Friday, December 01, 2006

Lantau Island

view from ca ble car of HK airport
Besides eating at Yung Kee restaurant (twice), probably the best, new thing that I did in Hong Kong with my parents was to take this amazing, 25-30 minute, 5.7 km cable car ride from Tung Chung to the Polin Monastery on Lantau Island. Lantau is a much larger island than Hong Kong, but not inhabited by that many.

This was such an incredible ride. To put this in perspective, it used to be quite an undertaking to make it to Lantau Island -- a ferry and a bus ride, or a hike up the mountain. I've done all that in the past. And now, all you have to do is take the subway, then wait in line (first for tickets, then to enter the turnstile, then to take the cable car).

If you're ever interested in going, check out this site, the Ngong Ping 360 experience. The view is absolutely breathtaking. You pass the Chek Lap Kok airport in the first 5 minutes of the ride and then keep going over mountains and hiking paths of Lantau mountain parks. Parts of the ride became completely shrouded in fog, which is a bit spooky. It's really exciting to get to the end, and see this large, outdoor bronze Buddha statue looming on a hill in the distance.view from cable car of Lantau County

At the end of the ride, you end up in a little shopping village which has several small restaurants, shops, and a theater that has explanations of Buddhism, and something called Monkey Tales for the kids. It's very well organized, and while you might think it seems a bit slick, it's not tacky. If you walk past that, and can make your way to the monastery and have a vegetarian meal, and walk to the steps leading up to the statue.

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