SteveWhen we first arrived in Hong Kong we were not too sure what to expect. However, we had researched Lantau Island and thought it would make an excellent day trip. With plenty to experience, this was going to be a great day. I’ll let you decide if you think it is worth a visit. Here’s why you should visit Lantau Island in Hong Kong.
Getting there 到达那里
Lantau Island is pretty easy to travel to, due to the Hong Kong public transport system being just brilliant. It all depends on where you are staying. We were staying at the (now unfortunately closed) Mandarin Oriental Excelsior on Hong Kong Island which was right by the Causeway Bay MTR station (MTR – mass transit railway, Hong Kong’s version of the London underground). Here’s a handy map of the MTR.
From Causeway Bay MTR, we caught the Island line westbound to Central, and then changed onto the Tung Chung line and rode it all the way to the end of the line at Lantau Island. From here, it was just a short walk to our first cool experience.
Ngong Ping Cable Car 昂坪360
This was probably the thing I was most looking forward to about our day. However, Amy was not as excited as I was! The cable car runs from Tung Chung to the village of Ngong Ping on Lantau Island. Even though we thought we were there quite early, there was still a pretty big queue to ride.
In the end the queue moved pretty quickly. We could have bought our tickets ahead of time, but instead chose to buy them from the ticket booth on arrival. This was because we were having a real dilemma as to if we wanted to go to Victoria Peak or Ngong Ping on the day. At time of writing, a return journey ticket costs $235 HKD per person for a standard cabin. What you really want though is a crystal cabin, and prices for these are $315 HKD per person.
The crystal cabins offer a glass floor, and this is what Amy was nervous about. Not that I tried stamping on it to see if it was safe or anything! What it did give us was amazing views of the land below (and the sea for that matter).
First of all, you go over Tung Chung Bay, and then on towards the airport which is on another island. Here the cable car turns right at a station and then heads over to Lantau Island. You’ll see the mountains on the island and the forests too.
The ride takes about 25 minutes, and is very sedate. I’ve been on plenty of cable cars before, but never one that goes over the sea for such a distance. The crystal cabin was a bit of a splurge, but as this was part of my 40th birthday trip we thought it was worth it. This alone is why you should visit Lantau Island in Hong Kong!
Ngong Ping Village 昂坪村
Soon enough we arrived at Ngong Ping village. There was also a bus station there with lots of people arriving just as we were. I still think the cable car option was a better call, and definitely more scenic even though it was probably the more expensive option.
Ngong Ping village itself appears to be made for the tourists, but as we were tourists ourselves we were more than happy with this. It is set over nearly 4 acres and has lots to keep you occupied. The main sites we were interested in was the Tian Tan (big) Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.
On the way to the Big Buddha and the Monastery, you walk through a large plaza that is full of shops and restaurants. There are a lot of authentic food choices here, as well as the western options such as Starbucks and Subway!
We also saw lots of cat-related caricatures. We’ve seen this a lot in Asia, and maybe someone who is more educated can explain it to me. Maybe lucky cat?
The plaza was worth exploring on its own. The shops were really interesting to look around, as well as checking out suitable spots for a bite to eat. We did end up eating at the Ngong Ping Garden Restaurant and found it was very very good and authentic.
The Big Buddha 天坛大佛
Once we got through the plaza we found ourselves at the base of the Big Buddha statue. It’s made of bronze and is a whopping 34 metres tall! What surprised me the most was that it was built relatively recently, in 1993. From the size of the crowds, this was the most popular attraction. Seeing this is a great reason why you should visit Lantau Island in Hong Kong.
There are 268 steps to reach the Big Buddha, but they’re not too difficult really. Being so large, we saw this from miles away on our cable car journey to Ngong Ping.
Actually, when you’ve climbed the steps to the Big Buddha you realise you don’t actually get a good view of it because you are so close. It’s one of those things best seen from a bit of a distance.
There are also some smaller bronze statues at the base of the Big Buddha, but I couldn’t tell you their significance! They were pretty and ornate, and seemed popular with people wanting photos by them from what we saw. The other thing is the epic views over Lantau Island. The Big Buddha is free to visit, but I understand you can pay extra to go inside the statue. The door to the Buddha was locked when we visited though.
Po Lin Monastery 宝莲禅寺
Po Lin Monastery was built in 1906 but you would never know! The Buddhist monastery is extremely well decorated on the outside, stunningly so in fact.
The monastery was free to get inside, although we did see a couple of signs asking for no photographs. Inside there were past, present and future statues of the Buddha.
We saw monks and locals, as well as tourists paying their respects whilst on site. This is a real monastery that is in constant use. It was deathly quiet too, not surprisingly I guess.
There were more publicly accessible areas of the monastery than I expected. We saw the Grand Hall of 10,000 Buddhas, the main shrine, and the Great Hall. Everywhere we went was beautifully decorated with lots of gold leaf, and fantastic carvings both inside and out. It must take a lot to keep it all looking as nice as it does.
Outside the monastery were some courtyards where we saw lots of people lighting incense sticks and putting them into incense burners, followed by paying their respects.
Is it worth a visit? 值得一游吗？
Oh yes! We missed the fishing village of Tai O on the island somehow in our excitement (maybe next time) but there was still lots to see. Whilst Ngong Ping plaza felt quite modern and touristy despite being made to look old, the Buddha and monastery had a much different feel. Spiritual in fact. No one seemed to be messing about, and everyone was very respectful. Throw in a mega cable car journey into the mix and it was a brilliant day out away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. Well worth the price of an MTR journey from anywhere in Hong Kong! This is why you should visit Lantau Island when in Hong Kong!
