3 Days in Hong Kong: Day 2 - Lantau Island & More

On our second day in Hong Kong, we had a pretty full itinerary for the morning with a lot more leisure time left in the afternoon. Not a bad plan after how much we packed into our first day in Hong Kong!

3 Days in Hong Kong – Our Day 3 Itinerary:

Lantau Island

In the morning, we took the walked from the Dorsett Wanchai to the Wan Chai MTR. From there, we boarded to train bound for Lantau Island. Lantau is home to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, but our destination was on the other side of the island: Tian Tan Buddha. To get there, you take the MTR to Tung Chung station. From there, you have a few options to get to the Buddha: Ngong Ping 360 cable car, hop on bus 23, or snag a taxi.

Since we arrived at Tung Chung station before the cable car started running and before the Buddha opened at 10:00 am, we decided to take a taxi. Our goal is always to beat the crowd and this is the fastest way to the top! It ended up working really well and we also got to catch a glimpse of the island’s wild cows on the side of the road.

Wisdom Path Trail

Once dropped off at the top of the mountain, we got our first look at the Tian Tan Buddha. If you’re an Amazing Race fan, you may recognize this from the first episode of season 37. This is where the racers started from after arriving in Hong Kong from Los Angeles!

Since the Buddha wasn’t open yet, we decided to check out the Wisdom Path trail. The trail entrance is marked with a wooden archway and is less than 15 minutes on foot from the Buddha.

The trail itself is an easy walk with some stairs that take you in a short loop surrounded by wooden pillars. The pillars are carved with the inscription of the Heart Sutra, though unfortunately we couldn’t read them ourselves.

Tian Tan Buddha

After the Wisdom Path, we got back to the Tian Tan Buddha just a few minutes after the gates opened. As expected, tourists were already making their way up the 268 steps toward the top. There is no entrance fee to visit the Buddha.

Surrounding Buddha at the top, there are large bronze statues known as The Offering of the Six Divas. Each statue holds a different offering.

As you can see in the photo below, the fog started rolling in pretty heavily while we walked around at the top. By the time we were heading back down about 45 minutes later, not only was it foggy but getting crowded as well. That’s just another reason we recommend trying to arrive early at opening!

Po Lin Monastery

Tian Tan Buddha is part of, and located in front of, the Buddhist Po Lin Monastery. It is a working monastery open daily to the public from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

We did not go inside the monastery, but did stop for a snack at the outdoor cafe to the left of the main building. They sell a variety of fresh made desserts (the monastery is known for its vegetarian cuisine) and there are picnic tables in the courtyard. Between us we tried three items: peanut mochi, green tea & red bean cake, and sago pudding. I think the sago was my favorite! If you’re craving a full meal, you can also have lunch inside the restaurant.

After our snack, we wandered through an art installation in front of the monastery with colorful paper lanterns spelling out I LOVE HK.

Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car

I didn’t snap any photos but you walk through a small village on the way from the Tian Tan Buddha to the Ngong Ping 360 cable car station. It’s a tourist district with gift shops and even a Starbucks and some other restaurants.

Many people opt to take the cable car roundtrip to visit Ngong Ping and Tian Tan Buddha, but we only needed to book a one-way ticket since we taxied to the top. One way costs $205 HK for a regular cabin, but we opted for the crystal cabin (see-through floor) for $240 HK per person.

The cable car ride is about 25 minutes with spectacular views descending from the mountain and crossing over Tung Chung Bay.

All the Food & Drinks in Central

By the time we took the MTR from Lantau Island to Central, we were hungry and ready for our afternoon task: tackling as many spots on our Hong Kong food & drink list as possible! Our first stop was Silk for a Hong Kong–style milk tea. These are quite popular, but I have to say, it’s not my favorite boba tea I’ve had. Even at 50% sweetness, it was a little too much for me.

We wandered Central for a bit with our milk teas and got our first peek at the famous Central-Mid Levels Escalators. They were quite crowded since it was lunch time on a work day and everyone seemed to be out in search of food like we were!

Ready for a bite , we walked a few minutes up the street to One Dim Sum. We took our snacks and found a seat along the street to nosh. I stuck with just the shrimp and vegetable dumplings since we still had quite a long list of spots we wanted to visit.

Our next stop was the old Tai Kwun police headquarters and prison yard, which has been revitalized into an arts and restaurant district. It’s a large facility and we first stopped at 1862 Bar de Tapas in the Prison Yard D Hall. It was happy hour so we had a glass of wine and an appetizer.

From here, we wandered to the other side of the Tai Kwun complex which is a big open space surrounded by restaurants and shops. We found a spot at one of the restaurant patios and sipped another glass of wine while people watching tourists in the square.

Ready for something sweet, we headed next to Bakehouse, a famous Hong Kong bakery known for its egg tarts. They reminded me a lot of the delicious pastel de nata in Portugal.

With our sweets in hand, we wandered just around the corner to Dragonfly. The ceiling of this cocktail bar is covered in Tiffany-style lamps creating a turquoise hue that feels cozy and artsy at the same time.

All three of us ordered the “favrile” made with gin, apple, wasabi, yuzu, and egg white. It was delicious!

To cap off our self-guided food tour, we sat down at Tsim Chai Kee Noodle. Each of us ordered a bowl of the three topping noodle with wonton, fresh minced fish ball, and fresh sliced beef.

Time for Bed!

Stuffed with all the food and drinks, we were ready to shower and get ready for bed by the time we got back to our hotel, the Dorsett Wanchai. Of course, we had another busy day planned for our third day in Hong Kong: hiking Dragon’s Back, Shek-O Beach, and Victoria Peak. I’ll share all the details in my next post!

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3 Days in Hong Kong: Day 2 – Lantau Island & More