Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is another must do when visiting Hong Kong.  It's the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island and the views are pretty spectacular.  To get to the top you can take the peak tram, hike, or take a taxi.  The peak tram is pretty fun, it's a short, steep ride.  Of course, the line for the peak tram gets long, so get there early.  I think the tram opens at 7 am, but you can probably get there at 9:30 and the crowds shouldn't be bad.

Once you get to the top you can enjoy one of the best views in Hong Kong.

View from the top!

 

After you have spent enough time outside trying to count all the buildings (good luck), you can spend a good portion of your day shopping at the two malls on top of the peak.  There's several restaurant choices too, so don't worry, you won't starve while shopping.

 

Big Buddha

Another amazing thing to see in Hong Kong is the Big Buddha on Lantau Island.  It takes a while to get there, but it's totally worth it.  First you have to take the MTR and then you can either take a bus (boring) or the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars (fun and exciting).  The best way to experience the cable cars is to (1) buy your tickets online the day before (2) for the earliest time available (3) and get there at least 15 minutes before your allotted time.  The cable cars ride is pretty long (about 20-30 minutes) so I would look into the bus route if you're afraid of heights.

To view the Big Buddha up close you have to (of course) climb some stairs.  Don't worry, it's nothing compared to what you have to go through to get to Ten Thousand Buddhas.  But once you climb those stairs, you get pretty close to the Big Buddha.  There's a small museum at the top of the Big Buddha that you can tour after buying a ticket.  The ticket can be traded for a meal or snack at the Po Lin Monastery that is next to the Big Buddha.  The meal ticket is $98 HKD and the snack ticket is $38 HKD.  We bought the snack tickets and they involved a lot of delicious food.  So, buy either the meal or snack ticket, tour the museum, and then walk over to the Po Lin Monastery.

Climbing up to see the Big Buddha

 

View from the top

The Po Lin Monastery is nothing short of amazing.  The colors of the buildings are beautiful.  Several are open to guests, don't be surprised when you see the interior of one of the buildings is entirely gold plated.  You will also probably see actual Monks walking around here.

One of the many colorful buildings at the Po Lin Monastery

 

 

This is one of the more time consuming activities to do in Hong Kong, but totally worth it.  I've read reviews where people complain about fog or haze obstructing the view to the Big Buddha.  I've also noticed that unless the weather is really bad (like already raining) it tends to get foggy or hazy as the day wears on.  So get up early and get to the Big Buddha before 12 pm and you should have a good chance of unobstructed views.