J-emine's reflexionando

With three days of shopping and hanging around Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Mongkok area, it was high time we ventured out for some touristy action and away from the shopping belt (our wallets were very grateful, trust me).

We decided to do away with visiting the Peak (and no, Ocean Park nor Disney Land does not fall under my touristy list), we’ve been there before and only possible reason to head up there was for dinner and the view, and that pretty much left us with less than 5 attractions to visit, some of which we manage to check off the list whilst taking our night strolls such as (Victoria Harbour, 1881, Hong Kong Museum of Arts etc).

First up, Tian Tan Buddha or otherwise known as Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. Neither of us would dare to call ourselves staunch devotees but we do strive towards practicing Buddhism in all aspects of our lives and adore the calmness and peace we get from visiting holy centres of Buddhism- so we definitely couldn’t give this place a miss!

It took us approximately 45 mins by MTR to Tung Chung MTR station (green line) and 30 mins on the NLB (New Lantau Bus) # 23 to reach Ngoh Ping. It was a pity the cable cars were down for servicing and we couldn’t view the breathtaking Lantau view via the NP 360 Crystal Cabin.

Oh wait, let me take back my words, the truly breathtaking view was when we alighted from the bus and saw this;

Lining the path towards the climb of 268 flight of stairs to reach the Buddha statue was 12 bronze zodiac deities, which had us scurrying around looking for our own zodiac deity for a quick snap before we move on to purchase a deluxe ticket – which gave access to within the Buddha statue and a vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery.

Getting ready for the climb up;

The flight of stairs leading to Buddha;

Almost there;

We’ve made it up – two of the “The Offerings of the Six Devas” and the picturesque 360 view surrounding the Buddha.

It’s believed that on clear days the Buddha is visible as far away as Macau.

The different facets of Buddha;

The view going down;

Clad in a jeans jumper that was clearly not sweat absorbent and going up and down the stairs, about the platform numerous times is probably the best way to express my religious devotion to Tian Tan Buddha. The next stop was Po Lin Monastery for saying a prayer of thanks and well-wishes for our families and friends, and of course, lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant.

At Po Lin Monastery’s Vegetarian Restaurant, we were treated to a 1 soup and 3 dish vegetarian meal (fix menu with the purchase of the deluxe ticket). Our appetite and hunger was clearly stomped out by the heat, and sadly to say we had to waste some of the food except for the cucumber, celery, green bell pepper and spring roll dish- which was really yummy, subtle in taste and lack the heavily corn-starched finish which some vegetarian food seem to favour.

After a quick walkabout the monastery, we were more than ready to bid farewell to the heat and this serene place of worship and head over for some outlet shopping at Citygate.

Checking out: Touristy Thang # 1
Checking in: Touristy Thang # 2 – Sai Kung and Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree