Wednesday, January 30, 2013

DIY Hong Kong Tour Part 2

(JULY 27, 2012)

..... woke up at 6 in the morning, took a bath as we ready ourselves to explore the mountains.. And yes it was our second day in Hong kong! 

The MTR Tsuen Wan station is just a five minute walk from the hotel so we really had no problems traveling to and fro. Too bad the weather that day wasn't good. It was raining.

Tsuen Wan is in the RED Line 
credits: http://welcometochina.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/hong-kong-mtr-map.jpg

Our destination: Tian Tan Buddha or the Big Buddha, Ngong Ping 360, Po Lin Monastery and Disneyland. ( these places are in one location, in Lantau Island. )
From Tsuen Wan station, ride the train to Central and alight at Lai King Station then change trains to ORANGE Line, then ride train to TUNG CHUNG and take EXIT B.
Citygate Outlets outside Tung Chung station




In Tung Chung, you can find a lot of passenger buses, but look for the signage going to Big Buddha, Ngong Ping 360 & Po lin Monastery. New Lantao Bus 23 from Tung Chung Town Centre. It is in front of the Ngong Ping 360 Cable car building. ( That would be your landmark ). 
You have 2 options to enjoy the view of Lantau Island. 1st, Ride a bus going up to the mountains and ride a cable car going down or vice versa. 2nd, ride a bus / cable car to & fro.
Since we came early, the cable car wasn't open yet so we waited for the bus to Big Buddha. I remember we were only 8 passengers riding the first trip. ( 2 Indians, a group of 3 friends,  an old man and of course me & my husband ) Take note, it was still raining and got heavier as we travel the roads to the top. ( Bus Fare is shown in the picture )

 

I'm not sure how many minutes we'd traveled going up but it was worth it. As a nature lover, i really  enjoyed it. And so, we reached our first destination! The rain poured really hard and we only had one umbrella, we had no choice but to buy raincoats. ( too expensive! ). We were only 8 people who came there first, (since we took the first trip) so it was like we own the place.

Though it was raining, we still continued our way to the Big Buddha.The only problem we've got was taking pictures. ( I can't sacrifice my DSLR! hahaha! Instead, I used my digicam. )


Thank God the sky went clear. We were taking  deep breaths as we climb the 268 steps to see Big Buddha face to face. ( oh! we didn't buy tickets to enter the Buddha itself. It also includes a vegetarian lunch prepared by the monks at the Po Lin Monastery. )

268 steps


After our encounter with the Tian Tan Buddha statue and 6 other small statues, we headed down to the Po Lin monastery. It was very quiet and sacred, so we just took a short visit.


Po Lin Monastery




Ngong Ping village map
As we exit the Monastery, many people were arriving. Maybe because the sun started to show up. We walked our way to the Ngong Ping Village where the cable car was. There were also stores inside the village selling foods and souvenirs, but I was then excited to ride the cable car. Luckily there was no que in buying tickets! 

Single trip / Standard Cabin = 86 HKD/head ; Single trip / Crystal cabin = 130 HKD/head



We chose standard cabin. Cheaper than the crystal cabin plus I'm afraid of heights. hahaha! ( before the cable car boards, there's a guy that takes a picture of you and can be claimed upon arrival at the other side of the terminal. You have the option to purchase the picture and other stuff like mugs, plates, key chains with your photo on it as a remembrance). The ride was so exciting. Good thing we didn't have companies inside. ( Other cabins are loaded by different people, yeah, well at least 8 people ).  At first, I kinda got dizzy cause I'm afraid of heights but as the cable car moves, me & my husband were exchanging seats to see the view of the Lantau island, the village, the view of  Hong Kong International Airport and South China sea. Superb!

Our Souvenir photo :)







That was indeed a good experience! Cable car with 5.7 kilometer long and 25 minute ride is a must! It was around 12:30 pm when we finished our journey in Ngong Ping 360. We ate our lunch at Citygate Outlets and recharged our bodies for our next destination....HONG KONG DISNEYLAND. 
HEYAH! :)









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