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Travel to Asia? It’s a long way, but a good business class seat and a pair of pajamas can help minimize the pain! Throw in a couple of movies and you are there before you know it!
When we first decided to go to Hong Kong, I must admit, I was a bit overwhelmed. It’s a long way and I was taking my youngest son with me. I know how difficult it is to adapt to a twelve hour time difference, but I wasn’t sure how he would react. Additionally, it’s a big city, halfway across the world, with so many things to do. How was I ever going to figure it all out so that he enjoyed his time there?
Though nervous, I decided to tackle the journey in steps, making it seem more manageable.
After the long journey, first stopping in Seattle, we finally landed in Hong Kong International Airport. That was the first step. Step two encompassed getting to the hotel. Check. (A taxi was relatively cheap and easy and deposited us at our door) Found something my picky son would actually eat. Step three complete. (McDonald’s was nearby in Langham Place Mall)
Final step…find things that we could enjoy together.
An early start, on our first morning, had us navigating the MTR (metro) to Lantau Island. I desperately wanted to visit something I had seen over the years depicted in pictures from Hong Kong…the Big Buddha!
Getting to the Big Buddha originally entailed taking a lengthy bus ride along winding mountain roads. In 2004, construction began on a cable car project developed to improve tourism to the area. The three and a half mile long bi-cable gondola lift system links Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, running across the southern shore of the Hong Kong International Airport Island and Nei Lak Shan with eight towers including the stations. Five of the towers are located within the country park.
After arriving at the Tung Chung station, we made our way out to the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car station across the street. Taking our place in the line that had already begun to form, we eventually purchased a combo ticket offering round-trip transportation in the cable car, entrance to the Ngong Ping village and bus transportation from Ngong Ping to the Tai O fishing village.
Spectacular views were to be had from our cable car as we made our way across the water and hills to Ngong Ping village. Swinging into the final station, we exited our car and set foot in the culturally themed village. Though built in the old traditional style, it is brand new construction, something which often disappoints those seeking to experience some of Hong Kong’s architectural history.
Created at the top of the Ngong Ping plateau, the village was opened in 2005 and was designed and landscaped to reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the area. A diverse array of retail, dining and entertainment experiences await visitors including virtual reality experiences, the Bodhi Wishing Shrine and the Bodhi Tree (known as the Bo Tree), the “Tree of Awakening”. The Bo Tree is known as the tree under which Siddhartha meditated “Who am I and why am I here?”, eventually attaining Enlightenment and becoming Buddha.
Although we enjoyed the village and all that it had to offer, I must admit, after many years of taking my children to theme parks, I decided that Ngong Ping village exhibited a too much of a theme-park atmosphere. Glad that this was not all that we had come for, we were anxious to experience the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha, both a short walk from the village.
The Big Buddha can be spied from the cable car while approaching Ngong Ping village as well as during your walk from the village. Nothing prepares you, however, for its magnitude, especially while gazing up at the effigy from the base of the hill.
The statue, standing 112 feet tall and weighing over 250 metric tons, was completed on December 29, 1993, the day that the Chinese reckon as the day of the Buddhas’s enlightenment. Constructed from 202 bronze pieces, the immense statue can be seen across the bay from as far away as Macau on a clear day.
Climbing the 268 steps up the hill to reach the Buddha is definitely a test of one’s physical fitness. Though I work out a couple of times a week, I found myself stopping occasionally to rest, reminding myself of the reward waiting at the top. As I languished in the shade of one of the many urns on the stairway, I found myself wondering what those who were unable to climb would do in order to appreciate the statue from a closer perspective. I later learned that the site also features a small winding road for vehicles to accommodate the handicapped.
With my final steps conquered, I stood peering up at the impressive Buddha (one of five large Buddha statues in China), right hand raised, representing the removal of affliction and left hand resting open in his lap in a gesture of generosity. Facing north, unique among the great Buddha statues (all others face south), I stared out at his view of surrounding landscape, remembering that the Buddha symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith.
The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and as we made our way around, we admired the six smaller bronze statues known as “The Offering of the Six Devas” that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit and music to the Buddha. These figures symbolize the Six Perfection of generosity, morality, patience, zeal, mediation and wisdom, all necessary for enlightenment.
Since we did not purchase an offering for the Buddha, we were not allowed to see the Buddha’s most esteemed element, the relic of Gautama Buddha, which consists of some of his alleged cremated remains. There are also three floors beneath the statue, the halls of the Universe, of Benevolent Merit and of Remembrance, which we were under the impression that we were not allowed to visit since we did not purchase admission at the base of the stairway. We did peek inside, however, pictures were strictly forbidden. The thought crossed my mind to make the long climb down and back up again, in order to have admission, but as time was limited, we decided against it.
Another amazing feature under the Buddha is a huge bell inscribed with images of Buddhas and is designed to ring every seven minutes, 108 times a day, symbolizing the release of 108 kinds of human vexations. I must admit, however, I did not know this fact during our visit and do not remember hearing the bell ring.
After admiring the view one more time (and taking a peek at my watch to make sure we were still on schedule), I prepared myself for the long climb down.
It was time for the Po Lin Monastery.
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Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha)
- http://www.plm.org.hk/
- Address: Ngong Ping Rd, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
- Hours: 1000-1730, daily
- Admission: Access to the outside of the Buddha is free of charge, but there is an admission fee to go inside the Buddha.
- Getting There: Option 1: Take Lantau Bus No. 23 at the bus station outside Tung Chung MTR Station to Ngong Ping Bus Terminus (travel time: about 45 minutes). Option 2: Take Ngong Ping Cable Car at the Cable Car Station outside Tung Chung MTR Station (travel time: about 25 minutes); take an additional 10-minute walk to the Monastery. Option 3: Take First Ferry from Central Pier to Mui Wo, and take Lantau Bus No.2 to Ngong Ping Bus Terminus (travel time from Mui Wo to Ngong Ping: about 35 minutes). Option 4: Take Lantau Bus No. 21 at the bus stop in Tai O to Ngong Ping Bus Terminus (travel time: about 15 minutes). Option 5: Take a Lantau Island taxi.