Apart from the city sights of Hong Kong, which are not to be missed, there is also a part of Hong Kong that allows you to escape the hustle and bustle of the massive metropolis.
To the northwest of the main part of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island and Kowloon), lies Lantau Island.
Many people know Lantau Island as the home of Disneyland Hong Kong, but there are some other attractions of the Island too – namely, the Cable Car and Big Buddha.
For us, the perfect opportunity to visit The Big Buddha via the Cable Car on Lantau Island came on the day that we were leaving our accommodation in the city and heading out for two nights at Disneyland.
We thought, why not, on our way there, check out the scenic options on Lantau?
Since we only had carry on sized luggage, accessibility wasn’t a problem – we got the train to Tung Chung, used rental lockers at the Citygate shopping centre next to the station (On the basement floor), and then jumped on the Cable Car across to the Big Buddha.
Later in the day it was then easy to grab our luggage back from the locker, and jump on the train to Disneyland. Easy peasy!
One piece of advice I’ll give you concerning the Cable Car (Other than: Do it, it’s awesome!) is to book your tickets online.
We waited in the heat, in line, for about an hour.
That wait could have been saved had we purchased tickets beforehand. Go us.
When you get to the top station of the cable car, you’ll have a small walk to the Big Buddha, most of which is in direct sunlight – so don’t forget sunglasses, a hat, and sunscreen, along with comfortable walking shoes.
Along the way you can grab cold drinks – we grabbed delicious mango smoothies on our way back, which brought some fantastic relief from the heat.
Once you make it to the Big Buddha, you’ll find a scary looking set of stairs up to the statue itself.
Now, usually it wouldn’t be a question for me – I’d hop on up those stairs without a second thought.
But, in this case, Dan’s rugby-injured knee was telling him he couldn’t go up there, and me, being hot and sweaty by this point, decided I might skip out on it too and just take photos from the bottom.
I don’t regret my decision. I’m sure it was beautiful up there too (You’ll have to let me know if you ever make it!) but I did get some great photos from the bottom, so I’m not bothered in the slightest.
As a tourist, you must also keep in mind that the Big Buddha, while also a cool-looking statue and tourist attraction, is, at it’s core, a spiritual and religious site.
Stay respectful, and make sure you wander around near the monastery to get a bit of perspective and knowledge about the reasons the site exists and how it is used today.
Keep in mind that while you may not have the same beliefs, it’s always good to keep an open and respectfully curious mind while travelling.
