On our visit to Hongkong last year, we made it a point to visit Ngong Ping Village in Lantau Island and the famous Tian Tan (also known as the Big Buddha) Buddha statue. The Tian Tan Buddha was built near the Po Lin monastery and provides a scenic centerpiece to the mountainous countryside.
[zilla_alert style=”green”] For More of My Photos, Please Visit http://kevincodamon.com [/zilla_alert]
According to Wikipedia: [zilla_alert style=”grey”] The Buddha is 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs 250 metric tons (280 short tons), and was the world’s tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2000. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 268 steps to reach the Buddha.[/zilla_alert]We visited around May and there was quite a bit of rain when we reached Ngong Ping via a misty yet cozy cable car ride through the mountains. First time travelers just need to purchase a ticket or in our case, a round trip ticket from the Ngong Ping/Tung Chung cable car station near the MTR and enjoy the ride. We chose the cable car with the see through glass beneath your feet so i can take photos of what we’re passing through.
[zilla_alert style=”green”] SHOPPING ALERT: Apparently, in Tung Chung you can get a lot of shopping done in the Malls near the MTR station. I saw a lot of international luxury, shoe and clothing brands on sale during my visit so might be a good place to look for some bargains. [/zilla_alert]
Once in Ngong Ping, you will be passing through a lot of shops selling items and souvenirs along with some restaurants. We stopped at one of the Chinese restaurants to have lunch and ordered Soy Chicken and Beef Brisket which tasted absolutely yummy. The price for Rice Toppings (BBQ Meats, Chicken, Roast Duck) would be around 400 pesos to 600 pesos per order.
At first, i was hesitant to climb up to the Tian Tan Buddha as it was raining a bit and I was worried that i could get sick. After spending a few minutes looking at trinkets being sold at the ground level stores, I finally decided to push through with it as i already crossed mountains and seas to be here so might as well complete the journey up the hill. And boy, it was worth it. Seeing this huge Buddha statue in front of me, i just couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer size and effort needed to build this monument. It got me thinking to myself about how the Philippines doesn’t have many monuments like this yet we have a sizable landmass advantage over Hong Kong. Maybe it was just willpower and effort…
Our visit to the Tian Tan Buddha took about half a day and was well worth the MTR ride all over to Tung Chung, riding the cable car for 25 minutes to Ngong Ping, walking through the village and climbing 268 steps to stand in its presence. I definitely recommend this sidetrip to Lantau island to see the Tian Tan Buddha to visitors of Hong Kong but try to do this before you go on shopping or any strenuous activity as there is a lot of walking and stair climbing involved.
