Hong Kong: Lantau Island – A Painful But Memorable Trip

This is not my first time to Lantau Island but this is definitely the most memorable one. If you have been following my twitter closely, you would have know that I had a bad fall in Hong Kong, specifically Lantau Island.

We took a cable car with crystal cabin to Lantau Island on a bright Saturday morning. Equipped with a glass bottom, the new Ngong Ping 360 Crystal Cabin allows us to have an astonishing bird’s eye view.

Upon arrival, we took some tourist shots in the village. I was on a slope and this photo was taken right before I fell. The ankle swelled like a golf ball and thank goodness we had guys around, they went to buy ice pack to ease the swell. Call me stubborn, I was determined to climb up to the Big Buddha no matter what.

After 100 over steps, I am finally at the top! This statue is the world’s largest Buddha bronze. It is 34m tall and weighs 250 tonnes, empowered in December 1993. You are welcome to climb up to the Big Buddha. However, if you keen to take a look at the exhibitions beneath the Big Buddha, you have to purchase a vegetarian coupon for entry.

After a visit to the Big Buddha and having climbed up and down the long flight of stone steps, nothing would beat a scrumptious lunch in Po Lin monastery’s vegetarian kitchen.

 

You don’t have to be in a group to enjoy a table of scrumptious vegetarian delicacies. Whether you are traveling alone or in a group of 10, you will at least get 4 dishes on your table. And trust me, you will leave the monastery with a heavy stomach.

Their vegetarian spring roll is deep fried to perfection, which makes it a very light appetizer.

For modern people who are used to the hustle and bustle of city life, working under staggering pressure, and always wolfing down meals that are not exactly balanced at irregular hours, a vegetarian meal cleanses the stomach and intestin. ”A plate of colourful vegetables are pleasing to the eyes.

How can we miss out the popular vegetarian dish Luo Han Zhai?

I feel that the taste of these vegetarian dishes are top notch. It was very clean, flavorful, aromatic and you feel a sense of peacefulness with the dishes.

There is a snack shop next to the vegetarian kitchen that provides more than ten special items such as steamed cakes, noodles and salty dim sums for the visitors. Among these snacks, do try their their bean curd. The bean curd is made with spring water and is fragrant and silky-soft. My advice to you is to try the bean curd ONLY. The steamed cakes has a weird peanut oil smell.

That’s my half a day in Ngong Ping. If it’s your first time to Ngong Ping, I suggest that you travel by the cable car “Ngong Ping 360”, it takes only 25 minutes to travel from MTR Tung Chung Station to Po Lin Monastery. It is the fastest and most convenient way to see the Big Buddha.

 

For more information, please look at Po Lin Monastry website and Ngong Ping 360 website.

After the scrumptious lunch at the monastery, my ankle has already started to swell. To be frank, it was very painful. And even though I tried to put on a brave front, every step I take is making me sweat. I am really glad to have such a doting boyfriend who decided to piggy back me from the monastery to the cable car centre. If I chose to walk, I guess I will only reach there by evening.

For the rest of the afternoon, we continued walking. We met our Hong Kong friends whom we knew from Royal Caribbean cruise for a dim sum high tea session. Then, we continued to shop at Citygate Outlet.

 

By evening time, the ankle has already swelled like a golf ball and I finally decided to surrender. We were actually planning to catch the Symphony of Lights but we ended up in a Chinese Physician clinic at Tsim Sha Tsui. Thankfully, I have a good friend in Hong Kong and upon hearing that I had a bad sprain, he rushed down to meet us.

 

The physician said it looked serious, and looked more like a fracture rather than a normal sprain. No tuina nor acupuncture was done. Upon hearing it, I broke down. I had to get my X ray done before treatment can happen. However, it was a late Saturday night and the local government hospitals are closed on Sunday. The very next day, all my friends accompanied me to St Theresa Hospital (private hospital). X-ray was done and the western doctor confirmed that there was no fracture.

 

Eventually, I managed to get back to Singapore safely. However, the “sprain” did not recover as fast and by the end of one week, it was still swollen. I was then referred to a orthopedics and said there was a minor hairline crack. 

If you wondering, here is a picture of my wrapped up golf ball ankle. I had almost 2 weeks of MC and just returned to work this work. If you travelling, please remember to buy travel insurance!

I am very fortunate to travel with a group of very nice friends. They were very considerate and tolerating. Despite having to miss our attractions and hence spoiling the vacation, they accompanied me through the clinics and hospitals without complaints. And to my beloved Hong Kong friend, who spent the whole weekend accompanying us, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Thank you.