New Discovery Bay kaido times

Village politics

Village life sounds so idyllic. What's there not to like? You are close to nature, you have lots of wide open spaces, you get to know your neighbours well...

Aha, there's the rub. We like the village, villagers tell me, but not some of the people in it – principally the village heads.

Village heads have a lot of power and, if you have the bad luck of living somewhere ruled by a despot, he/she can turn your idyll into absolute hell. Some of them have a group of, shall we say, very "persuasive" men who do their bidding – which you will encounter if you don't do theirs.

Here's some examples:

1) One indigenous head refused to allow a woman who had been living in the village for more than 60 years to be buried in the community graveyard because she didn't have the right clan surname (which coincidentally was the same as his).

2) A village head charged a contractor thousands of dollars to park and unload materials in a piece of land where he had about 1/10th of a share.

3) There's no use saying you're staying out of the politics. One re-elected head took back land he had rented out to a tenant because that tenant had not voted for him in the elections. Never mind if the tenant hadn't voted for the opposition either.

4) And then there are the stories which occasionally make it to the newspapers of village heads hiding illegal goods/drugs, safe in the knowledge that no one would dare rat him out.

Why do these heads have so much power? If they're such bullies, why do people continue to vote them in?

Simple... the Small House Policy which gives all male indigenous inhabitants a piece of land to build a house when he turns 18. This is effectively a windfall for all male villagers, who build a house, then sell it off and make millions before they even start working.

And where do the village heads come in? Guess who signs that piece of paper certifying that so-and-so is an indigenous inhabitant and therefore is entitles to that land? Guess who can hint that an approval may not be forthcoming if he/she is not voted in at the next election?

Read more about village horrors here.

Even if you're an expat (ie have no vote for indigenous/residents head), don't forget you have to live there. So you may suddenly find it is "customary to pay a small fee" to, say, get your rooftop shed approved, park your car or place plants in your garden. There have also been suspicions of pet poisoning, renovation sabotage and garden desecrating which can't be proven.

You tell 'em, Samantha!

Every time I look out of the window and see the small ferry waiting to take me to work, it puts me in a bad mood. "Let it go," Buffalo Wilbur keeps saying.

I know, I know, it's a small grumble try but it does get me rant-y.

Thank goodness I am not alone. Way to go, Samantha!

SCMP letter: Ferry change backward move

I would like to raise a question with New World First Ferry regarding the 8.30am fast ferry from Mui Wo to Central.

On one occasion it put one of the smaller boats on this run as opposed to the regular catamaran.

Passengers accepted this as sometimes there are boat faults and it is understandable. However, since April 1, when First Ferry increased passenger fares from HK$25.50 to HK$28.40, it has been a smaller boat on the 8.30 route.

Could the company please explain the increase in cost and the decrease in passenger consideration?

The smaller ferries are obviously less comfortable, often have an unpleasant odour and are invariably more cramped.

Why should it have changed firstly when the prices have been increased and secondly given that the catamaran has been the regular 8.30 ferry for a considerable period of time? Surely the commuters who use this ferry service deserve better than this?

Samantha Bell, Lantau

Bring back the big ferries

Here's a sight that would gladden the heart of any ferry operator: a jam-packed ferry.

Well, it would be, wouldn't it, if you have a small ferry taking commuters to work during peak hours?

My heart and stomach always sink at the sight of a small ferry because it means a claustrophobic, seasick-inducing ride that's guaranteed to put me in a bad mood for the entire workday.

I am not alone. There have been grumbles galore since NWFF put on the small ferry about a fortnight ago.

This move coincided with the raising of ferry fares. So we're paying a higher fare for this?

Grrr, small ferries again

Regus, which provides serviced and virtual offices, recently did a survey and found that an average commute for Hongkongers are 29.2 minutes. The global average is 29.

Only 13 percent -- those of us in the Outlying Islands I can imagine -- have to travel over 45 minutes each way. (Mine, by the way, takes one and a half hours each way).

The main stress of commuting are delays, service interruptions, pollution, overheating, loud mobile phone conversations, rude behavior from other passengers, dangerous drivers, and bad smells from other commuters.

They should add "small ferries" to that list.

Okay, you may say I am spoilt and that I should be grateful there even is a ferry to get me to Central in 25 minutes rather than the Mui Wo-Tung Chung-Central route which will take me an hour at least.

But I really really hate the small fast ferries.

What's wrong with them? They're cramped and claustrophobic, too small to take the regular commuters going to work. We all have to squeeze into every available seat (thus risking the other stresses like bad smells and loud mobile phone conversations).

Plus they're less stable than the big ones so, old hand though I am, I still end up seasick by the time we get into Central.

I suspect our regular big ferry has been given to the profitable Cheung Chau route as First Ferry is a ferry short after one collided with a pilot boat a week or so ago.

So the situation is only temporary, I hope.

In the meantime, it's back to accupressure bands and bottles of sour plum every morning for me. Bah!