Having been neighbour-less for quite a while now - while the other flat in our building and all 4 neighbouring, surrounding village houses have been almost tenant-free - we welcomed a new couple moving in downstairs. I've asked Rich (hiding behind his plants on the sampan to Lamma) to tell us about their move from HK Island:

"Taking the plunge and moving from HK Island to Lamma wasn't an easy decision for us, having spent 4 years on the Island, 3 and a half of which in Kennedy Town. You get used to the convenience of nearby shops, the MTR and the 10-minute commute into work each day.

However, with changing life circumstances and the need for more space and greenery, we decided that spending an hour commuting to Central was worth it. We contacted a number of relocation companies in Hong Kong. Of the few that replied only a couple seemed to understand the logistics of moving to Lamma. Really only one seemed to provide us with confidence we would ever see all our worldly goods again.

Trade Winds provided a quotation very quickly. It transpired they moved out the previous tenant [Editor: back to Happy Valley] so knew the new house location already, which helped. Any packing material requested was quickly delivered to the house, and a quick call a couple of days before the move to confirm if we need anything more.

Steve and the guys arrived on time in the morning and quickly started loading up the vans. They also helped with any items I'd neglected to pack, doing a much better job that I would have managed, I might add.

Once loaded, the boxes were transported to Ap Lei Chau for loading onto 2 sampans for the trip to Lamma. This stage was completed very quickly and myself, along with the boxes, were soon bobbing across the water, avoiding the large cargo ships for some extra entertainment.

It's a little nerve-wracking seeing all the boxes being unloaded at Pak Kok, given there is no actual pier to moor the boat to, so watching the guys bouncing up and down was a little more than I could take. Soon I disappeared to find refreshments for everyone. Returning an hour later, nearly all the boxes were already in the new house, with a few larger items skillfully hoisted up to the 1st floor from the outside. The job was complete, in less than 6 and a half hours.

I can't thank Steve and the Trade Winds team [see below] enough for the help and the enjoyment of the move; very professional and a good crack along the way. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to move in Hong Kong, no matter if to Lamma or anywhere else.

Richard Bush, Head of Group IT - Asia"

P.S. Trade Winds has also moved Lamma-Gung & Lamma-Por in N. Lamma 3 times, from YSW to Pak Kok last time! Plus 4 other moves in/out of our 2-flats Pak Kok house, just in the last 4 years, all of them very happily, they told me.

See Lamma-zine stories about former Trade Winds moves on/to/from Lamma:

2009 - 2012 - 2013 - 2015