Incinerator updates

What a difference a few days make. Having been away, we had to catch up on the latest news about the campaign against the Shek Kwu Chau incinerator proposal.

You can read the full story about the meeting with the Environmental Protection (hmmm) Department in Lantau Link and Living Island Movement's website.

Seems like both the local and expat community are united in opposing the super-incinerator.

LIM is doing a great job in keeping the pressure up in this campaign so please do support them however you can.

Battle of the Islands

There's always been some sibling rivalry between the people of Lamma and those in Lantau, with both maintaining their island is the better one to live in.

Actually, it's hard to choose between the two.

Lamma has the benefit of being close to Central, and has good seafood, a distinct culture and lovely greenery. There is greenery on Lantau, too, and it also has a land link, big beaches, amazing walking paths (you can trek for days on end). We had a hard time deciding which to settle in but, in the end, it was the land link that did it for us.

Lately, however, Lamma-ites have been up in arms over a feng shui article in The Standard:

"Lamma, of all the outlying islands, is poorly formed in terms of auspicious natural feng shui features, with a sha that is uneven and a waterfront that lacks focus.

"Lantau, on the other hand, is the best of the outlying islands since it is able to harness the right energy flowing from the mainland's famous Wudong mountain. The island is conducive for monks, nuns, monasteries and religious events generally. Such an area is also known as a 'big elephant protecting a small elephant,' which is auspicious.

"Lamma is an island that has no meridian dragon point, making it unfavorable for humans. But Lantau has one."

I emailed Kerby to see what he thought of Mui Wo in particular and this is what he replied: "Stable, with little ups and downs. If you like a tranquil life, good clear quality of air and solitude, this is the place. Otherwise, think of other alternatives!"

Looks like we chose the right island then, feng shui-wise.

Discovery Bay ferry

We met our project manager, who had more hard questions for us, in Mui Wo over the weekend. Which colour laminate for the kitchen cabinet? What about the bathroom? How about the floor tiles, black or grey? Ceramic or stone? You want non-slip?

After one hour of brain-numbing selecting (especially considering that we both go into option paralysis after about 10 minutes), we were knackered. If we had to choose another bathroom tile or ponder the merits of glossy finish versus non-slip, we were going to scream.

So we decided to give ourself a pseudo-holiday and take the kaido (ferry) to Discovery Bay, that Disneyland-meets-Singapore Housing Board development one bay along. We've seen the kaido arrive often enough, disgorging passengers, dogs the size of a small calf and bicycles, but we've never taken it before.

Thank goodness we did because the half-hour ride is lovely. There is a closed compartment below but the open-air deck upstairs is the place to be. You may have to sit on hard plastic seats but there's no beating the breeze and the views. On a good day, you can see Cheung Chau, Lamma, Aberdeen, Disneyland and Peng Chau. All that for a mere HK$12 per person.

Discovery Bay itself is not that great. Purpose built with expats in mind, it has a soulless piazza (which turns into a heat trap in summer), a half-empty shopping centre called DB Plaza, and a beach that is not a patch on Mui Wo beach... but it also has some good restaurants like Zaks, Moorings and Hemingway's By The Bay.

After wandering around aimlessly for a bit and paying homage to The Bookshop, the sister to the Mui Wo branch, we ended up at Caramba, where we had the chimichangas and chili con carne. Hubby polished off his share and mine too.

Satisfied, we got our freebie ferry tickets (which you get if you spend above HK$100 per person at one of 14 selected restaurants) and were back in Central in half an hour. A nice tranquil end to a potentially-stressful day.