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Published: February 18th 2008
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The Big Bhudda
Big bhudda with Lantau peak in the background 15th February - Lantau Island
After a quick change over from the returning ferry from Macau we were on another half an hour ferry journey over to Lantau. We weren't wasting any time! We arrived at Mui Wo and caught the bus through the mountains to Ngong Ping where the only International Youth Hostel is situated on the island. The scenery was amazing with so much greenery covering the mountainous landscape. Arriving at Ngong Ping the main tourist sight, the Big Bhudda, dominated the little village. The village felt very isolated and the lack of an ATM machine shows just how out of the way the place is. Arriving at the hostel check in was allowed only after 4pm when the owner returned. After waiting for an hour we met the legendary Mr. Man who owned the place. Unfortuantely he did not have any beds due to a chinese primary school arriving for a school trip. Instead he allowed us to stay in his office free of charge.
With there being nothing in the way of night life in the little village (all the restaurants and shops shut at 6 when the last cable car leaves for the bottom)
Noodle time
Just before all the restaurants shut we ate quickly and then invented an 'interesting' game with the oversized shuttle cock back at the hostel...one which i'm sure will make a reappearance on the beaches of Thailand. We then settled down for the night in Mr Man's office. The sky was clear and he suggested we climb the Lantau Peak (934 metres) tomorrow morning for sunrise. We set our alarms for 4.30am and decided to see what the weather was like when we woke.
16th February - Lantau Peak For Sunrise....Something Special!
My alarm went off and I looked out of the office window to see the stars were out. The climb up to Lantau Peak was on! After some reluctance to get up the five of us packed our rucksacks with the little rations and water that we had and made our way to the base. At 5.30am we began the ascent up the steep rock steps to the top. After a quick start we were all struggling with fatigue due to lack of food and water. We took a little break but, conscious of our race against the clock to reach the peak in time for sunrise, we pushed on. Two of the
Lantau Peak
Just before the sun rose torches we had been provided with had ran out of battery and we were now relying soley on Ricks head torch and a little magna light. Eventually we reached the top section of the trail and with only 10 minutes to go before the sun rose we reached the peak at 6.40am. The views were staggering! We all felt a great sense of satisfaction as midway up the climb we doubted whether we should go any further with so little food and water.
The sun rose and it has to be one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen. We took the time to take it all in and then descended arriving back at the hostel at about 8.30.
After some recovery time we decided to go down to the city at the base of the cable car, Tung Chung, where the nearest cash machine was situated. Instead of catching the cable car we walked and were very glad we did. The scenery was amazing and with the sun shining it made for a great walk down. We stopped off by a little river and refreshed in the water before continuing down. Reaching the city after
2 and a half hours walking Ross and James decided to run through one of the large fountains. The locals loved it and their efforts were met with some oooh's and aaaaahs!
We then bought some food at the local market to cook back at the hostel (this was the first hostel we had found with self catering facilities and we were going to make the most of it.) After a satisfying pasta and chicken dish we went to bed very full.
17th February - Lantau Island - Hong Kong
We left Lantau Island by ferry and arrived back in Kowloon. Feeling like we had arrived back home we checked into a different hostel in Mirador Mansions with standards alot higher than that of Chunking Mansions. The great weather spurred us to travel back across to Hong Kong island and take in the city on a Sunday afternoon.
We went to the exhibition centre and walked through the Olympics Exhibition where all the previous Olympic torches were on show. Making our way back to Kowloon we were set on eating at the local Irish Bar which served up an impressive Sunday roast - a meal we
had all been craving for. It was well worth the wait and we sat and watched the football and met an interesting guy from London who worked over in Hong Kong.
18th February - Hong Kong
We chilled out before heading over to Hong Kong island and taking on some of the locals in a football match. We did the flag proud going UNDEFEATED! A great laugh.
This will probably be the last blog before we leave for Thailand on the 21st....so...its goodbye for now 😊
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sunny
non-member comment
hi
great mountain and pretty boys~