Wet set out to Lantau island first by subway train, then by cable car. On the Island we rode a bus, taxi and boat. We thoroughly used all forms of transportation.
On the way we stopped and got food at Starbucks. Beth got the tiniest coffee, apparently a tall is not the same size in Hong Kong.
When we bought our tickets for Lantau island we received more paper work and tickets than we knew what to do with. We were not real sure what we were getting our selves into. We had a ticket for the cable car, a free snack, a bus, a monkey show, a boat ride, and a wristband. We bought tickets for s crystal car ride up, so worth the extra money for a shorter line and a view of below the cabin.
I have been in several cable cars, but not one where we climbed through clouds, the cable turned corners and you could see through the bottom. It was a pretty awesome ride. (Mom you would have hated it! The feet pictures are for you!).
Once we got to the top of the island it was time to explore all that we had tickets for, so we set off. Beth had to buy a jacket- the temperature had dropped considerably and we were all cold. Luckily I had my rain jacket on, but I was still quite chilly.
We thought we would start by taking the bus down to the fishing village, but the boys got distracted by snacks. We had tofu ice cream( not recommended) and sesame sticky bites (interesting, dough that was dense, sweet and warm). Then we checked to see when the bus left to the fishing village. We had 20 mins, so we went to big Buddha.
The big Buddha is the largest in the world. We climbed all the way up, all 463 stairs, further into the clouds. It was quite impressive how large the statue is when you standings next to it. It is quite beautifully carved.
After looking around, we raced down all the stairs to catch the bus...but we missed it. So we checked out the LoPon monastery. It was under renovation, but it was still quite pretty. I loved the dragons.
We then began our wisdom walk. There was a path up to an area with a wooden sculpture. It was a long walk up into the woods. It had a beautiful view and it was a lovely walk.
Next we walked back to the village area. On the way we ran into some loose cows. Apparently they are ferrel cows that should not be messed with. We checked the bus schedule again and decided we had enough time for lunch, the monkey show and some souvenir shopping. The monkey show was a ticket we got for free, much like the random snacks. I am sure it is because they could not have sold a ticket to this show if they tried. We thought we were going to see monkeys. What we saw was some bad animatronics, rotating surround sound and a cartoon with a Buddhist message. It was the biggest let down. A total waist of 13 mins.
After the monkey show we caught the bus down to the little fishing village. It is situated up on stilts. It is amazing people still live that way. We took a little boat ride through the village, and then out to sea to see if we could see white Chinese dolphins. We did not see dolphins. After the boat ride we walked through town. We waited for the bus, but decided we would take a taxi back. Taxis are very cheap, it was less than $5.
Back at the village we caught another bus home. Now it was a race to see if we could make it back to the hotel, change and head out to see the symphony of lights. But we had a half hour bus ride and and hour plus subway ride, then a short walk.
We made it back, changed clothes and out to the harbor by 8:10pm. We caught the last 3 mins of the show. Oh well, we'll see it tomorrow. We then stopped to have a drink at an outdoor pub. The crossed the street to have dinner at The Poor Dog. We have had some good American food in Hong Kong.
After dinner we took a taxi to the world's largest hotel. It so happened to be a Ritz Carlton. We took and elevator up to the 103rd floor then another elevator to the 118th floor. The view was spectacular. We ordered a drink and pretended to be posh and hip. People took pictures of us (not the first time in HK, they think we're famous😉). Met some Australian women, and one of them knew a guy Dave went to school with, what a small world. Then on the way down in the elevator, we rode with 3 Texans. A short taxi cab ride back to our hotel and we fell into bed at 3am in the morning. What a long, yet great day in HK!!
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