Afternoon in Lantau

After the crazy bus ride from Tai O we visited the Po Lin Monastery on the top of one of the mountains on Lantau. Its famous for having the largest outdoor sitting buddha in the world, which is perhaps the most specific buddha-related record ever!


After a yummy vegetarian meal at the monastery we made our way up the 256 steps to check out the Buddha. The temple on top of the hill actually has a white (bone) Buddha relic on site. You can see it, but can't photograph it unfortunately. It was pretty cool and unexpected. It had been gifted to the monastery by monks in Sri Lanka.


Surrounding the Buddha are various statues making offerings. These are pretty impressive in their own right, but they are dwarfed by massive sitting Buddha. He is so big, in fact, that it's hard to get him all in to one photo!


It was such an effort to get up there that we were a bit reluctant to get down. Luckily it was the perfect spot for some quiet reflection... until the next massive gust of wind buffeted you!


After making the much easier descent we headed over to Ngong Ping (a fake tourist village) to catch the cable car back to the train station. Michelle was pretty terrified because it was crazy windy that day, but the car was stable enough and the views were amazing.


Soon enough we were back on the MTR and off home. Lantau is only a few train stops away from Hong Kong but it seems like another world! There is a crazy mix of old-world villages and brand new cities. The contrast between the authentic and dirty Tai O and the fake but pristine Ngong Ping was stark.