Ngong Ping itself was a beautifully adorned simple modern village. Souvenir shops lined the way to the famous landmark. The giant Buddha statue was very graceful. It was probably about 7-8 degrees up there and the winds made it seem lower. I have been to Kedarnath, about 13000 ft above sea level, but didnt feel as numb as here today. Painstakingly, we made our way up to the feet of the Buddha seeking his blessings. The temple was full of paintings in wood and sculptures of wisdon in Chinese. The journey was exciting and the entire place was so serene that it almost made us forget the cold. The nearby monastery offered Buddhist veg lunch, which was delicious and had much more variety compared to the dinner last night. The tea was aromatic and distinctly lighter than the Chinese version. We had an entire teapot (about 16 cups) during lunch. One look at my wife and I could sense that this would be the last Chinese meal of our stay. The return journey through bus through steep inclines traversing around a few mountains with ocean on one side was one scenic ride. By the time we reached our base camp (Tung Chung), it was 3.30pm. Having an itinery takes the fun out of travel as it imposes time constraints on everything. Having enjoyed more than we had hoped for, we ditched Disneyland for the Peak.
The Peak is #1 on the list in any HK tourism related site. And the Peak Tram is a must for first timers. The tram line was built in 1888 when there wasnt anything around. Now that there are huge skyscrapers all over, this normal tram service worth 10 cents linking 4 stations in a hill has taken a spectacular form eeking millions. Roads and condos and bridges cut across at a 45 degree angle. Its breathtaking views are second to none. The Peak also has the Madam Tussad's wax museum and I spent a fair bit of time hugging Angelina Jolie, showing off with Meryln Monroe, dribbling with Ronaldinho, shooting Bush and standing shoulder to shoulder with world leaders. And there were numerous Asian actors who would have been offended by our ignorance. There was a brief 5 min scare, bringing to life some Japanese horror movie themes. It was good fun. Jackie Chan costed $80, so he was kindly refused the honour of having a photo with me. We went up to the sky terrace to experience the coldest part of the day. The gusting wind threaded hair into needles. We stood there amongst the shivering crowd to catch a glimpse of the light show at 8pm from the tallest point in HK. The show itself was less comprehensible and most of the action was facing the harbour. So much for almost killing myself for 1 whole hour!
Once down to double digit temperatures, we walked to Hollywood Road to dine in an up-market Indian restaurant. The food was good, but the price reflected the locality rather than the quality of food. The blast of chill air was too much after a candle-lit dinner, so we took a cab home, spilling a fortune along the way. Never take a cab, worse still across islands, when MTR and a bit of walk is all it takes. It burnt me $100 to get across two MTR stops.
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment