the weather report for today, wednesday 22.2.2017 was not great=low temperature 16-17degC with some rain.

as it turned out, it was quite sunny the entire afternoon.

after a NOT great dimsum at one dimsum (for 3 of us it was the 3rd breakfast, kind of, after 1-the very good mui kee congee & 2-quite good hong lin polo bun), we made a decision on the spot to go to see the Tian Tan Buddha,aka Big Buddha.

 

we took the mtr from prince edward to tung chung, changing at lai king from red tsuen wan line to the orange tung chung line.

at tung chung mtr, we were told that the ngong ping 360 cable car was under maintenance until jun2017…

i saw later on their website notice-

• Cable Car service is suspended for approximately 5 months from 9 January 2017 for the Rope Replacement Project. Ngong Ping Village remains open during this period. To ensure public safety and facilitate the project’s requirements, the Ngong Ping Rescue Trail is not open to the public during the replacement period.

visiting the big buddha was a last minute decision, so we had not checked the website & other information earlier.

as the cable car is not in opeation, we took the bus to ngong ping. it took like 50mins.

we walked in the big buddha direction & entered the gateway.

there were some cows & buffaloes.

i did not see these when i came like 4yrs back.

the huge 34m tall bronze statue of the big buddha looked serene & majestic & uplifting as before.

when seeing from cable car, the feel of it sitting on a hilltop & the cable car traversing towards it was different.

the big buddha sits atop the long staircase with 268 steps, very impressive.

we took a walk in the Po Lin Monastry 宝莲禅寺, a temple with more than 100yrs history, & renamedPo Lin Monastry 宝莲禅寺  in 1924.

a beautiful temple.

there is the oft-photographed stone dragon column, intricate & coming alive-ish.

looked into the beautiful inside of the grand hall of ten thousand buddhas.

& looking at the Tian Tan Buddha,aka Big Buddha over the eaves of the temple.

it’s time to climb the 268 steps for a closer view of the big buddha & scenic aerial view of the surroundings. ^^

The Buddha statue faces north towards Mainland China.  

It sits 26.4 metres atop a lotus throne and is 34 metres high, including the base.

we walked round the area, looked at the beautiful stone sculptures, and looked out to the panoramic views.

the po lin monastry stood out.

very nice & elegant.

we can see the shek pik reservoir on the other side.

it was a foggy day. still enchanting. 🙂

the view would be wonderful on a clear dya.

took a stroll down.

there were many stalls selling tau huay.

it was about the worst tau huay ever.

fresh tau huay, you are supposed to lift a whole slice & serve several slices in nice layers.

this was like the bottom of the barrel, all broken up…completely ridiculous at HK$15. wouldn’t pay HK$5 for it…..

we walked over to the ngong ping cable car station.

it’s at the ngong ping village side where there are several restaurants.

the station is closed as the cable car is shut down for 5 months for cable replacement.

they increase the bus trips, we think, since the cable car is shut down.

there was a long queue but it didn’t take long to get onto a bus, less than 10mins i think.

on the way back we passed by the shek pik reservoir, i think. :-p

it was a wonderful excursion for my friends and me. great time to spend an afternoon, weather was good though foggy & not clear sky to look into the distance.

after returning to citygate at tung chung, we had a refreshing drink & rest stop at TeaWood Taiwanese Cafe & Restaurant 茶木‧台式休閒餐廳.

then we took the mtr back to prince edward & went to enjoy a really wonderful shiok beef brisket noodles at牛棚粉麵專家 at fa yuen street.

c.h.e.f andy

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Tian Tan Buddha aka Big Buddha 天坛大佛 @ Ngong Ping

Access:

MTR to tung chung station, then Bus 23 to big buddha