Time to let go.

After all these years, I finally visited Tai O for the first time yesterday. Sadly, despite all the claims of it being a rustic, culturally historical place, I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel like a slum.


On the inside streets, it looked normal enough. Pretty much the same as Lamma Island or Cheung Chau. This huge crowd shows that the place is still a popular weekend/holiday spot

You know, I'm pretty sure that a lot of monster creation special effects guys are familiar with sea creatures (or they go to a lot of ethnic food markets):

Yum, tasty. A mummified shark corpse.

And as expected, there were lots of cats running around:

But where it gets depressing is the very thing that Tai O is famous for: the stilt houses. Claims of this being the "Venice of Hong Kong" are sorely misplaced.

Venice? More like Mumbai. Seeing those dilapidated structures, I couldn't help but feel that I was in the slums of some Third World Country. The draining in the houses emptied directly into the "canals" where local boatmen ferried tourists down. Hey, $20 for a ride down dirty stagnant water...what a bargain!

I tried my best to find a more attractive angle and this was the best I could do. I found this quiet little corner in the back, with a reflection of the mountains.

The colors are nice, but it's still hard to escape the squatter feel.


Over the past few years, there's been a debate over the need for reconstruction. Opponents of this argue that it would take away the quaint, traditional fishing town feel that gives Tai O it's characteristic. It may be true that some time in the past (prior to the big fire in 2000), Tai O was a beautiful place but it's become so fallen apart now that it's time to let go of the past and look at ways to improve living standards. I don't think that any reasonable person would claim that maintaining a slum is a good thing.

I'm all for maintaining tradition and historical sites, but there are times when you have to look at the bigger picture and do what's best for every one. Is it right to keep such squalid living conditions just so tourists have a "traditional" place to visit on the weekends?