Ngong Ping

We woke up early this morning because that's what our bodies decided to do. We spent a bit of time in the room and got ready and packed our bag for the day. When we were all ready we went down to the lobby for breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Breakfast was alright, I had eggs

Benedict but it wasn't very flavorful. Once we were through we walked outside to find the MTR station. Basically we just followed some guy that acted like he knew what he was doing, we lost him along the way because he was really quick but we kept walking and eventually found the station and took note of where it was so we would know how to get back. We took one train to another and then headed to Ngong Ping. I had wanted to go to some gardens just south of there but the temperatures were in the 40s and you had to take a bus to a small trail and find your way with nothing else around the area. We had wanted to go to Ngong Ping anyhow because we like the chopstick store there and wanted to get more sets for our children. Last time we came we only bought one set for Peter and I but the children always use the restaurant wooden sticks they give out so we decided we should buy them nice sets too. The MTR took us to Tung Chung where we had to catch a bus to Ngong Ping. Ngong Ping is at a much higher elevation and it was so cold. When I get uncomfortable I get pretty miserable and cranky and don't' want to do anything. We were at the village just before 10 when everything opened so we couldn't do anything. Peter asked if I wanted to go see Big Buddha since the day was very clear but I just wanted to find somewhere out of the wind and wait until Starbucks opened so we could go in and warm up. Finally they opened and Peter got a coffee and I got a hot chocolate. While we were sitting in the shop we looked at the other shops nearby and I saw some scarves and hats. When we felt brave enough we got up and walked across the way to the other shop. In there I bought a hat, gloves and a scarf. I put them on right away and immediately felt better. It was still cold out but I was warmer and so I was more willing to do things. We decided to backtrack to where the shops started and go from there.

We went to a great Tea shop last time so we stopped in there again. We both had a sip of traditional Chinese tea and then bought a few things before going to the next shop. We wandered around from shop to shop, not buying much but looking and staying warm in the stores rather than walking out in the cold.

We took a while at the Chop Stick Gallery finding just the right sets for the children. You can pretty much customize how you want the sets. With the sticks, the holders and the box and inside colors. We were mostly concerned with the chopsticks so after that was determined the rest was pretty easy. Peter was getting pretty cold at this point so we went in another store to get him a set of hat, gloves, and scarf too. It was about 1 at this point so we walked down to Subway to get some food. Last time we were here we tried Dim Sum at the Chinese restaurant but it didn't taste very good so we didn't want to waste money

when we know there is better Chinese food elsewhere. We consolidated our bags after we ate so we could have our hands free again and then headed out again. Since the skies were mostly clear we decided to see big Buddha again since when we came last time it was very cloudy and you couldn't actually see the statue even when right in front of it. There are about 250 stairs that lead up to Buddha, we weren't sure if we were going to climb them but figured we'd decide when we got there. While walking toward Buddha we saw

the Monastery and remembered that last time it was under construction so we decided to stop there too. They had added to the back of the main building so I took some new pictures that didn't have cranes and equipment in them. We walked around the central area to Big Buddha and decided to take the walk up the stairs. At the top it was really cold and windy so we didn't stay too long but took a couple pictures and then came back down.

We had pretty much exhausted Ngong Ping so we caught the bus back to Tung Chung where we walked around the mall and warmed up a bit before catching the MTR. We only took it to one stop and got off at Hong Kong Disney where we caught a bus to one of the hotels and picked up a couple Disney Pins and a shirt before going back. We took the MTR from there to Central station where we picked up some dinner at the IFC Mall grocery store. We wanted to sit and eat it right there but there were absolutely no seats or benches anywhere we could see in the mall. I guess they don't want people to sit but to keep walking and shopping. We took our food back to our hotel and ate there where we were finally able to rest our feet. We aren't sure what we are doing tomorrow but there is still time to decide.