Our third day was our last day at
CHI Residences 314. Our plan was to leave our luggage at a luggage storage facility and
then go to Lantau Island’s Ngong Ping. Then we would cross to Macau that
night to meet my sister there.
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| Cooking our last breakfast at CHI |
We already partially packed our
stuff when we got home from Hong Kong Disneyland the night before, so there
were only a few remaining items left to pack (mostly our sleeping clothes) that
morning. So after breakfast, we had our baths and got ready. Based
on the forecast, it would be on the cold side that day, and because Ngong
Ping is high up on a mountain, we had our jackets on and readied our bonnets,
scarves and mittens (for kids). Before leaving the room, I had CHI’s
mobile phone reset to wipe out any personal data. Then off we went to
check out, refunded our security deposit (more money yay!) and hailed a taxi
downstairs.
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| Traffic at entrance of Cross Harbour Tunnel (good thing our friendly cab driver didn't mind!) |
There are several luggage storage
facilities in Hong Kong where you can leave your luggage and pay based on the
number of hours (per piece). From our “extensive” research, our best
choice was the one at Shun Tak Centre. We would be crossing to Macau that
night and there is already a Turbojet Ferry terminal at Shun Tak Centre.
Based on their website, their rates for luggage storage (at the time of this
writing) was at HK$ 20 per hour per piece but I believe we paid much less than
that. In any case, if you will avail of this service, you should allocate
budget based on their published rates. The facility is inside the
Turbojet Premier Lounge, just at the back of the elevator at ground floor very
near where you would get off the taxi.
After leaving our bags, we went
to the nearest MTR Station and headed for Tung Chung, where we could ride the
cable car to Ngong Ping. During our trip, there were no discounted ticket
vouchers for the cable car ride so we just went straight to the ticket counters. Although there was a queue to get on the cable car,
it was moving fast. I wanted to try the crystal cabin, the one with glass
floors, but when I asked the kids, they were scared so we just got the tickets
for standard cabin. We rode the cable car together with a group of friendly
ladies (not sure if they were Korean or Chinese) and our daughter had been
exchanging smiles with them during the ride.
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| Building on stilts at Tung Chung |
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| Ngong Ping cable car station at Tung Chung |
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| The cable car just off Tung Chung station |
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| First leg of the ascent |
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| HKIA as seen from the cable car |
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| Tung Chung on the right, HKIA on the left |
The kids were awestruck by the ride. This was intensified by the
beautiful view that could be seen in all directions (maybe this is the reason for
naming it 360?). There was a very thin fog on the way up, but the view
was still spectacular and it added a feel of being transported to another time
(similar to the one we had going to Hong Kong Disneyland).
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| Misty mountain tops |
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| Still going up! |
We could also see the hiking trails around
Lantau Island. We even saw a
waterfall. I told myself that someday
we’re going to walk this long trail.
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| We're here! |
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| Yep... we'll have to climb that... |
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| Let's get it on! |
The climb was a bit challenging so I told the kids that we
would stop to rest at every second landing.
Halfway, even our special one, who was supposed to have more stamina
than the other two, grew tired and just slumped at one of our rest stop. This made us all laugh and we were laughing
and had fun the rest of the way. We were
tired when we got to the top but I think our giggles made the climb a little
easier.
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| We need to rest... |
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| We climbed that! |
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| Finally! Yay! |
At the top we had a fantastic view of the whole village, the
monastery and the mountain tops. It was
quite easy to recover with the beautiful sights and the refreshing air from all
the greens around.
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| Bronze statues surround the big Buddha |
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| The buildings have colorful patterns at every detail |
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| The vegetarian restaurant |
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| Yummy vegetarian snacks! |
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| Our daughter insisted on buying this mochi! |
We then went to look around the shops at the village to buy
souvenirs. We got interested at a stall
selling novelty items that had insects, animals and flowers preserved inside
plastic resins.
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| Time to leave... |
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| Last shot before leaving |
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| Who are you?! |
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| While waiting for mommy to buy souvenirs |
Back at Shun Tak Centre, we got our luggage and headed for
the TurboJet ticket counters. To our big
surprise, the next available tickets were for the 10pm sailing (we were there
at the center at around 6). There were
so many people inside the center waiting to board their ferry. Most of them belonged to a group tour. My sister told me that we should have bought
tickets earlier because at those times (late afternoon to early evenings), most
tickets are already sold out due to the volume of people going to Macau. This is a lesson learned for us and a good
advise to people who would be going to Macau after Hong Kong.
So to kill time, we had our dinner at McDonald’s and roamed
around the mall with our luggages in tow.
When we finally got on board our ferry, the kids fell asleep right
away.
Lantau Island itself has many attractions to offer: hiking
trails, Tai O fishing village, beaches of Mui O & Silvermine, waterfalls
and many others. It is one of the most recommended places especially for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. It is also a great retreat for nature buffs. I have thought of trying
the best destinations all in one day, but I guess we would need more time (especially
because we have kids with us) so that we could appreciate each place fully. Perhaps we will get to visit all of
them some other time.
Tips:
Travel means:
Taxi: Hong Kong taxis are clearly marked in front and the sides with the number of passengers allowed (either 5 passengers or 4) so hail the right taxi depending on how many you are (kids and babies are counted as 1 passenger each).
If you're having a hard time explaining to the taxi driver where you want to go and you don't have a taxi card (a card showing the address of your destination written in Chinese), look for your destination in Google Maps, zoom into it and show it to the driver. Google maps has most of the places in Hong Kong written in both English and Chinese
MTR: Like we mentioned, this will get you virtually anywhere.
Cable Car: Just enjoy the view!
Kidsentials and advise for autism families:
- Again, headphones and gadgets (tablet, portable gaming console or mobile phone) in case of sensory overload or tantrums. If your special one has other means to calm down, bring it with you.
- If you go there on a winter season, it might be good to bring scarves, bonnets and mittens for the kids who might get too cold..
- Even if the weather is cold, water is a must for the kids.
- Don't rush and push the kids if they get tired climbing the long, steep staircase of Tian Tan Buddha. Rest at regular intervals. Playing with them while climbing might also help.
- If the kids don't like the vegetarian snacks, there are also restaurants back in the village that serve more familiar food.
Other general tips:
- Purchase the tickets for the vegetarian snacks and access to the Buddha exhibit, they're cheap!
- You will most probably be riding the cable car with some strangers so be cheerful, considerate and friendly.
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