That's a Big Buddha

Even though I woke at 5.30 I didn't leave my room until about ten and had to endure the lift routine which means that a couple of the lifts only go down to level 5 so one alights and waits aaaaaggggges for another lift to go to the ground floor. Of course while you're waiting the number of people waiting with you grows and, let's call a spade a spade, no-one cares if you've been waiting the longest or indeed if you're nearest the door when it opens...it's the quick or the dead.

Out into a nice fresh morning even though the humidity was said to be 72%. Walked along the pedestrian bridge to Hong Kong station and the half hour ride to Tung Chung on Lantau Island. Train was quite full as this is the same line that gets one to Disneyland and one of the Sunday market towns.

The train station is located in a shopping mall which also has a cinema centre and outlet shops. Just a little walk over to the cable car station and a horrendous queue. Took almost an hour to get to the ticket booth but a lovely cool breeze was blowing so still kept comfortable.

There are two styles of cabins one can travel on, standard and crystal. The crystal cars are on 'special' at the moment so I forked out $213HKD which also meant it was only a 10 minute wait to get on whereas it was nearly an hour for the standard ones. To my mind paying $20 extra was worth it if I didn't have to stand in another queue for an hour.

Not much different in the cabin itself EXCEPT it had a glass bottom which was mildly terrifying but also a bit of fun. The cable car goes for quite a distance and over all sorts of terrain, over the South China Sea and mountains, sometimes quite steep taking about 25 minutes to complete the ride. I was a little concerned at times but really whatever happens one has little control over so you just sit back and enjoy it.

We emerge at the little village of Ngong Ping the home of the Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. One steps out to see the Buddha in the distance and a set of shops in the classic Chinese village style somewhat kitsched up by them housing Starbucks, noodle stores, souvenir places even a Peking Opera 'goods' shop plus the requisite drinks and ice cream stalls.

Then we step through an archway and the Buddha is before us, all 10 storeys high of it, awesome (literally). One can climb up to the pedestal upon which be sits but I cared not for climbing the several hundred steps, really one appreciated the spectacle from below anyway. This piece of magnificence is in fact the largest seated Buddha in the world and was created by China Aerospace Science and Technology (you wouldn't have expected that would you? Imagine if the Michelangelo Ceiling in the Vatican was created by Microsoft).

Many people praying around the square below and much lighting of joss sticks in and around the path of

harmony. Walked over to the Monastery but it seems to be under repair shrouded in hessian so I decided not to go in.

After spending about an hour there I hopped on the cable car again for the somewhat less fearsome ride ack to Tung Chang and the train to Hong Kong. A bit less crowded on the train and it was nice and cold on it so I arrived refreshed.



It was getting on for 3.00 so I was in need of a cuppa and went to the same place in the IFC and had a nice decaf cap (and complimentary mini eskimo pie). Then grabbed some eats for dinner at Pret A Manger. I didn't feel like slogging out anywhere so headed back to the hotel.