Waking up Sunday morning, we went down to the Concierge Desk to ask if they could help us with reservations we had made with Ngong Ping 360 for the cable car ride up to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery.  See, we didn’t get an email confirming the reservation and our printer didn’t print out our confirmation properly.  We had forgotten what time the reservations were for.

It was almost 10:00am when we got downstairs, and our reservation was for 11:30am.  It takes about 45 minutes to get to the cable cars and then 25 minutes to get up to the peak.  Aieee!  Scarfing down breakfast (great buffet at the Sheraton here) we rushed and got there well within time.  In fact, our cable car reservation was 11:30am and our tour started at 1:30pm!  Scott also had the time zone wrong on his watch. LOL!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day.  The first fully sunny day we’ve had on our trip.  Which helped with the absolutely stunning view of everything – the airport, Lantau, just beautiful.  Among the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, the high density living, you have some amazing greenery and countryside.

Taking the cable car up to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, it can’t be described and pictures just don’t do this area of Hong Kong justice.  It’s stunningly beautiful.  Definitely a must-do.  And beware, kind of like the Itzukashima temple with deer everywhere, there are cows everywhere.

We stopped in at a tea shop and got a lesson in various kinds of teas in China.  Of course, we picked some up. You can’t visit China and Hong Kong without tea.

Face it, Ngong Ping, at least the ‘village’ is like a mini Niagara Falls.  Meaning it’s a ‘tourist village’.  While the shops are fun to go through, the real heart of the area is the Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha.  That’s where the real culture is.

Scott had arranged a tour which took us to Tai O which is a fishing village on Lantau Island directly across from Macau (which is on a future bucket list).   We took a boat ride out to see Chinese White Dolphins, which sadly there were none to be seen, but again, seeing the countryside was stunning.

Tai O has a great market with all kinds of dried fish which is well worth checking out.  You can also find Egg Waffles here, as well there is a funky knock off shop which is always fun to walk into.

After Tai O we headed back to the Monastery.  We then headed back to Hong Kong.

Getting back to our room, room service had turned down the bed, but they had also arranged all the crap on the desk that I had taken out of my bag!  Now that’s service!

We stopped over by Avenue of the Stars for the nightly light show that happens in the harbour.  Again, worth checking out, and a fun time/place to do night time photography.

One thing that struck me about the area where the hotel is, is the number of jewellery and watch shops there are.  Lots of gold and jade to be found.  It’s like the Vegas of shopping here.

Heading to Tai O, the density of ‘mansions’, what people from Hong Kong call a condo is quite something.