It was quite foggy the moment we went out of the Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hotel Hong Kong.  It had been raining for a few days and it was obvious that the weather was not cooperating.  I looked at my travel buddy and shrugged my shoulders as if asking if he was still in the mood to push through with our plans for that afternoon and visit the Ngong Ping Village.  He just laughed and ran past me and challenged me to a race to the nearest MTR station.

We rode the MTR from the Tsim Sha Tsui Station and got off the Central Station to transfer to the Tung Chung Line.  It took us close to one hour to get to the MTR Tung Chung Station.  It’s a good thing that we were able to get seats from the Central Station or we would have been left with no choice but stand in the train for a good 30 minutes or so.

The weather was no different when we arrived at the Tung Chung MTR Station.  We went out and realized that it was still drizzling.  But then we decided that since we’ve already traveled all the way to Tung Chung then we might as well push through with the trip.

There are two ways to get to the Ngong Ping Village and see the famous Tian Tan Buddha at Lantau Island.  One way is to catch a bus and the second way is by riding the Ngong Ping cable cars.  Of course I chose the cable car over the regular bus.

The Ngong Ping Cable has two terminals – the terminal at Tung Chung and the terminal at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island. The one at Tung Chung is very near the Tung Chung MTR Station and it would only take you about three to five
minutes to get there.  The cable cars operate from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on normal days and 9:00 am – 6:30 pm every Saturday and Sunday.

We suggest that you go to the cable terminal early in order to avoid long queues.  As for us, we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes before getting on a cable car.  Inside the cable car, it was even cooler.  At times, we felt as if  we were being enveloped by clouds and that there were “ghost cable cars” that were coming out of nowhere.

After around fifteen to twenty minutes, we reached the Ngong Ping cable terminal at Lantau Island and were ushered inside a colorful souvenir shop where you can purchase Ngong Ping merchandise like magnets, key chains, mugs, shirts, photo frames, etc.  Parched visitors can also purchase refreshments, light snacks, chocolates and candies from this souvenir shop.  But as for our group, the most saleable items were baseball caps, umbrellas and raincoats  because we were greeted by rain at Lantau Island.  It’s a good thing that we were wearing bonnets so we no longer needed to shell off extra cash for rain gears.

We proceeded to the Ngong Ping Village which sits on a 1.5 hectare portion of land on Lantau.  This village is considered one of the cultural treasures of Hong Kong.  The Ngong Ping Village offers a lot of interesting attractions like the Ngong Ping Tea House, Walking with Buddha, Monkey’s Tale Theater, plus other establishments including restaurants, a spa, and a Starbucks outlet.

In detail, Walking with Buddha is a multimedia attraction where visitors get the chance to look into the journey to enlightenment of Siddharta Gautama and how he became Buddha.  You will experience the grandeur of his life at the Palace and the ruggedness of the forest as if you re-living the journey of Buddha himself.  You will also walk along the Path of Enlightenment where you can learn more about Buddhism and the various teachings.

Another must-see is the comical attraction called the Monkey’s Tale Theater.  Guests will be greeted at the entrance by illustrations and monkey paintings.  This show can be quite entertaining because of the combination of computer generated sounds and effects that accompany the narration.  The charming monkey characters can be quite amusing as well when they impart different life lessons.

From here, visitors can pass time looking through different merchandise like Chinese dolls, wooden puppets, silk, etc.  There is a massage parlor and numerous restaurants that serve yummy fusion cuisine.  Sometimes, there are also tai chi demonstrations, kung fu demonstrations, street jugglers, magicians, acrobats, etc.

If you walk on, you will reach the base of a flight of steps that lead to the Tian Tan Buddha.  Unfortunately, it was very cloudy that we were not able to see the Buddha.  But that didn’t dampen our spirits.  We just enjoyed checking out the different beads, lucky charms and special stones that were being sold at retail shops that are located at the base of the Tian Tan Buddha.  I was able to buy an embossed black bead bracelet for a friend for HK$ 98.

You can also find the Po Lin Monastery on the Ngong Ping grounds.  This monastery is considered “of the greatest Buddhist holy grounds in Hong Kong.”  Of course, a trip to Ngong Ping will not be complete without visiting the Tian Tan Buddha, the world’s largest outdoor bronze statue.  The Giant Buddha is located at the center area of the Po Lin Monastery.  If you are fit enough, try to go up to the Buddha by climbing 260 steps.

We were having such a wonderful time that we didn’t notice that we were late for another appointment.  So we headed back to the Ngong Ping cable terminal to go back to Tung Chung.  While we were comfortably seated inside the cable car, I didn’t feel too bad that we were not able to see the Giant Buddha.  I realized that because we didn’t see the Buddha, we got to enjoy the little surrounding attractions and delights that the quaint Ngong Ping Village could offer.

Posted in Attractions, Hong Kong, Things to do

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