Tai O, Hong Kong - January 19, 2018

Last full day in Hong Kong! So sad!

Up until now we have been immersed in city-life; we yearned to see country side. Clever as we are (joke!), we managed to determine how to get to Tai O, an ancient fishing village (now tourist depot) via MTR and bus thus avoiding high-prices and canned speeches on a tour bus. Lord, we make ourselves proud!!!

I wrote this morning and went to the gym. While I was gone, Stan took huge bag of dirty clothes to the Chinese laundry. It was about time!!! We left the hotel by eleven and stopped at a cute shop and had breakfast. Stan had toast, pork patty (sausage), lunch meat and pork sausage (hot dog) and fried egg - just see the photo!!! I had pork chop and noodles. Stan made a Dagwood sandwich from his plate. My pork chop was delicious and the rice noodles were plentiful to say the least!

We grabbed the subway and traveled to Tung Chung where we caught a bus to Tai O, an old-time, authentic fishing village on an island of the same name. Houses still sit on stilts and their market offers every kind of dried fish and seafood element imaginable. An English-speaking young man told me that some were dried fish stomachs, fish air bladders and some were dried ray fins. Recognizable fares were dried shrimps, dried sardines and minnows; dried octopus and dried squid. I took beautiful pictures but I just cannot partake. The market also had stalls offering fabulous smelling fried cakes of all kinds and little colorful jelled rice desserts. While we were tempted, our days of sampling a little bit of everything are gone. We just look and appreciate the beauty. We are round enough.

We determined that Tai O is a tourist destination to be sure. But living here today, day in and day out are people who would live here in houses on stilts in the waters regardless of whether there are tourist visitors or not. This is their home. I took pictures of their homes, their shrines and one Chinese cat.

I know this sounds like an easy task but it was actually a little unnerving . . . we found the bus, figured out the fare (because you pay onboard in HKD cash and no change is given) to take us to Mui Wo where we could catch the ferry to take us across the waters to Central Station on Hong Kong island. We did it!!! Yaay! And then we boarded the famous Star Ferry to take us across the channel to Kowloon! We know you have heard of the Star Ferry. It's the ferry line you see in old movies about Hong Kong -- today it is stinky, old and still wonderful.

Of all the days here in Hong Kong, the weather was the worst by far today. We were so very thankful that we did what we did on the days previous when visibility is a key to enjoyment. Yes, I would have loved to have had a clearer view of the ocean as we first breached the mountain on our bus-ride toward Tai O. I would have loved to have seen the green hills on the coast as we sped back toward Central Pier from Mui Wo. It was not to be today but this, still, was a heavenly day!

I am looking forward to a dinner tonight of a dish we have not yet tried but must before we leave this great place - roast goose, smoked with neck and head still on.