Bucket list experience:
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong is sky-piercing buildings, heaving crowds and honking red taxies, but it’s also scenic coastline, tranquil beaches and stilted houses. To experience this alternative side to the city head to Tai O, a tiny fishing village tucked away in the wilds of Lantau.
Alighting from the ferry, visitors are immediately greeted with smell of shrimp paste drying in the sun, the industry which has sustained the village for the last few hundred years. From here, narrow alleyways lead to seafood restaurants stilted over the water (you should definitely stay for lunch), garishly-painted temples and tiny village houses clad in aluminium to deflect the sun.
Pair a visit to Tai O with a boat trip from Lantau to see the world’s pinkest wild dolphins, which swim in the waters around the island. The boat winds its way through the waterways of the historic village before tracking the dolphins, instantly recognisable for their salmon-pink colour.
There are a handful of convoluted ways to reach Tai O by public transport, but the most scenic route is on the Kaido ferry, which leaves from Tuen Mun, at the end of the Tuen Ma line. From here, the green and orange ferry rounds a narrow channel between Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport, and floats under the 50-mile long Hong Kong to Macau bridge before cruising into Tai O. If that all sounds like too much effort, a taxi from Central takes about 45-minutes and costs around £40.
If seeing dolphins are of particular interest, you can take a special tour with Hong Kong Dolphin Watch.
Tai O welcomes visitors all year round but is best enjoyed on a sunny day, when you can sit outside and watch the world pass by. It can get crowded – try and go early in the morning before the streets get too crammed with visitors. Visit in September, and the whole village is illuminated with paper lanterns for the Tai O Lantern Festival.
At time of writing, Pink Dolphin tours run Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with a pick-up from Tsim Tsa Tsui around 9am, and around 3-4 hours on the water.
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