A Hong Kong day on Lantau Island

A twenty-five-minute cable car from Tung Chung MTR to Ngong Ping village on top of Lantau. The crystal cabin costs more but gives you a glass floor. Book a morning slot — afternoon clouds roll in.

A 34-metre bronze Buddha seated on a lotus, completed 1993. 268 stone steps up to the base. The view covers the Ngong Ping plateau, the monastery below, and the sea. Half an hour.

The monastery at the foot of the Buddha. The vegetarian canteen runs cafeteria-style — about HK$120 for a combo of five dishes plus soup. Donation tickets sold at the side gate. Queue is fast.

A small fishing village on Lantau's west end, a bus or Uber from Ngong Ping. Wooden houses on stilts over the water; a small boat ride to see pink dolphins (not guaranteed). Salt fish hangs from every eave.

A three-kilometre empty stretch of sand on Lantau's south coast. Surf and sand; few services beyond a beach bar or two. Walk the length, swim if it's warm, and head back.

Back up to Ngong Ping and the cable car down. Sunset version of the ride if you time it right — the western sea lights up orange as you descend.

Back in Central. A Japanese yakitori restaurant with a menu of chicken parts you won't see elsewhere — tail, knee, oyster. Book weeks ahead; it's been hard to get into for a decade.