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Linda Kernan -
New Lamma Resident & Pak-Kokian
(photos by Linda): |
|
Dear Lamma-Gung,
I have just moved to Lamma
and was asked by Steve Dressler to write a short
testimonial for his company about the move. I am more
than happy to oblige and maybe you could put my comments
on the Lamma.com.hk website.
 The
first telephone contact was with Maria, Steve's
receptionist [and business partner] and she is efficient.
I thought the move would be
much more expensive than it was as it was to Pak Kok.
Steve explained the breakdown very clearly beforehand on
the phone and it seemed reasonable (far cheaper than
moving the same things from Sheung Wan to Kwai Chung by
a local delivery company 6 months ago).
In the end I paid Steve
HK$400 LESS than his initial estimate and it was all
over much quicker than I anticipated. (Also, the price I
paid Steve was just half the quotation given to me by
another removal company for the same move whose boss was
not that interested in moving me to Pak Kok.)
His 3 men were very polite, efficient and cheerful. They
went to my storage company in Kwai Chung and removed my
36 boxes from the lock-up. I had no hesitation in
entrusting them with my keys and smart card and code and
they handled all that with no problems.
They
then took the boxes to Aberdeen by van and arranged a
sampan (2 trips needed). They arrived at Pak Kok pier
and phoned me as planned so that I could meet them
there. Then we all went to Mrs Chan's shop and had a
cold drink while Trade Winds arranged a Village Vehicle to
take the boxes up to my new flat which is quite high up.
(I paid the VV directly in cash)
Steve told me that many of
his clients like to accompany the crew and oversee the
move and participate in the 'joy' of moving and the fun
of a sampan ride. Well, I thought I would forgo the joy
of participating this time having not found the
experience particularly joyful in the past. It was nice
just to join in the fun bit at the end and watch my
belongings coming off the sampan at Pak Kok (see photos
attached).
 Anyway,
when my friend and I got to his office, Steve went over
all the details again and we got a private unicycle
performance and a cold drink. He sent
us on our way with a frozen marathon bar each.
Anyone
moving to or from Lamma should use Trade Winds because
they have the contacts over here and know how to arrange
the sampan without the hassle of ferries.
P.S. Thanks for the
welcome. I really enjoy reading your helpful website and
am glad to contribute to it. Actually, I found my Pak
Kok flat thru
the forum.
[L-G: like my own new flat, no agency fee!]
I hope it gets good publicity for Steve. |
|
"Captain" Steve Dressler
- Unicyclist, Adventurer and Mover -
www.trade-windstransport.com - 9489-9979
(photos provided by Steve) |
 Dear
Linda,
I'm impressed and I'm humbled by your praise for
Trade Winds' services. Indeed we have strived since
opening our doors in 1991 to provide each and every
client with good value and good cheer in a move! It's
just that the moves to Lamma Island provide more glaring
opportunity for BOTH!
The reason the "other movers" charge so much for
moves to Lamma is simply because they are not really
interested in these "adventurous" jobs, and therefore
quote high prices just to scare you off, or to reap
"unreasonable" gains on the jobs they DO get!
As a unicyclist (see right, catch me on stage this
Christmas at Tai Koo Shing, 26 shows as "The Amazing Uni
Santa!") in my spare time, I
actually CRAVE the "Lamma Adventure," and wish to share
the same with my client. Normally, after each successful
move, we wind up sharing a nice lunch or dinner in a new
and interesting seaside restaurant with the client!
This caps the day and makes each move a sort of "mini- vacation" for our usually Hong Kong - based teams!
Your cost for any Lamma move follows the same "value
for money" strategy that we employ so busily on Hong
Kong & Kowloon. We just add an hour of overtime for the
return journey, plus the added costs of VVs, sampans or
gaidos at cost. Also, most Lamma jobs attract "stair
fees" which acknowledge the "extra fun" our team
experiences in carrying/hoisting washing machines and
pot plants to 2nd floor flats, or to rooftops! :0)
So I echo Lamma-Gung's warm welcome to you to Lamma
Island, and particularly to the "tranquil" entertainer's
village of Pak Kok! Say Hi to the resident unicyclist
there, Mr. Francois "Zani" Zanini :0)--/=======O
At short notice,
Zani could
provide a colorful unicycle show in your living room on
THAT end! See photos from his recent move below!
WELCOME to Lamma, and THANKS so much for
choosing to sail with the Trade Winds
................... Where Moving's a Breeze!
 
 
Zani's recent "Trade Winds Lamma Moving
Adventure!":
Moving his piano on a VV and on a sampan across the East
Lamma channel! |
P.S. by Lamma-Gung:
Trade Winds
has just signed up as a new prime advertiser on this website, replacing
Links Moving (who's just dropped out for unknown reasons after several years of
being our exclusive moving advertiser). Steve was
willing to barter my own move on Lamma 4 weeks ago for advertising, no cash
involved, Lamma-style.
You'll hear more about my own great fun move with Trade Winds
soon. But I chose to publish this testimonial above first, from one of their
many other happy Lamma clients, someone without any business relationship
with them.
A warm welcome to our new advertiser,
Great Wall BBQ
Place, just on the right side of Hung Shing Yeh
beach and online at the bilingual
www.LammaBBQ.com. It's basically a DIY
or catered BBQ place that will get you anything
you need for a relaxed, fun BBQ with your
friends or colleagues, much more convenient than
the govt.-provided BBQ pits.
They even get their own Lamma honey made in
their bee hive nearby, for BBQ sauce!
Check out their bilingual set
menus or call 2982 2384.
Regular Set, Seafood BBQ Set and "Rent BBQ Grill
Only", also in
Chinese.
 A few
of my own photos I took last
Saturday:
BBQ located right at Hung Shing Yeh beach, right
side. Sand, sea, BBQ!
 
A friendly, relaxing BBQ place with lots of wood and
plants.
   
Dragons guarding the BBQ place -- Cast iron lamps for night
BBQs --
They've got their own bee hive! -- BBQ honey, "Made on
Lamma",
enjoyed now at breakfast by Lamma-Gung &
Lamma-Por.
 
Tree trunks, flowers, plants, nice! --
They've already got a
Gold Membership Card.
Buddhist ceremony
for Chinese Ghost Festival marking the start of
the Ghost Month,
Tin Hau temple in Yung Shue Wan, today before
noon, Aug 25, 2009.
The gates of Hell are opened, releasing hungry
ghosts into our world for foods.
Lamma-Por says, "Stay at home, especially at
nighttime during this Lunar month!"
Click for more background...
  
Offerings
w/toenails -- God of Hell at the Tin Hau temple
entrance -- Drummer
Local dignitaries
and VIPs are joining in the blessings
 
Yes, the priests
are running in circles with their food, all part
of the ceremony!
  
Guarding the Tin
Hau temple -- Paper offerings to be burnt or put
above your door
 
Burning the big
bird for luck -- A line of firecrackers,
updated/simplified version
  
Altar -- Snake in
the Eagle's Shadow -- Free food to take home!
Aug 24:
Dan Is Going to Be Grown Up!
|
Sharon - Co-owner of
The Island Bar &
The Waterfront:
"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down
your pants!"
– Chuckles the Clown.
(photos by L-G, click to zoom):
|
|
Andrew, "Local Celebrity" Dan,
Sharon, Sascha
Dan is going to be grown up!
Greetings all, from semi-idyllic Lamma
Island!
Just to let you know that Dan will be
60 on 24th August (Monday), in case you would like
to send best wishes.
Email him!
We are planning a small celebration at
The Island Bar, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma on Monday evening.
A few drinks, a few snacks, a few memories (for those us
who are not completely senile). Please do join us if you
are able. We are only 25 minutes from Central by ferry.
Of course that is not much help if you are in
 say
Canada or Timbuktu, sorry la!
I would appreciate if you could let me
know if you do plan to drop by, just for numbers (and to
let the Police know there might be what looks like a
demonstration at the time – a rather sensitive issue at
times in HK!)
I have raided Dan's email list so this
is a mass email of necessity. I'm very sorry if there is
any duplication. Some of you may know Dan through work,
ice-hockey, Canadians and other friends. And, of course,
The Island Bar and The Waterfront. Some of you might
even know him through me!
Then again,
some of you may not know Dan at all, in which case
kindly disregard this email and have a nice day! |
 |
Early morning in Sha Po Village, taken shortly
after sunrise:
A canopy-less Village House (with not a single
window on the North side) dreaming of having a
canopy? A canopy-less Village House is like a
guy without hair...
Wouldn't this make a great screen for outdoor
movie shows?! As there's no cinema on Lamma,
this could be a nice addition to the local
cultural scene!
Does somebody have a really strong projector, so
we could use this wall to screen the Lamma
premiere of the award-winning
Masks movie
- "A Film Set on Lamma Directed by a Lamma
Resident"? Masks
will be shown in September as part of the
housewarming party of our new rooftop flat, also
the high-ceilinged "worldwide HQ" of Lamma.com.hk.
A private guided tour of the Lamma-1 luxury property
development in Nga Kau Wan, organised upon
my request by developer King Wong's GM Paul and
new-kid-on-the-block Kevin. Thanks, guys!
The development consists of
11 houses in 3 sizes, up to 3,000 sqft each, 2-3 floors
tall, some
of them considerably taller than standard Village Houses.
The interior decorations are in full progress
right now, with over a dozen people working in
several houses every day.
Target date:
Nov 2009 to complete the interior design and fitting, then
work on the outside will continue and be completed
next year.
The flats will become available for rent at
first and for sale whenever the property market
will pick up again significantly. Sales price is
still hoped to be $8,000+/sqft, meaning over $25
million for the biggest houses. Trying to sell
the houses to international companies, for use
by their senior expat executives' families, not
targeting chiefly mainlanders for investment
anymore.
The
Fung Shui cotton tree is doing great now, after
it was saved from termites by a tree doctor,
fruiting right now and sprouting loads of new
branches and leaves:
 
Fung Shui cotton
tree before -- and today
Some of the original trees will be replaced
soon as they didn't like the soil, and many more
will be planted soon.
A
24-hour private, residents-only ferry service
will be offered, not to Cyberport anymore but
mostly to Aberdeen. Ferry pick-ups on demand for
Lamma-1 residents can be arranged almost
anywhere on HK Island.
A private infinity pool, a well-equipped gym and
full security for the residents will be offered,
but the originally planned jacuzzis on some
rooftops have been cancelled. The govt.'s ambulance service
does not run in that area! Not even a helipad
(unlike the one planned for the Tung O Wan Lamma-Marina's) for
emergency medevacs. There's also a
2,000 litre emergency fire services tank in the
basement, kept full.
The pier and beach will remain public and
there's a public path, parallel to the private
path, down to the beach. Local fishermen are
enjoying the location now:
 
Most of the rooms are HUGE by Lamma standards,
with some kitchens bigger than most living rooms
in Village Houses. Some G/F living rooms are 2
or even 3 floors high, sporting a rooftop
skylight. First show flat hopefully ready before
end of this year?
Double-glazing on the harbourside windows; only one on
Lamma?
They've got their own HK$1.5 million Sewage Treatment
Plant in there, as that entire area will not be
connected to the future YSW Sewage Treatment.
Their plant features a biological cleaning stage
that even the future YSW Sewage Treatment Plant
might not include. The hidden infrastructure is
impressive, massive pipes for water recycling
and A/C running invisibly between the walls,
plus wardrobe-size, central aircons on the
rooftops.
Po Wah Yuen graves are visible from all the houses,
except one, being a concern for some potential
residents. Anti-flooding measures (hillside!)
have been installed.
I've taken a lot of inside photos but didn't get
the permission to publish them yet, as they want
to wait till it's all ready for occupation. Here
are a few "artist's impressions" of Lamma-1,
targeted to be completed next year:
 
HK Electric
has recently published a very informative and
colourful bilingual booklet, their
2008 Social and Environmental Report. It
makes for some very interesting and highly
recommended reading, especially for Lammaites as
our home island is mentioned so frequently and
always in a positive light.
Here are some Lamma-related
excerpts I've selected, with my own highlights
added, giving HK Electric all the do- gooder
credits they really deserve:
"At HK Electric, we integrate
sustainable, harmonious and caring practices
into our daily operations. The kite on the cover
symbolises our commitment and determination to
keep this principle flying high as we continue
to partner with our stakeholders to provide
steady support for a brighter and greener
future....
A Trusted
Member of the Local Community:
As a core member of the Lamma
community, HK Electric continued to support a
wide range of recreational and cultural projects
organised by local groups, including the
Lamma International Dragon Boat Festival 2008,
Tin Hau Festival, Lunar New Year Carnival,
and more.
We remained a platinum sponsor of Lamma Fun
Day, and the performance by the HK Electric
band at the party in Tai Wan To Beach helped to
round out a wonderful day for all involved....
An eco-tour map
was published and we trained 60 eco-leaders
(including Lamma residents, HK Electric
volunteers and secondary school students) to
introduce the many treasures of Lamma Island to
the public. Monthly tours are conducted
attracting hundreds of people who gain greater
appreciation for Lamma's ecological resources
and value. To build on the success of Green
Lamma Green, we are looking at plans to expand
the project to Hong Kong Island....
[Click for]
Awards/Recognition and
Statistics of Environment and Society.
 An
eco-leader introduces the rich ecological
resources on Lamma Island at Lamma Power
Station Open Day:
...installing solar
heaters, solar street lights and micro wind
turbines at Lamma Power Station....
...save water resources by
collecting rainwater and recycling wastewater at
Lamma Power Station. In 2008, 138,000 cubic
metres of water were recycled and reused....
 E&M
Safety Carnival:
This creative model is made from reusable
eco-friendly materials from Lamma Power
Station....
As part of the "Green Lamma
Green" project, HK Electric and The
Conservancy Association jointly launch three
eco-trails to encourage the public to
explore Lamma's ecological resources...with 20
educational stands en route to encourage the
public to explore and appreciate Lamma's
ecological resources, and cultural and
historical relics....
 Volunteers
pose with Lamma's beloved son, Chow Yun-fat,
during The Conservancy Association's Zero
Hill Fire Campaign activity....
During the year, we arranged
about 70 corporate & school visits to
Lamma Power Station and Lamma Winds....
About 30 volunteers and their
families help collect more than 200 kg of
coastal rubbish at Ngar Kau Wan on Lamma
Island:"
Targets
Preview 2009:
-
 To
comply with relevant environmental legislation with zero
prosecution.
-
To control SO2, NOX & particulate emissions and effluent
discharge from Lamma Power Station within licence
requirements.
-
To commission the Low NOX System and FGD Plant for Unit L5
at Lamma Power Station.
-
To complete the site installation work for the Low NOX
System and FGD Plant for Unit L4 at Lamma Power Station.
-
To complete the site installation work for the FGD Plant for
Unit L2 at Lamma Power Station.
-
To complete the EIA study for the proposed offshore wind
farm.
-
To award contracts for the Boiler Start-up Low Sulphur Fuel
Conversion projects for Units L1 to L6 at Lamma Power
Station.
-
To install one more food-waste eliminator at Lamma Power
Station.
-
To add environmentally friendly vehicles to the Company's
fleet.
 Share
your ideas and opinions with us!
At HK Electric, we believe our
performance in the vital areas of environmental protection and
social responsibility is as important as our balance sheet.
Consequently, we would very much like to hear your feedback on
our performance in 2008. To share your comments, please contact
us at:
Environmental Affairs
Department
Projects Division
The Hongkong Electric Co., Ltd.
44 Kennedy Road, Hong Kong
Fax: 2537 1013; Email:
mail@hec.com.hk
Website: www.heh.com"
Some of us Lammaites not working in town rarely
venture off our semi-idyllic island, only
leaving Lamma when we need to shop something we
can't get locally, meet friends, eat out, party
or get entertained. But those excursions seem to
get shorter and less frequent the longer we live
here. The hectic bustle of the crowds and the
sheer weirdness of HK city life loses its
appeal, after enjoying it, living on HK Island,
for so many years myself.
Case in point, my trip to town today to catch a
movie in The Grand Cinema 12-screen multiplex in
the Elements shopping mall. As a movie nut, I
enjoy a wide range of movies, even blockbusters
like the terminally hectic,
visual-cortex-overloading, testosterone-dripping
SFX showcase that is Transformers: Revenge of
The Fallen. But what possessed me today to
watch Kungfu Cyborg: Metal Attraction
I'll never know, besides being a sucker for
punishment occasionally.
It's a single movie showcasing all that's ailing
the HK movie industry and the reasons for its
massive decline. It's a cheap, low-class,
quickie rip-off of Transformers, featuring
really bad acting, cameo appearances by local
stars & starlets, a soppy,
predictable boy-meets-girl-but-he's-a-cyborg storyline, plus a few random special
effects gags (by local 3D animation powerhouse
Centro Digital) often not really connected to the storyline.
Would you believe a tedious, boring, annoying
story of a policewoman in a mainland village
unwittingly attracted to two guys who are both
Transformer-style cyborgs (Metal Attraction,
geddit?) The weirdly high-minded motto of the
movie - "Why can't a cyborg question his
creator like men question God?" - is never
even addressed in the entire extremely
low-minded movie, of course. It would have been
fascinating for these cyborgs to question their
creator, the moviemaker, about why, oh why this
movie is so bad!
One of the totally unconvincing cyborgs was
"acted" by local heartthrob
Alex Fong who can't make up his mind if he's channelling
either Elvis, Star Trek's android Data or the Tin Man
without a heart, or all of them. An abridged version
of the entire movie, showcasing just the
total of 2-3 minutes of acceptable SFX scenes, would have
been way more enjoyable and time-saving,
especially the cyborgs slugging it out Kungfu-style
with Nunchakus. All in all, a really weird, Hong
Kongesque experience and one of the many reasons
even a movie geek like myself is rarely watching
a HK-made movie anymore these days.
Shopping in the Elements shopping
mall afterwards, browsing Threesixty for La Rose Noire's
excellent Swiss-style breads, is full of more weird
experiences. Besides marveling at the often
simply stunningly high prices, there's an entire wall of dozens of
designer waters, even something called "Organic
Water" from New Zealand. It comes in a fancy designer
glass bottle at a price you could buy a decent
bottle of wine for. WTF? I was obviously
mistaken thinking that all clean, pure water is
organic? How silly and organically
un-enlightened of me!
Returning home to my quiet,
semi-idyllic life on Lamma was such a relief...
till my next foray into the wild & weird world
of HK city life, as soon as I'll get tired of
all that "Peace, Love, Lamma"....
Views
from The Waterfront Rest., taken during Indian
Curry Night
Sorry, I got carried away a bit
with the amazing views from this restaurant, but
this story is actually not about pretty sunsets,
even though that's the best time of day to enjoy
eating in The Waterfront!
So what about the actual FOOD at
the Indian Curry Night in The Waterfront?
They've got a new Indian Curry Night every
Wednesday, so I went to try it, of course. Well,
it definitely looks good:
Vegetable Pakoras
& Aloo Gobi - $70
But it doesn't just look great,
it also tastes great and really authentic.
Indian chef, I suspect? I loved it all, very
well balanced spices, not too fiery, very yummy
and mouth-watering. Great prices of below $100
for their Indian set dinners, highly recommended
and definitely worth another visit next
Wednesday!
But I have to admit to be very
partial to The Waterfront, my favourite Western
rest. in Yung Shue Wan. I'm not just saying that
because they're an advertiser supporting this
website!
I've enjoyed my last-ever
regular-size, wonderful meal in this place, just
before the surgeons reduced my stomach
permanently to the size of a small rice bowl,
never able to stuff myself ever again with
"normal" restaurant meal portions or ever
indulge in a buffet again.
This smaller stomach made me
actually enjoy my meals even more, not less, as
I had to focus more on the quality than the
quantity of my meals and all its ingredients. I
now concentrate on the best stuff only, taste
it, savour it, chew it very well and and
appreciate it all even more consciously.
Focusing on seafood, meats, veggies, fruits
doesn't leave much space for fillers like rice,
noodles, potatoes, snacks or anything rich,
high-fat, calorie-rich or unhealthy.
I lost all this weight without
severe dieting, no restricting and
 frustrating
myself, no getting all hungry and cranky,
but changing my culinary outlook
and preferences relating to food. Only being
able to eat really small portions forces you to
eat more often and to focus on enjoying every
morsel. I
started to try to make healthy but tasty choices
when shopping, cooking or ordering in a
restaurant. It became second nature over time
and my tastes changed along with it. Most junk
food has actually become repulsive to me
nowadays, while I used to love some of it
before.
This fine and tasty food above, a
glass of wine and good company (and these
views!) is all I need to be completely happy for
an hour or more. And the portion size was more
than big enough to take the rest home and have
another great Indian meal at home the next day.
Life in Lamma
Flickr photo set by Alanikali
It's Alanikali's last summer on Lamma. He
sounds sad to be leaving, so he's put together
his favourite photos of his home in a
Last-Summer-In-Lamma-Series. He loves
shooting with old, even historic analog cameras
and achieves very unusual colours and effects
with them. He writes in his Flickr photo
comments:
"I like the human voices from vinyl records,
I like the chemical smell of film rolls, and
also the strings of acoustic guitar. Some time I
feel like myself was flashed back to 70's. But I
was born in 70's indeed."
Analog Lovers
(Alanikali & friends with their non-digital
cameras)
Tai Wan To (Power Station) Beach
My favourite picture in his series: Our popular
Bike Lady in the Nam Fung Bike Shop who
fixes and maintains most local bikes, including
mine, plus renting bikes to Lamma visitors by
the hour:
Alanikali:
"This is the only bike shop
in Lamma Island, all of the Lamma bikers must
know this lady. She is a very professional bike
technician; every time when my bike has some
unknown problems, she can help me to fix them!"
"When I moved to Lamma in 2004, I loved this
place very much and thought I will stay here
till the day I die. But now I just wanna get the
hell out of there, find me and my girlfriend a
new paradise. Lamma is still a good place, but
just for tourist, not for dweller."
"I'll miss everything here in Lamma Island,
including the pier. Also, it's the last photo in
my Last-Summer-In-Lamma series."
Farewell, Alanikali, we know that you'll
be back someday very soon....
 The
weekly
Time Out Hong Kong magazine has just
published their list of
HK's Top Websites. They awarded this
website in the top 3 of their
NGO & Community section, even
illustrating it with a screenshot of this home
page (see right)! They wrote:
"Lamma.com.hk
An eclectic island deserves an eclectic
online community, which is probably why this
site just celebrated its 7th anniversary.
There's a bit of information about
everything, from the ferry schedule (oh the
ferries!) to the weather report and dining
options, with a series of useful links (and some
not so useful) for much, much more."
Thank you, Time Out Hong Kong magazine, for this
fine honour from this proud-to-be-called
"eclectic online community" on an "eclectic
island"! But which ones are the "not so useful
links"?
P.S.
Congratulations to our friends at
www.LAP.org.hk
who were selected as another one of the top 3 HK
NGO & Community websites, but only in the print
edition of the magazine. For mysterious
editorial reasons, they were replaced by
www.SPCA.org.hk
on the Time Out HK website!? LAP has recently
been renamed from "Lamma Animal Protection" to
"Lifelong Animal Protection" to highlight their
new focus beyond only Lamma. The print edition
of Timeout HK wrote - just in case you don't
want to shell out $18 to buy the dead-tree
version of the mag:
"The Lamma-based Lifelong
Animal Protection charity's site offers a chance
to get involved in the rescuing, rehabilitating
and re-housing of our furry friends. Go online
to pick a pooch, make a donation, or see how you
can help."
Could you imagine me, Lamma-Gung,
doing a handstand, balancing on a beach ball for
over a minute, skipping rope 24 times in a row,
doing 10 T.R.X. pull-ups or running around the
entire Football Pitch 3 times without stopping even
once (thanks to Miss Alison chasing me)? I could never have imagined that myself
even a year ago! But that's how far I've come,
from an embarrassing, almost pathetic level of
unfitness before. Well, it's easier to improve quickly
when you start so low! This transformation
only happened thanks to my classes in the
Island Life Studio
3-4 times a week, including Bootcamp, Pilates,
Yoga and T.R.X., plus my customary speed
walking/hiking and biking.
My new Lululemon
exercise/yoga mat, in a very unmanly colour,
named "salmon".
 Attending
the 2-hour Bootcamp every Sunday morning, never
missing it, almost like Sunday mass, was the
very core and centre of my fitness routine. It
has shown really surprising fitness results, far
exceeding my modest expectations of simply
losing a few pounds (over 9 pounds in the last 6
weeks.)
I've been going to the Island
Gym, the other fitness place, for almost a year
now, working out, usually on my own, at the
machines for one hour each time. But I never saw
any real, significant improvements in my
strength and stamina, stagnating at an OK level
of cardio fitness. It's also really difficult
for me to stay motivated working out at home or
on my own.
I need a structured class at
fixed times and a tough but friendly trainer to
kick my lazy ass to work harder and improve faster.
That's probably why the classes in the Island
Life Studio work so well for me. Congrats to the
Studio, you've done an almost miraculous
transformation job on this former couch potato
who doesn't even eat potato fries or chips any more as
he's still on a 1,500 calories/day diet, for
over 1.5 years now. 5 more pounds and I'll have
finally reached my weight loss target, having
arrived in Onederland (1xx pounds)! BIG party
with a BIG buffet?
Check the classes out
for yourself or sign up a loved one (preferable
telling him/her first, but it would definitely
make a real surprise gift!)
Next step up, sports! Could you
imagine me doing those fancy
Capoeira
martial arts dance moves? Saturdays, also in the
Island Life Studio, starting soon? Keep tuned to this
award-winning community blog. ;-)
Full disclosure:
The Island Life Studio has agreed to a
no-cash, barter-only deal (promotion for free classes),
so you can expect more Lamma-zine stories from
me and other fitness devotees about their many
great activities, especially the
community-related ones, like the
Mandarin Orange
Sale today, Sunday:
  
"Miss Alison the
Bootcamp Survivor" showing off the fashionable
items on sale.
The dog tags tree set crowning a set of gleaming
dumb bells.
Demonstrating the ever-popular self-torture, eh,
self-massage foam roller device.
 
The inflatable
crocodile providing security & protecting the
goods -- Virgin drinks.
By the way, this great community
center, just behind the Tin Hau Temple, can be
available for YOUR events as well.
Contact them!
Yes, technology is moving fast and the advances
especially in communications have been
astonishing in the last few decades, especially
in mobile and wireless communications, touting
"The Age of Wireless Communications" in the
media.
All fine and well, but why does the backside of
my PC still look like a thick jungle full of of
cables of all sizes and myriads of weird plugs,
all quite similar to when I started using my
very first PC almost 30 years ago?
I just moved my entire, complex, multi-device
computer setup to our new flat and the cable
salad wasn't pretty. Quite a little challenge to
get it all working again in the new place, even
for a former Regional IT/Telecom Manager and
former techno/gadget geek like myself. Well,
there's a bit of Wifi in the setup, of course, but "The Age of Wireless"? Give me a
break!
|
J Aaron Farr - from
the
Peregrinari blog, republished with friendly
permission.
Check out his amazing "photo
set that creates a simple walking tour around
Lamma Island": |
|
Lamma Island: A Tour
I have to say, Lamma Island is one of my
favorite places in the world.
I'm back here today after two weeks or
so in China and I'll be going back to Guangzhou this
weekend. But in the meantime I have a few quiet days on
Lamma Island and I have to say, I really love this
place.
Sure, sure, not everyone shares that
sentiment. If Hong Kong were New York, then Lamma Island
might be New Jersey. It's most prominent feature is the
giant coal power station whose three smoke stacks turn
Yung Shue Wan into some
Springfield caricature. Doesn't help that the public
beach is located practically in their shadow.
The island feels down right rural
compared to the futuristic metropolitan areas of Hong
Kong Central. There's no McDonald's on the island. Heck,
there isn't even a 7-11! You heard me. No 7-11. In fact,
the only "chain" store on Lamma Island is the HSBC
branch and that's only open for three days of the week.
And that's not the mention the
giant man-eating centipedes, the
huge spiders, the
snakes and all the other nasty
horror stories we tell people to keep them off our
island sanctuary.
But despite all of that, or perhaps
partly because of it, I've still fallen in love with
Lamma Island. I've yet to find such a lovely place to
live so close to a world class city. What are the
advantages? A short list would include: great
restaurants, a public beach in walking distance, no
cars, great trails for hiking or biking, lots of open,
green space, a vibrant (and sometimes eccentric) diverse
community, and cheap rent. On any day, I could take a
swim in the sea or grab a ferry into central Hong Kong.
Everything is accessible.
And it's been an absolutely fantastic
place for Maeli to grow up these last two years. She has
more friends on the island than I can count. She has a
safe place for her to run round and explore and play.
Banyan House has been a wonderful school for her and
its right here on the island.
 So
despite the exciting adventures ahead for our family, in
China and in the United States, I know we're all looking
back at Lamma fondly. The future being what it is, we're
still hopeful to be back here next year, with
an addition, but these sort of things are difficult
to divine.
In any case, for those interested in
exploring this island retreat of ours, I've collected
photos from our time here and put them into a sort of
tour of the island. In particular, I wanted to
include the
snake path which can be difficult to find if you
don't know about it. And don't forget to check out the
ever-resourceful
Lamma-zine
for the latest island happenings. |
The construction waste dump acting as a dam,
flooding the vegetable farm.
Flooded valley -- The farmer's hut and fish
pond.
What many Lammaites worried about has finally
happened this morning. After the recent
destruction of the popular Lily Pond by
construction waste dumping, a small pipe was
laid to replace part of the natural stream
running down from the Tai Peng hills into the
sea. As expected, the small pipe wasn't able to
handle the torrential rains this morning, while
the natural river up- and downstream and the new
drainage channel downstream running into the sea
had no problems at all.
The farmland in the Yung Shue Long valley got
flooded, destroying many of the vegetables,
likely as a result of the undersized and/or
blocked pipe acting as a bottleneck.
Living Lamma ("a newly established
group, which acts as a watchdog on sustainable
development and community projects on Lamma")
and other concerned Lammaites might consider
following up to prevent this in the future? Join
our long-running forum,
Yung Shue Long Valley Development.
The construction waste dump acting as a dam,
blocking the natural river.
The blocked pipe under the construction waste
dump --
The natural river downstream from the blockage
--
The new drainage channel downstream,
built to handle even a once-in-a-lifetime
deluge.
|
Miss Alison -
Survivor of
Island Life Studio's Bootcamp: |
|
 Some
of you will know of Mandarin Orange already, so will
welcome the news of another sale on Lamma. For those of
you unfamiliar with ex-Lammaite Louise Rogerson's resort
wear collection, you are in for a treat!
Mandarin Orange offers great quality,
sensibly priced western sized clothing that suits all
body types from elfin Natalie Portmans to rubenesque
Kate Winslets. It is her End of Summer Sale next Sunday,
16th August at the great new
Island Life Studio where they make bodies look
and feel great. Whether you want to show off your sexy
body or flatter your form - Mandarin Orange has a style
to suit you.
There will be over 50 styles of bikini
ranging from the halter neck to the bandeau, the thong
to the brief, in sparkling cerises or traditional
blacks. There will also be kaftans in differing lengths,
cuts and colours, alongside tops in lightweight cottons.
All these items are easy to wear and easy to pack,
coordinating perfectly with your existing wardrobe. The
styles are versatile so can be worn at the spa, having
drinks at the Hyatt or mooching along Power Station
Beach.
Mandarin
Orange is only currently available at the store in Lan
Kwai Fong and in various spas across Asia, Australia,
USA and UAE.
So come down to the
Island Life Studio at noon next Sunday.
 Follow
the pink and orange balloons from the Bookworm. Try some
clothes and bikinis to combat the crazy heat of Hong
Kong or to wear on your late summer holidays.
We'll be
on hand to pour you sultry summer cocktails and tell you
more about this great community space - so you can come
away looking and feeling great, inside and out.
More info can
be found at the
Mandarin Orange website or on this
Facebook page. Or you can speak to Alison on
missalisonhk@yahoo.co.uk / 9048 9300 or
islandlifestudio@gmail.com / 9286 9111.
Map!
P.S. We're trying to get
form a Lamma group for
Unicef Charity Run for Children 2009.
Contact
us!
Facebook. |
What else is happening this busy weekend? Click
below to enlarge:
 
The cheerful and helpful staff of the "Natural
Buy" gardening shop on "Fish Street" serving us
with a smile during the lengthy procedure of
choosing a fountain.
I asked them to pose for my blog and they
happily obliged.
Having to leave my old, fixed pond behind on my
former rooftop, Lamma-Por & I ventured off-Lamma
to "Fish Street" in Mongkok. It's obviously
mandatory for Fung Shui believers like Lamma-Por
that pet fish have to come along on any flat
move and cannot be left behind or abandoned. As
I had to leave my old, unmovable rooftop pond
behind we had to get a new pond for our fishes,
a movable one this time, planning forward for
our next move.
 The
fishes are just simple but hardy, swift,
easily-multiplying rainbow-coloured guppies and
bright orange mollies. They cost just a few
dollars each, but a new pond and fountain can
cost thousands. So I decided to build it myself
this time, using a ready-made fiberglass
fountain from Fish Street with lights and a
water pump built-in. Adding a wooden table,
bricks and loads of plants, it'll take a while
to develop.
After a long search in several gardening/
fountain shops we found something we liked (see
below). But how to get it home? The shop
wouldn't deliver to Lamma, just to the ferry
pier, like most HK shops. So we simply grabbed
the display model and tried to get it home
ourselves. Instead of a taxi, the shop called a
freelance van driver who made his vehicle into
his fully-equipped second home (see above), even
offering us free cookies, chocolate and cheery
banter!
Arriving back on Lamma without umbrellas, we
were greeted by a massive, long-lasting
downpour. After a wait and a dash to Green
Cottage rest. they borrowed us a trolley and an
umbrella and we made it home, finally. All in
all, a nice, little adventure off-island....
OK, but where to plug in the new fountain? So
many lights on our new rooftop, but no outdoor
power point! Well, it took a few more days to
get that installed by our friendly-neighbourhood
electricians, tipping them generously to
facilitate future jobs. In the meantime, our
fishes seem happy enough in our small but cozy
rooftop storage room, in a new pond with some of
the old pond plants, awaiting their return to
the outdoors where they've all been growing up
in.
The flat's
rooftop when we moved in 2.5 years ago
1 year later
Last year, before
typhoon Hagupit ripped down the bamboo
scaffolding
Rooftop Christmas
Party 2008
A few months ago
One week ago
Today, Aug 10,
only the unmovable pond is left. The fishes have
been moved to my new rooftop; the new tenant
didn't like to keep them....
I've called my rooftop garden a "low-cost,
all-year source of joy, relaxation, education,
fitness & happiness....", so I feel a bit
melancholic about its demise, not finding
anybody in time who wanted to "adopt" it for
free.
A new garden and
pond have been started on my new rooftop, using
plants from the old garden, all set in
MicroGardens (the Lamma-made planter boxes
above).
It's a new beginning, based on a solid
foundation, I hope. New pictures coming in a few
weeks, after my old plants have settled in....
2009 Interim Results Highlights --
2009 Interim Results
The Chairman's Statement about HK Electric's
Interim Results explains that "The lower Hong
Kong earnings were primarily due to The Hongkong
Electric Company, Limited (HEC) lower rate of
permitted return and lower Hongkong Electric
Holdings Limited deposit interest income."
About their Hong Kong Operations:
"HEC unit sales of electricity for the first
six months of 2009 were marginally lower (-0.6%)
than that recorded for the first six months of
2008. The lower unit sales were primarily due to
warmer weather in January as compared with
January last year and to the effect of various
energy saving initiatives.
"Emission reduction work at the Lamma power
station continued during the first half of 2009.
The Unit 5 flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) unit
has been completed and commenced commercial
operation at the beginning of July. Work on the
Unit 4 FGD is well underway while civil work for
the Unit 2 FGD has been completed. Retrofit of
the low nitrogen oxide burner for Unit 5 has
been completed while site modification and
retrofit work for the Unit 4 burner is expected
to start in September.
The last of the FGD and low nitrogen oxide
burner works is expected to be completed in the
second quarter of 2010 by which time over 95% of
the electricity generated at the Lamma power
station will be either generated by gas or by
coal fired units fitted with FGD's and low
nitrogen oxide burners."
LEFT TOP &
BOTTOM: Standard TV antennae for
terrestrial TV (TVB/ATV), for the 4 old analogue or the new 13 digital
channels,
used by my G/F & 1/F neighbours.
This antennae needs a booster box on most of Lamma (orange in
this picture).
LEFT MIDDLE:
My landlord's new-style digital TV antennae, twice the size
and better reception. Only necessary when
connection with old standard antennae is too
weak.
But even this fancy antennae can only receive
half of the 13 local digital channels.
TOP CENTRE:
Small Philippine Dream TV dish, most common dish
on Lamma.
But the locally very popular but illegal decoder box
just stopped working completely this week! We've
got to either upgrade to the legal Dream TV (38 channels,
$3,300 for setup and 1 year subscription), or
redirect it to receive a Chin. satellite with
similar English channels.
RIGHT: 1.8
metre dish for a Chinese satellite, inherited
from our former tenant,
with just a few English channels, but not the
most popular ones.
Today, 8/8, is the 1st anniversary of the start
of the Beijing Olympics 2008, the main reason we
upgraded from the old analogue TV channels (TVB/ATV)
to the new digital ones. So how does the TV
situation look now, one year later?
One of the few drawbacks of living on Lamma
Island is the severely limited choice of TV
channels available. An astonishing number of us
have made the smart and conscientious decision
to forego TV altogether, but what are the
majority of us TV addicts to do? Watching only TVB Pearl and
ATV Home is just so...underwhelming for us
non-Chinese speakers. The severely restricted
"island versions via satellite" of NOW Broadband
TV, Cable TV and others carry just a handful of
English channels each, all at exorbitant monthly
charges.
Read the fine-print subtitles above to describe
my own TV complexities & confusions &
frustrations on my new flat's rooftop.
For a detailed
description of most of the currently available
TV options on Lamma, see our
new and very
popular forum,
New box for Filipino satellite.
We're moving to another nearby rooftop flat
starting today. This will take up most of my
time for several days. The Lamma-zine will go on
a moving summer break till I'm all set up and
operational in my new home office and till I can
find most of my way too much stuff again. Wish
us luck for this usually highly traumatic and
frustrating experience ahead!
It actually turned into a very professional,
easy-going, friendly and even entertaining
adventure with our movers from
Trade Winds - Where Moving's a Breeze
- No Job too Small. See their jovial boss
Steve Dressler, ex-banker & publicly
performing unicyclist, delivering a box in his
own unique moving style:
|
|
Read last month's stories...
Lamma-zine Blog
started on Sep 1, 2004, and will be updated frequently with anything
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Island or its residents, be it news, stories, events, photos, videos, etc.
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