12 hours in Hong Kong

Hello my readers!

Hope everyone is doing well. I thought of making this post about our travel in December. We had traveled to India for about two weeks. On our way back from India to Vancouver, we had a stopover in Hong Kong for about 12 hours. We decided to spend our time touring and it was amazing!

Our luggage was booked all the way through to Vancouver so thankfully we did not have to lug it around with us. Before you decide to stop over and tour HK, double check whether you require a Visit Visa/Entry Permit. Have this filled out and printed before your trip to present at immigration.

Once you exit out of the plane, make your way to immigration. There are helpful people working at the airport who speak English to guide you. Fill out the immigration form, line up, get your passport stamped and you’re set to tour!

How did we travel within HK? Using the bus. It was quite cheap and easy to use. Everything was written in Cantonese and in English. There were several double-decker buses that take you to Tung Chung MTR station (the entrance to gondola). We took the S1 which took about 15 minutes to get from airport to Tung Chung station. See here.

The bus we took had a helpful information screen at the front that informed us of what station was next. The bus we took coming back to the airport did not have an information screen and we had a passenger help us get off at the right stop.

How did we pay? Converted US dollars into HK dollars at the airport. We also used our credit card and bought tickets online ahead of time.

What did we see? The Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. We took the 360 Gondola “Crystal Cabin” cable car up to Ngong Ping Village. It was totally worth it as it had a glass bottom (only on the way up). It was quite cloudy halfway up but added to the beauty!

I would highly recommend purchasing the tickets online ahead of time. We bypassed a huge line up and saved quite a bit of time.

What did we eat? Delicious vegetarian/vegan food at the Po Lin Monastery. It was a generous amount for a decent price.

Weather? 20 degrees, cool and misty.

Toilets and bathrooms? Met my cleanliness expectations! 5 stars.

Here are some photos from our trip!

 

Hong Kong airport

 

Bus Stand

Double-Decker Buses

 

We reached the top of the gondola ride at the hill. Personally, I did not like the initial walk through. It was very commercialized and busy. Lots of restaurants and places to buy souvenirs from. We walked right on through this area to Ngong Ping Village, the Big Buddha and Monastery. It was quite peaceful and serene here.

We were quite hungry and needed food! We stopped at the Po Lin Monastery and picked out food from the menu: General vs Deluxe meal. The cost you see is in Hong Kong dollars. Outdoor vs Indoor seating, we sat inside.

Soup, various tofu dishes, rice, veggies, spring rolls and even a tofu dessert. I loved their hot sauce and soy sauce. Different taste from what we have here in Canada.

After food we walked around. We went to the Monastery, lit incense sticks and prayed for our ancestors. We walked up 268 steps to the Tian Tan Buddha, there are a lot of steps to climb so take your time, take in the views and enjoy it.

The Tian Tan Buddha is 112 feet tall and weighs over 250 metric tons. Pretty amazing! Buddha’s right hand is raised representing removing affliction, the left hand is resting openly on his lap meaning generosity.

“Surrounding Buddha are six smaller bronze statues known as The Offering of the Six Devas that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These symbolise the Six Perfections of generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary for enlightenment.” (source: Wikipedia)

It was an awesome trip! We went down the steps and stopped at a nearby shop to buy a Happy Buddha souvenir for our home.

After taking the gondola back down, we walked over to the Citygate Outlet  Mall nearby. It was just a whole bunch of brand name stores to buy clothes and things from. We didn’t spend too much time there and took the bus back to the airport. We had a few hours to relax at the airport before our onward flight to Vancouver.

We absolutely loved the Hong Kong experience! Hope you guys enjoyed my post and in the future get a chance to stop over and visit the Ngong Ping village and Big Buddha!

Peace, Love, Happiness always!