My Very First Blog

During our trip to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, my friend and I had one of the best vegetarian meals ever. The vegetarian lunch we had was at the Vegetarian Kitchen in Po Lin Monastery.

Luckily, we did not eat anything at the over-rated Ngong Ping Village on our way to Big Buddha. If you ever go to Big Buddha, you will definitely pass by Ngong Ping Village. Make sure you don't have your meals there because trust me, you don't want to miss the vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery!



Before we climbed the stairs to visit the Big Buddha (aka as Tian Tan Buddha), my friend and I had bought the tickets for our vegetarian lunch at the Meal Ticket Office counter.

There are two types of vegetarian meals - Regular and Deluxe. You can purchase ticket for regular vegetarian meal at HK$60 (US$7.70 / RM25.55) per pax or the deluxe vegetarian meal at HK$100 (US$12.90 / RM42.60) per pax. We went for the deluxe meal.

After we were done visiting the Big Buddha, we headed straight to the Vegetarian Kitchen at Po Lin Monastery. This is how the interior looks like.



We were given table number 1. Not bad, eh? : )



There were 5 dishes altogether with a bowl of rice for each of us.



We started off with the mixed mushroom soup. The warm soup contains assorted mushrooms and fungus and also bean curd. It was yummy! Perfect for a cold rainy day.



Black mushrooms with vegetables. The green leafy vegetables were absolutely tasty!



Deep fried bean curd sheet with lemon sauce. This is my favorite! It was so delicious I think it could give the lemon chicken dish that I love to eat a run for its money!



Mixed vegetables dish. This contains asparagus, celery, mushrooms, peas, capsicum and cashew nuts. A really nice mix and oh, so yummy!



Lastly, the deep fried vegetarian spring roll. There was nothing really special with the fillings but the spring rolls were crispy and light, and not too oily which were really satisfying for me!



Overall, the vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery was excellent. I give it full marks! And just so you know, I seldom rate vegetarian restaurants very highly. The food here was clean, flavorful, aromatic and simply delicious!



The ambience was pretty good, although there were not many people dining at that time. Perhaps most people prefer to choose the cheaper HK$60 regular meal? Those who choose the cheaper meal dine at an open air seating area outside probably with different sets of dishes.

I even like their nice moist tissue packet which contains some words of wisdom! : )



Below is another shot of the dishes we ate. My friend had re-arranged the dishes and asked me to take another photo. LOL!



After the satisfying lunch, we walked over to the Vegetarian Desserts and Snacks Counter (sorry forgot to take picture!) There were many choices of vegetarian dumplings and cakes but for some unknown reasons, we did not buy anything there. Oh well, I will definitely buy some if I were to re-visit this place in future.

We also walked over to the Main Shrine Hall but stopped short of entering it.



Some of the photos I took around the shrine.



These plants look beautiful!





Soon it was time to leave Po Lin Monastery. There were more photo taking opportunities. Here's a photo of the monastery's arch gate and the Big Buddha up on the hill.



The flags area with Big Buddha in the distance.



The main arch gate that separates Ngong Ping Village and Big Buddha/Po Lin Monastery area.



We had earlier came to Ngong Ping from Tung Chung via the cable car ride across the picturesque Tung Chung Bay and Lantau Island's verdant hills. But for our return journey, we decided to take the bus instead.

Our bus tickets. OK, some of you might be surprised at the date, so yes, this trip was 2 years ago and I only managed to blog about it now. Hahaha!!



We took the New Lantau Bus (NLB) back to Tung Chung where we did some shopping at the Citygate Outlets before rushing off to catch the Symphony Of Lights at Victoria Harbour.



I would say that compared to the cable car ride, the bus ride was pretty boring. Nothing much to see throughout the roughly 45 minutes journey. If I were to visit Big Buddha again, I will just take the cable car ride.

Coming Up Next : The Symphony Of Lights 

The Tian Tan Buddha (also known as the Big Buddha), is a popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Located next to the Po Lin Monastery at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, it is one of the world's tallest outdoor sitting bronze Buddha statues in the world.

During our fifth day in Hong Kong, my friend and I visited the Big Buddha for the very first time. From Mongkok, we took the MTR to Tung Chung where we experienced the awesome cable car ride to Ngong Ping Village.

After walking leisurely for half an hour at Ngong Ping Village, we reached the foot of the 268-steps staircase leading up to the Big Buddha.



This is the stairs that separated us from the famous Buddha statue. Did we climb up to the top? You bet!



Fortunately, the weather was not hot, so it made climbing the stairs easier. In fact, I was quite surprised at how easy it was. I did not even break into a sweat climbing the steps - it was definitely easier than climbing the steep 272 steps of Batu Caves in Malaysia!



There were quite a lot of tourists that day but luckily, it was not overcrowded.



Halfway up, I snapped this photo below. The Big Buddha looked almost ethereal from here.



After climbing for about 15 minutes, we finally reached the top! The 34 meters tall bronze statue looked really awesome! Weighing about 250 tons, the Big Buddha sits on a giant lotus flower on top of a three-platform altar.



Every feature of the Buddha statue has a symbolic meaning of religious significance. With broad forehead and elongated ears reaching to the shoulders, the Buddha is an embodiment of wisdom and perfection.



If you are wondering why the Big Buddha is called Tian Tan Buddha, well, that's because its base is a replica of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.


The raised right hand is in the mudra of imparting fearlessness, which represents removal of affliction and sufferings. The left hand which rests on the lap, with the palm faces upwards and fingers pointing slightly downwards is seen as a gesture of giving dhana or generosity in granting blessing and happiness.



The Big Buddha is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues, three on each side. These statues known as "The Offering Of The Six Devas" are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation and wisdom - all the qualities necessary to enter Nirvana.



Front view of one of the statues making offerings to the Tian Tan Buddha.



There are 3 floors beneath the Buddha statue which are exhibition halls - the Hall of Universe, the Hall of Benevolent Merit and the Hall of Remembrance. The third floor houses the relic of Gautama Buddha, including some of his alleged cremated remains.



Access to the Big Buddha statue is free, but to enter the three floors of Exhibition halls, a fee of HK$25  (US$3.20 / RM10.65) is charged. Also, no photography is allowed inside so I could not show you any photos.

Alternatively, you can purchase a simple vegetarian lunch for HK$60 (US$7.70 / RM25.55) or a deluxe vegetarian meal for HK$100 (US$12.90 / RM42.60) - both of which entitles you free entry into the Exhibition halls. My friend and I bought the HK$100 vegetarian lunch, which I shall blog about in the next post.



It is said that on a clear day, the Big Buddha can be seen from as far as Macau. Standing up here, I could see the view of the surroundings which was serene and beautiful.



Soon, it was time to leave the Big Buddha and descend the stairs.



The view from the stairs looking down was pretty awesome.



My stomach was rumbling as it was way past lunch. I could not wait to eat the vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery.



As I descended the stairs, I took one last look at the Big Buddha. It looked as if the Big Buddha was bidding me a good farewell.



For more detailed information on the Tian Tan Buddha especially on how it was built, check out the Po Lin Monastery website.

On our fifth day in Hong Kong, my friend and I visited the Tian Tan Buddha in Ngong Ping. We had reached Ngong Ping via the memorable cable car ride from Tung Chung.

Before we reached the Tian Tan Buddha, we walked through the Ngong Ping Village.



We passed by Linong Tea House but did not go in. The building looked rather impressive from the outside with its Chinese style architecture.



Strolling along the walkway which was filled with shops on both sides, I could see the Tian Tan Buddha (also known as the Big Buddha) in the distance.



Cute dolls in front of a shop.



There were a couple of attactions at Ngong Ping Village but we did not visit any of them. The first is  Walking With Buddha, an interactive multi-media attaction that takes visitors through the life of Siddharta Gautama, the man who became Buddha.

Another attraction is Monkey's Tale Theater which is a short animated film for kids. You need to pay for both the attractions.



We also came across a Bodhi Wishing Shrine under this Bodhi tree. It is believed that wishes made at this shrine will come true. The Bodhi tree was the tree under which Siddharta meditated and eventually attaining Enlightenment and becoming Buddha.



You can write your wishes on a card and post it at the Bodhi Wishing Shrine for your wishes to come true. There's a catch however. You would need to spend at least HK$150 (US$19 / RM63) at Ngong Ping Souvenir Shops to redeem that wishing card. We did not bother.



I was not impressed with the place. Somehow, I felt that the Ngong Ping Village was more like an excuse to squeeze as much money as possible from tourists. The souvenirs sold here were quite expensive - you can get the same souvenirs at cheaper prices at the Ladies Market in Mongkok - and the place did not even looked like an authentic village to me. Definitely a tourist trap and an overrated place if I may say so.



Since our main intention was to see the Big Buddha statue, we did not spend too much time at the village.

Soon, we reached the entrance arch leading to the Tian Tan Buddha.



Nice arch with beautiful rooftop carvings.



Passing the arch was a huge open space with statues lining up on both sides.






It was a short walk before we finally reached the Tian Tan Buddha.



We were at the foot of a 268-steps staircase leading up to the giant Buddha statue at the top. More about this incredible Tian Tan Buddha in my next post, so stay tuned! : )