This Hong Kong Cable Car Has A Clear Glass Bottom
www.awol.com.au
Here’s a real pearl-clutcher.
The Hong Kong Ngong Ping Cable Car travels between Tung Chung Town Centre and Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, giving visitors a panoramic view of the South China Sea, the Tian Tan Buddha Statue and the busy Hong Kong airport, as well as the flora and fauna of North Lantau Country Park. The cable car has a 5.7 kilometre bi-cable ropeway taking you on a smooth and peaceful 25 minute soar above the cityscape below.
But being Hong Kong, a sprawling metropolis of the future, of course they’ve gone and next-levelled it. As if the surrounding views weren’t spectacular enough, the cable car ride has been regularly punctuated with Crystal Cabins. These cars are fitted with a transparent triple-layer five centimetre thick glass-bottom pane so you can clearly see the boundless sea and steep sloping hills under your feet (exactly where they don’t belong, some might argue).
That’s right, it’s an unobstructed view of the vast distance between you and the earth beneath you, almost as if the cable car was actually bottomless and you were just there, suspended in mid air, exclaiming quiet expletives under your breath.
No need to stress, though. The transparent bottom has been extensively reinforced and tested – visitors can even jump on the glass without it breaking. (Please don’t, though.)
And we promise, there’s no reason to feel ashamed if you can’t hold it together as well as this kid is seeming to. No reason at all.
The 12 Crystal Cabins are dispersed among the other 97 cable cars at regular intervals on the cycle, and can be booked in advance here.
(Lead image: Chi (in Oz)/Flickr)
www.awol.com.au