Advice on Living in South Lantau

[Stu79]

You can't do it directly - you'd need to get a red taxi to Tung Chung and then switch to a blue Lantau taxi to take you the rest of the way. That's if you can ever find one!

[dossier]

I presume there is a night bus to Tung Chung and then hop into a blue taxi from there?

[Natfixit]

I presume there is a night bus to Tung Chung and then hop into a blue taxi from there?

N11 from Macau Ferry to Tung Chung, then blue taxi. At the blue taxi stand, there is the Lantau taxi number. Of busy, try again, and again. I do, and state that yes, I AM standing at the taxi rank and where I want to go. There are also airport buses from Central via Tung Chung.

[Cho-man]

Not South Lantau, but why not just Tung Chung? Its still on Lantau after all. Maybe not as idyllic or peaceful as South Lantau, but you still get more open space with nice green parks there compared to your typical HK Island/Kowloon neighbourhood. Plus you get MTR and bus connections to the urban areas. My in-laws live in Tung Chung and they seem to quite enjoy it.

There is plane noise sure, but my in-laws got used to it now. And also air pollution there can be bad, but well, the same goes for the rest of HK.

And of course there is the old expat haunt, DB. The area is too stereotypical "expat-style" for my taste (not to mention rather pricey), but I'm sure most expats would like that area. No cars, cleaner air and very western-feel, I'm sure many would like it there.

[DavidTC]

Tong Fuk, Cheung Sha. Loverly places. No comparison.

[Natfixit]

Tong Fuk, Cheung Sha. Loverly places. No comparison.

Poor drainage ( not just these areas, speaking for all of south Lantau as we have friends, neighbours, acquaintances who live across the south) which stinks like crazy you can only gag, poor internet connection which is not good for the many residents who work from their homes, badly built housing with no insulation or thought to protect the building from all elements that come with living in the tropics. Oh, and housing prices plus rent prices are rising.....with the housing that is being bought offplan and yes, certain people ( mostly from " up north" ) will pay the prices. Rumoured to be $$$$ in full. We rent, from terrific landlords, but sadly, as " family" built the place, how can one say that they did such a shoddy job that lights don't work regardless of how many bulb changes and door frames are buckling? I hate to cause trouble for them as they have been always fast in fixing things, but in reality, THEIR house which we rent, clean, take good care of, is falling apart from shoddy workmanship weekly. The area is lovely for their beaches. Other areas further out are also great for their hidden beaches. Tai O, sadly has become a dump, no thanks to tourists and residents who just dump stuff out the window into the water.

We moved to South Lantau for the lack of noise, like the local community, lower rent for space, but are considering moving back home to buy our own home. I am typing tonight in frustration, because AGAIN, I cannot call out on the landline for some reason that PCCW cannot explain directly. Just that this service is not available even if we have subscribed and paid for!

[tparker]

Not South Lantau, but why not just Tung Chung? Its still on Lantau after all. Maybe not as idyllic or peaceful as South Lantau, but you still get more open space with nice green parks there compared to your typical HK Island/Kowloon neighbourhood.

South Lantau is more about the lifestyle, not just the open space and green parks. You can get those in Sai Kung too, or Po Lam, or Kam Tin/Shek Kong... but each of those places feel very different. DB as you correctly identified is a 'gwailo ghetto', and a bit too manufactured / clean for my tastes. Mui Wo by contrast has a good mix of foreigners and locals... with both western bars / hangouts and noisy mahjong parlours or Chinese "tea restaurants".

Tung Chung - great views over the airport in some of the apartments (I would love that), and modern amenities etc... with decent supermarkets and mix of restaurants, but you don't have the lazy "afternoon stroll on the beach" mentality, and that's a key difference. Most people don't get it, or don't particularly want it (8 of 10 people call me crazy for wanting to live on Lantau) - but then I guess that's the whole point... the moment Lantau becomes popular, i'm out of there!

[dossier]

N11 from Macau Ferry to Tung Chung, then blue taxi. At the blue taxi stand, there is the Lantau taxi number. Of busy, try again, and again. I do, and state that yes, I AM standing at the taxi rank and where I want to go. There are also airport buses from Central via Tung Chung.

During the night, I assume that the best blue taxi stand is going to be at the airport (when trying to get home in South Lantau from HK Island). Or do blue taxis loiter at Tung Chung taxi stands during the night? Or even the DB North Plaza taxi stand?

[pkboy]

The latest I've ever gotten a taxi at the TC stand was around 12:30AM. Waited about 10mins, the person ahead of us waited twice as long so we shared since we were going in the same direction.

I imagine the frequency falls much more after the MTR closes

[Natfixit]

I have waited and waited at the TC taxi stand for a blue taxi to no luck. Call the hotline repeatedly until I am virtually on first name basis with the lady on the other end. It is luck of the draw if you happen to find a blue taxi waiting .I always offer to share if someone else is waiting, but many do not want to do the same. This why we have a car. Lack of buses, taxis and it takes forever to get home to fed the cat, do housework, get enough sleep before doing it all again early next morning. I cannot fathom how stupid the HK govt is to keep on building housing that is being snapped up at unbelievably overpriced offers, yet will not fix the roads ( potholes galore!) , nor add more buses and taxis.