| Many of the passengers who pass through Hong | | | | Buddha, soaring to a height of 34 meters above its |
| Kong every year, are either spending their short | | | | Lotus-shaped base, and the Po Lin Monastery, with its |
| stopover holiday in the city centre, or simply prefer to | | | | beautiful golden statues, lavish Chinese decors and |
| stay at the airport, not knowing that some of the city's | | | | lovely vegetarian restaurant. |
| most spectacular attractions can be found just near | | | | Ngong Ping Village spans from the cableway's top |
| the airport. This article will show you how you can | | | | terminus to the monastery and the Big Buddha's base. |
| enjoy your short Hong Kong stopover without getting | | | | It's a "culturally themed village" with restaurants, |
| too far from the airport. | | | | souvenir shops and some cliche attractions, related to |
| Lantau Island, right next to the airport, is Hong Kong's | | | | the life and philosophy of the Buddha. |
| largest and most scenic island, and other than beautiful | | | | If you love nature and you do have a bit of time on |
| nature sceneries of steep forest-clad mountains and | | | | your hands, you might want to pop to the Ngong Ping |
| sandy coves, it is home to some of Hong Kong's most | | | | Nature Centre and join one of their free nature guided |
| spectacular tourist attractions. | | | | walks. The walks are only 1 hour long or so, but they |
| After clearing with Immigration and Customs, you can | | | | are really nice. |
| deposit your trolley luggage at the baggage storage | | | | Depends on how much time you have, you can either |
| facility, in the "Meeters and Greeters Hall" (Full details | | | | catch the cable-car back to Tung Chung and Citygate, |
| can be found in my other article: "Hong Kong Stopover | | | | and proceed to the airport from there, or you can |
| - the Easiest Ways to Get From the Airport to the | | | | continue your Lantau Island journey. Ngong Ping cable |
| City's Main Attractions"). | | | | car operates seven days a week, from 10am to 6pm |
| Now you can catch a bus to the new town of Tung | | | | (weekdays) and from 9am to 6:30 pm on weekends. |
| Chung, on Lantau Island. | | | | New Lantao Bus Co. offers a "package" that includes |
| Bus routes S1, S52P and S64 are all traveling to Tung | | | | One day of unlimited Lautau-bus rides (on almost all |
| Chung Bus Terminus and the journey takes something | | | | the island's routes) + One-way cable car journey. It's |
| like 10 minutes. You can also catch a blue-colored | | | | not a bad deal, if you have plenty of time and want to |
| Lantau Taxi or a red Urban-taxi. It's only a short ride | | | | venture to places like Tai-O and Mui Wo. But if all that |
| and the price is not likely to be more than HK$ 35-40 | | | | you want is to travel to Ngong Ping and the Big |
| Tung Chung's Bus Terminus is located right next to | | | | Buddha and spend some time at Citygate, there's no |
| Citygate Outlets (some of the buses have a stop | | | | need for you to bother about it. |
| within the mall). This modern shopping complex is Hong | | | | Bus No. 21 travels from Ngong Ping through one of |
| Kong's first and (so far) only outlet mall, which means | | | | Hong Kong's most scenic roads, to Tai-O: A |
| that international brand names can be bought here at | | | | picturesque fishermen village that is built on stilts above |
| significant discounts, all year round... | | | | the water and popularly nicknamed "The Venice of |
| Citygate is also a good place to enjoy a cup of coffee | | | | Hong Kong". You can easily spend an hour in Tai O... |
| or a light meal, as the mall boasts 14 restaurants and | | | | There is a lovely little market (with strong seafood |
| cafes, as well as a cinema and other entertainment | | | | smells), some excellent seafood restaurants and one |
| venues. From here, you can start your cable-car | | | | or two old Chinese temples... |
| journey to Ngong Ping and its attractions. | | | | From here, you can board bus No. 11 back to Tung |
| A visit to Ngong Ping Village, Po Lin Monastery and the | | | | Chung and Citygate, or you can hop on bus No. 1 and |
| "Big Buddha" is definitely one of Hong Kong's must-dos. | | | | travel with it along Lantau's beautiful coastline to Mui |
| The 25 minutes long cable-car ride covers a distance | | | | Wo, a sleepy seaside town with some good seafood |
| of almost 6 km, from the lower terminus, next to | | | | restaurants, nice nature walks and relaxed ambiance. |
| Citygate, all the way up to the mountain, and the | | | | Bus No. 3M travels from Mui Wo back to Tung Chung |
| panoramic views are simply spectacular. | | | | Terminus/Citygate, or you can board A35 and travel |
| Up on the mountain, you can see the famous "Big | | | | directly to Hong Kong International Airport (N35 at |
| Buddha": An immense bronze statue of the seated | | | | night). |