Hello, Hivers and Pinmapple Community!
_Did you miss the virtual tour to Venice of Hong Kong? If yes, don't hesitate to click this link below. _
Venice of Hong Kong (Picturesque Village of Tai O)
You probably have read about the picturesque village of Tai O, have seen stilt houses of different colors and designs, the market and the mountain, as well as food, souvenirs, and arts. Indeed, the village is a perfect place to unwind and relax our minds and body from the toxic vibe of the city and stressful work.
It wasn't only the village that was worth spending time on, but the surrounding mountains are worth visiting as well. There were several mountains that you could hike from the village, but we opted to visit the popular trail in the village, the To Fu Shan trail, and the viewing point!*
Let's go to the mountain! Let's start the hike!
From the main village, we passed through the market and crossed this small inclining alley, down to alleys with concrete houses on the sides built in modern times, and more stilt houses by the sea. There were houses of different sizes and designs. By the alley was an old woman selling tiny souvenir magnets and we saw a miniature house with cute snowmen and dwarfs on the roof.
We also passed by a small Buddha altar where a foreign family offered a prayer. Different lanterns of different colors were also hung on the alleys. But what caught our attention was this old bench with fading paint and its artistic wine bottles backdrop decorations. This became a photo booth of visitors going to this part of the village.
On the other side was another pretty attraction. There were a plethora of red silk cotton trees with fallen flowers beautifully scattered on the ground. And I became a subject of my friend's photoshoot, lol.
We continued walking until we reached the temple but it seemed closed and visitors were not allowed to enter the place. Probably because of Covid restrictions.
The entrance to the trail was located on the left side of the temple and we followed the concrete footpath. A concrete staircase from the starting point of the trail made our hike so easy.
We followed the long concrete hiking path that ran through the hills. The concrete and short trail made young and old people to hike the trail easily.
Several fire beaters were placed on different sides of the hills to extinguish the fire, in case there'll be an incident. I heard that there was once a fire incident in Tai O village in the past. That's probably the reason why officials placed fire beaters on the hills. An old fire department is also located within the village.
The trail only took us more or less 15 minutes to reach the upper part of the hill. More people were going up as the rain stopped that afternoon. While other visitors were going down after sightseeing from atop.
On the top of the inclining footpath were statues of white dolphins that seemed to be surfing on the waves. From the top of the hill, we had a great view of the South China Sea
We paused for a while to have beautiful shots of the village from atop. The wind was chilly and strong, and the beautiful picturesque was so relaxing.
The concrete footpath runs through the long ridges of the hill and we followed it to the center part of the viewing point. Despite the Covid restrictions, there were a lot of visitors on that day.
From the hilltop, a lengthy Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge was visible that hung beautifully on the South China Sea and Tai O Bay and a ship-like architecture in the middle. The foggy horizon and the beautiful fences and footpaths of the trail were perfect picturesque backdrop.
The place is just near Hong Kong airport, and we could see airplanes landing off, and below the South China Sea were fishing vessels and ferries crossing the vast ocean.
On the left side of the hilltop, you could see more hiking trails to other parts of the Lantau Island mountains. And the Tai O cemetery on slopes of the hill with boat-shaped concrete tombs.
A pavilion is located at the middle-end of the beautiful concrete footpath. You could take a pause, relax, let your eyes wander, and capture the beautiful scenery of the mountains and the sea. Let the chilly breeze restore your aching body and tangled mind. Just feel the moment!
We continued walking up to the pavilion where benches were available for resting.
From the pavilion, we had binocular sightseeing and hoped to see white dolphins in the sea, but to no avail.
That was the end of the viewing point. There were two options to go down the base, either to trace back where we started, or go down on the other side of the hill. But it wasn't concrete, yet, stony with a long rope to support the hikers and would make the hike easier. We opted to go down to the other side to see what beauty lies behind.
We were awed by the beauty from atop of the hill. The pavilion and long ridges of the Fu Shan trail appeared at our sight.
We continued walking the stony paths, and we saw several pinus massoniana trees on both sides.
What lies behind the hill was another beauty to behold! The picturesque Tai O village, the lake at the back, the tall heritage hotel, beautiful ridges, green hillocks, and foggy horizon between sky and mountains, were all perfect and stunning.
On the other side was a beautiful coastline of the connecting mountains along the South China Sea.
We continued walking down, passed through stony paths, concrete staircase, and down to the base. As we moved forward, we were hooked by the rock formations along the sea that became visible due to low tide.
The colorful reddish, oranges, brownish stones, and pebbles beautifully carpeted the ground.
There were residents and visitors collecting seashells, colorful pebbles, and sea clamps. Some probably selling their collected sea clamps, while others were just taking them to their house for dinner. Sea clamps are quite expensive in supermarkets. So during low tide is really a perfect time to collect some sea clamps by the bay for free.
The hideous Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge was visible on this part of the village, and we had a closer look at the South China Sea.
After taking some photos, we head back to the main village, walked by the picturesque lake, and crossed lengthy footbridges,
Along the lake were benches where visitors could rest for a while with a stunning green hillock backdrop.
We feel like in Korea while walking along the lake with these beautiful trees of different Spring colors on the sides.
From the middle of the lake, you could see hills of two colors, greenish on the left and brownish on the right, with its story written in history.
We headed back to the village, passed by a temple, and a peaceful back part of the village.
It was indeed a worthy tour to Venice of Hong Kong and witness the idyllic life of Tai O fishermen's village. Some people call some parts of the village squatters of Hong Kong, but for me, the whole village was a paradise.
Thank you for your time.
And see you on my next travel galore!
#pinamapple #haveyoubeenhere #travelgalore #ocd #hive #amazingnature #hodophile
Follow me on: