Departing Ngong Ping village, we jumped on a local bus, that took us on a 15-minute ride to Tai O, a remote Village. “Tai O village is famed for its generations of fisher folk who build their houses on stilts above the tidal flats of Lantau Island – and literally teeter over Hong Kong’s outlying waters.” (Discover Hong Kong).
The village is quite remote given it’s nearness to the city of Hong Kong. It seems like a place lost in time – that would prefer to stay that way. The streets are narrow and winding, ruled mostly by walkers, bicycles and the occasional scooter. There are 2 main bridges, one of which replaced a more ancient crossing method.
One of the crossings to the island was governed by 2 elderly Chinese women. They operated a small barge and rope pulley system, where for a small fee, where those wishing to cross would simply sit in a smallish motorless rowboat. The boat was powered only by the ropes/pulleys, and elbow grease of the women. These women came to be very important and it was critical to stay on their good sides and NOT anger, disrespect or cross them. Or else, one would be forced to WALK the long distance (with your wares) to the other crossing!
The streets are lined with shops offering a multitude of diverse products from the sea, the city’s lifeline. Live fish, all varieties of dried fish, squid, and snails, live small and large turtles, crabs, dried fish bladders, and of course, the largest Cuttlefish (cousins to squid) in the region. A local shop owner keeps a rack of these monsters (not quite alive anymore, and ready for the fillet knife) just for the tourists to hold up for photos – and, of course, we obliged…the kids said that they were very heavy to hold.
Below is an assortment of goodies we saw: Crabs, Dried Flounder, Dried Squid, Prawns, Cuttlefish, dried fish bladders, etc., etc.,
The purity and quality of the waters in the area mean that the food is highly prized. It’s said that if you receive a gift from Tai O from someone, you are held in VERY high regard. So I’m expecting that the kids snuck away for a minute, while I was distracted and did a little Christmas shopping for me!!
After a short walk around town, Nadia arranged for us to take a boat tour of the village to see the stilt homes, and perhaps spot some pink dolphins in the outer harbor waters. Unfortunately, we did not see any. Nadia said that many have probably left the area, after all of the new bridge construction.
The tour gave us a flavor for the lifestyle in Tai O – primitive but content. After a spin around the village waterways, we headed out past the breakwater.
Once we got back onto dry land, Nadia recommended a snack stop at the Tai O donut shop. They are light and airy donut balls, deep fried while you wait. A welcome break. Once refreshed, we visited a Taoist Temple in the village. We were introduced to “Buddha Lips”. They are similar to dice…but simpler – only 2 outcomes. They are about 5” long, flat on one side and curved on the other, made of wood, and dark colored. We were to Ask a question (not shared with anyone) and roll away… Best 2 out of 3…
We Asked our questions and rolled the lips!
Two Flat Side Up = The answer is YES.
Two Curved Sides Up = The Asnwer is NO.
One Each = “That’s a very silly question – you already know the answer!”
Notably, Dylan rolled THREE YES’s in a row. We asked him to share his question, which he did: “Will we be a happy family with Zachary?”
Karma or what?! So we’ve got that going for us.
Once back at Tung Chung, we rendezvoused with our drivers and cars. Lisa had made arrangements with Nadia for 2 private cars with drivers! Good call, Mom! We probably could have made it back on the MTR, but we were pretty beat, so the private cars were a great idea!
We retired to our rooms for a few minutes of R&R, and some of us even squeezed in a nap! Before too long, it was dinner time, and we were off again, this time to the waterfront. The streets were as busy and buzzing as we’d ever seen during our stay – it was difficult keeping the crew in line of sight. We walked past the world-famous Peninsula Hotel, and just past that we saw a huge decorated alcove. There were tons of people snapping pictures and selfies of the Christmas decorations.
The trek continued into the Harbour Place shops and indoor mall, in desperate search of “Pizza Express”. There were some doubts as to whether Dad knew how to navigate there – but, we DID make it. We got a big table with waterfront views (but not against the glass), and chowed down on Pizza, Pasta and Salads!
Once we decided to leave, as we approached our 90-minute time limit (this was the 2nd restaurant this week that insisted that we NOT exceed a meal time of 90 minutes) we stopped for a few photos of HK Harbor.
Time is really flying so far as we check off items on our “to see” list. Tomorrow, we shift gears into “New Family” mode. After a morning stroll, we’ll head to Changsha to finally meet Zachary on Monday. Our flight leaves mid-day and hopefully we won’t be delayed due to weather.
The next few days are why we are here – we can hardly stand the excitement. We’re looking forward to seeing Changsha, as well.
Until then…