Perched 500m up in the western hills of Lantau is the Nong Ping Plateau where you can find the Po Lin Monastery complex and one of the world's largest statues of Buddha. To get there we decided to take the cable car, however this cable car was unlike any that I had taken before as not only were the sides all glass allowing a spectacular 360 degrees view of the rural landscapes and the airport, but the floor was also glass!! Not for the faint hearted. The whole trip up took about 25 minutes and took us over what looked like a fairly new and interesting hikers trail which we decided we would walk back by. We looked back at the airport, completely developed on reclaimed land, the only flat area of the whole island. Then suddenly the Big Buddha was seen from a distance, its hazy form surrounded by clouds, presiding over yet unseen places.
We had had coffee and a snack in Tung Chung before getting on the cable car as Bridget was not sure that there would be anything at the Monastery. We needn't have worried as at the top there was a whole new village complex dedicated to providing food and shopping pleasures for the hordes of tourists. There was even a Starbucks with a view of the Big Buddha... a bit sad. We arrived during the week when it was a little quieter and during a kite flying event. Huge kites soared above the monastery dancing around the Buddha.
The Po Lin Monastery complex was founded by three monks in 1905, This "Precious Lotus" monastery occupied an isolated setting ideally suited for meditative retreat in the centre of Lantau Island. For many years there was no way to get there except on foot which limited the visitors. It remained largely undisturbed until 1993 when 10,000 spectators showed up for the inauguration of the now famous Big Buddha. The bronze statue represents a bond between the old and the new, it was constructed in Nanjing by China Aeronautics, a company involved in China's space programme. Although cast in sections, it proved too heavy for any helicopter to carry to the lofty site. The alternative meant closing off, for three nights, all roads leading to the monastery, to allow the dismantling of all lamp posts, telegraph poles and electric pylons that might obstruct the oversized trucks transporting the huge precious cargo. The Buddha is seated on a lotus and is around 26.4m high and weighs about 202 tonnes. We climbed up the steps to the base of the Buddha for a closer look and to marvel at the spectacular 360 degree view from the top. We chose a perfect day to visit as the clarity of the air was the best I have seen since arriving here. The wind is obviously blowing from the right direction, and it is blowing pretty strongly. Heavy clouds swirl around the Buddha, touching lightly as though looking for enlightenment then swiftly moving on, never really threatening to set in or give us a drenching.
Huge incense sticks filled the air with a sweet scent beckoning us across to the actual monastery. Despite the number of visitors it is still possible to feel strangely at peace surrounded by golden effigies, red lanterns hanging from the heavily painted ceilings and the colour red everywhere. On leaving the monastery we then walked for a short distance along the enlightenment walking trail. We were looking for a path that we had seen following the contours of the mountain behind the monastery. After a steep climb we seemed to meet a dead end, a shrine where workmen were doing some work. They spoke no English but with sign language and some Cantonese, we managed to get across to them that we were looking for the path to Tung Chung. They sent us back down the mountain which we were not happy about. Just below the shrine to we looked up and clearly saw the path only a couple of metres above the shrine. There had to be a way of getting there. We then saw the builders coming down the trail with rubble, laughing and then pointing at us, obviously amused by two foreigners wanting to walk to Tung Chung. We point to the trail to get the message across that we want to get onto that trail. After a heated discussion amongst the 3 of them, they eventually agree that there is a way to get to the path we want by going around the shrine and beckon us to follow. Once there they try to send us in one direction to Tung Chung saying it will take us 2 hours to get there but we have decided we want to go the other direction as this is the path that we saw from the cable car. So off we set.
The large bell in the Buddha tolls 108 times during the day to symbolise escape from what Buddhists terms the 108 troubles of mankind. As we climbed up along the the path the bells echoed around the valley and the chants of the monks carried on the wind gave us the energy to continue on up the slope. We were convinced we were on the right path as we were now below the cable car. Water rushed down a steep valley below us, the Aquarius in Bridget drew her to the water, but we had no time to rest as the afternoon was drawing to an end. At one particular steep part of the trail we saw another path that took us around the rise, obviously a contour walk was going to be easier so we headed off on this path, assuming it would re-cross the other path at some time. We were so busy chatting away and admiring the view that we failed to notice that we were moving further away from the main path. Eventually we discovered that we were heading in the wrong direction but could see Tung Chung in the distance so we figured that if we continued on this contour it too would drop down the valley to Tung Chung. It turned into a lovely walk winding through low rain forest however passed valley after valley without dropping down, until Tung Chung was but a memory on the other side of the mountain. By this time it was too late to turn back, so we just kept going, it had to eventually drop down a valley as there was no where else for it to go. Suddenly in front of us stood a grove of huge planks of wood that marked part of the Po Lin Monastery enlightenment path... we had completely circumnavigated the mountain and were now a matter of metres from where we started!! It was 5pm and we were still 2 hours from Tung Chung with inevitable darkness a mere hour away. I have to say that for a while panic set in, however we then discovered a wide concrete path with signs to Tung Chung. Even if it were to get dark before our descent, we would be able to walk this path in darkness.
Looking ahead we could see Tung Chung creeping ever closer to this lush valley... we were on the home stretch. It turned out to be a very pretty walk through the Tei Tong Tsai area, a collection of quiet monasteries and pagodas dating back many years, many hidden amongst some of Hong Kong's largest standing bamboo groves. Methodical drumbeats and resonant tones of Buddhist recitals emanated from a tower hidden among the trees, chanting monks could be heard but not seen... all drawing us further onward. As we passed through one monastery a Buddhist nun in a grey cloak with cell phone attached to her ear headed to the vegetable patch to pick food for dinner. As the last of the sun's rays fell over the valley we arrived at the village of Shek Mun Kap, at the exact same time a public bus pulled up, its destination... Tung Chung... a beckon for our survival!! Thank God, no more walking for us tonight.
A train and another bus ride later, I eventually arrived home at 8pm after a very long, eventful yet thoroughly enjoyable day.
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