A useful tip picked up last night talking to my friend, when doing any big tourist things in the city, do it between Monday and Wednesday. Beginning Thursday many from mainland China board a 30-minute boat and begin their weekend in HK.
The Princess Sapphire ended up staying overnight. That'd be a great way to see the highlights of HK with a two-day visit.
Weather-wise, today is perfect. The clouds that tend to hang around the mountains aren't here today. Temperatures are suppose to be in the high 70s, humidity at a "low" 91%. Time to go see the Big Buddha. I was warned that restrooms at the top of the peak would be Eastern style. Hope you have good thigh muscles. You've been warned.
Getting to the Buddha is fairly simple if you're not afraid of heights. To get to Buddha you take the Ngong Ping Cable car. Take the MTR and transfer to Tung Chung Line. Get off at Tung Chung station, take exit B to the street. Walk a few minutes to the Cable Car counter. Total time to get to the top is 20'ish minutes. If you are afraid of heights you can take a tour bus up the winding roads. That option takes roughly an hour each direction.
Starting in the lower right headed to the lower left (35 minutes)
The train lengths are insane. You can see the front dip and twist as it's in motion
One of the massive development of homes on the way to Buddha
Hint #1 when vising the Big Buddha via the cable car, buy your ticket in advance! Otherwise you'll wait in a line that, on a good day the wait is 1.5 hours. Hint #2, if you're not afraid of heights, pay for the glass bottom car ("Crystal car"). This will cut the line even further. Doing 1 and 2 I spent three minutes waiting to get aboard a car. Hint #3, if you can't see the mountains when in Hong Kong city due to low clouds skip the Buddha that day because the statue will be hidden in clouds too (the car company lets you change your date once for free).
Giving you an idea how large these structures are (and they're everywhere)
At the station, looking where to catch the cable car
Signs. Yup those are helpful
Because you know you need treats before heading up
Hello first line for people to buy tickets
People still in line to buy tickets
Seriously, didn't they read ahead to buy your tickets online?
Tickets purchased for non-glass bottom car yet still in line (left). The center empty line is the Crystal line (pay the $$)
Just like a ski lift
The ride up to the peak is beautiful. There was a nice cool breeze coming off the ocean and into the car. Looking down you'd see large wild firms growing along with some full trees. If you look really close you'll see a path going up and down the hills. Yes, people spend approximately 3-4 hours making the hike to see Buddha via the trails.
Myself and two others, all unsure how safe this setup is
Yeah we didn't care, basically had a dance party in the sky
Buddha coming into focus
Of the beautiful and awe inspiring places I've seen this place may rival them all. Yes, there is a fake "native" village immediately upon leaving the tram but once you walk quickly past that place, the real monastery grounds are awe inspiring. The trip from start to finish (if you do the glass bottom car) will indeed run 5-7 hours (included in that is the subway to/from Buddha). Well worth every minute and every dollar.
The trail winds up and down for miles
At the base of the peak
"Hi mom and dad"
Totally fake, commercialized town
Where the real beauty begins
200'ish steps to the peak
Not hard to do if the humidity would be lower
Pictures don't capture how impressive and massive it is
There is a cafeteria that's on-site which only offers vegan dishes (very reasonable) should you get hungry. I'm not a vegan yet I ate everything I got. It was that good.
My feet have officially quit on me. Too much walking. Thankfully there are no clouds out tonight, temperatures are dropping (upper 70s) so I decided to do tonight's post from the rooftop garden of the hotel. Let's see if I can do a quick power nap then hit the streets of HK for a late night meal/snack.
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