Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Island (which is called Lantau)

http://williamsons-world.blogspot.com/2010/10/island-which-is-called-lantau.html

From what I understand, Lantau is the largest of the islands in Hong Kong, (bar Kowloon which is on the island of Asia - somewhat larger. At least three times as big.) and provides the one thing you cannot get on Hong Kong Island: space.

On Saturday we tootled off to the pier to catch a ferry to Lantau (all of R30 to get there) which is about a half an hour journey. As we were both suffering immense hangovers, it became a 30-minute exercise in not hurling as we bounced from wave to wave caused by the multitude of boats traversing around Hong Kong harbour.......(click on link above for full post)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

More roads for Lantau?

Major tourist attractions call for better roads.
Source-http://bit.ly/aDXirY




Lantau draws urge tourist roads

Natalie Wong

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Three major attractions on Lantau - AsiaWorld- Expo, Ngong Ping 360 and Hong Kong Disneyland - have called for an upgrade of the island's road system to improve its standing as a tourist destination.

Li Yun-tai, managing director of Ngong Ping 360, said at the Lantau Tourism Forum yesterday that more than 10 major attraction sites on Lantau are accessible by public transport within an hour of Tung Chung.

"However, it takes much longer for tour buses to travel directly between tourist sites because a number of major pathways on Lantau are private roads restricted to residents," he said.

James Tien Pei-chun, chairman of the Tourism Board, said one in four travelers to Hong Kong visit Lantau Island, double the number in 2005.

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"Lantau is gifted with spectacular scenery and a rich cultural heritage, as well as world-class trade show facilities. We should foster closer partnerships for the sustainable tourism growth of the city's biggest island," he said.

Ngong Ping 360, Noah's Ark and Hong Kong Disneyland have launched a joint-attraction ticket offer for the first time in which visitors to any one place receive a 10 percent discount when purchasing one-day admission tickets for any of the other two attractions during November.

Michael Wu Siu-ying, chairman of the Travel Industry Council, said he hopes tourism on Lantau will be further boosted after construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which is due for completion in 2015.

Chau Chuen-heung, a local resident and 10-year district councillor on Lantau, said she supports measures to boost tourism on the island because it would create more job opportunities for residents who cannot afford high transport fees for commuting to work in urban areas.

In 2004, a concept plan for Lantau was drawn up by Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen to provide an overall planning framework for the island's future development. New attractions including a boutique heritage hotel in Tai O, windsurfing facilities in Mui Wo and mountain bike tracks will be built on Lantau in the next two years.

Meanwhile, Tien said 27 million people visited Hong Kong as of October 10, up 23 percent over last year. Tourists stay in the territory for 3.4 days on average and Tien expects a 20 percent increase in the annual number of visitors by year-end.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Growing

My youngest son Jack, is 7 years old this week.He is still our baby, and always will be, but at 7 he is now a young boy, albeit a small one. Joseph will be 10 years old in the coming year, time is slipping away, so I thought it was time to take a look back.


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Leaving Hong Kong behind in Tai O


Full Article-http://bit.ly/bL4xdB by Tiffany Lam

The stilt-house community of Tai O on Lantau Island is known as the Venice of the Orient, but let’s be honest. It’s nothing like the opulent Italian city.

Tai O, once Hong Kong’s biggest fishing community, was ravaged by fires, floods and typhoons in recent years, and it shows.

The community’s derelict pang uk (Cantonese for stilt-houses) look like they were built with whatever villagers could scavenge -- broomsticks, Styrofoam boxes, bits of nylon netting. Houses some distance away from the main street have broken windows. Barefooted grannies play majong on balconies overlooking the canal, their front doors flung wide open.

For some, this is Tai O’s charm. It is the antithesis of the city landscape and is a throwback to Hong Kong’s past as a simple fishing village.



Read more: Leaving Hong Kong behind in Tai O | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/life/tai-o-800151#ixzz11ZjBDku5

Mui Wo: an island getaway in Hong Kong

Full article-http://bit.ly/aXSMQ6

That was my last week in Hong Kong; I decided to do something different. Rather than climbing up to the Big Buddha, exploring the Stanley Market or indulging myself in the grand shopping malls, I escaped to Mui Wo, a little town on Lantau Island.

The ferry ride to Mui Wo is just as relaxing as the island itself.....