For some bizarre reason that I never fully understood, eight of my friends from University now live in Hong Kong. Therefore, my main reason for visiting Hong Kong was to try and catch up with everyone. I had four days to meet up with them all and so had a ridiculously hectic schedule.
Why so little time?
Have you seen the prices of Hong Kong hotels?! I couldn’t afford to spend more than four days there!
With just one day to cram in all of my sightseeing I decided to spend the day visiting the Tian Tan Buddha - the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world.
For someone who is completely terrified of cable cars, I seem to be spending a significant portion of my travels on one. I’m not sure why I opted to torture myself when I could have taken a boat to the island, but once again I found myself in a tiny glass box, convinced I was seconds away from plummeting to my death.
About 30 seconds into the cable car ride, I remembered a story my friend told me years ago about a cable car in Hong Kong falling off of the cable and into the sea on a particularly windy day.
Was it this cable car? Was it windy today? Was I about to die? Why is the ride up so steep?!
I nearly passed out.
Upon arriving safely on Lantau island, I was walking like a newborn giraffe and it took roughly an hour of sitting down to stop my legs from trembling with fear. Once I had recovered, I made my way over towards the Buddha.
I confidently approached the 268 steps, certain that all of my time spent lugging my heavy backpack around would have improved my fitness levels dramatically.
Five seconds later I was bent over, clutching at my side, wheezing and diagnosing myself with asthma as I bitterly glared at the elderly Chinese ladies who were energetically striding past me.
Drenched in sweat and promising myself that I would totally start an exercise regime the following morning, I was excited to have finally made it to the top!
The Buddha’s right hand is raised, representing the removal of pain and his left hand rests on his knee, symbolising happiness. He also faces north, which is unique as all other famous Buddha statues face south.
Surrounding the Buddha are six smaller bronze statues known as “The Offering of the Six Devas”, which are offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music.
The base of the Buddha is based on the Altar of Heaven found at the Temple of Heaven, which I recognised from my time spent there in Beijing.
After I made my way back down the steps, my day became even more exciting when I ran into a random cow roaming the streets of Hong Kong.
I finished off my day with a visit to Victoria Peak where I stayed to watch the sun set and the city come alive with the glittering neon lights and glowing skyscrapers lighting up the sky.
Unfortunately, that concluded my time exploring Hong Kong.
Despite being incredibly expensive compared to the rest of Asia, I enjoyed my time there much more than I was originally expecting to and wished I had longer so that I could have been able to see some of the beaches that Hong Kong has to offer.
How would you spend 24 hours in Hong Kong?
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Great post and great pictures! I would love to some day travel to Hong Kong! I’m very fascinated with the cities architecture and such! Maybe one of these days!
Thanks, Bryan! I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to, hope you manage to get there soon.
Really nothing like the view over Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. Never gets old.
Kurt W recently posted..Top Ten Photos of 2011
One of my favourite skylines. Beautiful.
I love how you always find yourself in situations facing your fears and wondering how the hell you have decided to be in this place haha :D
Great pictures by the way :)
Someday I’ll Be There – Mina recently posted..Homeless in Pamplona (#2)
I KNOW! Or maybe I’m just scared of everything? :)
Great photos, Lauren! I’m like you with cable cars – I despise them, yet I seem to have spent a significant amount of time in them, convinced I was on a slow ride towards death, in 2011 (mountain ones are the worst, EURGH).
I don’t think I’d have conquered those steps, either – well, maybe after crawling up, and with some bitter glaring, too.
Thanks for posting this – I had no idea about the Buddha there, and Hong Kong is a place I’ve often thought of visiting as it’s only a short flight away from Korea.
Thanks, Tom! Aren’t cable cars so terrifying?! They just feel completely unsafe and like you’ll fall off of the cable at any point.
You should definitely try to visit from Korea.
Hong Kong is a wonderful place! You’re lucky you have friends there. Friends living at a travel destination are always the best source of information. Plus, sometimes they let you sleep at their place and that rocks, too. Were you able to hit up any of the markets while in town? I loved the flower market. Also, I thought Kowloon Park was amazing with all those big, old trees.
Maggie recently posted..Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Burning Man Edition
I stayed with a friend in Hong Kong which helped save me a lot of money and I got to see some really unique places because of her.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any of the markets – next time!
Great post and I love the pictures. Hong Kong is on my list to do soon…Hope you get back for longer in the future!
The World of Deej recently posted..Deej’s Picture of the Week
Thanks so much! I hope so too :)
Great pictures. Hong Kong looks like a really interesting city.
Alouise recently posted..Road Trip Memories 16 – Beaver, Utah
Thanks! It was a lot more interesting than I was expecting and I was sad I didn’t get to see more of the city before I left.
Wow you had a perfect day to see the Buddha. A lot of the time it is covered in cloud! Nice photos
Dean recently posted..Photo Essay: Markets of Thailand
Yeah, it was such a clear day! I was very lucky!
Hey glad you loved Hong Kong it’s my favourite city and such an amazing place with so much more than you expect! My advice to anyone is don’t just do it as a stopover, you definitely need at least a week :)
Tom recently posted..My Top 5: Hong Kong Buildings
I know! I wish I’d had longer there actually – there was so much more I wanted to do.
The cable car was not working. May be because it was too windy? It took almost two hours to get to the top by bus :(
Vi recently posted..Top 5 travel destinations
Wow, that seems like a ridiculously long time!
Looks like you made the most of it! It’s been a while since I’ve been to Hong Kong, but Victoria’s peak was a highlight of my trip too. It was also there that I developed my theory of Chinese attractions having a rating system directly linked to the number of cable car runs going up them…
Laurence recently posted..A village of death and memory in France
I too am terrified of cable cars but continue to ride them anyway… we’re gluttons for punishment apparently! The trip looks worth it though, the Buddha photos are spectacular!
Dayna recently posted..Dayna’s Travel ABC’s
Cute cow :)
Laura recently posted..5 Reasons Why Africa Should Make It To Your Bucket List
Ha ha ha … love the random cow run-in! Looks like a cool site … hope you had a good time catching up with your friends. :)
cheryl recently posted..Cooler Than Cool. The Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy.
I have only been to the industrial side of hong kong. Never to the nice island part of it. It looks awesome though :)
James – Ouroyster.com recently posted..James’ travel manifesto
Your pictures are amazing. I found your blog searching for the hours of the Lantau monastery because I’m visiting HK as we speak (er, as I type). Seeing your photos and blog entry makes me feel like I’ve already been! Thanks for the great visual!
Oooh your pics are good – I actually got a job interview for TEFL teaching in Hong Kong, I need to investigate further!
Love your blog btw! :)
xxx
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