LANTAU ISLAND and Central Hongkong Tour

It was another day of hit and missed targets. This is the difficult reality when you visit somebody and stay in their place instead of having your own accommodation.You are in a tour with limited time but you also have to take into account their schedule. I just reminded myself that we are in Hong Kong for two reasons, to look around and pay tribute to our godmother who was Teresa's life saver when she went to Hong Kong a few years ago. Keeping the two in check was definitely a big challenge.

 We woke up the next day at around 7am knowing that there is  a ferry the leaves Cheung Chau island at 8am and every hour afterwards. We missed the 8am ferry and was shocked when I found out that the next trip to Moi Wu in nearby Lantau Island will be 10:50am. I was starting to worry then but since there's nothing I can do about it, I just took the opportunity to go around and take some pictures of shops.

 

 Lantau Island Hongkong

We boarded the next ferry from Cheung Chau to Mui Wo which is 30 minutes away at the cost of  $HK18 and from there took the bus to Ngong Ping for $HK 27.

Lantau Island from the South

Mui Wo--Lantau Island

The road is winding as Ngong Ping is on top of the second tallest peak in Hong Kong.

We were here for a special purpose, that is to see Po Lin Monastery and the Giant Buddha otherwise known as Tian Tan Buddha.

Po Lin Monastery

Po Lin monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu  China. It was initially known as "The Big Hut", later renamed Po Lin in 1924. The main temple houses 3 bronze statues of the Buddha representing his past, present and future lives as well as many Buddhist scriptures.

Tian Tan Buddha, the giant Buddha statue was completed in 1993 as an extension of the monastery.

more on the Giant Buddha on a separate post soon

It took us until past 2pm to stay here as the stairs leading to the Giant Buddha Statue is really high. I missed wisdom path as we had to leave the soonest possible time for Disneyland. There were two possible routes, 1. to go back to Mui Wo and take the ferry to central and 2. ride the Chong Ping cable car which is kinda expensive. We opted the first alternative despite knowing that we have to wait for almost an hour for the next ferry schedule. Good thing when we were lining up at the bus queue, we discovered the 3rd and easiest alternative--- by bus, from Ngong Ping to Tung Chung for another $HK 27.

Tung Chung below

By this time, I was already having 2nd thoughts weather to go to Disneyland or not. From Tung Chung, we could easily take the MTR to Sunny Bay and from there take the Disneyland train. But I heard many feedbacks about Hong Kong Disneyland and many of my friends said it's for kids. For the likes of adults, Hong Kong Ocean Park would suit well.

So goes my last ditch decision to go straight to Admiralty and from there take the bus to Ocean Park. We ended in Central Station after my friend Lerry who lives in Hong Kong texted me of the advisory that Ocean Park was already closed for admission that day due to very long lines. Yeah, yeah, it's lunar new year after all. I already noticed the long lines back in Tung Chung. I never thought this small territory already packed could get more crowded.

MTR central station

Frustrated, we just decided to roam around central and pose for a few photos.

central Hong Kong

I said to myself before "makita ko lang tong dalawang buildings na to sa personal, solve nako"" D:

St. John Cathedral

Knowing that we have to leave early the next day, we decided to go to the nearest attraction, that is, the PEAK. We walked past HSBC tower and to St. John's cathedral and to THE PEAK tram station. I was shocked when I saw the long line and the sign which says 2 hours waiting time. Taking the tram is definitely the most classy way of going to the Peak but the long wait was something we couldn't afford. Good thing there is another option. We took the bus to central ferry terminal and there took bus 15-A for only $HK 15. It took us 1 hour 35 minutes to ascend the normally 30 minute journey. It's Lunar New Year remember? hahaha. patience patience patience.

bus 15-A to the Peak

the patience really paid off. We got to the peak at around 7:30pm. It was chilly and windy. The view was really amazing. There are shops and restaurants and many other attractions here which I will be blogging separately next time. We spent more than 30 minutes in the SKY TERRACE despite the chill. It was such a romantic experience.

 The Peak 

Exhausted, we boarded the bus back to central ferry station. We didn't have much energy left so I didn't even try to convince my wife to stop somewhere for a while and take night shots of some famous landmarks try some restaurants We took the fast craft back to Cheung Chau for $HK 32 each, ate street food and called it a night.

The flight was 8:25 am the next day and comes with it the realization that time was really too short for us to cover Hong Kong. Anyway, we could always go back next time, maybe exclusively for Disneyland and Ocean Park. I really wanna know personally which is better.lol

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