Hong Kong’s transit system will move you
The MTR might seem complex to an outsider, but it’s a tourist’s delight — and it’s pretty cheap, too
Hong Kong’s transit system makes it easy to get around the island so you don’t have to miss the best tourist stops or shopping even during a short visit.
With just two days in this vibrant, crowded city, I quickly figured out how to use Mass Transit Rail, a subway system that is convenient and inexpensive.
On the first day, we took the MTR from near our hotel on the eastern part of Hong Kong Island to the Lantau Island terminus to visit one of the former British colony’s top tourist attractions, the Tian Tan Buddha, known as the Big Buddha. It took more than an hour at a cost of $4.90.
To get there, we took a speedy 25-minute gondola ride that soared high above water.
It provides a sweeping view of the nearby Hong Kong International Airport and the South China Sea. The 5.7-kilometre ride was comfortable with a nice breeze blowing through screened vents. We choose one of the crystal cabins, with a glass floor that afforded a scary water view below us.
As we approached the terminus of the cable car, the Buddha came into view on the left. It looked like a mountain — at 34 metres tall, it is one of the largest in the world.
From the terminus, we walked through the Ngong Ping Village with its restaurants, entertainment and shops. Past the village is a walkway where gentle oxen roam freely and occasionally frighten the odd tourist with a nose butt. Finally, no fewer than 268 steep steps up is the Big Buddha.
Young and old were making their way up, all pretty much on the slow side by midway.
Once at the top, we had a couple of walks around the base of the Buddha to take in another spectacular view and decided to spend the $6.60 to enter. Inside, there were three floors with solemn displays, including a Buddhist relic.
At Ngong Ping Village, there is a bus station that takes visitors to the old fishing village of Tai O. This is a 20-minute ride, mostly downhill — you would swear the vehicle had lost its brakes until it comes to a safe stop at the end.
Tai O’s water’s-edge buildings form a shanty town on stilts where vendors sell a variety of smelly dried fish among souvenirs and the like. Tourists can take a boat excursion along the waterway that divides the village. There is also an excursion to nearby open water where Chinese white dolphins, which are pink, are sometimes spotted. From there, we took a bus around the island for a comfortable and sometimes scenic 45-minute ride to the village of Mui Wo, where we caught a relatively quick ferry across to Hong Kong Island. We then took the subway to our hotel.
The next day we headed for the top tourist attraction the Peak Tram and a visit to the highest point in Hong Kong Island, for a sweeping view of the harbour and city skyscrapers.
The two-car cable trolley takes a steep five-minute trek up rickety tracks and at one point stops and rolls backward a bit, causing anxious gasps from many aboard.
There are seven escalators to the Sky Terrace 428 platform to take in the 360-degree view. A visit to this tourist attraction, including checking out the many shops, can easily take a couple of hours.
With the clock ticking, we took a city bus to Pier 7 and then a 10-minute trip on the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour over to Kowloon, where we made our way to the Mong Kok shopping district.
We headed to Nathan Road and over to the Ladies Market, which is made up of several large blocks of vendors crowded together, selling jewelry, purses, silk goods and women’s clothes.
Nearby was the Jade Market, consisting of two one-level buildings on either side of the street with an overwhelming amount of jade, pearls and other stones for sale. Bartering and basic knowledge about jade helped in getting a good price at the market.
It’s a whirlwind trip to do in two days, but Hong Kong makes it easy to get around.