China 2010: Day 10: Hong Kong-LAX
Breakfast buffet was very impressive at the Conrad Hilton, with actual real thin translucent skins on the har gow (in a buffet!) and other tasty delectables.
The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island was the next step. It was easy to get to via the MTR (subway), all the way to the Tung Chung station, then via the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. It is an impressive sight, but the cable car ride up is almost as impressive... and that says a lot. Awesome views.
As the largest sitting buddha (112 feet tall and 280 tons), or at least one of the largest sitting buddhas, in existence, it is a major tourist attraction as well as a religious center. The smaller buddhas surrounding it, plus a visitor's center below that explains the construction and history of the buddha, make it a fairly complete experience, even if the (remarkably restrained) collection of shops and ticket upsells they try to do does ruin the atmosphere somewhat. Not to mentions seeing a Subway and a kebab/pizza (!) place right off Ngong Ping 360 is a little disturbing. I sort of expected the Starbucks at least...
Wandered to the Bird Market (more like a garden) and the Flower Market (streets of flower shops, expensive Christmas trees) afterwards. Neither was quite as much to see as I expected, although finding people rich enough to afford a Christmas tree in Hong Kong? *ahem* Well I guess they do exist, although you'd have to have a car to haul your tree home and an apartment big enough for it... clearly only a purchase for the wealthy!
We then got off a few stops early to take the Tsim Sha Tsui ferry (Star Ferry) across the harbor to enjoy the views. Got distracted by foot massages on the way to the ferry, which worked out well too, as we would've had an extra hour to kill otherwise! And for HKD$2, the Star Ferry is still among the best deals in town for a view of the harbor.
Quick shower and drink, then said goodbye to Warner and Deborah (thanks for everything!) before running off to the airport via the airport's dedicated express MTR. I resisted shopping at IFC mall while waiting and made it safely to the airport, where I found that Cathay Pacific had a "mechanical problem" onboard the airplane and unexpectedly upgraded all of their frequent fliers to Business class. SWEET. The won ton mein at the airport was (only slightly) pricey but surprisingly good for airport food (and much better than the expensive Chinese place Diana and I went to 2 years before!)... then all of a sudden it was time to board the plane!
Business class on Cathay is waaay nicer than on United... much more palatable way to spend 12.5 hours on a plane, although if I had to pay for it, well I'd be slumming it in economy, since the cost of a single business class ticket was something like three or four times that of my entire vacation. o_0 It is nice to be able to stretch out and lay flat in an airplane with a bowl of hot cashews and champange, though, while for breakfast they served three courses and had two flight attendants to serve you your cereal and milk. Not too shabby...
12.5 hours later, it was back to reality...