This morning I saw pink dolphins...it was amazing! The species, I think, are unique to this area. If you get to Tai O which is on the south of Lantau Island, you can get on a motorboat which takes you to a special marine reserve off the coast where they are kept since they are very endangered. The pollution of the water in this area, combined with intensive fishing, has reduced the numbers somuch that the remaining dolphins must live and be monitered in this reserve. However, it was amazing to see them come to the surface right by the boat. Their skin (?) is a really pale pink colour, almost white and so they are really easy to spot.It was an incredible sight to sit and watch them so close by! However, since I am incompetant, I did not get any photos of them, but Rosie took a video on her camera and I hope to be able to share it with you when I get it from her so you can see!
On the way back to the island, the boat takes you for a short ride around Tai O which is a fishing village on stilts..all the houses are built on wooden stilts and there are bridges connecting the different parts of the town. It looked sort of Venetian however ever so less grand, in fact not grand at all, extremely basic as you can see from the photos. However, it is amazing to see them going out their work like drying fish and squid and hanging them out to dry on fishing lines over the water and fishing over the back of their houses!
It was extremely surreal to think that this village exists only a bus ride and a ferry crossing away from Hong Kong Island and indeed, on the same island, as Hong Kong Disneyland! I am really glad I got the chance to see it and it was a perfect way to spend a beautiful, warm March Sunday morning!
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