Took the tram to Central, and walked around Statue Square. The Legislative Council was having an open house, and we eagerly queued up to enter. However, we grew impatient after waiting for 10 minutes for the doors to open, and we sneaked out of the queue and continued our way to the Central Ferry Pier.
Legislative Council
Central Ferry Pier
Was getting sicker and sicker every minute. My lips were cracking and I hated the cold. We bought some rice dumplings and lychee tea to bring on board the ferry. Boarded the New World First Ferry at about 12.30pm, and made use of the 1 hour journey to catch some sleep on that slow rumbling ferry.
Big slow clumsy ferry
When the ferry reached the Mui Wo Ferry Pier on Lantau Island after what seemed like an eternal ride, we quickly alighted and dashed towards the bus terminus just beside the pier because the bus we needed to catch is scheduled in such a way that it arrives promptly to pick up passengers of every arriving ferry. However, we were still considered slow and the already packed bus closed its doors right in our faces and sped off. As the next bus would come 20 minutes later, I made a quick trip to buy some lozenges and lip balm at a nearby convenience store, and dash to the McDees toilet to relieve myself.
Bus terminus beside the pier
Guesthouses and residential blocks near the pier
Mui Wo Ferry Pier
#2 Bus bound for the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping
I found it incredible that despite the generous time allowance, I did not even get to use the loo in the end. Each of the four ladies queuing up in front of me spent an average of 5 minutes in that one-cubicle loo, and by the time it got to me, I could see from the glass walls of McDees the bus arriving. I gave out a loud exasperated groaned and bolted to the bus terminus.
The agonizing 45-minute journey to Ngong Ping began, with the bus cruising up the bumpy slopes and my pee nearly seeping out of my ears. Simple dwellings and facilities dotted along the route haphazardly, and we saw stray dogs wandering around, locals playing badminton leisurely and even angmohs biking down the slopes. As we went further uphill and passed a reservoir, we entered remote wilderness. Disappointingly, even though we were miles away from the polluted city, the scenery was still hazy and we could hardly make out the outlines of the mountains.
The scenic reservoir along the way
We were awestruck by the massive orange mountains
Finally, we reached Ngong Ping and the toilet was the first attraction we needed to visit before anything else. Toilets there were very clean, spacious and modern-looking, contrary to what we expected. The Big Buddha sat aloft on his lotus altar, beckoning us to scale the 268 steps to meet him. Easy feat.
Arriving at Ngong Ping
Bus terminus at Ngong Ping
The Big Buddha
Slug at the base of the Big Buddha
Halfway up
We climbed so high just to realise that we were only tall enough to touch the bronze lotus petals of his throne. Under the Big Buddha was a viewing gallery exhibiting scrolls and paintings on Buddhism as well as information on the long and tedious process of constructing the Big Buddha. There was also a vegetarian restaurant which one needed to purchase a meal ticket (at a freaking HKD60 for a simple vegetarian meal!) to enter. We walked around the altar, which overlooked the serene hills and forests of Ngong Ping.
Nearing the Big Buddha
Me posing with a statue of an immortal
Slug on the altar
Slug and I on the altar
View of Ngong Ping from the altar
We could see the Ngong Ping 360, a 5.7km cable car journey between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping. Slug was eager to get on that, but I shuddered because the cable cars were high above the hill slopes and I have heard that the cable cars could actually sway precariously if the winds were strong enough. To our puzzlement, the cable cars were not moving at all and then I realised it actually had been shut down indefinitely due to an accident some time back. Just then we overheard some Singaporeans sighing about the falling cable cars.
We descended the steps and proceeded to the Po Lin Monastery.
Big Buddha waving goodbye to us
At the entrance of Po Lin Monastery
Outside the temple
Me posing with colourful statues of the gods
Monks chanting away
We bought some offerings, namely joss sticks and joss papers, and prayed for peace and safety for our families. While walking around looking for the smaller gods to pray to, my huge bundle of joss sticks suddenly caught fire and burnt my fingers, and I hastily dumped them in the main urn. After that, proceeded to the vegetarian canteen on the monastery grounds for some refreshments. We regretted not buying the meal ticket because the meagre food we ordered totalled to about the same price as the ticket. It was not a fanciful meal and it seemed like a rip-off.
Shop selling an assortment of offerings
The vegetarian canteen
Vegetarian beehoon, spring rolls and mock meats
Slug and I at the vegetarian canteen
Was afraid to miss the last ferry back to the mainland, so hurriedly went back to the bus terminus to catch the same bus back to the pier. Saw many angmohs lugging bicycles and pet dogs around, and suddenly had an intention to stay over at that island for a night or two the next time I come. Can spend idyllic afternoons cycling around the island and enjoying the wilderness.
Slug outside stalls selling knickknacks like fisherman hats and colourful pinwheels
Now you can't escape from my Five Fingers Mountain!
Leaving Lantau Island
Slug and I on the ferry back
View of Hong Kong island from the ferry
Upon alighting from the ferry, we hopped on another ferry, this time at Star Ferry Pier and bound for Tsim Sha Tsui. Was thinking of having dinner and doing some shopping at Ladies Market, but deep down, I wished I could return to our apartment and nurse my feverish head and parched throat.
Explored Harbour City, a spanking new and extremely posh shopping mall, after we got off the ferry at Tsim Sha Tsui. However, it was a confusing labyrinth of shops and my head was spinning. Left quickly and roamed aimlessly around the Nathan Road area before settling for dinner at a restaurant. I had something light and tummy-warming, that was, hot porridge with pork slices and century egg, while Slug had prawn dumplings noodles.
Felt slightly better after the dinner, and decided to head back to our apartment after buying some Panadol from the pharmacy. Winds were extremely cold and strong that night, and we felt miserable. Took the MTR back to Causeway Bay, and the complexity of this transport mode added on to our misery. Could not believe we had to choose from Exit A to Exit N just to get out of the station. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong exit and wound up walking an extra distance in the freaking cold back to the apartment.
Back at the apartment, we discovered to our horror that the lock of our room was spoilt when we tried to open the door. Got Mr Chiu to come over and resolve things, and his maid impressed me when she actually managed to open the door by twisting the lock with a scissors. Mr Chiu allocated us to another bedroom, which was bigger, more comfortable and came with a double bed. We were initially bemoaning our bad luck, but at least we ended up with a nicer room.
Took a scalding shower, popped some pills and prayed the next day would be better before going to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment