Hong Kong – Day 2
8th March
Today we went on an organized excursion to
the island of Lantau. To get there we
drove out of Kowloon to cross the world’s longest road and rail suspension
bridge, the Tsing Ma Bridge (partly built by Costain). We stopped at a beautiful viewing area
overlooking the bridge which was full of azaleas, in full flower.
After crossing the bridge we drove through
the countryside, which was in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Hong
Kong Island and Kowloon. We finally
ended up at a fishing village called Tai O.
This was a typical fishing village that used to cover all of the Hong
Kong Islands, before it was developed as a financial centre by the
British. The houses were built on stilts
in the river estuary, where fisherman caught and dried their catch, after
praying to the Gods in the local temple before venturing out to sea.
We continued our drive through the hills
when we caught sight of the Po Lin Buddha at the top of a hill in the
distance. We finally arrived at the Po
Lin Monastery, where we saw many different buddhas, before enjoying a
traditional vegetarian lunch.
The finale of our trip was to take a half
an hour cable car ride down the mountain, with 360 degrees views of the island
and the new airport. Unfortunately the
mist had descended and our views were non-existent, until we had nearly reached
the bottom, but at least Mum managed to get a “hat” for when she is back home
and working in the garden.
We returned to the ship for our evening
meal and second life boat drill, before admiring Hong Kong at night as we
sailed out. Apart from the weather a
very successful stopover.
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