The smell of dried fish assails my nostrils even before I cross the bridge into the village. I’m about to investigate, when I get sidetracked by the view. The bridge crosses the Tai O river and, on both banks, scores of houses practically teeter over the water on tall wooden stilts. I’m in Tai O, one of the last remaining Chinese fishing villages in Hong Kong. Tai O Village, located on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, is a prime example of a traditional Chinese fishing village, that seems to have fallen out of time. Lantau Island is the biggest of Hong Kong’s islands, so it’s a popular destination for Hong Kong city day-trippers. Most visitors head to the island to ride the cable car to the Big Buddha, but not everyone makes the extra effort to see Tai O. The tranquil Tai O Village is probably the oldest human settlement on the island of Lantau. And everyone who comes here all the way from the Hong Kong Islands will believe that on first sight. The place reveals itself to the visitor as a bizarre fishing idyll that somewhat looks like a old Chinese mixture of Pirates of the Caribbean and Kevin Costner’s Waterworld. One has nearly the feeling that any second Johnny Depp could show up behind the next boat waving around a hard piece of salt fish. 大澳,是在繁华的香港之中,保留了香港老旧人情风味的地区。早期香港渔村的风貌,依旧保留着。它坚守着海边渔家的生活传统,房屋搭建在水上,是那种很传统的棚屋,大澳渔村的街道,随处可见村民在晒海味,街道上弥漫着烤鱿鱼的香味,制作美食时用的器具都很是很传统的器皿。当我穿梭于人流如潮的中环、铜锣湾、尖沙咀,周末找个地方远离喧嚣的繁华都市放空自己也未必不是一个好的旅游休闲方式。 我小时候喜欢看着有线电视不停重播的港片,总觉得百看不厌,其中印象比较深的是刘德华和张敏演的“与龙共舞”,还记得龙家俊(刘德华饰)不小心被表妹推落海,还被误认为是大陆仔,最后躲在月光 (张敏饰) 做廉价劳工。。。听说那场景就是在香港大澳渔村拍摄的。对于香港的印象就停留高楼大厦,我想不到香港还有一块净土,让喜欢古朴风的我在规画香港旅行时,就特别想绕到大澳渔村。其实我想去大澳有好长一段时间了,跟其他离岛不同的是,大澳的路途较为奔波,我就是晕着车走进了大澳渔村。 我仿佛走进时光隧道,百年前的光景仿佛在这一霎那间凝结了。 这天天气阴雨,细雨时有时无,大澳的景色少了上次天晴傍晚时造访的金黄色调,棚屋、舢舨船、水道依旧老样子,但多了分低调与静谧感。搭了趟船看水上人家,也在出海口寻白海豚,游走在小巷中,然后找间棚屋咖啡厅坐着发呆、聊生活琐碎,就这样偷得浮生半日闲. In the boat ride along the riverfront saw the different generations of stilt houses — the oldest are made of grey metal sheets and shaped like an upturned boat, while the newer boxy houses (some are even made of concrete) have colourful balconies overflowing with plants. The stilt house building style goes back to the 19th century; were built on wooden stilts driven deep into the muddy tidal flats of the river to protect them against floods. The Tai O fish market is particularly popular and gets very busy on the weekends, when locals and tourists jostle for space. As I walk around the market, I’m gobsmacked by the variety of seafood on display — both fresh and dried. There’s fish of every imaginable size and shape, shellfish, abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw (dried swim bladders), and more. 大澳渔村的咸鱼、虾酱和鱼肚远近驰名,街上店家门前铺满各式各样的鱼货,琳瑯满目。 Much more striking, however, the famous salted fish is hung out everywhere to dry in the scorching sun and comes with another thing that is omnipresent in Tai O, the distinctive fishy odour that hangs like a pall of smog over the streets. Nevertheless, there is something more enjoyable on the other side of the Shek Tsai Po Street. When you walk along the esplanade after about 20 minutes you will get to the beautifully restored old Tai O Police Station that is located on a hill near the ferry terminal. Since 1902, long time before the days of Costner and Depp, this building was actually built to protect the surrounding waters against smuggling and piracy. Exactly one hundred years later, however, the time-honoured building was converted into the Tai O Heritage Hotel (you can read my blog on Tai O Heritage Hotel here), a nice place that invites you to linger and give your own sense of smell a little break from the ever-present smell of fish on the market. The all-pervasive fishy smell chiefly comes from the shrimp sauce and shrimp paste that is a speciality of Tai O. The paste is made by grinding shrimp meat with salt and leaving it to ferment in plastic tubs. The paste is then spread onto bamboo trays and left to dry in the sun, after which it is bottled or sold in the form of cakes. It is used to flavour everything from stir-fried vegetables and meats, to fried rice and noodles. 制作虾酱的桶子。虾酱所压制而成的虾砖,香港当地人说这虾酱炒菜很香,听到很多人的推荐。我觉得尝起来蛮像东南亚的虾酱炒菜的感觉,口味来不赖。 I can recommend to take a tour with one of the rather simple fishing boats along the river and then out to sea (departing from the footbridge). Out here you will not only enjoy the warm and salty breeze of the South China Sea, with luck and in the right season, you can even see the Chinese White Dolphin, a species of dolphins that is also called Pink Dolphin by locals due to its pink look.
And then again back in Tai O Village you will be lulled quickly by the distinctive smell of dry fish, almost as if the place wanted to preserve everything forever. So far, this worked quite well. 在通道的最底端合影留念,我短暂坠入了渔民们生活起居的老社区,感受这样的简朴与简单(在想若是台风天,这些棚屋抵挡得了强风强雨吗?),但一个回神便又回到了现代,更能体会与珍惜现有生活的便利以及富足。 大澳渔村,这一个备一的景点,给了我很多的意外惊喜,住惯了水泥丛林,生活充斥着纸醉金迷者,来这儿走一走,或闻闻海味、或感受怀旧气氛、或看看渔民们的生活现况、或许更能体会安贫乐道的重要。
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