Tai O

Eine sehr interessante Gegend auf dem Lantau-​Insel süd-​westlich von Hong Kong entfernt. Tai O ist ein kleines Fischerdörfchen, sehr bekannt für die Stelzenhäuser. Direkt an der Busstation wird man von Bootsfahrern angeworben, eine Tour doch mitzumachen. Es wird gepriesen, dass man die Möglichkeit hat, rosane Delfine zu beobachten.
Eine Bootstour habe ich in meinem ganzen Leben bislang nur dreimal mitgemacht. Rosane Delfine habe ich bislang nie gesehen, aber da braucht man einfach eine große Portion Glück. Eine Bootstour kann ich dennoch empfehlen, denn so sieht man einen Großteil von Tai O. Die Stelzenhäuser sind interessant.
Ansonsten findet sich ein kleiner langer Markt, wo viel Billigkram (billiges Spielzeug etc.) verkauft wird. Auch finden sich viele getrocknete Fische und andere Meeresfrüchte (sogar ein Hai war dabei! WOW).
Es gibt auch einen kleinen Katzen-​Café dort, den ich aber nicht besucht habe. Stattdessen bin ich in ein anderes gegangen, wo eine sehr angenehme Terrasse war. Dort hatte man auch einen schönen Blick auf die Stelzenhäuser.

Can’t really say too many great things about this sleepy little fishing village located 20 minutes (by bus/​cab) from Ngong Ping (Giant Buddha). Once you show up, the first thing you are greeted with is a giant cuttlefish shop. I don’t mean the shop is giant– the cuttlefish itself is about the size of a full grown salmon, if not bigger. There’s a lady chopping up this thing and serving it in little paper cups. This was perhaps the highlight of this detour. As we walked farther into the little village you see lots of dried goods and fish but it’s not nearly as vibrant as other places like Sai Kung. Dried shrimp and shrimp paste appear to be specialties of Tai O, but unless you’re looking for those two things, I wouldn’t make the trip out here. It’s meh at best. Best way to get here is probably via bus (at a really cheap price) or cab from the Big Buddha. I wouldn’t take a car all the way from Tung Ching station.

Termed ‘the Venice of Hong Kong’, the fishing village of Tai O gives visitors a glimpse of a different, less city-​like lifestyle. There are several open markets selling dried fish and a small number of vendors offering delicious fishballs, beefballs, and shaomai snacks. We went on a boating excursion tour where they took us to see the dilapidated stilt houses suspended above the water as well as out to open waters to see dolphins. The boat ride was no more than 30 minutes but it was really fun and eye-​opening. Although one of Tai O’s main attraction is the stilt houses, this village also has several temples for a cultural experience, as well as hiking trails.
Tai O is the largest village on Lantau Island, located at the southwest region. A day trip to Lantau Island, with roughly 2 – 3 hours dedicated specifically for Tai O, would be a fun trip. However, it’s crucial to note that the bus stops running to/​from Tai O in the early evening, and taxis aren’t abundant in the area, so plan your trip according.

Tai O is a fishing town, located on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The ride to get here was a treat in itself. Lots of wandering large animals on the road and plenty of lush plant life to view. This little fishing village is a throwback to another time era. Villagers are living today the way there ancestors lived. The entire town smells of Dried Fish and many tourist come visit to explore the way of life of this unique place. There are plenty of villagers that will offer boat rides through the many waterways in town for a small fee. Many places to eat, shop throughout the village and marked trails to hike up the mountain peaks. This is a must stop place for any outdoor enthusiast or casual walker. I would suggest to come prepared with a Day-​pack (a backpack with proper shoulder straps) Reusable water bottle, Hat, Sunglasses, Sunscreen (at least SPF 50), Bug Spray, Trainers /​Running Shoes, T-​Shirt and Shorts (light athletic clothing) Rain Jacket, Fresh change of clothes an umbrella and a camera. I witnessed many people that came unprepared and recommend being prepared as this is a remote place. I enjoyed every minute of my stay and will come back if given the chance.

Key word: DRIED FISH. Don’t like dried fish? How about LIVE CAUGHT FISH? Don’t care for seafood or the sea? Well you, my friend, have taken the wrong turn from Funkytown and ended up in the wrong place, for Tai O is all about the water, seafood and tourism.
A 20-​minute bus ride from Ngong Ping (Giant Buddha), or about an hour from the Tung Chung station, Tai O is historically a quaint fishing village right on the inlet, with people living along the water in dangerous-​looking houses on decaying wood stilts. Now it seems a shell of what it used to be, with a lot of dilapidated houses and a population of older folk smacking their gums over fish rice gruel.
When I visited, it was low low tide… revealing tiny little crabs with big claws, scavenging a myriad of plastic bottles, a wayward Croc, orange peels, a chair, and whatever else people felt might benefit the ocean population. Fishing trawlers — resting on the sand due to the low tide — looked like they’d seen better days, just as the population of Tai O, who greeted our little tour boat with drunken catcalls from their seaside homes.
Oh, the tour boats.
For HK25 you can take a thirty-​minute tour with Gilligan and the crew in a zippy speedboat built for about a dozen people through the houses on stilts and a few hundred feet from shore where you will see — if you’re lucky — Hong Kong’s rapidly declining white dolphin population, some of which also have a pinkish hue. On the day I visited, we were very lucky to see a school of them jumping all around our boat, with a few only 50 feet away. Well worth the money.
The rest of the island has as many temples as it has dried fish. For the seafaring folk are a highly religious lot, praying for protection on the seas and a good catch of fish they can dry later. There are several larger temples, some of which have large whale bones, purported to be a good luck charm. Others are permanent little altars to the gods. A little different from the Buddhist temples you might find anywhere else.
The village is a good hour’s walk from one end to the other, and offers many photo opps of the ocean and surrounding hills. But in 90-​degree weather and 80% humidity, it’s for those with a death wish. There are vendors selling hot weather snacks and beverages, but they are fewer and farther between when you get to either end of town. There are also few areas to rest, and most of the walk is exposed. Fortunately, bathroom facilities are new and fairly clean, so passing out in the bathrooms or taking a bath in the sink is possible.
When I visited — around 10am — the place was still manageable — we were probably the first group of visitors — but by noon, the place was mobbed with visitors from Hong Kong and other countries trying to get their fill of dried fish and shrimp paste.
As with any other tourist area, the place is most hopping on the weekends, with vendors and market stalls everywhere. But then again, if you’re not into dried fish nor the tourist scene and just want to enjoy the polluted waters instead of the polluted streets of Hong Kong, Tai O would be a cool spot to visit any day of the week.

Tai O is a refreshing change of pace from the busy life of Hk. A lot of locals and tourists travel here for the day just to sightsee and have a seafood dinner.
It is better to come on the weekends as most things aren’t open during the week unless it’s high peak season.
You get to observe fishermen in action and watch as people make dried seafood and shrimp paste. Warning the scent is very unique and pungent.
Make sure you grab your camera to take lots of pics because it is scenic.
You can also travel to the Big Buddha from here by bus but it has a schedule so make sure you check.
Also sample to local snacks. I love the giant fishballs and also during the summer they have frozen pieces of pineapple.

This review is about Man Cheung Po, aka the Shui Lo Cho.
Easily one of the best kept secrets in Lantau Island. It’s about a 45 minutes to 1 hour hike from the Tai O village. The hike is relatively easy, even for a beginner. Man Cheung Po is technically a catch basin but a lot of people used it as an infinite pool. The view is breathtaking and my favorite place to go in the summer. (You would probably find me there every weekend in the summer if it’s closer to town.)
Make sure you bring enough water and snacks as there is no shop in between. (There is also no toilet or any facilities.) Please make sure you take all your trash with you when you leave and KEEP THE WATER CLEAN!!! Otherwise, the gov’t may decide to close this place to the public forever.
You can also end the day in Tai O for some local snacks and/​or a meal afterwards. There is a lovely vegetarian restaurant (Ling Yan Abbey/​靈隱寺) nearby — my friend swears it’s better than the monastery. I always get myself some shrimp paste before I leave too.

This fishing village at the back end of Lantau Island is famed for a number of reasons. If you turned the clock back to the time when the British had just arrived, Hong Kong was pretty a fishing village and what you can see here is a snapshot of what this place was like. The dried fish, fishing boats, shrimp paste are all part of Hong Kong heritage as a seaside location with a dependency on the fishing industry.
Getting to Tai O is an adventure in itself. You will notice that most people don’t drive into Tai O– that’s because roads in South Lantau are closed off to non-​resident vehicles. Chances are you will board a bus in Tung Chun and you will be in for the ride of your life– the twisty road up and down the mountain is known to cause many upset stomachs so be warned! Once arriving there though, you will find that you really are at one end of Hong Kong with the South China Sea stretching on for as far as the eye could see. The sights then gradually come into view; with a small museum/​show case of local Tai O culture. You will note that a lot of the houses around here are built on stilts and that these people are call «water people».
There will be an unmistakable aroma in the air; the smell of dried fish lingers on for ages and with so much being dried around here the town smells of fish and shrimp paste. Both of which are known local products and if you have the stomach for it you can get it at shops all along the streets.
One of the newer sights there is the old police station– its now been transformed into a top class hotel but apparently bookings are very tight so chances are you will just be a ble to take a peek from the outside.
This place is worth a look be you a local or tourist!

Tai O to me is as much as a tourist attraction as it is a bit of weekend fun for a local. It’s a refreshing change to the usual «Let’s go out tonight and then spend the rest of tomorrow hungover.» Well, that was my usual anyway for a couple of years until I realized there is more to life than the night time.
It’s a small fishing village on the west coast of Lantau, about a fifty minute bus ride from Mui Wo or Tung Chung. Getting there, especially from the city can be a little tedious but I normally mix it up with a visit to one of Lantau’s beaches or restaurants. That’s not to say one can’t spend the day in Tai O. From Dolphin watching, to an infrequently used Chinese Opera ‘house’, small seafood restaurants and even hiking trails there is much to do in the area.
The Dolphin watching sounded the most interesting to me so I hopped on a boat for $ 20. The small boat provided a tour of the village then a brief excursion into the sea beyond. I’ve been on that boat four times and four times I’ve only seen plastic bags. They weren’t even shaped like dolphins! That likely explains the cheap fare.
Simply walking through the stuck-​in-​time village is a rewarding experience. Dried fish hang abundantly, lining the walking paths providing an interesting odor. There are even a couple human-​sized fish husks on display that made me question my decision of riding on the small boat.
With Tai O growing in popularity over the years the prices inevitably increased, as is the norm with tourist spots. The small, shabby restaurants still had fair prices, in my opinion, for what they provided but I still prefer to stop off at one of the restaurants in Mui Wo for a meal instead.
If you are tempted to visit Tai O, which I highly recommend, then make a day out of it. Cheung Sha has some great beaches, Tung Chung has the Buddah, and Mui Wo is a great little stop on it’s own.

Often treated as a side show to the Giant Buddha (I can only think due to proximity as the two attractions have nothing else in common …) Tai O is fishing village on Lantau Island, popular as a tourist attraction in its own right, not least as a departure point for boat trips heading out to see Chinese pink dolphins.
It is close to the Giant Buddha, you can take a bus between the two attractions — but my advice, try and get a seat, the ride can be a bit wild if you’re trying to stand, the ferry by comparison seems positively sedate.
Boat is a fitting way to access this «Venice of the East» — I haven’t been to Venice, but I imagine the description is better suited to Zhouzhuang, a water village in mainland China, than Tai O.
It was interesting to visit, but I personally felt it was grubby, in two different ways which left me with two very different emotions.
The first, and probably most simple is the fact that is a working village. So it is grubby and smelling in the way that all places on land that handle fish are — and I didn’t mind that at all. It was expected.
The second was definitely more about me than the actual physical state of the place, a bit intangible and harder to describe. The village has embraced its status as a tourist attraction and has a couple of busy market streets selling every kind of dried fish product and a whole lot of other knick knacks besides. Also, expected and fine. But what really messed with my head, and made me feel grubby walking around the place is the way that the village functions as a live action museum piece. People go about their daily lives but are constantly on display to the thousands of tourists who troupe past their homes, cameras at the ready, every year. It’s kind of … I don’t know, poverty porn? That leaves one feeling voyueristic, and yes, a tad grubby.