I vow to finish writing about this year's HKM (Hong Kong-Macau) Holiday before the year ends. With only a few days left in 2011, and the start of residency looming over me (not to mention me recovering from mumps), I'm mustering all my energy to start writing.
oOo
On the morning of December 20, my family and I got on a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong. The weather was warm and toasty as usual in Manila, but since this will be our second trip to Hong Kong in December, I expected it to be freezing (at least to us) in Hong Kong and Macau. I was still sleepy that morning, having slept at midnight. I wasn't really prepared for this trip, having been extremely busy and tired from commenting to and from Quezon City for more than a week. I had no itinerary prepared, I didn't do my usual research (except for places ideal for running near our hotel), and I haphazardly packed the night before.
I usually find it hard sleeping on planes, but this time, after I got some nice shots of the clouds and the Manila skyline, I fell asleep 20 minutes into the flight. I was really surprised when I heard the flight attendant's voice announcing that we were in Hong Kong. I wanted to sleep more!
Not to my surprise, the temperature was a cool 12 degrees Celsius. It seemed that my jacket was still a bit thin for the cool December air though. In a few minutes, my nail beds were cyanotic and my cheeks were pink.
We hailed two cabs to take us to Regal Kowloon Hotel. We were traveling with my aunt and my cousins. After more or less an hour, we reached what will be our home while in Hong Kong. Our rooms weren't ready yet so we decided to go to Ngong Ping, Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha) and check out Citygate Outlets - a mall full of outlet stores.
To reach Lantau Island, we took the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tung Chung. The MTR system was made in such a way that all MTR lines intersect at some point making commuting very easy. We rode the Tsuen Wan Line until Nam Cheong, then from there transferred to the Tung Chung Line. At the end of this line, one can find Citygate Outlets, and at a distance away, the escalator leading up to the Ngong Ping cable cars.
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| Some sleeping dude ruined this picture at the MTR Station |
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| Sisters = same running shoes |
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| Jhoanne studying the elaborate MTR plan |
It was around two in the afternoon when we waited in line to buy tickets to ride the cable car to Ngong Ping. It seemed that everybody wanted to see the Big Buddha that day. We took the Crystal Cabin, a cable car with a glass bottom. Price was fancy at HKD188 each person for a roundtrip. I have to admit though, since I didn't do any research on the place, I thought all cable cars had glass bottoms. It was such a surprise when I learned later on (after I bought the tickets) that there were "regular" cable cars, costing about HKD 125 each (roundtrip). No regrets there though since I haven't ridden a cable car with a glass bottom anyway. For an update price list, please go to their official
website.
The ride took about 25 minutes. My mom, who apparently, was still afraid of heights (my bad!), had her eyes closed the whole time because you can really see the bottom of the car. If you have a vivid imagination, I suggest you get the regular cabin. If you can get past the fear of heights, the view is really spectacular. I was even able to see from up there the Lantau Trail, a 70-kilometer hiking trail that some runners have raved about. Trail looked really tough though.
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| Glass bottom |
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| Cable cars and the Lantau Hiking Trail |
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| Welcome to Ngong Ping |
We then reached the end of the cable car ride and alighted at Ngong Ping, home of the Po Lin Monastery and The Big Buddha. At the base of the Buddha can be found the commercial village, which houses a lot of gift shops and stalls. Hungry and cold, we ended up eating hot bowls of noodles first before my cousins and I walked towards The Big Buddha, leaving our mothers to rest in the village.
The walk wasn't long and there were a lot to see along the way. Monks, big dogs that looked like Chow-chows, statues of the 12 Generals - which later on we realized symbolized the 12 Chinese Zodiacs. When we reached the base of the stairs going up to Tian Tan Buddha, we braced ourselves for the long climb. Suddenly I had this memory of the steep staircase I climbed at Angkor Wat. Good thing, this time, I was physically prepared. The stairs weren't steep, but we climbed 268 steps before reaching the top. Since it was cold, I really didn't feel that tired. Must be hard climbing those steps in the summer though.
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| The walk starts. |
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| Passed one of the Generals |
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| The Climb |
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| We've reached the top! |
Up close, the Buddha seems to be sitting on a lotus flower and he looks so serene. Though I'm not a Buddhist, there was something about that Buddha that really felt special. Add the scenery, and I coldhave stayed there - if it weren't so cold!
Going back, we fetched our waiting mothers and headed on down to the cable cars. Good thing we took the Crystal Cabin, since the line for the regular cabin was really long and we were freezing already being so high up in a mountainous area.
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| View from the top |
Finally back in Tung Chung, we entered Citygate Outlets and were like excited animals on a shopping spree. Though the price can still be a bit expensive if you compare it our surplus shops, there are still great finds. My mom had a great time in Giordano and bought a LOT of clothes as
pasalubong.
I was really happy about the Nike, New Balance and Adidas outlets and bought some running apparel. Some of the prices however, are lower in the outlet shops in Nuvali, so that reigned me in. Other shops there were Mango, Guess, Puma and ESPRIT.
Hungry and tired, we gave in and ate at McDonald's. If I have one thing to say about the Hong Kong McDonald's is that they have lots of fries. A burger meal includes a large (based on the Philippines' McDonald's size) serving of fries. I guess we weren't used to it because we hardly touched the fries. :P
Day 1 and we were missing rice already. Hahahaha.
Our day ended at just about that time. We rode the MTR back to the hotel, had a bit of a mix up with the rooms, and were off to La-la land soon enough. I planned where I was going to run the next morning and had some very much awaited shuteye.
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| My mom's favorite tourist attraction |
