天坛大佛

Now that the laundry has been done, let's get on with the Hong Kong trip. Instead of relating the entire trip, I shall dedicate this post just for 天坛大佛 which is located on 大屿山.

We set off from 清水湾 & drove to 中环 where we took a ferry to 大屿山. Payment method for the ferry ride was the same as taking the MTR. In Singapore we use the EZ-Link card while it is called 八达通 or Octopus in Hongkong.


This was the 八达通 that we used. Cute isn't it?

I can't remember how much was the fare as I was more pre-occupied with the scenery at the pier instead. Anyway, the destination was 梅窝 (Silvermine Bay) where we will have to take a coach ride or a cab up to the giant buddha.

We took a cab up as we started off pretty late. It would have taken us an hour or so had we chosen the coach ride. The cab ride was about only 20 mins & it cost us approximately HKD$120/= which is like SGD$24/=.

Upon arrival at the base of our destination, I was overwhelmed by the buddha statue sitting on top of the hill. It was just so majestic!



The flight of stairs looked intimidating but I supposed the crave to reach the top pushed me to climb all the way up. The trip would have been pointless & I would have regretted for the rest of my life had I not reached the summit.



We explored the indoor section of the statue where it serves also as a columbarium. Not that we know any of the deceased there but we did see Anita Mui's resting point within. May she rest in peace.

There is a giant bell in the centre of it too and another flight of stairs leading up where there are portraits detailing the essence of buddhism along with some calligraphy works. While on the way down after viewing the calligraphy I noticed there was a mechanical arm next to the bell. I suppose the giant bell was not jux an ornament but in fact a still working artefact. We did not get to hear it rang though.



In all, visiting 天坛大佛 was the most important destination of my HK trip. It was a must see piece of human work & I so much appreciate the chance that I'm given to do so. I'm at a loss of words, really. The view around the island from the top of the hill is just that serene. Peaceful. At ease. I felt like I'm back with nature again.

The pictures of 天坛大佛 were not exactly up to my standard as the sun was already behind it. I must make it a point to visit there early in the morning the next time I'm in Hong Kong!

Note: The indoor section of the giant buddha does not allow video & photographing. It was just too bad but I respect that.