Weekend at the Big Buddha and Tai-O Fishing Village HONG KONG
Weekend at the Big Buddha and Tai-O Fishing Village
Been in Hong Kong for a hot second now and have yet to make it to Lantau Island to see the famous Big Buddha. So for my birthday weekend, my wonderful boyfriend has surprised me with a weekend getaway. Does this count as a staycation? It should right? Since it’s still in Hong Kong.
Getting There
There are quite a few options for getting to the Big Buddha at Lantau Island from Hong Kong Island. You can take the MTR, Taxi, or a combination of different modes of transportation. We took the following methods:
Taxi from Hong Kong Island - $400 HKD ($50 USD)
MTR to Tung Chung Station and bus or cab. The MTR ride was about $18 HKD I believe, don’t quote me though, I didn’t check the exact amount. And the cab ride from Tung Chung should be within $50-$70 HKD ($7-$10 USD)
Cable Car from Tung Chung MTR Station - $235 HKD ($30 USD)
Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, and Ngong Ping Village
The three key points of interests is relatively small and can be completed within 2 hours or 3 hours if you really took your time. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there really wasn’t any visitors around when we went, which also helped us navigate through the sites quicker.
Totally random but awesome at the same time, cows roam around randomly in Lantau Island, especially near the Big Buddha tourist area. We spotted 3 near the entrance when we were there. According to our local taxi driver, it’s because Lantau Island was originally very rural and purely farmland with no access to Hong Kong Island or Kowloon besides the ferries. The Tung Chung MTR station brought, of course, more access and mobility to its residents, but also as a result, drove up the land prices in Lantau Island. Therefore, a lot of the farmers all moved out and released the cows from their farms to let them be free. Hence, there are random cows that just roam around Lantau Island now.
The Big Buddha
Free to climb up and enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of Po Lin Monastery and hills that surround it, the Big Buddha also offers an affordable option to climb up to the limited access area. It’s definitely worth climbing up the stairs and walk around the base of the Big Buddha to see the areal views of Lantau Island from up top. We also spotted two cute dogs, whom probably belonged to the gate keeper, lazily sleeping at the entrance of the steps up to see the Big Buddha.
Po Lin Monastery
One of the most grandiose and beautiful Buddhist temples I have been to yet, the monastery is situated at the base of the hill on the other side of the Big Buddha. The Chinese New Year decorations were still up when we went, which made it extra magical. We were greeted with burst of colors from the golden and purple chrysanthemums that radiated off its elegance, the pink blossoms from the wonderfully arranged peach trees, and the rows and rows of oval red lanterns. I almost felt that I travelled back in time to a majestic period of Ancient China.
One of the most grandiose and beautiful Buddhist temples I have been to yet, the monastery is situated at the base of the hill on the other side of the Big Buddha. The Chinese New Year decorations were still up when we went, which made it extra magical. We were greeted with burst of colors from the golden and purple chrysanthemums that radiated off its elegance, the pink blossoms from the wonderfully arranged peach trees, and the rows and rows of oval red lanterns. I almost felt that I travelled back in time to a majestic period of Ancient China.
Ngong Ping Village
Where the cable car station is, the area quite touristy. Newly built area with ancient Chinese architecture, the village is pretty much the food and shopping area of the Big Buddha. Not so impressive other than the cute Bare Bears Lunar New Year activation (LOL. I’m a dork I know)
Tai-O Fishing Village
About a 20 minute drive from the Big Buddha is the famous Tai-O Fishing Village of Lantau Island that is home to the houses built on stilts. One of my favorite villages we’ve visited in Hong Kong, and we’ve been to almost all of them at this point, the village is so peaceful and is situated in the basin of the beautiful backdrop of the bay on one side and the green rolling hills on the other.
Houses on stilts at Tai-O Fishing Village, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
We walked around and enjoyed local shops, mostly dried seafood, homemade shrimp paste, a few jewelry and handcrafted items (I got a super cute cat phone case), and street food snacks. We tried the Husband!, a street food cart that specialized in ground pork wraps that’s cooked with its homemade shrimp paste. Pretty good but honestly a bit overrated! The meat was very salty from the shrimp paste and the pancake that was used as the wrap had a good chewy consistency with a slight sweetness to it. Not worth the crazy line but worth a try if the wait isn’t too long!
And one of my favorite things that happened while visiting the village is that we bumped into so many cute cats roaming around the streets just like we did! I captured some of them on photos. So adorable and really makes me want to have a cat again.
Accommodations & Restaurants
We spent the night at the Novotel, which is connected to both the CityGate Outlet and the Tung Chung MTR. The hotel is very convenient and one of the nicest ones on Lantau Island. We ate at its affiliated restaurant, Essence, for dinner and breakfast the next morning. Both of them were in buffet style. But honestly, even with the high reviews from various platforms, I was thoroughly disappointed. The food selection was limited and also not fresh. The dim sum and also dessert for dinner was dry. And the taste of the dishes in general were very mediocre. And for the price point, $315 HKD ($38USD) for dinner, I don’t recommend eating there. Not worth it! This is totally basic of me but I was so excited to eat at Outback Steakhouse, which was located in Citygate Outlets. I know it’s technically Australian but I definitely associate it with my childhood memories and categorize it as an American restaurant - which I haven’t been in more than 8 months! And boy was it SO good! Got the barbecue ribs - one of my all time favorites and fries. Can’t beat that!
Citygate Outlets
If you are from the US and are familiar with the great deals you can get from American outlets, you will be fairly disappointed by the selection and offerings at this so-called outlet. The list of stores isn’t extensive and the deals weren’t super impressive either. One good thing is though, there are no taxes, which I think is everywhere in Hong Kong.
Definitely do-able in a day, Lantau Island is a great location to decompress from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong during the week.
