Hong Kong - Day 2 Continued

Our second day on Lantau Island continued by visiting the giant Buddha, after we first toured the Po Lin Monastery. The photos below show the Buddha, Ngong Ping and a little bit of Hong Kong’s SoHo district which we walked through at the end of the day.



Tian Tan Buddha, the world’s largest Buddha statue. It’s made of bronze and is 112 ft. tall and weighs 280 tons.



The Buddha rests on top of a three-story base, which houses a museum and the Hall of Remembrance.


Smaller statues surround the large Buddha...including a “statue” of George.


The scenery on Lan Tau Island is beautiful. Lush mountain ranges are surrounding the monastery. This was one view from atop the hill of the big Buddha. Notice the small pagoda sticking out of the forest.



The opposite side offered views of the South China Sea.



After climbing down those steps again we needed a little break in form of ice cream bars and some Cokes. Dried seafood didn’t sound that refreshing.



The swastika has a complete different meaning in Asian cultures. It dates back more than 4,000 years and depending on the region it either represents the sun, the universe or simply means good luck. Unfortunately, in more recent history this symbol has been misrepresented and misused on countless occasions and took on a completely different meaning in Western cultures.



This sign just cracked us up. Yes, there is also a “female” toilet. And no, there weren’t any holes in the ground either. Those types of toilets are mostly found in mainland China.



The wooden columns of the Wisdom Path, near the monastery.



Close-up of the wooden columns, with various text of wisdom carved into.


One of many nature trails.


With the South China Sea in the background.


A make-shift sign, calligraphed by hand, that we saw along the way while walking through the forest to the Wisdom Path.



Ngong Ping Village, with the giant Buddha in the background. From here we took a different route back to the city...via a suspended cable car.


The Ngong Ping 360 cable car is a 5.7 km long bi-cable gondola lift system. It’s linked between Tung Chung, where it connects to the MTR subway station, and Ngong Ping. Along the way one can see the mountain ranges, canyons, the ocean and the comings and goings of the busy Hong Kong International airport in the distance.

The ride took approximately 25 minutes and passed several angle stations. At the last angle station the gondola turned 60 degrees before flying over Tung Chung Bay and heading down into the terminus station.

After the sun was setting we were back again in the bustling city streets of Hong Kong. Here we are in SoHo, surrounded by even more people, traffic, shops and street markets. We found this street stand where a man made the most delicious juices out of all the most exotic fresh fruits. You won’t find any of these at any Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods either.


More interesting angles of impressive modern architecture in the city.

I will try to post more photos of our remaining time in Hong Kong over the next few days.


再見

Hong Kong-Day 2, Po Lin Monastery

Our second day took us to Lan Tau Island on the other side of the big natural harbour of Hong Kong. The whole island is absolutely beautiful, with lush mountain ranges and gorgeous sandy beaches lining up along the South China Sea.

We visited the Po Lin Monastery and the largest Buddha statue in the world. Later that day we took the Ngong Ping Cable Cars back to one of the many modern subway stations. We then headed back into the bustling city and ended our day in Hong Kong’s SoHo.

Below are photos of the monastery. The photos of the giant Buddha and Ngong Ping will follow in a separate entry.

Our second day started out at one of the many piers down at Hong Kong’s harbour. We took a 45-minute ferry ride across the huge bay towards Lan Tau Island. This is the famous Star Ferry Pier.

The main gateway to the Po Lin Monastery.

Once we passed the gateway, we reached a big plaza from where we saw the giant Buddha sitting on top of the mountain.

The world’s largest Buddha sits atop the mountain behind George and I. Later we would climb those stairs to get to the top. There are no escalators or elevators. Many elderly Chinese women were almost in better shape than we were trying to walk up those stairs.

The unassuming entrance into the monastery. There were flowers everywhere. It was overwhelming.

George in front of the smaller shrine of the monastery. You need to pass through here first before reaching the square in front of the big temple.

All the beautiful craftsmanship and artistry were almost too much to take in.

One of many big bells in the monastery. All the offerings consisted of fresh fruits and more flowers. Why does only Buddha get all the good stuff?

These stone plate inscriptions could be found all over the area. Does anyone know what this particular one says?

Behind me is the main temple of the Po Lin Monastery.

The three golden Buddhas inside the main temple. This building is so richly appointed with art that one doesn’t even know where to look first.

Silk lanterns hanging from the tall, vaulted, and elaborately painted ceilings inside the temple.

Detail of a dragon, chiseled out of stone, at the main temple of the Po Lin Monastery.

The temple is surrounded by these amazing stone carvings and sculptures.

Another detail shot of the countless stone chiseled dragons.

The giant Buddha as seen from the temple. It was our next destination. More photos of that in the next entry...