it was a weekday, both the crowd and ride was comfortable. NP360 offered a fantastic view of the HKIA and hills on Lantau Island before arriving at NP Village. Took a 20 minute walk up the Giant Buddha, enjoyed the breathtaking views. We also went into the observation halls inside, and saw a memorial of Anita Mui (梅艳芳). Went down, did a short prayer and had deluxe vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery (宝莲禅寺) for HKD 100. Took another walk to the Wisdom Path, where contents of Heart Sutra were inscribed on wooden pillars. By then, my legs were aching because of fatigue from running 21km yesterday.

What i learned from Shanghai - AVOID the frills, get the basic.

NP360 cable car

So excited!

HKIA

Higher and higher..

I want to get out quickly...!

Giant Buddha

After running 21km, the last thing to do is to CLIMB stairs.

My colleague is fast. FAST!

This picture is nice hor?

Lantau Island is popular for trekking. 70km of track!

After breathing in fresh air, we took Bus 21 to Tai-O (大澳). Tai-O is a rural fishing village, known for its stilt houses. The salted fish and shrimp pastes are also popular, which we bought some. Coincidently, an actress was at Tai-O filming a scene. We took a small ferry out to the coast, hoping to see some pink dolphins but there were none. As it was around 4 PM, we took Bus 11 back to Tung Chung, shopped at CityGate and had a sneak preview of Disneyland Resort (香港迪士尼乐园).

Tai-O, the venice of the east

Anyone knows them?

The uncle whom was part of the acting scene later

Shark!

HKD 20 to see non-existent pink dolphins.

Love to bring my girlfriend here in future

Dinner was back in TST, and after walking through Temple Street I met XH to catch up over McCafe until midnight.