hazygrains

Day 2 • September 26, Friday

We started the morning slow, heading out around 8 AM to look for something to eat. We wandered into one of the small alleyways and found a tiny noodle shop serving classic Hong Kong style breakfast, noodle and sandwich sets. I didn’t expect the noodles to be instant. I was actually craving beef brisket noodles, but we tried it anyway, just for the experience.

After that, we lined up at the Bakehouse branch in Tsim Sha Tsui to try their famous egg tarts. We also picked up a few pastries and coffee. Asis loved the cheese and onion scone, while I ended up liking their latte more than I expected. The beans were smooth and flavorful. The egg tart was okay for me, nothing too special, and the texture reminded me a bit of leche flan.

Since it was close by, we walked along the Avenue of Stars and took a few photos at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The heat and humidity were already draining, so we went back to our small room to cool off. We left again around 1 PM for Ngong Ping.

We commuted from the nearest MTR station to the last stop of the Tung Chung Line (Lantau Island). I had already bought our round trip cable car (crystal+ and standard) tickets, on their website beforehand, which made things easier. Thankfully, there wasn’t much of a queue when we arrived.

The Crystal+ cabin looked nicer but was scarier since it was fully see through. It was also scorching hot that day, with the sun beating down on us inside the glass cabin. I preferred the Standard cabin because it felt cooler and the air flowed better. Still, the ride was beautiful. You could see the sea, the mountains, and the city all in one view.

By the time we reached Ngong Ping, we were starving, so we grabbed a late lunch at one of the restaurants at the top. It was only around 2:45 PM, and our original plan was to wait for the sunset. We walked around and saw the Tian Tan Buddha, the 34 meter bronze statue, but decided not to climb any closer. We stayed within the nearby area. I know there are still other sights and trails to explore, but it was scorching hot that day, so we skipped them and headed back down. By 4 PM, we were already back in the cable car. It was definitely a short visit, but we also wanted to avoid the heavier crowd later on.

We took the train back to Tsim Sha Tsui and settled along the Avenue of Stars again, watching the sunset from there. I can’t really remember what we did after since it was still early, but we probably just called it a day, knowing we had an early start for our Macau trip the next morning.