Visiting Tai O Village & Encountering an Unpleasant Situation on Lantau Island at a Stopover in Hong Kong

Our trip to China has taken a little while since we didn't buy a direct flight ticket to our destination city. We are retirees and not in a hurry so it was OK for us to stop over in Portugal and then in Hong Kong where we would take the highspeed train to our destination city in China. We stayed overnight at the Regala Skycity Hotel, close to the HK airport and enjoyed a nice breakfast there.

Taking advantage of our stopover, we decided to tour the Tai 0 Village on the Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Growing up, I always thought that Hong Kong was very small as most of the population seemed to be concerntrated on just the HK island and the Kowloon peninsula. Now that I am more aware of geography, I have realized HK is much better than I thought as there are so many islands included in the territory of the city.

Never visited Tai O, this time we purposely made a visit to this village. After breakfast we hailed a taxi which took us there. We could have taken a bus from the airport but to save time we took a cab instead.

Tai O village used to be a quiet poor fishing village. But now it has become a weekend go to destination for HK residents wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the city We strolled on the narrow streets looking for little cafes and restaurnatns for the seafood for which Tai O was famous. We tried little snacks and drinks there and here and visited an old Catholic church.

It was evident that Tai O residents enjoy a traditional life in their village with many modern facilities and services offered by the government. We saw a community centre offering various services and festivities related to the New Year, a modern looking high school and local buses offering services to the locals. There were many shops and restaurants opened for business. Tai O people are proud of their traditions; a museum was open on the day we visited showing displays of the people's past way of lives, the tools they used and their history. We took a short boat tour which took us near to the houses built by the water. It was amazing to see how families for generations living in houses built on water. We took a stroll along the broadwalk leading to a small beach and the resort houses nearby. Some of these houses were for rent during the summer as vacation homes for tourists. It would not be a bad idea to rent a place like that for a week or two if we visit HK during the summer.

On our way back to the hotel, we rode on the bus which took us pretty close to the hotel. There was a small incident on the bus - 3 or 4 non Chinese teenage boys got on our bus which was full with no seats. Some sat on the floor while some stood on the bus. At the next bus stop, two or three more passengers got on but these boys didn't move to the back of the bus where was more room. These passengers who just got on had to stand very close to the front of the bus which clearly was posing a risk for them should the bus take a sudden stop. I thought these teenagers were not aware of what the need was at the time so I called out to them to move to the back, but they ignored me. I said to them again in English becasue I heard them talking among themselves. But again they ignored me and refused to move to the back. So I spoke to them again in English in case they didn't hear me. Then they started calling me racial names and all sort of stuff. I just had it. In the Chinese culture, people are usually polite and cooperative trying to accommodate other people. They would simply move to the back when an elder person requests them to do so out of respect for them. But being from the Indian culture and English speaking, these highschool boys didn't understand nor have they any repsect for the Chinese culture even though they were studying and living in Hong Kong. They were making fun of me and mocking me in English assuming that I couldn't understand them. I did and I shot back and we got into some heated arguments in which the boys kept telling me loudly to shut up. Finally, the bus driver had to stop the bus and told the boys to move back. These boys dressed in private school uniforms finally did move. Attending in private schools is not cheap. Did these expensive private schools fail in their education of the young? I wondered what did the students learn in their elite school about respecting the local culture and being considerate of others in public space. Nothing? Should I tell my family, I got in trouble again in one day in HK as I couldn't stand stupid people's behaviour in public? RT, Stopover in HK