Our second full day in Hong Kong was full of adventures … some in Hong Kong proper, others on an outer island – Lantau. We walked some 9.25 miles in total and climbed the equivalent of 39 stories … so it was a physically active day, too.

It began like our previous day, in the Grand Club at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We get treated to quite a breakfast spread there each morning and beyond great food, we are able to take in a spectacular view of Kowloon and Victoria Harbour.

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We then took the subway out to the end of the line on an outer island, called Lantau Island. Lantau is home to the airport, but it is also mostly natural and unspoiled as it is a county park. From the subway terminus, one can ride an aerial tram car to the top of one of the peaks on Lantau.

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At the top of the tram, a short walk put us at Po Lin Monastery. This Buddhist monastery is also home to Tian Tan Buddha, a giant statue that crowns the mountain peak. Strolling around the monastery grounds, the temple, and admiring the grandeur of the Tian Tan Buddha was a highlight of the day. Our legs and feet may tell a different story, though, as there are 268 steps up from the ground to the base of the statue.

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From Po Lin, we descended the mountain on a city bus that twisted and turned down the mountain at a white-knuckle rate and ended up at Tai O – an historic fishing village on the far outer edge of Lantau. Tai O is amazingly scenic and quite pungent, too. The scent of drying fish is heavy in the air and many street vendors sell dried cuttlefish, dried shellfish, and shrimp paste. The homes on stilts, though, are what make Tai O a popular stop on Lantau. Seeing Tai O certainly did remind us that we are far from home.

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From Tai O we boarded a public bus to Mui Wo, where we caught a catamaran fast ferry back to Hong Kong. Our soles tired from climbing stairs to Buddha and from exploring everything on foot, we were ready for another good Hong Kong dinner. When in Hong Kong, one should have Cantonese, we assumed. So we did just that at Double Happiness Restaurant in the Soho neighborhood of Hong Kong. Many of the menu choices sounded like favorites from home – sweet and sour spareribs, sweet and sour chicken, chicken with black bean sauce. It was a satisfying way to end another great (and very active) day in Hong Kong.

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