The view here isn’t great, but you can see that Tai O is sort of a “floating town” - homes here are supported by beams protruding from a shallow river that runs through the area.
Located in the far east of Hong Kong, it takes 45 minutes on the metro and another 45 on a bus to get to Tai O. However, this unique community is a worthwhile trip. First, I paid 20 HKD to take a ride on a 10-person motorboat: the driver first drove along this stream (see title picture) further into the town to give tourists a glimpse of Tai O’s floating homes. Next, he drove us out into the ocean, picked a good spot, and stopped. Before you know it, dolphins started jumping out of the water! These were small and white, unlike your Seaworld dolphins. Camera shutters started clicking immediately, and my best effort was a perfect picture of… the splash that a dolphin made after re-entering the water. You’ll have to see them for yourself sometime.
After going dolphin-watching, you can walk into the town to sample some local snacks. The yellow jelly here is made of tea and the darker jelly is made of red beans. Both jellies were lightly sweet and cooling to the taste buds - perfect for a hot day. In the album, you’ll see that people would leave duck egg yolks out to dry in the sun, and sell them when they have dried to a bright orange color. Other shop owners specialized in sweet buns, fried fish, and dried cuttlefish (or squid). Lastly, tourists queue up for up to an hour waiting for mini egg cakes baked in a metal container placed inside a hollow tree trunk section. According to locals, the cook - an elderly man - only comes out to make cakes when he feels up to it, funny enough. His “unofficial” stall is the most popular in town nonetheless.
Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/TaiO?feat=directlink
Next Episode: "Ocean Park”
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