Tai O is a remarkable fishing village on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. We have spent the morning ascending to Ngong Ping to visit the Big Buddha and we arrive by local bus at an unremarkable cement covered terminus. It is mid afternoon and I am now having doubts as to whether this was a good idea. I don’t get to ponder this thought for long – one of the boys needs a bathroom and we rush off to find one – luckily the facilities are situated close, just across the road from the terminus.
After the necessities are taken care of, we follow the the sign past dilapidated looking building to the cluster of worn little shops sitting on the edge of town. This doesn’t look very promising. We delve in regardless. We are here now.
This little fishing village represents an old way of life. The name Tai O literally translates to large inlet. Fishing and salt production has has been the tradition for centuries though the town has a rich history having been previously occupied – by Portuguese and British as well as acting as a primary entry point for illegal immigration from mainland China for those escaping the communist regime.
The main attraction here are the boat rides along the canals to explore the village from the water. I’m not sure exactly how this works and am hoping that we can come across something now that we are here, hoping that it doesn’t require pre-booking or long queues. In actual fact, as we round the first corner, it is the first thing we come across. For HKD30 each (the ticket seller does 4 of us for HKD100) and a few minutes for the boat to show up, we are in a tour boat and off along the canals.
I can imagine the slow pace of life here in the past. Fishermen coming and going with the same rhythm as the tides, women spending their time salting and drying fish, taking their produce to the local markets to sell to traders coming through. The traditional trade in many cases being a cover for illegal trade of guns, tobacco and drugs as well as people (those illegal immigrants from mainland China). Through all of it, children running round, fishing, swimming and playing around the markets and in the cool, wet maze under the houses that make up the village along the waters edge.
The color of the water is the first thing that strikes me once we are gliding along. It is a deep, dark green. Not exactly dirty but certainly not clear – it’s that silty, salty water of many of Asia’s waterways. We have seen the same thing in China, Thailand and Malaysia. This is a fishing village and not a tourist resort, after all.
The stilt houses are striking. Raised on piles over the surface of the water they are reflected in the relative stillness of the inlet which makes them look infinitely taller. The houses are built like this for various reasons.
Being a fishing village, the houses over the water means that the fishing boats, along with the daily catch, can be brought straight home. The shady space under the house may have been used for work or storage. The raised houses protect against flooding from the fluctuating tides, keep out vermin and are relatively cheap and easy to erect. The houses in Tai O are referred to as pang uk (shack house) a special type of stilt house found only here and mainly built by the Tankas, an ethnic sub group of the region who traditionally dwell in the stilt houses or junks along the coast.
Apart from the sheer spectacle of the stilt houses along the water, we glimpse the Sun Ki Bridge a small structure that spans the other main reach of the inlet and the Triple Lanterns Restaurant which looks perfect for an afternoon drink and snack.
We pass back under the first bridge at the mouth of the main inlet and we sweep out in a wide arc towards the South China Sea and back again to disembark. We spot and eagle on the bay and a flock of seagulls chases the boat, swooping and diving, picking up whatever the small motor is churning up for them.
Back on land and we delve into the local street scene. A tired sign declares Welcome to Tai O, the rest of the scene is anything but tired. The local produce along Tai O Market Street has every shape and size of dried fish and squid, large pans of fish and squid balls simmer away and are scooped into bowls for snacks on the go. There is perhaps not the variety of the truly astounding Wangfujing Street in Beijing or the bustle of the Muslim Street Markets in Xi’an but the sights and smells linger in the air.
I watch the boys expressions as they point and exclaim in a mixture both of fascination and horror. I ams so glad they are able to witness the diversity of human habits and culture at this young age. After a short time they walk along unperturbed.
Market Street ends and we turn out onto a small square with a temple that stands open to the local foot traffic. Harley has a toy that launches into the air and he has waited patiently for an open space in which to use it. I sit and wait while they play, the toy soon floating down to land perfectly in the trailer of a passing local on a bike. He hears the shouts and stops, chuckling to himself, as Harley retrieves the toy from the back. Then he disappears around the next corner.
We push on through the quiet streets. I like the idea of a beer and a local snack sitting on one of the balconies overlooking the water – more for the experience than the fact that I am particularly hungry. But the boys dart up the shadowed passageway making as much noise as a stampeding hear of elephants in the late afternoon hush.
We come across Sun Ki Bridge which was funded by the locals and built over the course of a month during 1979. Previously the only way across and around the inlet was by boat, the new bridge means that there is now pedestrian access to the main part of town where the local markets are held. Given the relatively simple structure the question remains – why did they wait so long?
From here we can see up the other reach of the inlet which leads back out to the sea. There is a man in his boat, bent over a small motor. It looks like he is fixing it. It’s crowded with nets and other equipment.
It must be quite intimate living here. We can see a gentleman on his balcony tending his pot plants. A short distance across the water is a family crowded out on a small balcony for drinks and a meal.
As we continue walking, the houses thin out and appear mostly uninhabited or perhaps they are only utilized during the right tides. We come across a small wetlands area and mangroves with birds feeding and fish flipping in the shallow water.
Now it is time to start heading back, the glimpses of local life flashing by – fish hung out to dry, lantern decorations made of soft drink cans, tiny temples along the path.
Back along Market Street and the evening markets are becoming busier. More shops have things bubbling away and people jostle along, picking up this and that to take home and something to eat along the way.
Another rush to the facilities on the edge of town and it’s getting late in the afternoon. We make the decision to forego our return cable car ticket and board the local bus to Mui Wu where the express ferry departs as the sun dips beyond the horizon.
We arrive back at Central as the lights of Victoria Harbor sparkle and I reflect on the contrast with the green of the day.
Good To Know
Tai O is easy to get to but it takes a bit of time. In hindsignt, we should have reversed our journey, taking the ferry from Central to Miu Wu, the bus to Tai O and then onto Ngong Ping where the Big Buddha can be visited and the attractive Monastery. From here you can ride the Ngong Ping cable car back to the terminus at Tung Chung and an easy 40 minute train back into Hong Kong.
We also made the mistake of buying a pricey return cable car ticket. After purchase we were advised that the last cable car of the day departs Ngong Ping at 6pm. Stick with the single ticket unless you are certain that you will do the return trip as there are many cheaper alternatives.
Would I Return?
No. Although I wouldn’t make a special effort to return to Tai O particularly, I would certainly return to Lantau Island. Apart from the day tourist hot spots, Lantau remains one of the most untouched parts of Hong Kong. This, juxtaposed with the airport and Hong Kong’s largest outlet shopping mall, make it an interesting place indeed.
Some of the smaller villages would be a great place to park yourself for a few days to take a break from the fast paced streets of the neon lit city and return to a more natural form of beauty. This relaxed lifestyle must be at odds with the lure of city life and given the rapid changes of the last 20 years, villages like Tai O could all but disappear in as many years again. Either that or they’ll be kept alive as a tourist village only, one that remains open only to showcase a past way of life.
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