Thursday

Today, we went to one of the outyling islands - Lantau. This island is where Disneyland is located, and also near the airport. We took a ferry to the island - deluxe class cost us $2 US and we could sit outside and watch as we motored past the Hong Kong skyline. Arriving on Lantau, we took a bus to Po Lin, where the Tian tan Buddha, largest erected Buddha statues sits - 110 feet tall. We walked up the 268 steps and looked at the Buddha and the view from the hill. Then we walked around the Po Lin Monestary, where a ceremony was going on. It was interesting - and the setting looked very similar to the temple used at the beginning of Survivor: China.

Next, we walked through the natural wooded area to the wisdom path - a figure 8/infinity path marked by tall wooden structures that show the CHinese symbols for the "Heart Sutra," and important spiritual document for Buddhists and Taoists. In essence, it was like a living poem - a way to experience the document in nature. It was a beautiful setting.

After our day there, we waited in line and took the bus back to Tung Chung, where we could catch a subway back to Honk Kong (as an alternative to the ferry). Tung Chung is the last stop on the line that connects to Hong Kong Disneyland, so we took the subway becak so we could go to Disneyland for a few hours. We arrived at 6 - and the park closed at 8. We went to see the Golden Mickey's again. We ate dinner at the Festival of Foods, and then rode Space Mountain twice. Finally, we jumped in line for Autopia just before the park closed. Autopia, of course, has the longest line becasue if its slow loading. The Autopis here is really cool becasue it is electric = which means a smoother ride and no smelly gas fumes.

We left Disneyland and went back to Hong Kong. The night was pretty clear, so we took the Peak Tram up the hill to the Sky View ( the same place we went on the first day) but this time to get pictures of the city at night. We were pretty tired by the time we finally got back to our hotel around midnight. In fact, the boys are still sleeping now! (Its Thursday morning -nearly 11:00 AM!!!) That is the latest anyone's slept - but we've really been pushing it the last few days!