One Big Buddha

Wow, what a big day.  Up early again  headed to see the biggest Buddha around.  We started with a gondola ride that gave us awesome panoramic views of Hong Kong and took us up to the Ngong Ping Village which is popular because if its huge Buddah statue and  the monastery there.  Although I am not familiar with Buddhism, it was neat to see the monks and observe some of their rituals.   We tried the restaurant there near the monastery where the monks eat.  It was obvious they enjoyed it more that we did, the kids were all good sports and tried everything.  I'll be honest, it wasn't very good and I even like Chinese and vegetarian. 

Cool sign, gives distances to places around the world

Near monastery with Big Buddha behind

Front of monastery

Monk banging bell

Big Buddah

Lots of steps up

 Next we took a bus to Tai O, a nearby fishing village.  It was very different from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.  Many of the homes are built on stilts right over the water and the pervasive smell gave  a good indication of what the small town thrived on.  We enjoyed a boat tour of the village and had some warm coconut buns from a bakery there, delicious!

Tai O fishing village

Market in Tai O

Woman in Tai O

To finish out the day we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon.  Although most people traveling back and forth between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island now take the MTR (subway), they still run the ferries.  The gentlemen manning the ferries still wear sailor type uniforms, I think a nod to the old British ferries.  The views of Hong Kong Island at night are beautiful. 

View from the ferry

 

View from Kowloon