Can I take that photo for you...? Living on Stilts in Tai O and one Big Buddha

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Hello everyone,

Can I take a photo for you? This has been the key to meeting and connecting in conversation with fellow travellers-a great way to 'break the ice' so to speak, especially when travelling alone. The sweet deal is that the offer is reciprocated and I get photos taken of me for my camera so that I don't have to extend my arms to create my own self portrait of myself at a place.

Yesterday, I took the MTR to Tung Chung station and got on the 21 bus to Tai O on Lantau Island. Lantau Island is located West of Hong Kong and has a variety of beautiful places to visit. On the Western end of Lantau is where the new airport is. The bus ride to Tai O is quite a climb through the mountains. It stops by the two prisons and then ends up at a quaint fishing village. I am not sure why, but over 20 ppl got off at the prison stops--I will leave that right there.

Tai O has been my favourite place so far outside of HK. When you get to the little town you have an awesome view of the S. China Sea and you see a whole community of stilthouses built right up out of the water. There is a fish market all the way through town and life is just as it is, nice and slow! Tour company try and lure you to take one of their little boat rides around as salted fish hangs from every doorway and store front. There are bicycles everywhere, stray cats and dogs and family's sharing in the cooking pot. The streets are very narrow and if you walk the backstreets as I did, you really get a sense of what life is like in Tai O. Knowing that the seafood is all fresh here, I had a dish of seafood with cashews--yes I even ate squid/octupus! A first! Lots of firsts...

After lunch I paid the $20HKD for the boat ride around Tai O and I am so glad I did. We got boated past all the unique stilt houses, past the temple where a woman was fishing on the edge of the step and then out into the S. China Sea... a little bit rough, but looking for dolphins. I didn't see any, but apparently there was one. I was almost distracted by the planes landing at Lantau. I met a family originally from the UK, but who have lived in HK for a long time now and they helped with some of the tour guide's translations. The tour was so worth it! A fantastic way to see the town on the water. I walked down by the shrimp paste factory and by the temple before heading on the bus to Ngong Pong.

Ngong Pong is where you find the Big Buddha. You can see the Big Buddha on top of the mountain for miles and miles. When I got there I arrived to the sound of monks chanting in the Temple-They each took their turns singing from their books. The temple itself is very ornate and carved both in wood and stone and painted in many reds, oranges and yellows. I then embarked on the big climb up the stairs to the Buddha. You can't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Buddha that looms with serenity at the top. The view is really spectacular! The Buddha sits on a lotus and is sacred to Buddhists from around the world. As I was taking some photos, I offered to take this couple's photo for them, and they reciprocated. What began as a simple, "I can take a photo of both of you...?" became a conversation starter with some new friends/fellow travellers-Ann and Les from Oregon. They had just come back to Hong Kong after being in the Philippines and offered me their daughter's contact information for when I go there on the weekend with my cousin Jenny.

It was great to share in some travel stories with Les and Ann, who like me, enjoy trying things that are a little non-traditional. We shared some great stories and I was able to help them to get back on the bus to Tung Chung. Their daughter was in IB and so we had a conversation about the program and shared our travel experiences. If they are ever in Toronto I am hoping they will send me an email.

Back in Hong Kong I toured around Mong Kok and went to the Ladies' Market and met Rachel, her parents and her maid D for Shanghai cuisine of dumplings, soup, fish, beef with scallions-so fresh and so delicious.

We arrived back home after 11 on Ma Wan after a great day of touring and exploring.

I am off now to Tsim Sha Tsui to the Museums and markets today. Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok.

Hope you have been enjoying my stories and observations during my exploring and wanderings.

love Katy

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Comments

[Danita]

your adventures sound amazing. i love reading your blogs! keep safe!