Highlight of the day was a visit to Tai O (大澳), a fishing town on the Western side of the Lantau Island (大屿山).
Image credit: Google Map
Tai-O is one of a few remaining fishing villages in Hong Kong. With history dating back hundreds of years, Tai-O used to be an important trading and fishing port. During the 1930s and 40s, it had a thriving salt industry. Sadly, a major fire in 2000 and Typhoon Hagupit in 2008 damaged the village. Today, besides a declining fishing industry, it draws tourists, who mostly visit the village for its stilt houses and seafood.
Our journey there consisted of a ride in the Ngong Ping Cable Car to Ngong Ping village before transferring to a bus to Tai O. It’s advisable to book the cable car tickets online to beat the queue and we were really glad we did so when we saw the snaking queue.
Despite the dreary weather, the view was still amazing.
From Ngong Ping, we took bus 21 to Tai-O. The journey’s around 20mins. Do check out the bus table as the bus departs Ngong Ping on an-hourly basis.
Tai O fishing village:
The famous stilt houses in Tai O.
There are several boat tours available at the harbour side, near the bus terminal. We went for a short jaunt into the sea for HK$25 per pax in these boats for a chance to see the Chinese white dolphins (also known as pink dolphin).
Throughout the 20mins boat ride, we kept our eyes glued to the sea hoping to catch a glimpse of these aquatic mammals but no luck though. As the waters is cold during winter, the reports of dolphin-sightings during this period are usually low, according to the helmsman. Nevertheless, kind of disappointed not to have seen them in their natural habitat.
There are rows of shop selling fresh and dried seafood near the bus terminal. There is a good variety to choose from; from fresh fish to salted ones, from dried cuttlefish to dried star fish. We loaded up on bags full of dried seafood but didn’t get their famous salted fish, shrimp paste and XO sauces though.
Queued for Tai O’s famous 碳烧鸡蛋仔 a.k.a. egglets, a street food made from a batter comprising mainly of eggs, sugar, flour and evaporated milk. The batter is cooked over flame for a crispy outer layer with soft texture inside and in shapes resembling little eggs, where it got its name. At this stall, the vendor patiently cooked his batter batch by batch over charcoal flame. You’ve got to try it if you can, it’s really yummy, definitely live up to its name. We spent more than 30mins queuing for 3 servings and finished them off in no time.
The rustic feel of this place was truly amazing, totally different from the bustling side of Hong Kong.
A fisherman at work:
Ended the day watching as fishermen sell their catch-of-the-day, a trade that’s also on the decline here as the younger generation moves away into the downtown area as they come of age:
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Read more about our trip itinerary and the other places we visited during the trip in Hong Kong 2015 – Family Trip Itinerary.
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To get there from MTR Tung Chung Station:
1. Take bus 11 to Tai-O bus terminus (journey takes about 50 mins).
2. Take Ngong Ping cable car to Ngong Ping village (approx 25 mins), then transfer to bus 21 to Tai-O bus terminus (approx. 20 mins)
We took the latter there and the former back, which enabled us to enjoy the views both ways offer.
By Cable Car
It’s recommended to purchase the cable car tickets online to beat the queue at Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal. Just bring along the printed or electronic tickets for boarding.
There’s a choice of standard or crystal cabin (with see-through glass floor) cable car. The cost of adult single trip standard and crystal cabin cable car tickets are at HK$130 and HK$180 respectively.
It’s cheaper to get round trip tickets though, at HK$185 and HK$255 for adults standard and crystal cabin respectively.
P.S. Ngong Ping cable car service is suspended for approximately 5 months from January 2017 for maintenance.
By Bus
The bus fare from Ngong Ping to Tai O (and vice versa) is HK$6.30/13 per adult (Mon-Sat/Sun & PH) on bus service no. 21. Refer to this website for bus information.
The bus fare from Tung Chung to Tai O (and vice versa) is HK$11/18 per adult (Mon-Sat/Sun & PH) on bus service no. 11. Refer to this website for bus information.
Octopus cards can be used on both buses.
By Ferry
There’s also an option of traveling back to Tung Chung by local ferry. However, number of sailings is limited.