GK+HK: Christin and Jared in Hong Kong: Day 7

Hitting the highlights of Lantau Island was today's focus...

...but not before taking a break from all things Chinese at The Flying Pan, our favorite American+British breakfast diner...

On the lower section of Central's Old Bailey Street

Jared's "Ranchero Eggs Mucho"

Gray's Eggs Benedict

Gray's cinnamon roll

Katherine's "Full English"

Christin's over-easy eggs

A great start to a big day!

Following breakfast, we took the MTR to Tung Chung, Lantau Island's major satellite town...

Our first attraction was right outside the MTR station: the Ngong Ping 360 cable car...

The line was longer than I've seen before

...but it was worth the wait

The Tian Tan Buddha is visible just above Christin's head

The cable car dropped us off a the very touristy Ngong Ping village...

At the entrance to the village...

...where Christin was transformed into a tiny-faced, happy baby...

...and Jared into a staff-wielding, pouty monk

Once through Ngong Ping, we made our way up to the giant Tian Tan Buddha, though he may not look quite so giant in these photos...

Buddha is like a tiny balerina

"Come give mommy a big hug, Buddha!"

Buddha is so much fun!

Not too far from the giant Buddha is the Po Lin Monastery...

The temple was flooded with tourists...

...but everyone was very respectful

We worked our way back to the Ngong Ping bus terminus and took the next bus down to Tai O fishing village. Immediately after exiting the bus, we quickly boarded a small covered boat in the hopes of seeing Hong Kong's famed pink dolphins...

Off we go!

A tour through the not-quite-so-Venetian waterways of Tai O

...where egrets (and other water birds) are a common sight

In search of dolphins!

Sadly, the dolphins weren't to be found today, but the boat ride was a nice way to relax before hiking through the village...

Tai O's main market street

Stopping for some sweet "tofu flower" (豆腐花)

...which they both enjoyed (particularly the hot version)

Lantau is full of places that don't quite feel like Hong Kong (at least, not the day-to-day Hong Kong that Katherine and I are used to) and we had one more to visit before heading out: Discovery Bay (the expat-filled "non-Chinatown" of Hong Kong)...

Streets of villas (though high-rises do exist here too)

Everyone seems to own their own golf cart

The private beach is quite tranquil

...except perhaps for the game of flag (American) football going on in the back corner

Taking the ferry back to Central

By the time we returned to Hong Kong Island our tummies were craving some dinner, so we grabbed a cab to Sheung Wan and met Katherine at our favorite Singaporean laksa restaurant...