Hong Kong - Day 3, Lantau Island

By the third day, I was very comfortable using the public transport. I left Wang Fat Hostel early and after a quick coffee and scones at Starbucks, headed to Lantau Island, the home of Tian Tan Buddha statue, the world's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. To reach this take the subway at Causeway Bay in the direction of Sheung Wan, change at HK Central station to the Tung Chung line and get off at the final stop. This was a good time to get the daily MTR pass (50 HKD), since the one-way trip alone would have cost me 23 HKD. From the Tung Chung station, you can either take the bus to the statue or the picturesque cable car called Ngong Ping 360. I took the 90-minute bus ride on the way up (23 HKD), which took us through winding, scenic roads. It was a welcome change from the concrete I saw over the past couple of days.

The statue and the surroundings are imposing, to say the least. The 250 odd steps leading up to the statue are quite strenuous and not suitable for the lazy or the "gravitationally-gifted". Along with the entry to the museum beneath the statue, I also purchased a coupon for a vegetarian meal (70 HKD) at the Po Lam Monastery. The meal was very healthy, but very, very bland. It consisted of a mushroom soup with a strange looking vegetable or a root, I can't say which, a couple of excellent egg rolls, white jasmine rice and a wide assortment of steamed vegetables. Some spice would have been nice. See how good I am with rhyming? Spice and nice. Oh well! After some relaxation, I walked through the tourist trap called Ngong Ping Village. It was like a theme park, only without the excitement of rides. Avoid this village if you can.

I rode the cable car (55 HKD) on the way back and shared the ride with a Chinese family. They spoke no English and I "knew" a couple of words of Mandarin Chinese. It was of no use, because they spoke Cantonese and didn't understand a word I said. No matter, we exchanged a few smiles and pictures and I "spoke" with my arms and head. The views from the cable car were breathtaking and the sheer size of it makes it quite an engineering feat, I must say.

From the Tung Chung MTR station, I arrived at Prince Edward MTR on Kowloon island and took a 7-8 kilometer walking tour lasting roughly 3 hours. I passed through Mong Kok and took in the interesting sights including Ladies Market, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and Flower Market, Goldfish Market, Tung Choi Street Market, etc., ending finally at the Jordan MTR station. Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise, but me, I'm no fan of shopping. So I just wandered and took in all the smells -- of food, of the humid, hot air, and of the exhaust fumes from automobiles. Not to be missed.

I returned to my hostel and met my roommates, Arnold and Rod, for dinner at a local restaurant. We wandered all over looking for a restaurant that served snake soup, because Rod wanted to try some. Arnold, the Taiwanese guy, asked around and finally located one. I can't tell you the name of the place. As for me, I had some excellent roast duck and took a sip of a snake soup that Rod had ordered. The taste wasn't bad, but psychologically, I couldn't make it past that sip. I did, however, try a glass of red rice wine, in which were preserved a couple of lizard-like reptiles and was considered an aphrodisiac. The wine was actually quite good and had no chance to verify the aphrodisiac claims of that wine. Too bad!

After dinner, we wandered a bit more locating a pub called Inn Side Out Bar near Causeway. The pub itself turned out to be very good and had a unique charm (or peculiarity). This one has outdoor seating, a rarity in Hong Kong. The tradition in this pub is that you get a limitless supply of peanuts in the shell and you discard the shells right on the floor. It's quite cool actually. Reminded me of my college days. I'll return to this place the next time. Like drunken sailors we returned to the hostel for a well-deserved good night's sleep. Whew, that was a long day!