Having visited some of Hong Kong’s other side at the fishing village of Tai O in the west of HK’s Lantau Island and contemplating Tai O’s boat people’s lives, here’s a bit more of the local life. The first thing you come across when you arrive at Tai O Village is the more standard local style life where the land people, as opposed to the boat people, live – with street vendors, restaurants and shops that get pretty busy on the the weekends when all the tourists come to visit. Naturally, one of the main attractions about a local fishing village is, well, sea food, of all shapes and sizes.
Even with all the tourists running around, the locals are very laid back, giving Tai O the sense of a place on slow motion.
Some of the land people live in ordinary looking buildings, some of which are remains of a long lost Hong Kong…
With a special local touch…
Yep, that’s the local fire squad …
Reminding me of various local places around Taiwan, Tai O has above average folk God presence, with Matzu (Tin Hau, goddess of the sea) and Kwan Tai (the war God) being the more popular ones due to the local reliance on regional stability and fisherman safety. The local Kwan Tai temple dates back as early as 1488 during the Ming rule.
A handsome fellow, no doubt.
Last part to follow on the local fishermen and our visit to one of their boats.