Moving day

Finally! We've moved into our new flat in Mui Wo. The move was surprisingly hassle-free, considering we had a choice of only one mover. The usual ones, like Columbia, didn't even bother to respond with a quote when we said we were moving to Mui Wo.

There are two moving companies in Mui Wo but only one -- Lee Hing Lung (2984-2268) which also doubles as the gas shop -- seems to be open for business all the time).

The two guys who came to pack were so nice they didn't complain at all about the huge amount of knick knacks and books we seem to have amassed in just three years at our old flat.

They did, however, panic at the number of boxes that were required and had to radio back for more boxes. Our stuff got transported in a van AND the truck that was usually used to make gas cylinder deliveries, but who cared as long as they got there in one piece?

Moving the cat was another story. She had to go by freight so that meant the slow ferry. She spent the entire 50-minute journey trying to bite her way out of the metal mesh and, by the time we reached the flat, we were all too tired to do any unpacking!

School rules

The poor Lantau International School (LIS) is in trouble again over complaints of noise pollution. I have a suggestion: Come on over to Mui Wo, where there already is a purpose-built school for you. I don't see why the Christian Zheng Sheng College drug school has more claim over that vacant building than the LIS, which is also full to bursting.

Then the Christian Zheng Sheng College can move over to Pui O instead. Ex-druggies won't make a lot of noise, will they?

From SCMP:
Lantau school digs in over noise complaints

The stand-off between an international school on Lantau and neighbouring villagers is set to worsen following the government's dismissal of an appeal by the school against a noise reduction order.

Two villagers say the dismissal vindicates their complaints about what they say is unbearable noise emanating from students, but Lantau International School on South Lantau vows it will continue its fight.

It is the second time an appeal by the school against a noise abatement order has been dismissed. The Environmental Protection Department issued an initial order in March last year. That ordered the school to ensure that noise made by its pupils did not exceed 60 decibels from September 2009 to February 2010.

Failure to comply with such an order can incur a fine of HK$100,000 and a HK$20,000 daily fine for each day noise exceeds the limit.

An appeal by the school in April 2009 failed. Following the failure of its second appeal launched this February, the school was ordered by the Noise Control Appeal Board (which handles appeals under the auspices of the Noise Control Authority), to pay costs and the compliance date was extended to August 31, 2011, so the school would have time to install a sound-absorbing glass canopy. The conflict dates back to 2007 when the school bought three village house blocks in Lo Wai Tsuen, Pui O, and created an extension of its school in Tong Fuk, also on South Lantau, to cope with an expanding roll.

School supervisor Serge Berthier said no agreement had yet been reached with the District Lands Office (Islands) about construction of the canopy. The office controls permits for such constructions.

Construction of the sound canopy was originally planned to cover the school's 75-square-metre backyard which is on government land which the school rents for HK$82,560 a year.

Berthier said the District Lands Office wanted to increase the rent by 58 per cent rent as a construction precondition.

"The rent will increase from HK$82,560 to HK$129,080 per year," Berthier said. "And, so as not to disrupt students' learning, the construction can't begin until the summer break next year. But the office wanted us to pay the increased rent from now. This is ridiculous."

With her house just "separated by a wall" from the school which occupies sites No 17 to No 19, the owner of No 20, Jenny Tam, complained to the government in 2008 about noise from the school. Noise at 62 decibels was recorded at her house, 2 decibels above the allowed limit.

Tam said the school seriously disturbed villagers' peace.

"They are not just noisy during recesses and lunch hour," she said. "Some students are allowed even during class time to have music or other activities. Can you imagine how noisy it is to live right next door to 70 or 80 children?"

But Berthier said noise measurements were done just once, in 2008 at lunchtime. "It was done at the back of the house, which to my knowledge, is a bedroom. You don't use the bedroom in the middle of the day. I asked the government to do more measurements, but it said there was no need. ."

Berthier said Tam, and the owner of an iron-making shop at block No 22 who also voiced complaints about the school, did not represent the whole village.

He accused the government of discriminating against children by singling out his school for noise measurement. "Why didn't they measure other premises like the iron-making shop?" he said.

A teacher who requested anonymity said there was nothing wrong with laughing children.

"Why consider happy children a noise? From where I come from [Canada], happy children bring joy."

The school first began 18 years ago in a vacant Tong Fuk school with only eight children but now has 200 pupils. Berthier said his was the only international school offering English-language education on South Lantau. The school had spent about HK$600,000 fighting the noise abatement order and "we will go the full way [even if we have to] spend half a million [more] to fight".

Mui Wo rocks

The Silvermine Bay Music Festival is on today but you wouldn't have known it from the publicity it is getting on Hong Kong island. We only knew about it because the nice man from Uncle Russ told us as we were getting our coffee to get on board the ferry yesterday.

According to the posters, the two-day festival with local and foreign bands was supposed to start at 3pm yesterday. But we went there at 4pm and this is what we saw:

Ah well, there probably was more action today but we just couldn't be bothered. Maybe next year.

Best ferry rides

The sun takes forever to set during the summer, which means you get some wonderful ferry trips at sunset. The ordinary ferries give the best views because there are no grubby window panes between you and the sunset.

My favourites are the 5.40pm or 6.40pm ferries from Central and the 5.30pm one from Mui Wo on weekdays and Saturdays. It gets dark after that so there's not much to see but, if you're lucky, the 7.30pm ferry from Mui Wo will pass Disneyland just as the fireworks are on.

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.

New reno

The renovations going well. After all that headache finding a contractor, the one we picked turned out surprisingly good. The workers are very neat – we can spend hours admiring the smooth, round hole they drilled into our outer wall for our cooker hood! Sadly, the McMug tiles we chose for the kitchen and bathroom were ou

t of stock so we had to go with the generic ones our contractor had to offer. But the workers have fitted the small feature tiles I had so nicely in the shower cubicle. Don't you think so? By the way, the bathroom tiles have a grey-while pixellated look, not the strange brown you see in the photos. The colours a bit off because I'd switched on the lights to get the photo.

Vegging out

One thing good about travelling to and fro Mui Wo every weekend is that the pier to Mui Wo is just next to the Star Ferry Pier. It's a looooong walk to the pier but you're usually rewarded by somehing happening at the other end.

This week, we were early (for once) for the ferry so managed to catch the organic and fair-trade fair. It was super crowded so obviously many people make it a Sunday destination.

We bought some lovely baby peppers (red, green and orange) and chillies. The great thing about buying our vegetables straight from the source is that psychologically, they seem to taste better (the veg, not the farmers). The only drawback... don't be caught without your own shopping bag. The fair is so green you feel like so eco-incompetent asking for a bag to cart all your goodies.

The LOHAS Square fair is held every Sunday from 11am to 5pm at the Central Star Ferry Pier (No.7). For more info: http://www.climatechange.hk/eng/news/news-LOHASSquare-eng.aspx