Saturday 25th June, 2011

One thing I really wanted to see in Hong Kong was it's Big Buddha located on Lantau Island. Getting there, would be abit of a trek and the day was already starting to heat up, so it was now or never.

We had to catch a train to Ngong Ping which would take around 40 minutes. Once we arrive at The Ngong Ping, we caught a cable car, known as The Ngong Ping 360 gondola lift, which carries you to Lantau Island. We opted for the cable car that had a glass window. It was pretty cool seeing the landscape and hiking tracks between the mountains as we headed towards the Buddha.

On the train headed to Lantau Island

yay!!! I'm on the cable car

looks like we're walking on air lol

Ohhh we can see the Big Buddha!!!

The cable car ride took about 20 minutes and we soon arrived in the little town of Lantau Island. I could feel the sun burning me, so we found a little convenience store and got some sunscreen and much needed water. The heat was unbearable today. I spotted some tourists with cute, little umbrellas and I wanted one. We soon found the shop that sold them. I now had a nice, shady, purple umbrella in my hands.

Hello Lantau Island!!!

Feeling refreshed after a drink of water, we followed the signs that directed us towards the Big Bronzed Buddha. We reached the base and looked up- This Buddha wasn't Big....it was MASSIVE. not to mention the 268 steps we had to climb to get up there lol

sooo many steps...

I think the heat was too much for this pup- Siesta Time!

Which way to the Buddha?!?!

Entrance to the Buddha

The statue is named the Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana.

Me and my pretty umbrella

This is what we came for

We reached the top!!!

The Buddha is 34 metres tall and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. They say that on a clear day, it can be seen from as far away as Macau.

So Beautiful...

The lanscape surround the Island

I love it here

Soul Inspiring

I was so glad we made it out here today. Visiting the Tian Tan Buddha made our last day in Hong Kong a memorable one. It was definately worth the trek getting here.

Day 4- A visit to Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha) remains copyright of the author Two Otters, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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