Hong Kong Wrap Up
On our second full day in Hong Kong we decided we should go see the Tian Tan Buddha, the largest seated outdoor Buddha in the world. He is seated out on Lantau Island which is just Northwest of the city, near the airport. After taking the Metro to its last stop you have to get on the Ngong Ping 360 cable car which takes you to the village of Ngong Ping where the Buddha sits. The cable car was just opened in September of last year and is very impressive, however the weather was pretty bad when we rode up and so it was hard to see much of anything. Also, it was about 50 degrees at the top and I was only wearing a short sleeve shirt.
Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car
In the Ngong Ping village we watched a video about how Siddhartha became the Buddha and then headed up the 268 steps to the lotus perch where the "big Buddha" sits. The weather was still not cooperating so we only stayed for a few minutes before we decided to take the cable car back down. On our way down, the weather got marginally better and the views were pretty amazing. I can only imagine how great of a sight it would be in clear skies.
Tian Tan Buddha and Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car
From the Buddha we headed back to HK island to ride the worlds longest (800 meters) escalator and then took a taxi to the top of Victoria Peak, which overlooks all of Hong Kong. Thankfully the weather on this side of town was much better and the views were amazing.
Worlds Longest Escalator
Views from The Peak
My new shirt and tux jacket
For dinner we went to the SOHO (South of Hollywood Street) area of Central HK and ate at a Mexican food joint that was packed with expats and tourists. The most interesting thing about HK is the food. It really is an international city with food choices from all over the world. For every Chinese or Japanese food restaurant you see there are probably two Italian, French, Mexican, or Thai places.
After dinner, we headed home to pack for our trip to Hanoi the next day. More to come on Hanoi shortly.
5 comments:
Love the pics!
O Will. Remember me to Siddhartha! And remember how creepy I was about the book and Kamala and my weird waking dream? My jealousy knows no bounds; keep up the posting.
Are you guys wearing pedometers to keep track of miles walked? How about counting the steps up & down hills? When you get home will you be walking across America? Aunt Debi in Norman, OK
An actual conversation I had today with Bradley.
Bradley: So when they say backpacking, thats just like slang right. They have other bags and stuff right?
Me: No, it means they have a backpack.
Bradley: One
Me: Yes, one
Bradley: eww
It's a shame the weather is so wet & foggy, but it could be worse - it IS January - It could be snowing !
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