debthesilenttraveller-blog

[debthesilenttraveller-blog]

Have you personally ever had a dream or vision that became real? I myself, YES!  many times, but one that really stuck with me has to be the MOST MAGICAL! There’s no such thing as impossible! All we need is to wait for a perfect timing.  

Five years ago, I promised to myself that “makakapunta rin ako ng HK lalo na sa Disneyland!”  

October 18, 2017, Wednesday, My friend and I went to HK. Were both excited travelling outside the Philippines for the first time.

Since it was my first out of the country travel, I took a photo of my PASSPORT! Yey! I finally used it! Hooray! After one year of being stocked inside my mobile cabinet. Anyway, we departed at 5:30AM.  

“Bye for now, Philippines! Have a safe flight for us!” :)

I thank God for this opportunity. #TrullyBlessed 

Arrived at HK International Airport at 7:30AM. Next destination, Mexan Harbour Hotel in Tsing Yi Road, Tsing Yi, Hongkong. Let’s go! :)

Ooopppsss! but before that, Let me introduce to you my travel buddy, meet Jayson a good friend of mine! Hello from us! :)

We stayed at Mexan Harbour for two nights.  Honestly, t’was an equivalent of a three star hotel in PH. :) The hotel looks old but the Wifi in their lobby was completely amazing. Hihi. :) 

Our room was located at 29th floor! waaaaahhh! 

After lunch, we decided to explore HK, we bought “Octopus Card” from Klook. This card was very useful and convenient way to pay fares on Hong Kong’s public transport, such as the MTR, buses, ferries, trams or the Airport Express PLUS dining, entertainment, shopping & more! 

We rode HK’s MTR! It was very far from PH’s MRT and LRT. But I still love PH. hahaha! It was not crowded and it was very cold inside the train. Oh, one thing I observed, most of the Chinese wear shoes. Only few wear slippers. :) 

Heading from Tsim sha tsui, we met Ate Grapes, an OFW and she taught us how to take HK’s MTR going to Ngong Ping Lantau Island, Hong Kong. 

From Ngong Ping Station, we rode bus going to Po Lin Monastery and The Big Buddha.

Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery, located on Ngong Ping Plateau, on Lantau Island, HK. It was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu Province on the Chinese mainland and was initially known simply as "The Big Hut" (大茅蓬 Tai Mao Pung).

The Ngong Ping 360 consisting of the Ngong Ping village and a gondola lift running between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, was built near to the Po Lin Monastery. 

We watched Chinese Kung Fu performance. :) 

Our first mandatory groupie! :)

Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, a giant Buddha statue completed in 1993, is an extension of the monastery.  It is a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is sited near Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Po Lin Monastery and the Buddha are open to the public between 10:00AM and 5:30PM. Access to the outside of the Buddha is free of charge, but there is an admission fee to go inside the Buddha.

Visitors can reach the site by bus or taxi, travelling first to Mui Wo (also known as "Silvermine Bay") via ferry from the Outlying Islands piers in Central (pier No. 6) or to Tung Chung station via the MTR, or cable car. Visitors may then travel to and from the Buddha via the following bus routes:

Mui Wo ↔ Ngong Ping — NLB No. 2

Tung Chung ↔ Ngong Ping – NLB No. 23

The Ngong Ping 360 gondola lift between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping (25 minutes).

After that, we decided to back in our hotel and took some rest for the next day’s itinerary.