The Ngong Ping Village in Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Ngong Ping Village Entrance

When my friends decided that we travel to Hong Kong, I am not too much excited as I am not a fan of shopping, in which Hong Kong is very popular. But after some research, I discovered the Island of Lantau and the wonderful adventure that it has to offer aside from Disneyland.

The Po Lin Monastery, the big Buddha and Wisdom Path are all located in Ngong Ping Village. You can ride a bus from the Shung Tung MTR Station to the Ngong Ping Village or you can also ride the Ngong Ping Cable Car which is much faster and a must-try experience in Hong Kong. The Ngong Ping Cable Car opens at ten in the morning, but I advised that you come early to avoid waiting on a long line.

While at the cable car you will enjoy seeing the landscape of Hong Kong. The 25-minute ride in the cable car will let you see the lush green mountains and plateau, the ferry crossing the Tung Chung Bay, and people trekking to the Ngong Ping Village.

View from the cable car

cable car on the move

When we arrived at Ngong Ping Village, our first destination is the Hong Kong Big Buddha. Be sure to pack up a lot of energy, as your stamina will be tested in climbing up the stairs of the Big Buddha. When you reached the top, take a deep breath and be awed by the beautiful scenery of the Ngong Ping Village.

Tian Tan - the Big Buddha

The view of Po Lin Monastery from the Big Buddha

After the Big Buddha, we walked for fifteen minutes to reach the Wisdom Path. Unlike the Big Buddha, only few tourists went to the Wisdom Path. I was afraid that we might get lost but there is enough signage to point the directions towards the Wisdom Path. The Wisdom Path is composed of thirty eight big wooden monuments, which forms the infinity sign, with Chinese calligraphy. The calligraphy written in the woods are verses of prayers. Again, be ready to get mesmerized with the beauty and tranquility of the place. It is actually a nice place to relax after the tiring climb to the Big Buddha.

the Wisdom Path

Our last stop at Ngong Ping village is the Po Lin Monastery. Many tourists come to this place to say their prayers and give offerings. Despite the crowd, you can still feel a sense of sanctity and serenity. Inside the temple are statues of deities, paintings, and intricate interior designs. There are also three Buddha statues inside the temple where you can say your prayer. After saying a prayer, me and my friends offered some incense.

Po Lin Monastery

Monastery visitors offering incense

Our visit to the Ngong Ping village maybe the most tiring part of our trip in Hong Kong, but for me this is my most enjoyable and most beautiful place that I have visited in Hong Kong.

Exploring Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

A friend of mine, who have visited Hong Kong several times, suggested that if we would be looking for an accommodation in Hong Kong it should be within Tsim Sha Tsui. Her reason is because there are lots of tourist destinations within the area that can easily be visited on foot. I checked the internet and I found myself already enumerating the go to places in Tsim Sha Tsui.


For our Hong Kong Trip, here are the list of places in Tsim Sha Tsui that we visited: St. Andrew Church, Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower, Garden of Stars (previously Avenue of Stars), and the Victoria Harbour. Aside from these tourist destinations, Tsim Sha Tsui is also a go to place if you love to shop. Designer stores lined the whole street of Nathan Road and if you’re lucky, you may catch them on sale.


Our first stop is St. Andrew Church, since it was a Sunday and we always see to it that we stop by a church on our every travel. There were no mass when we went there and only three or four people are inside. After praying, me and my friends left the church and went to our next destination.

Our next stop is Kowloon Park. It is not very hard to locate this park; once you see a colorful stairs lined up with statues of comic characters, you are in the right place. Once you entered the park, you will still see more statues of comic book characters. Aside from these statues, another attraction of the park is that it become a home to different kinds of birds, it has a pond with koi fishes and turtles.

After Kowloon Park, we then walk along Nathan Road to go to the Clock Tower at the Victoria Harbour. It was a long walk going to the Harbour, and you don’t need to worry if you are not familiar with Tsim Sha Tsui as there are many directional signage. The Clock Tower is located near the Cultural Center and the Star Ferry and from there you can have a good view of the Hong Kong Island.

We walk along the Victoria Harbour looking for the Avenue of the Stars. Unfortunately because of the ongoing construction in the harbour area, the Avenue of the stars was relocated and is now called the Garden of Stars. Walking along the harbor, we again followed the directional signage until we reach our destination. From the Garden of Stars, you can again see Hong Kong island.

We went back to Victoria Harbour at night to hang out with an old friend. With some beer, chips, and music from local street performers we look at the night lights from the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island.