Kyoto–Day 5

So an early start today to get the transfer bus to the airport from my hotel. No sooner had I checked out than I was on the bus and off to the airport.

Checking in took only a few short moments and I passed through immigration, changed some money and sat down at my gate to await my flight.

My trip with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Osaka took about 3 hours but was a little hard to take now I was back in ‘cattle class’. Like I’ve said before, once you have travelled business class it is hard to go back.

I arrived in Osaka in the late afternoon and moved through customs and immigration quickly as ours seemed to be the only inbound flight at the time. Interesting, they have big signs up here about protecting against terrorism and now take your fingerprints.

Another interesting point was the customs guy asked me a few questions about what I was doing in Japan, when I planned to leave etc. Nothing major expect I was expecting that from the immigration guy.

I was now out of the terminal and looking for my transfer bus. Turns out that these leave from just outside the terminal. Basically just keep walking to the kerb outside the terminal. I located the sign telling me which bay to wait at and off I went.

I showed the attendant my ticket and confirmed that I wanted to go to Kyoto station. He nodded in confirmation so all I needed to do now was wait for the bus.

Just behind me (shown above) is the information desk where you can also purchase transfer fares. All very straight forward and nearly everything is also in English, which makes it even easier.

In a manner of moments I was on the bus on my way to Kyoto station.

I was basically freeway all the way but it took about 90 minutes to arrive at Kyoto station, where I hit the streets trying to get my bearings.

I would be staying at the New Miyako Hotel which is right near Kyoto station. Only problem was I wasn’t quite sure which side of the station I was on, but I took a punt and ended up guessing correctly that I was on the correct side.

Moments later I had checked in and was enjoying the comforts of my room.

View from my window. There is even a balcony!

Upsides? Free Internet! Downsides? No hotel safe (but that isn’t a huge issue).

Being rather exhausted after todays travels I headed down to one of the hotel restaurants for dinner and to practice my atrocious Japanese . After a great 3 course dinner for about AUD$35 I headed back to my room to plan for tomorrow’s adventure.

Hong Kong–Day 4

The plan for today was to visit the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. This would mean catching the subway, so I headed toward the closest station to my hotel, Jordan.

Now the trick was to find out how to purchase a one day tourist pass on the Hong Kong subway (the MTR)

Now the ticket vending machines were easy enough to find but I discovered that:

1. They only dispense single journey tickets and

2. They only accept coin (no notes).

This meant that I needed to find an information counter which was located in the centre of the station. There I was able to purchase my 1 day tourist pass, which is good for travel on the whole MTR (except into China and via the airport express) for 24 hours. For only HK$55 this is a bargain I reckon.

So with the pass in hand I entered via the turnstiles. Here’s a video to show you how easy it is:

With only one line serviced by this station I just needed to decided which direction I would take. No matter what I chose I would have to change trains. When the first train came (headed south to Hong Kong) it was pretty packed so I decided that I’d wait and try the train in the opposite direction (to Tsuen Wan). If you ever need map you’ll find one here:

http://www.mtr.com.hk/jplanner/images/maps/routemap.pdf

So I needed to change at Lai King for the Tung Chung line.

This was easy enough to do. Basically just cross the platform.

The MTR is really easy to use. There are diagrams of the lines just about everywhere (on the station, on the train, etc) with everything given in English.

Soon I have arrived at Tung Chung and needed to locate the cable car that would take me up to the Big Buddha.

Basically you just check the signage at the station for the best exit for the cable car and head away from the station (basically in the opposite direction to the shot of the station you see above).

Another little bonus I found with the MTR one day tourist pass is that it contained a number of discount vouchers and one of these is for the cable car. With that in hand I went to the counter. Like most things these days you have lots of ‘trade up’ options. In this case you can get a package that includes some tours, a glass bottom cable car or a photo memento of your visit. I declined all these and a return trip Ngong Ping 360 cable car cost me the princely sum of HK$68 (again, a real bargain) .

So with my ticket in hand I headed through the turnstiles and waited in line to get aboard. Luckily because I was only by myself I was able to jump the queue fill up the numbers on an earlier departing car. So I think it too me a grand total of 15 minutes from the time I arrived at the station to when I was away on the cable car. However, judging my the miles of crowd control ropes it could take a lot longer.

The ride takes about 25 minutes and is well worth the fare as you get to see some fantastic sights including the International airport.

As you approach the end you get a glimpse of the Buddha from the cable car.

After you exit the cable car you end up a pretty touristy ‘themed Chinese village’ (and yes there is a Starbucks here). Be warned that it is VERY touristy but never fear you just have to walk through it.

After the village there is a pathway under the arch above that leads to the foot of the Buddha.

The old Sydney Opera House isn’t quite the furthest place from here but it is aways.

Looking back down toward the ‘Chinese Village’ and the cable car.

So I entered the base of the stairs to head up to the Buddha and find there is another small charge to be paid. It isn’t very much and you have the option of either purchasing it with a ‘meal’ or a ‘snack’. Turns out this ends up being pretty good value and another reason not to waste your money at the ‘Chinese village’. More on this a little later.

So I head up the 260 steps or so and then walk around the base.

There you will find statues of Buddhist saints (Bodhisattvas). My guide book says that you throw a coin into their cupped hands for luck but it seems the practice has been banned (most likely because of the damage that caused from so many visitors attempting this).

the surrounds are also very scenic.

You can enter inside the base of the pedestal that the Buddha sits on. Inside you are not able to take photos and you’ll find what looks like a whole lot of remembrance plates.

You can then go up two further levels and at the top level inside and view the sacred relic of the real Buddha (a tooth in crystal container which you can’t really see).

So back down the stairs I went heading for the Po Lin monastery.

Outside the monastery you can purchase and burn incense for your intentions. As you can see from the above shot you can purchase some monster sticks of incense (over 2 metres tall and thicker than my arm).

You move through this outer gate to get to the monastery proper.

Interestingly, inside this place you are allowed to take photos and I am sure glad you can because as you can see it is amazing!

and of course you can still see the Buddha in the background.

Over to one side you’ll find a nicely shaded and relaxing area where you can use the meal voucher you obtained as part of the entrance fee to the Buddha. Even though I only went for the ‘snack’ I got a good helping of noodles, two sweet cakes and a cup of coffee. I gotta say I was impressed with this ‘snack’ and felt sorry for anyone who pigged in the ‘Chinese village’ upon arrival. It kinda makes you wonder how much extra you’d get if you took the option of the full meal.

So here’s a tip, upon arrival at the Buddha. Steer past what’s on offer at the ‘Chinese Village’ and head straight for the Buddha. In exchange for entrance you’ll get a minimum of the ‘snack’ I listed above from the monastery nearby. Great value and clever marketing by the monks no doubt.

So I headed back through the ‘Chinese Village’ and towards the cable car as I didn’t have any need to stop at Starbucks (not that I would have here).

Now my guide books says that you can also take a footpath back to the station at Tung Chung instead of taking the cable car and I quote – ‘the lovely 7 km wooded path through the Tung Chung valley’. I was in two minds whether to take this but since I couldn’t find the start of the trail I decided I make better use of my time by taking the cable car back (and I had paid for a round trip anyway). Can I just say that when I looked at how much work the trail would have been (up and down plenty of steps which were quite steep in places, I decided I had made the right decision). I expect that you need to allocate a few HOURS if you want to take this route.

So back down the mountain by cable car we go.

As I headed back towards the subway station I concluded that it was going to hard to top this experience on my visit here. It is a little hard to describe and perhaps it was bit spiritual. Whatever it was, it was particularly special and something I’ll always remember. So if you are in Hong Kong put a visit to the Big Buddha high on your list.

I jumped back on the subway and decided that I’d spend the remaining part of my last day in Hong Kong at the Science and History museums to the east of my hotel.

I eventually arrived after getting off at what I thought would be a good station (turned out I was wrong and ended up walking aimlessly through some shopping centre till I gave up trying to get to the street).

After a bit of a walk my next stop was the Hong Kong Science museum. Although it is pretty much like most science museums you’ll find it was probably one of better ones I’ve been to. There are plenty of knobs and gadgets to play with and the exhibits are excellent.

It was now getting late so I headed over to the Hong Kong Museum of History rights next door.

I have to say that both of these museums are excellent value. My entrance fee to the Hong Kong Science museum was HK$25 and HK$10 to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Amazing value.

Given it was already late in the afternoon, I knew I wouldn’t have time to see the whole museum so I headed directly to the ‘Hong Kong Story’ exhibit which runs through the complete story of Hong Kong from pre-historic times till now.

Turn of the century store.

Turn of the century street scene.

Inside double decker tram.

It was now time to leave as the museum was closing. I would say that if you are running out of time then the Museum of History probably better value but both are excellent in my opinion.

I headed back to my hotel knowing that I’d had a special day in Hong Kong and wished that I had more time to see more of this unique place. I think Hong Kong is really a place that you’d need a good couple of day to really say that you’ve seen the major sites. There is just so much here. Everything is great value and in plentiful supply. If you love shopping then this place would be heaven because shopping is clearly the national pastime.

I was surprised at how clean everything was, I was expecting more grime. The only downers for me where the constant humidity (but you get used to that) and the hazy weather. Most of the places I visited would be nothing short of spectacular on a bright sunny day.

All in all, I can now understand why this city is a renown city of the world. So if you have never been, put it on your list of places to visit. I know that if I had the opportunity I’d come back because there is still so much to see and do.

Here are some additional web sites I found handy when planning my trip:

Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours

Hong Kong Airport

Hong Kong Walks