July 18 2006 The Big Buddha on Lantau Island

On Sunday we decided the cloud cover was high enough to go see the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. This Buddha is not the largest one in the world, but it is close. It occupies some esoteric category like “largest seated stone Buddha with a lotus leaf in its hand”. The problems with visiting this Buddha are two-fold. First of all, it takes close to two hours to get there, no matter how you go, and the journey involves a twisty bus ride both ways. The second problem is that unless it is one of the 5 yearly blindingly beautiful clear Hong Kong days, the Buddha is shrouded in mist and you can’t really see it very well.

But what the heck. It was a major item on Daniel’s list, and he thought his stomach could handle the bus ride. On the way there we took the high speed ferry, just for grins. It’s not faster than the MTR, just slightly more entertaining. Once you get to Lantau you hop on the number 2 bus and then the fun begins. Actually it wasn’t that bad. I think we had read so many descriptions of “hair-raising” bus rides that reality couldn’t compete. In fact Daniel kept his lunch both there and back. We still have two days to go, but its possible that this is the first family vacation ever where Daniel didn’t get car or boat sick…is it possible that he has out-grown motion sickness? Hmmm

As we drove farther into the mountains it became clear (bad pun) that a high cloud cover on Hong Kong Island means nothing to Lantau. The mountains in the middle of Lantau were invisible, which didn’t bode well for being able to see the Buddha.

Once we arrived, it was very, very foggy. We could see the steps leading up to the Buddha, and very faintly the outline of his knee, maybe. We gamely climbed the steps and as we got higher we could see first a hand, then his chin, and finally, dimly, his nose and eyes. It was an eerie apparition – a Buddha ghost. We took the requisite pictures, wander around the shrine and the grounds, and got the heck out of there.

After the bus ride back down the mountain we took the MTR back to Central…it was less eventful, except for the tired, giddy children that got on at the Hong Kong Disneyland stop, and the temperature on that particular line, which was something akin to a meat locker. We were all so cold by the time we got back to the apartment that we donned sweaters and I had a cup of hot tea.

Lee and I both agreed that we weren’t going back to the giant Buddha unless it was a guaranteed sunny, clear day. If we have guests that are adamant to see it we’ll give them directions and wish them well.