Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Hong Kong Day 5: Ngong Ping + One Dim Sum

Good morning, we woke up at 9 plus by the beaming sunlight from the hotel window. It immediately put us in good mood because it was a nice feeling especially after 3 consecutively days of down pouring from day till night. We were so happy that the dark clouds have cleared up and Hong Kong is back with sunny weather.

Today was one of the earliest timing that we left our hotel at about 10am. We began walking to Olympian City as bf was craving for BBQ pork buns from Tim Ho Wan again.

We chanced upon Golden Sand Restaurant that sells valuable breakfast set meal so we decided to order 1 set meal for sharing.

The restaurant has a comfortable setting, it wasn't crowded so we do not need to share seats with others.

The breakfast set consists of milk tea, macaroni and butter bun with eggs.
I always love drinking milk tea where the condensed milk sweetened the bitter tea, leaving behind an aromatic aftertaste. A perfect drink to go with my butter bun and egg.

I love Hong Kong's breakfast, we always had a satisfying breakfast in Hong Kong (provided we managed to start our day early). It was valuable and delicious. The breakfast set we had was only HKD33 (S$5.90).

Golden Sand Restaurant
G/F, 85-87 Ivy Street, Tai Kok Tsui
Nearest MTR: Olympic Exit A1 (8 minutes walk)

We saw the MTR sign which means we were near our destination. Walking to Olympic Station was much more nearer than walking to Mongkok Station, but too bad, most of the places we went were at the red line instead of orange line.

We came here for their BBQ pork buns again.
As we just had breakfast less than an hour ago, we did not order too much for our early lunch. Since we were here second time, we also tried out different food from our previous visit.

We ordered Glutinous Rice with Lotus Leaf because we heard the table next to us saying that it was good. Being wrapped in lotus leaf added fragrance to the glutinous rice, making it taste good on its own.

Last but not least, we had Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp. The soy sauce enhanced the taste of the vermicelli roll. 
Our bill for Tim Ho Wan came up to HKD82 (0r S$14.64).

After our tummy feel satisfied, we went to Olympic station and took the MTR down to Tung Chung. 

Approaching Tung Chung station.
Yeah, weather was great today. Thankfully the raining season did not last throughout our trip.

Look out for exit B after alighting at Tung Chung. Follow the sign and walk about 5 minutes to Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal.

Waiting at the queue to purchase the tickets and admiring at the scenery ahead while waiting.
We were treated to a sea of greenery, this place is surrounded by mountains in the background. The visit to Ngong Ping was definitely the highlight of our Hong Kong trip.

The queue for cable car was horrendous long but was moving fast. We queued for about 20 minutes before our turn to on board the cable car. 

We purchased the 360 fun pass standard adult ticket HKD255 (S$45.53) per pax. The ticket consists of  a round trip cable car ride, show for motion 360, stage 360 and walking with buddha.

The cable car ride to Ngong Ping was about 25 minutes. Throughout the ride, we caught sight of the deep blue sea and lush green mountainside of Lantau Island underneath our feet. We passed by Tung Chung Bay and Hong Kong International Airport.

You can choose to purchase the ticket for either standard cabin or crystal cabin (equipped with a glass bottom), our ticket price was for standard cabin. 

Realized I have not post a selfie, here's one.

We spotted the Big Buddha which means we were reaching soon.
Do you know that Ngong Ping Cable Car is one of the world’s top 10 amazing cable car ride?
Hence, the ride is something you should not miss in our itinerary.

Set foot in Ngong Ping Village, a scenic site on Lantau Island. The culturally themed village shows the cultural and spiritual integrity of the Ngong Ping area. It also hold several major tourist attractions which I will show you one by one.

First stop was Stage 360, a place where secrets of action movies revealed.
Stage 360 uncovered the secrets of these off-screen actions right in front of us. We were treated to sensational special effects and highly technical wire-work action of behind the scenes.

There were specific timing for the showtimes, keep a lookout for it if you want to watch the 15 minutes show.

My OOTD for today. Since we were spending a day at outdoor, I decided to wear something light and carefree (flaunting my back) as lots of walking will be involved. They are my selection when it comes to travel.

Next show was Walking with Buddha where we learnt about the inspiring story of Siddhartha and his path to enlightenment. The Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island are built to commemorate him.

Cute fortune cat spotted and my signature pose with it. Bring us fortune luck for our bet in casino the next day.

The mountain was shrouded in cloud. Wow, that's how high we were. We were at 460-metres above sea level. It was captivating to watch the cloud of mist passing by. It brought along strong wind too.

Passing the very majestic gate while making our way to the Big Buddha next. 

After we passed through the grand entrance, they are 12 Divine Generals guiding the pathway to the Big Buddha. Each Divine General represents a timing of a day and an animal in the Chinese zodiac. They are armed with different weapons too.

Numerous cows were spotted along the way too. This was my first time getting so up close and even touch the cow. Do be careful around them, some might not be very friendly towards people.

Began my climb toward the second largest outdoor bronze seated Buddha.
The Big Buddha, also known as Tian Tan Buddha, is the most iconic attraction of Lantau Island. There is a total of 268 steps to reach the three-storey pedestal to visit the Buddha and the exhibition hall.

The Buddha's statue was modelled after Siddhartha, who achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The “imparting fearlessness” mudra of the right hand indicates compassion to save all sentient beings from their sufferings; the “fulfilling wishes” mudra of the left hand resting on the lap, implies the vow to grant blessing and happiness to all.

Finally we have reached the top of the statue. 
Surrounding around the Buddha's statue, there are 6 smaller statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas". Each of them carried a different offering (flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music), each symbolises the different perfections (generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom) required for enlightenment.

Besides visiting the Buddha, we got to enjoy the boundless scenery of Lantau and South China Sea. It was worth the sweat climbing up and be treated to the beautiful sight, away from the hustle and bustle of city. It brought us closer to the nature and definitely a place we have to visit.

Climbing down was so much easier than going up.
We  can't stop looking at the magnificence of the Big Buddha under the blue sky.

We went to Po Lin Monastery which housed the Hall of Skanda Bodhisattva, the Main Shrine Hall of Buddha, and the Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. 

I didn't took any photo inside as a form of respect, it's a place where we pay our respect and seek blessing for our family and loved ones.

After finish burning the joss paper we bought, we went for dessert at Deli Vegetarian Cafe located within Po Lin Monastery, it was besides the Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

Making our way back to Ngong Ping Village, bidding good bye to the cows. 
It was an enjoyable day trip to Ngong Ping, so scenic and memorable. Traveling always create the best memories when traveled with loved ones. 

Despite we just had our dessert 20 minutes ago, we had our next meal again. There is no such thing like having just 3 meals a day when you travel, we just eat what we want. The long hours of walking would have burn off the calories intake and we don't know when we will be back here again.

We stopped by at this small eatery to try out their bean curd and Chinese tea egg at HKD20 (or S$3.57). The bean curd was very silky and soft but the taste was bland.

We were on the cable car ride back to Tung Chung when we passed by Hong Kong International Airport. Time checked, it's about 5pm. One thing to bear in mind, visitors need to reach the cable car station by 5.30pm to catch the last ride back.

Today's weather was really fantastic and we were able to enjoy entire day at the outdoor. The cable car ride was enjoyable with beautiful surroundings of the coast and mountains. The ride started off with a greenery view of Lantau and ended with gorgeous sea view.

Ngong Ping
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Nearest MTR: Tung Chung Exit B (5 minutes walk)

Since the time was still early for dinner, we decided to make a trip back to Disneyland as it was just 2 stops away. We didn't have a chance to walk around the park yesterday.

We met Mickey on whale which captured my heart with childhood memories came flooding back. Today was really a happy day at happy place, it got me excited at the different characters.

Disney melody rang in the air as we entered Disneyland. 
It was in our initial plan to visit Disneyland, however, due to the 3 days of non-stop raining, many of our plans have been called off.

Welcome to Mickey's home, it gave a very lively vibes with its captivating architecture. Well, I guess I will be coming back to Hong Kong again to conquer Disneyland. 

Time was about 6.10pm, it's time to leave Disneyland for our dinner. Good bye, Mickey Mouse. It was a short and sweet visit to Disneyland.

We took MTR down to Prince Edward to try One Dim Sum, an affordable dim sum restaurant that was packed with crowds. They used to be one Michelin star.
When we were there, queue started forming but thankfully we got our seat fast.

The restaurant was a small scale one, our night was spent here enjoying the Cantonese dim sum. Dim sum was a staple food we have in Hong Kong and it definitely left a deep impression during this trip.

Dinner was a mouthwatering affair with a table full of dim sum.

We saw that the table beside us ordered this soup so we were discussing whether to order, suddenly the guy besides our table passed us one of their soups because his mum was too full for the soup. It was so kind of them and they made me changed my view that not all Hong Kongers are rude.

I loved the Fried Egg Stick With Honey the best. It was very crispy with sweetness lingering in the after taste.

Another dish that I like was Mango with Coconut Rolls, it was so delicious and enjoyable.
Dinner cost was HKD133 (or S$23.75). One Dim Sum is indeed an affordable dim sum restaurant that offers quality dim sum. Recommended to visit.

One Dim Sum
Prince Edward, Playing Field Rd, 15 Shop 1 & 2 Kenwood Mansion
Nearest MTR: Prince Edward Exit A (3 minutes walk)

It's time for shopping after dinner, we walked to my favourite shopping area at Mong Kok. I got myself a dress, some accessories for myself and my friends.

We ended our night with a soup at HKD22 (or S$3.93) this small eatery.

We had the best time in Hong Kong today. I enjoyed today's outing, hope the remaining 2.5 days will be blessed with sunny weather too.

No comments:

Post a Comment