Hong Kong

We’re still a bit bleary-eyed and weary from the 16-hour plane ride, but here goes our attempt at writing about the adventure of a lifetime.

We took a trip to Lantau Island, home of the Giant Buddha, traveling via the Ngong Ping Cable Car. This is unlike the cable cars of San Francisco, however if you’re familiar with a ride at amusement parks called “sky buckets”, you have a good idea of what this cable car resembles. It’s a 25-minute ride with panoramic views of the Buddha, flora and fauna of the island and Hong Kong International Airport. 

Once we exited the cable car, we walked through a village of shops and restaurants on our way to the 268 steps leading to the 112 ft bronze status of Buddha. It was a spectacular sight to behold! The clouds/fog rolled in and out, sometimes obstructing our view, but adding to the experience. Then we made our way to the Wisdom Path, which is a collection of 38 eight to ten foot wooden rectangular beams which form an infinity symbol with their layout. Afterwards, we lit incense outside of the monastery and placed them in the giant urns outside of the temple. Quite the moving experience.

A jaunt to Macau provided an opportunity to get another stamp in our passports, so of course we jumped at it. Macau is similar to Hong Kong in that it’s a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, so it has its own legal system, police force, currency, customs and immigration. We were also excited to get some different coins for our collection.

Macau was settled by Portuguese traders so much of that influence can still be seen. A main draw for some visitors are the casinos. We didn’t gamble because we’re not big fans, but we walked around a few of the casinos and partook in some local cuisine at the Sands.

Another highlight was our trip to Lamma Island, which is southwest of Hong Kong Island and a peaceful escape from the crowds of Hong Kong and Kowloon. We took a ferry to Yung Shue Wan (Banyan Bay) and hiked across the island to Sok Kwu Wan. Both villages are made up of seafood restaurants and small shops. The hike allowed us spectacular views of the island, the surrounding waters and even HongKong Electric’s power station. We decided against dining on the island after seeing the crowded fish tanks (not to mention we’d heard it wasn’t safe to swim in the waters off the island).

Other outings included trips to the Jade Market, the Ladies’ Market and many, many malls. We ooh-ed and ahhh-ed over the nightly laser show that takes place on the Harbourfront and took the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, which gave us magnificent views of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

Overall, the trip was sensational - filled with moments of elation, wonderment, and confusion It’s mind-boggling how habituated we are in our everyday lives, to the point of having to think about very few of our daily activities, Getting out of our comfort zones and being immersed in a culture so very different from ours was refreshing and eye-opening.

Communication is usually what links people, and when it’s taken away, it’s inspiring to see humans find ways to interact with one another. Putting ourselves in the middle of unfamiliar surroundings forced us to use our minds in ways we haven’t had to in quite awhile. Frustrating at times, but overall we’re better for it.