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Published: October 8th 2008
6th OCTOBER 2008 - BIG BUDDHA!!
We got up early as planned and after packing up we hauled our backpacks on again to head back to Kowloon. Luckily because we had been there before the journey was much better and we only had the packs on for half an hour!! Score!!! We went to the same hostel building as the first night but got a room on the third floor! In hostel terms we were going up in the world. For less than 2 pounds more the room was nice......twin room, tv, aircon, en-suite where you didn't have to shower over the toilet and even our own fridge!!! The last two nights here were going to be ok…I could feel it!!!
After settling in to the 'deluxe room' (hardly but it was compared to the previous ones) we set off to Lantau Island to see the worlds largest Buddha. We caught the tube and then took a 20 minute cable car ride over the water to Lantau Island. I really enjoyed the cable car ride and as the Typhoon was starting and the wind got up a bit and made the ride that bit more exciting!! Can't say Natalie agreed
Nat and I in Cable Car
Pretty high and although Nat looks smiley....I can assure you she isn't!!!though!
We were scammed........instead of just buying a return cable car ticket which was all we needed, we got a whole experience ticket which included 'A walk with the Buddha' and 'Monkey Theatre Show' neither of which were quite as they sounded. When we got off the cable car ride we made our way to the bottom of the steps and stood before the Buddha.....he was a Beast!!! It is apparently the largest outdoor Buddha in the world and took 10 years to build. It felt as though he was looking down at you personally and was a sight to see. We climbed the steps to the top and had a closer look. There were also some smaller Buddhas around and we had a good look before coming down. I would have loved to climb into his hand for a photo but unsurprisingly we weren't allowed!!
We then walked around another temple nearby...not really my bag!
After that we set off down the Wisdom Path towards giant stone sticks which all had different prayers on. They were stood in a figure 8 for infinity and towered over us! Each one was inscribed with a prayer and we
had a good walk around them all. The view again was amazing and we also had a little walk up the highest peak in Hong Kong for a better view! There were real hikers about in all the gear and boots however we had our trusty flipflops on....some may say foolish....I would say we were hard core!!!
After a while we headed back towards the cable cars and bought the worst lunch ever - a sandwich which was disgusting but to top it off we bought a packet of what we thought were crisps....turns out they were thin slices pieces of pork.....don't even want to know which part of the pig they were sliced off!!! We then thought we may as well get our moneys worth and entered the 'Walk with the Buddha' and the 'Monkey Theatre Show'. The monkey show was a monkey cartoon and did not have much to do with what we had seen there today. I thought it would have real monkeys but no such luck!!! The walk with the Buddha was good though......it told a little story and took you on a journey through the use of cartoon. At the end we had to
take a leaf and then place it at the bottom of a Buddha and make a wish! And NO I aren't going to tell you what I wished for because then it won't come true!!!
We caught the cable car back - even windier - and then got back to the Hostel around 7pm.
After a much needed freshen up we then went out for tea and I had my first beer of the trip.........thoroughly enjoyed!! Saving the harder stuff for a cheaper land.....us travellers have to watch our monies!
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