Fun in Hong Kong: the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and Tai O

Back again with more fun things to do in Hong Kong! You can find the first instalment back over here.

We decided to pop over to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha, a 34 metre statue of the big man at the Po Lin Monastery.

We took the Ngong Ping 360, a cable car, over to the island. What a fantastic way to travel.

We paid a little extra to get the glass bottomed car (known as the Crystal Cabin) which the kids loved.

Don't worry, someone cleans the nose prints off after every ride.

When you hop off the cable car you make your way through the Ngong Ping Village, which as far as I could see was a street filled with take-away food and souvenirs.

But once you get past that little pocket of commercialism you find yourself in the Po Lin Monastery grounds:

Dominated by the bronze Tian Tan Buddha statue:

Built in 1993, you'll have to climb up 268 steps to make it up to his lotus throne.

Once there you will be treated to beautiful views:

And some lovely smaller statues known as The Offering of the Six Devas (not the Sex Divas, as I accidentally typed), who face the Buddha with their gifts.

In the background of this photo you can see the golden-roofed monastery (the building behind it, under all the scaffolding, is apparently the monks' accommodation).

So we headed back down all those stairs:

To see the Po Lin Monastery.

It is filled with so many beautiful Buddha-y things - you really must see it.

You can't go in (or take photos of the interior) but there are many large open doors so you can watch the monks praying amongst the gorgeousness.

It's hard not to be affected by the peace and calm that emanates from the building.

On the way out we walked through an area where incense offerings could be made.

Of course, the 3 yr old touched the tip of an incense stick. Of course he did.

We didn't have a great deal of daylight left but we decided to make a quick visit to the nearby Tai O fishing village.

We caught the bus from the Ngong Ping and 20 minutes later (after a rather curvaceous ride) arrived in a village very different to the Hong Kong we had seen so far.

The village is essentially mounted on stilts. You can pay to take a boat ride through the waterways (which we would've done if we'd had the time) or just do like we did and wander the several streets that are built on land.

The best house in the village (the one that appears on all the postcards)

There are market stalls everywhere, specialising in dried seafood. Every sea creature you could think of had been caught, dried and sometimes, pressed.

Check out the whole shark hanging on the back wall in this photo:

We were racing the bus schedule so we didn't get to spend as much time in the village as we wanted (I didn't get to see the temple, boo), but we were still very glad we made it there.

We took the ferry home from Lantau Island that night and we were all rather tired.

Another weekend is upon us, hooray! Hope you all have a good one!