Hong Kong Hotels
|
  | |  |
Lantau
Entry 5 of 58 | show all | print this entry |
|
Lantau is the island with the giant sitting Buddha and the new airport.
We left by ferry early in the morning and arrived at Lantau after an hour long ferry crossing. We were first off the ferry, which meant first in line for the bus to the giant Buddha. All was great until we realized that we didn't have exact change for the bus. The line behind us was growing but we had to make a trip to the 7 eleven and the bus was loading. We figured the next bus wouldn't be far behind. After the bus was full, but not overflowing it left us and the remaining people in the queue. Again we were close to the front of the line and were sure that we would be on the next bus. Little did we know that the bus drivers kept to a strict schedule of one bus every 30 - 40 minutes. So began our waiting and watching buses go by, ferry passengers arriving, and the clouds moving. Ok maybe not the clouds as it was just as hazy here as in Hong Kong.
The bus finally arrived. We deposited exact change and claimed our seats. The traverse across the island was a little scary as there were roadworks along the way and part of the road was reduced to one lane. To our shock and amazement, the direction of the traffic was conducted by an automatic traffic light and was strictly obeyed by all drivers. The bus climbed the winding road to the top of the mountain and let faster traffic go by. Where were we? Rules of the road being obeyed? How strange.
We arrived at the giant Buddha to find it shrouded in haze and mid afternoon sun.
The steps leading to the Buddha were filled with tourists but we persevered and made our way through the crowd.
Somewhere along the way, we picked up an elderly group of tourists, a man and two women. We could not get around this threesome and just when we thought we were clear of them, we could hear them yelling for each other. It was good to be back in Asia.
After climbing and decending the steps of the giant Buddha, we went for lunch at the monastery's restaurant. We were served vegetarian dishes including stirfried vegetables with tofu, tofu with vegetables, stirfried vegetables, and taro soup. All of course were accompanied by rice. There was no soft tofu dessert as advertised, but that's ok.
After lunch we explored the gounds of the monastery. There was beautiful park with flowering trees,
places to sit and enjoy, and joss stick burners.
And so it was time to walk the Wisdom Path, become more sage, see things more clearly. The path of the wise led us through a tea plantation.
We didn't recognize the bushes to be tea and were left wondering how early civilizations would choose this particular bush to steep in hot water and drink. Unfortunately, there would be no answer as the tea shop was closed.
Next we saw and installation of the Heart Sutra overlooking Lantau mountain. It was a figure 8 formation of wooden pillars with the inscription of the heart sutra.
We returned to the central area and were once again first in the queue for the long wait for the bus. We saw an empty bus arrive, drive right by the line of puzzled people waiting, and head back down the hill. We waited for another 30 minutes and the same empty bus returned. This time we had the exact change and got on. The bus arrived just in time for the hourly ferry and we were on our way back to Hong Kong.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from Hong Kong or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
