The Big Buddha

The day we drove my parents to the airport, Drew and I took a small detour on our way home to go see the Tian Tan Big Buddha. The airport and the Big Buddha are actually right next to each other, so it was a good time to go. The Big Buddha is one of those touristy things that lots of people see while in Hong Kong. For some reason, Drew and I have never gotten around to it with any of our visitors. Since we knew it was something we'd have to do at some point, we decided to go on our own. 

The first part of the Big Buddha experience is to take a 25-min cable car ride from the town of Tung Chung to the village of Ngong Ping. The cable car ride is quite lovely, as you get to see lots of hidden parts of Lantau Island: valleys, sea sides, etc. There is a hiking trail that follows under the cable car route, but it takes hours and is supposed to be quite difficult. 

At one point, the cable car crosses this large expanse of water, which is pretty amazing given how far the car has to go before it hits the next supporting pile-on. Also, the airport itself is actually on another island attached to Lantau Island. Those bridges there is what connects the two. The airport is on the left, Lantau Island and Tung Chung town are on the right. 

They are currently building a massive bridge/tunnel system from the Hong Kong Airport to Macau. Here, you can see them building the pile-on supports out into the ocean, heading towards a tiny island that's hard to see. The whole link will span 50 km, with the largest bridge segment being 29.6 km long. It's supposed to cost about 10.7 billion dollars (USD) and is said to be finished by 2016. From the look of this picture though, that doesn't really seem possible. Who knows. A project of this size is staggering though.

Our first glimpse of the Big Buddha!

As soon as you get off the cable car, you have to walk through this lame tourist village filled with souvenir stores and restaurants. After leaving the tourist village, you get to the real village where people live, and graze their cows, obviously. Not sure I'd touch the bull if I were you, sweetie. I've had my fair share of bulls for awhile.

The Big Buddha was built in 1993, 4 years before Hong Kong was given back to China. It is one of the more sacred Buddhist spots in Hong Kong.

The setting of the place is one of it's best features. The tall mountains of Lantau Island surround you on one side, the sea on the other.

There is a viewing platform which gives a good view of the Buddha. It is circular, and in the very center is spot that everyone wanted to stand on directly and pray to the Buddha. There was a line of people waiting to do this. Why that spot is better than any other, I'm not sure.

The Po Lin Monastery is also nearby. The monastery was founded in 1906, and is beautifully decorated. Unfortunately alot of the indoor halls we weren't allowed to take photos of, so most are just of the outside of the buildings.

The detail on Chinese temples will always amaze me. The painting is always so bright, and every square inch of stone is carved.

This was the hall of 10,000 Buddhas, which I snuck a photo of. So much gold leafing! 

To get to the Buddha, you have to climb up about 200 steps. It would be an easier climb if people didn't stop to take photos so often and you didn't bump into the back of them. Oops.

The Buddha's view.

Goodbye Big Buddha.

Funny enough, as we were riding the cable car back down the hill, we saw our parents' exact plane taxing to the runway. We know that's theirs, as there weren't any other United flights leaving at that time. Bye Mom and Dad!