The Fishing Village-Tai O, Hong Kong

Tai O, The Fishing Village

We visited Tai O last year December during my almost annual "pilgrimage" back to Hong Kong to visit my in laws. The Hong Kong Tourism Board has been promoting this attraction furiously in recent years and for the longest time, I harbored thought of checking this place out. It made an ideal side trip when you planned to visit the Great Buddha and Po Lin Monastery at  Lantau Island. It is almost a 15 mins trip from the Great Buddha to Tai O and vice versa  by bus.

Welcome to Tai O

Stlit Houses with Mountains Backdrop

Our original intention was to take the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars from MTR Tung Chung Station to visit the Great Buddha and followed by the trip to Tai O. The snaky and endless queue waiting to board the cable cars made us gave up the plan. Instead we took a bus (number 11) for an almost 1 hour trip to Tai O first. It was a great idea as we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Lantau's mountains and sea as we headed towards our destination. Along the way, there was also this grateful local old lady who struck up a conversation with me (after I squeezed out a seat for her with my daughter sitting on my lap). She learned I was from Singapore and heaped praise on the country. I managed to converse with her in my pathetic Cantonese (in a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese) and was quietly relieved when she alighted at a village which was one or two stops away from Tai O.

Quiet spot in the village

Can you spot the Kingfisher?

Strike a pose!

We chose a good time (around 11 am and Friday) to visit Tai O as there were not many tourists around. The fishing village was built by the Tanka people, who make their living off fishing at the South China sea and made their home on stilts by the river bank. The latter have become the icons of Tai O and they are seen in almost all promotional photos linked to the village. The photos looked especially good when the stilt houses and old boats were taken with the river and mountains as the backdrop.

Old man with bicycle

Tai O Market

Starfish for dinner tonight?

The place serves as a good break away from the concrete jungles of Kowloon and Hong Kong island. Although now much commercialized, it still emits a nostalgic atmosphere. We discovered seafood (live and preserved) were in abundant as we explored the old streets of Tai O. In fact, the whole place felt like a big market with various vendors plying their trade. My wife (who has been here before) told me the famous take away native products were the shrimp pastes. They are used to add as flavor for dishes. It seems there are two extreme camps on their liking (or disliking) of the shrimp pastes. The people who love them above anything else or the ones hate them to the core. Sounds like the infamous Durians back in my country (but that's another story.) Anyway, we did not risk buying any on that day.

Salted fish...salted fish and salted fish

Tai O Tricycles

After a sumptuous meal at a local restaurant (a must do), we ventured into the village area. The crowd dwindled as we went deeper. We found few temples, a post office, a fire station and more settlements. There was a sense of peace here compared to the crowded market area.  It was ironical to think the villagers must have hated the tourists for disturbing their peaceful lifestyle but at the same time have to welcome them for the local people to earn their livelihood. One interesting thing we noticed was the transportation used. Almost all the households owned at least a tricycle with a basket at the rear. The local must have used them to transport their groceries and foods during their daily visit at the market.

Ready for River Cruise

Sight at River#1

Sight at River#2

Sight at River#3

Sight at River#4

We took a boat ride from the pier at the trademark draw bridge which brought us round the village on the river and out into the open sea for dolphins watching. Despite straining our eyes to catch a glimpse of the rare pink dolphins, we could not detect any. But we were contended enough to witness the daily life of the sea people, spotting the storks, sea gulls and other birds gliding gracefully above the sea surface while enjoying the sea breeze as the boat picked out speed on the water.

Enjoying the sea breeze

Fisherman mending the Net

Fisherman back from the Sea

Tai O is a great place to see "the other side" of Hong Kong. It was a relaxing outing for my family and a good educational tour for my daughter. For a "city-bred" child, it was indeed an eye-opener for her that other kind of houses exist beside the concrete ones that we have seen in Singapore. I am very sure your family will enjoy the trip just like us once setting foot into the rustic fishing village of Tai O :-).

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Family Photo at Tai O

Fishing Boats at the Harbour

Fishing Boats in line

         

Village view from a distance

Mid-Autumn Festival at Gardens by the Bay

Supertrees at night

Since my visit to the Gardens by the Bay back in June 2012, I have made numerous trips to the same destination. The latest being during the Mid-Autumn festival period where fascinating and captivating lanterns of various themes were displayed.

Lovely-Dovey Birds Lanterns

Cartoon Characters' Lanterns

This event used to be held at Clark Quay. The lanterns would be mounted on boats which floated on the edge of the iconic Singapore River. This year, it has shifted "in land" to the Gardens by the Bay. I must say I was impressed by the bigger scale displays, more creative themes, massive firework, deletable food available and mostly importantly the blending into the Gardens. The themes were adored by children as they were captivated by the lanterns display at the 'Dragonfly Lake', 'Jurassic Park', 'Birds and Insects Paradise' and 'World of Fairy Tales'. There was also a section where one could take picture with your star lantern and also your fortune foretold.

Nice Reflection in the Lake

Jurassic Park

 We went to the Gardens by the Bay in the evening. Many people were already there for the same event. Families with their little ones, romancing couples,bewildered tourists  were among those in the crowd, savouring the atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the garden. Photographers with their comprehensive gears, were capturing unique moments and scenes. I brought my camera too, not to miss out collecting photos of ourselves in this once in a year event.

Majestic India Lanterns

Little Monks Lanterns

The Three Little Pigs Lanterns

The moon was especially round on that night, as if the fabled Chang' e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality was doing her part to commemorate the celebration. On the humour side, it also reminded us on the many moon cakes we have consumed uncontrollably for the past few days ;-).

Full Moon at the Bay

Family Caption

My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed the event. A BIG thanks to the organizers, we will be back next year :-)

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Charlotte with Oriental Face Mask Lantern

Myself with my Star Lantern-Pisces

Trip to River Safari, Singapore

Red Panda

I was thrilled when the news reported about two years ago that Singapore was building River Safari- a river-themed wild life park that showcases river dwelling animals. The stars of the new park are the two Giant Pandas-Kai Kai and Jia Jia,loaned to Singapore from China for a period of 10 years. Other exotic creatures include the Red Pandas, Chinese Giant Salamanders, Sturgeons, Mekong Giant Catfish, Mississippi Paddlefish, Alligator Gars, Manatees and many others. The new park is an addition to the main Zoo (The Singapore Zoo) and The Night Safari which is great news for animals' enthusiasts like us. It is sometimes deem a wonder to think that such a small country like Singapore can house three Zoos at one time.

Elated children hugging "Kai Kai"

Rivers of the World signage

Alligator Gars

Courtesy of the free park entrance tickets from my Company, I brought my family to the River Safari. The route in the park is very orderly as it led us through Mississippi River-Congo River-River Nil--Ganges River-Mekong River-Murray River and Yangtze River where the Giant Pandas are housed in an air-conditioned enclosure. A long bridge across a river brought us to Wild Amazonia which includes the Amazon River Quest, Squirrel Monkey Forest and the Amazon Flooded Forest. The Amazon River Quest at Wild Amazonia was not ready at my time of visit. It is supposedly to bring visitors in a boat ride experience to the river-dwelling animals at their natural habitats and behavior. I was very much anticipating this ride and can't wait for it to be ready by end of the year.

Paddlefish

Mekong River with Giant Catfish Display

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Unlike many others, the highlight of my visit was not the Pandas. I have seen them many times at the Hong Kong Ocean Park. They are adorable but lazy and not very active. It was no surprise that you often saw the same Panda lazing at the same spot in the same position on different visits. What is not to be missed at the River Safari is surely the Amazon Flooded Forest. Here is where you can see the malicious man-eating Red-bellied Piranhas , dangerous high voltage Electric Eel and the industrial Giant Otters. It also housed the largest fresh water aquarium tank in the world. Manatees (aka Dugong or Sea Cows), Arapaimas (largest fresh water fish) and other exotic species are the residents of the big tank. We could never get tired of admiring the water creatures dancing and gliding gracefully in the enormous tank. Unless you dive into the Amazon River(and brave the hungry Piranhas), there is simply no chance in our life time that we can witness the underwater scene that beheld us at the Amazon Flooded Forest. 

Chinese Giant Salamander

Squirrel Monkey

Arapaima at Amazon Flooded Forest

Manatees

My family, young and elderly alike, has enjoyed our day at Singapore new attraction. We will be back when the Wild Amazonia's boat ride is ready. If you are interested, this is River Safari official website. 

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Red-bellied Piranha

Lazing Panda-Kai Kai

Enjoying their visit. My daughter (1st from right) with cousins Amanda and Dave

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