Lantau Island

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Hey everyone

Yesterday and Today were fantastic! I started back in Mongkok because i decided to buy the laptop i saw, which is amazing!!!!!! Then i travelled to the centre of Hong Kong island to catch a ferry to Lantau Island. Lantau's famous for having the worlds largest (85ft/34m High) seated outdoor Buddha statue, but its also very beautiful, More than half of Lantau island is a designated country park and the island is bigger than Hong Kong itself.
The ferry over to the island takes around half an hour and goes past many of the other small outlying islands, once you land in Lantau you then need to catch a bus to get to Ngong Ping village which is an experience in itself, the journey there the bus driver seemed to go as fast as he could along winding mountain roads! Also cows wonder along the road oblivious to the cars and buses speeding past!

Once i got there i was greeted by some of the most beautiful scenery i think I've ever seen, the Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha as its properly known) is on top of a hill with what looks like and endless staircase leading to the top, around the statue there are eight smaller statues of what i think are deities offering various things to the Buddha. After loitering for a while i went back down to see the temple & Po Lin monastery that were near by, as you pass through the archway leading to the buildings your hit with the (now familiar) smell of incense coming from huge burners, by this point i was starving because i didn't have time to get anything in the morning so i decided to eat in a near by restaurant run by the monastery but i realised being run by monks meant they didn't have anything on the menu with meat in it and to a carnivore like myself that wasn't great but the fried noodles with mixed vegetables i brought were really good.

I then spent the next 4 or 5 hours walking around the nearby country park along a trail known as Wisdom Path, after going slightly off the beaten track i found a large rock that from the top of i could see for miles and miles and see the south china sea with all the container ships in the distance and the Buddha statue from a far, the view really was fantastic so i sat on that rock for a good half hour before making the long journey back. After getting back to the bus stop i was relieved to see a different driver than before but within a few seconds of him setting off i could tell he was just as crazy, the ferry ride back was relaxing as the water was calm and the outline of Hong Kong island was all lit up as it was getting late.

Tomorrow I'm planning on going to Ocean Park which should be really good

Until then

Take care x x x

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Photos

Tian Tan Buddha
Giant Buddha from the bottom of the 268 steps leading to it

Tian Tan Buddha
Talk about degrading a photo, who put him there?

Deitys
Three of the 8 deitys that circle the Buddha

Buddha
The sun or Divine power? You decide

Temple Incense
One of the large Incense Burners

Shrine
A shrine inside one of the main temple buildings

Wisdom Path
The Path to Wisdom

Distant Buddha
The buddha statue from a far

Contemplation
Just look at that view!!!!

Lantau Peak
This is the highest point on the island and is almost twice the height of Victoria Peak!

Oblivious
These are a few of the many cows i saw wandering through the streets and roads

Ferry
This is the view from the ferry on the way back

Comments

[Karen Abel]

Love the blog
Hi Alex, sounds like you had a really good day. Really pleased to see so many photos - looks as though your decision to buy the laptop was more than justified. Loving the blog, keep going sweetheart - Australia tomorrow!! :-)

[dedz]

hey dude
hey man sounds like your having a blast and the photos are looking cool im gonna download up to now for you so i got a copy if you need any extra space on your cam/laptop if you want me to store any more for you just drop me a email probable be best to compress the file first to make it easier to send (use winrar or summing like that) anyway chat in a bit and lookafter yourself man dedz