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I've been wanting to pay Tai O village a visit since we've booked our flights to Hong Kong. I know, it's quite strange for a traveler to go the extra mile just to see a fishing village, but it has a different effect on me.

We took a train to the foot of Ngong Ping and rode a bus routed for Tai O. It's nice to see a different side of Hong Kong. We passed by lines of trees and low-lying islands dormant in steady waters. As we drove through the winding roads leading to the village, I can't help but be amazed about how their provinces still look like cities to me.

The bus stopped in front of what seemed to be a shipwreck leaning on a concrete bridge. I stepped down clueless of where we were, until I turned around and saw the word Tai O written across a small monument.

Colorful paintings made the barren walls come to life. Illustrations of kids with smiles on their faces set the mood for everyone visiting. Then we started to roam around the narrow alleyways that lead to another. Tai O is filled with simple stories and simple lifestyles. We got lost in the tangles of interconnected streets with boats quietly resting on dried up canals.



 




 





We stayed on the benches for a while to catch our breaths and just watched Tai O unveiled itself to us. Kids play along while the elders sit on the benches scattered around the plaza. This serene scene cleared my brain from unfiltered, negative thoughts and helped me see things through. I went on this trip to find out what I really wanna do in life. I just turned 25 and I need to do something more than just being an employee, buried on a desk for countless of hours. I know that I wanna do something bigger and that something bigger is what I am currently doing — sharing stories like this to people I don't know but I wanna inspire to travel. Traveling made me realize that things like these, things that are bigger than what I picture life could be, can change your views about everything in a snap.





















In the next few days, things will unravel like colors inside a kaleidoscope. And within the next few weeks, Hong Kong will just be memories kept inside photographs. Time is fleeting but memories we create while traveling is forever.

I highly recommend Tai O for those people who just want to slow down a bit — to just look around you without worrying that time is passing you by.