The Big Buddha

Hello everyone! So for my last post from Hong Kong (at least for a little while), I wanted to show all of you pictures from our trip to see the Big Buddha! The Big Buddha is on a very high mountain in Hong Kong on an area called Lantau Island. Lantau Island is known for its rolling mountains and green areas as well its beautiful beaches (and the Hong Kong airport, rated the best airport in the world!) On this day, though, our focus was on seeing the Big Buddha, or Tian Tin, as he is known here, and the Po Lin Buddhist Monastery. To get to this place, we had to take a cable car over several mountains! We were very high up! At first it was a bit scary, but it was also very exciting. It is one of my favorite parts of Hong Kong, which is why I took so many pictures!

I hope you enjoy!

Jenny and I getting ready to board the cable cars. We ordered tickets for a "Crystal Cabin," meaning that the floor of the cable car was made of glass, so you could see the land and sea below you!

Jenny, Ellie, and I in the cable car!

The journey ahead... (the little dots in the distance are other cable cars)

Starting to go across the bay and up the mountain...

Me on the glass floor! That's the South China Sea below me!

Look how high up we already are!

Jenny decided to lay on the glass floor too, just like me!

There's the Big Buddha in the distance!

Getting really close now!

After walking through the little village that surrounds the statue and the monastery, we only had a little bit to go before getting to the statue.

Me in front of the entrance to the Po Lin Monastery.

About to start climbing the stairs to get to the statue.

Half-way up! Just a bit longer to go!

There he is! He is a BIG Buddha!

There were also several smaller statues, in addition to the Big Buddha. Legend has it that if you get a coin in the palm of one of the smaller statue's hands, you will have good luck for the rest of your life!

After exploring the statue for a while, we went down to the Monastery to look around. It was beautiful! So many beautiful carvings and sculptures.

After exploring the monastery for a while, I took a rest by the flowers outside. It was really pretty at the monastery, with people coming to pray and pay their respects.

This is the sunset from our cable car on the way back from the Big Buddha! It was a wonderful day!

There is still much more of Hong Kong to see, and I can't wait to come back and explore more of the city! Until then, though, Jenny and I are leaving tomorrow to travel to Singapore and Vietnam! We'll be sure to take lots of pictures over our vacation and send them to you in the new year! Happy Holidays everyone!