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We had a 8 hour halt in Hong Kong and this time we decided to step out to see the Tall Buddha which is on the same island as the airport. Documenting our trip here so that if others have a similar layover they can also visit the Tall Buddha.
The Overall trip took us 4 hours. So you should have at least 6 hours of halt in Hong Kong Airport to make the trip possible.
We got some HK dollars at the exchange counter and got a transit visa at the airport itself and stepped out. Before that we checked in the hand baggage at the locker room once we cleared immigration. Its about 50HK$ for > 3 hours. You need to take Bus S1 from the airport which goes to Tung Chung (last stop). I believe the fare was 3.5 HK $ for each adult. It was a double decker bus and the ride took about 15 mins.
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Once we got down at Tung Chung then we walked to NGong Ping 360 (Website) which runs a cable car service to the Tall Buddha. There are other ways to get there also but we wanted to try the cable car. They have different deals – for example just the cable car ride, or the cable car ride + some attractions.
We took the latter one which is called the Journey of Enlightenment Package (Includes: Round Trip Ngong Ping Cable Car journey and entry to Ngong Ping Village’s Walking with Buddha and Monkey’s Tale Theatre attractions.). This cost us 145 HK$ for each adult.
But you can go for only Round Trip Cable Car also since the “Walking with Buddha” and “Monkey Tale Theater” are not a Must-See.
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The Cable Car was Huge and they have plenty of them. So the Line was moving fast. The Cable Car Ride is about 25 mins long and goes over mountains and river. You can see the airport from the Cable Car which is cool.
Upon getting down at Tung Chung you will pass thru the little village which has shops, etc. And at other end of this little village are the steps to climb to the Tall Buddha. The Tall Buddha is Majestic and very beautiful.
You can climb the steps, Watch the Buddha, and be back to the village in about 45 mins.
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If you have purchased the tickets for Monkey Tale Theater, then you can see the cartoon show (about 10-15 mins long). The cartoon film itself is ok but the ambiance they created is good.
The Walking with Buddha is basically a small walk among 2-3 halls telling the story of Buddha.
There are stores to eat, etc. But if you are in a layover then better hurry back to the airport.
Overall it was a trip worth making and due to the trip we did not realize the long halt that we had at the Hong Kong Airport.
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Couple of Notes
> HK visa is free for US and Indian passport holder
> If possible collect ur boarding pass to connecting flight before leaving
> HK has strict hand baggage dimensions and since locker is all the way outside. Might cause problem while entering back. Your airline rep. can help you with getting thro’
> Near steps of tall buddha can also sign up for vegg. meal prepared by monks. We didn’t try it since were short of time. We barely managed to gulp 2 theplas w/o any sides.
> Kids under 3 are free in Bus & at NGong Ping. But they need ticket for Animated movie.
> AT ticket counter, they alloate show time for “Walking with Buddha†and “Monkey Tale Theaterâ€. But if early show has space they let you go. As Prashant said its not must see but if you have gone so far then might as well cover all. The way both theaters are created is amazing.
> From cable car, you can view a long long well made hike trail underneat going to village as well. We kept wondering how long that will take.
Beautiful place to visit.
HongKong is nice destination on the way to India. Our entire HK trip was awesome. Christmas is a wonderful time for a visit.
We had a 15 hour layover in Hong Kong on our last trip from 9:00am to 1:00am. We went to Big Buddha first. We then took a train to Hong Kong and from Central Ferry station we took a single trip on Rikshaw bus(Hop on/off guided tour) on the downtown route. We got off at Peak Tram station and went up to see the Hong Kong skyline. We could have also gone to Kowloon by ferry to see the laser show at 8:00pm they have over Hong Kong skyline, but we skipped that. It was a perfect day trip that covers many of the famous Hong Kong tourist attractions.