It's dragonboat time again

Mui Wo's dragonboat races are set for June 10. Last year we had loads of fun at the races so am looking forward to them again...

 ... especially when they create lots of excitement in the weeks before. I was dozing off on a lazy Sunday afternoon when I heard some commotion in the sea off the dock. Turns out they were unloading a dragonboat in preparation for the race.

 I wasn't in time to catch the boat being unloaded. But I'll probably be seeing it again come June 10.

Fluff and stuff

The recent strong winds appear to have knocked the stuffing out of the kapok trees.

Sometimes a half-hearted attempt...

 ... can be more dangerous than not doing anything at all. The LCSD appears to be trying to keep the feral cows and buffaloes off the playground.

But without a proper gate, cattle can still get in and the fences are only going to serve to keep them in.

Imagine the chaos if a buffalo stumbles in, can't get out and panics. The LCSD folks clearly haven't thought it through.

 A better solution would be to have a herdsman (or woman). There was one keeping an eye on this well-behaved herd – which appears to be helping the LCSD crop the grass.

Rainbow connection

The one bright spot in this rain-all-day day: a humongous rainbow. You can see the whole curve from Chi Ma Wan to Discovery Bay.

Pity my camera phone can't do justice to it.

The rainbow brought Mui Wo residents scurrying out in the drizzle to capture it.

I think there might be a village house at the end of this rainbow. Hope the two oldies who live in it find that pot of gold.

Flame of the forest

Rain preceded by long dry spells are causing the flame of the forest trees to burst into flower. Isn't that just magnificent?

Silvermine Hotel's new lease of life

I must admit I was pretty sceptical about the rebranding of Silvermine Beach Resort, especially since people who've stayed there tell me the rooms are just the same, just more expensive.

But they are trying. And I like the idea of refreshment kiosks. 

The kiosks are open only on weekends and are only about a month old so it's too early to gauge the response yet. But I think they'll do a roaring business during the upcoming dragonboat races.

I tried the lime slush for HK$10 and it really hit the spot on a hot day.

Even better, the hotel is also offering free space outdoors for people wanting to set up their own stalls... a great idea for summer.

Buffalo Wilbur and I are wondering what we can sell to take advantage of the free space. Any suggestions?

Four legs good...

Please leave the buffaloes alone!

The Lantau Buffalo Association notes that it's that time of the year again, when summer visitors descend on Mui Wo and the surrounding villages, drink themselves silly... and our placid buffaloes become fair game for their drunken teasing.

The drunks don't get prosecuted but if the buffaloes retaliate, they get killed.

What is wrong with humans? The buffaloes are quite happy to mind their own business, why can't humans do the same?

On that note, what have buffaloes done to Jason Ali that's got him so riled up?

Almost annually now, he writes to SCMP and insists that the buffaloes are a menace and need to be penned up. And almost annually, he gets irate responses from Lantau residents telling him to let the pathetic remnants of the herd be.

I'd have thought he'd get the message by now.

Anyway, I think LBA has the right solution: a working buffalo farm and homestay for South Lantau - like the one they have in Fairburn, Canada.

Think about it. Lovely green acres, buffaloes off the streets... and lots and lots of yummy buffalo mozzarella. Surely even Mr Ali cannot complain about that?

DB Handmade fair

The sun was out and the temperature was just nice for a fair: Handmade Hong Kong at Discovery Bay. 

I must say that, despite it being called "handmade", most of the items were pretty high quality – not surprisingly, some of the vendors also sell in mainstream shops such as Dymocks.

I coveted these bean bags so much, especially seeing as you can personalise your covers, but our flat is way too small for one.

Aren't these earrings lovely? At HK$20, they make wonderful presents for nieces!

Frilly beanbags... can they get any cuter?

The piazza was packed because they were also having an Action Asia Triathlon.

Is there a vet in the house?

One big draw of Mui Wo when we considered moving here was the SPCA clinic right in the heart of town. In fact, Buffalo Wilbur often jokes that the cat is all set but her humans are not (as the only choice we have is an understaffed government clinic).

But even so, I have resisted taking the cat to the vet because she gets all stressed up... until Buffalo Wilbur decided she really should get a check up as she's getting on in years and booked her in without asking me.

I don't know what I was so worried about.

Dr Cheryl was wonderful. All she did was stroke her and my nervy cat went all relaxed. The vaccination was a cinch -- not a peep! And we were out of the flat for all of 10 minutes. Such a difference compared to our other vet visits!

The cat is due for a booster shot in three weeks' time and thanks to the lovely Dr Cheryl, I won't be up teh whole night worrying this time.

Btw, the photo above is from the SPCA website because, in the true spirit of Waterbuffalo anonymity, I thought I wouldn't drag the cat into the blog too.