One of the more remarkable excursions during my week in Hong Kong was to the Ngong Ping Plateau on Lantau Island where the Po Lin Monastery nestles in mountains draped in thin wispy cloud. Getting to the monastery is an adventure in itself. The ride by gondola takes 25 minutes.
Of all the religions, Buddhism surely has the best merchandise.
The main reason people go to the monastery is to high-five Big Buddha. He certainly meets up to his name. He’s a big fella! But how big?
Tian Tan Buddha is a whopping 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs 250 metric tons, and was the world’s tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. Between you and him are a mere 240 steps.
Stairs, humidity and altitude aren’t the best mix. Phew!
The monastery itself is everything you could possibly want from a monastery. Beautiful and peaceful. Big Buddha oversees the monastery and ensures the peace is maintained.
The main entrance to the monastery. wonderfully well kept to maximise the experience of pilgrims and tourists alike.
The ride back down is just as exciting as the ride up.
Po Lin Monastery
A Buddhist monastery, located on Ngong Ping Plateau, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu and was initially known as “The Big Hut”. It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses 3 bronze statues of the Buddha representing his past, present and future lives as well as many Buddhist scriptures.
In which I take a 25 minute cable car ride to the beautiful Po Lin Monastery where I soak in the atmosphere and try Snow Fungus Cake.
15 April 2011 - 1155 Hong Kong
Currently sat inside the Po Lin Buddhist Monastery. It’s all rather nice. Very atmospherically Chinese. Lots of Chinese architecture and signs. Makes for great photos. It took 25 minutes to get here via cablecar. Longest cable car ride I’ve ever been on. I got a great view of the airport as we sailed along.
There’s a lovely smell of incense permeating the air. In half an hour, I’m heading for the monastery restaurant for a vegetarian meal. Exciting.
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I had good reason to be excited. I was served a soup and tea to start with, then after a few minutes, a saucepan (an actual saucepan) of rice arrived with two plates of vegetables and a third plate of spring rolls. Really enjoyed the experience.
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Now for cake. Coconut Lotus Sago Cake, Mango Sweet Agar-Agar and Snow fungus Cake. Mmmm.
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Gurrghh! Too much cake. Really good though. I particularly enjoyed the Snow Fungus cake. It was like mushroom flavoured jelly.
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And that was my visit to Ngong Ping. I’m writing this so I don’t have to make eye contact with the member of staff employed to take photos of everyone. Why do they insist on doing this? They’re terrible photos. Off to a goldfish market when I get back to the city.
