In the Lantau Island area of Hong Kong, you can find two major tourist destinations: Ngong Ping Village and Tai O Village. Typically, when heading to Ngong Ping Village from Lantau Island, people opt for the cable car ride.
However, during this trip, the cable car was undergoing renovations, so we couldn’t use it. (Interestingly, this Hong Kong and Macau trip had many services and shows affected by renovations. Even the iconic “House of Dancing Water” show in Macau and the Gallery Shopping Mall at Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak were unavailable due to renovations.)
“The Longest Cable Car Ride to Ngong Ping Village, Hong Kong”
Normally, to reach Hong Kong’s Ngong Ping Village, you’d take the cable car, which happens to be the longest of its kind in the world. Riding the cable car gets you to Ngong Ping Village in about 30 minutes. However, as mentioned earlier, we couldn’t use it due to the renovation.
Therefore, the travel agency quickly arranged an alternative, offering a bus tour to both Tai O Village and Ngong Ping Village. We decided to go with this option and planned our trip around it. This unintentionally turned our journey into a packaged tour. Instead of the 30-minute cable car ride to Ngong Ping Village, we ended up spending an hour on a bus.
“Bus Tour Starting from Ngong Ping Village Cable Car Station”
The bus tour starts from the cable car station at Tung Chung MTR Station. It begins at the bus stop on the 1st floor of the cable car station and takes you first to Tai O Waterside Village for a boat tour. Then, you rejoin the bus and head to Ngong Ping Village to wrap up the tour.
While it was disappointing not to take the cable car, I felt fortunate that the travel agency provided an alternative to explore both Tai O Village and Ngong Ping Village. To summarize the itinerary:
- Depart from Tung Chung MTR Station Cable Car Station by bus.
- Tai O Waterside Village. : Lantau Island, Hong Kong – Tai O Village, a Waterfront Community
- Boat tour at Tai O Waterside Village. : Hong Kong Lantau Island – Tai O Village Boat Tour
- Ngong Ping Village. : Hong Kong’s Buddhist Theme Park: Ngong Ping Village
- Descend to Tung Chung Station via the free shuttle bus provided by Ngong Ping Village.
“Guided Tour Conducted in English and Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese)”
On this day, a guide accompanied us on the bus, leading the tour in a guided manner. The bus was full, with mostly Chinese tourists, except for one Westerner. Although the guide was prepared to conduct the tour in Mandarin and Cantonese to accommodate everyone, they noticed my inability to understand Cantonese. To my surprise and gratitude, they also provided explanations in English.
While the guide seemed more comfortable in Cantonese, they delivered detailed explanations in that language and kept the English explanations shorter. I appreciated the effort made for my benefit and felt a mix of gratitude and apology for the extra effort.
“Free Shuttle Bus from Ngong Ping Village to Tung Chung Station”
Originally, the bus tour did not include transportation back to Tung Chung Station from Ngong Ping Village. However, luckily, the travel agency provided a complimentary shuttle bus, making it convenient to return after finishing the tour.
Despite the temporary bus tour due to cable car renovations, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed about missing out on the cable car experience. Nevertheless, it served as a valuable alternative. I’m especially thankful for the guide who conducted the tour in both Cantonese and English, leaving me with even more memorable moments from the journey.