Some days, the bear gets you...

China Bear's refurbished kitchen and toilets look nice.

But...

The food prices have also gone up.

We went there for our usual breakfast and found that most items were about 50 percent more expensive than before. Ouch!

Going by the crowd, I doubt it will matter much to the Discovery Bay exiles and the pilot families.

Not for us poor villagers, though.

I think I'm going to have to persuade Buffalo Wilbur to go for yum cha more often instead.

Rose apple harvest

We were walking round Wang Tong when we came across some residents taking advantage of the bountiful rose/wax apple harvest.

Seeing our interest, they offered us a fruit. It was a strange combination of bitter skin and sweet-sour flesh. An acquired taste, perhaps, but it did quench our thirst and, best of all, was free.

Speed bumps on South Lantau Road now!

This picture is from Lindsey Price. Six cows were killed outside Tong Fuk this morning. And from the extent of the carnage it has to be a big truck that just plowed through a herd.

First Gavin Spier, now a whole herd of cows.

What are the traffic police doing? What are they waiting for? A kid? How horrible does it have to be before they actually do something?

The police have had it easy these past few years but now traffic is getting heavier on South Lantau Road, with more people moving into the area.

I heard that a lot of these people are not moving to Lantau because they love the easygoing countryside living but because they have been forced out of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon thanks to high property prices.

So they bring their impatient city lifestyle with them... and that includes not having the patience to wait for a few cows to amble across the road.

Something needs to be done now. Just a few speed bumps could make a difference 1) in making all cars slow down 2) in stopping supercar racers from entering South Lantau Road -- the bumps will do damage to their oh-so-expensive chassis.

Some Lantau folks are getting up a campaign but in the meantime, report all cases of reckless driving to the traffic police here. Let's make them do some work rather than while away their time on endless McDonald's runs.  

Dragonboat festival 2013

This year's dragonboat race took place during a Very Hot weather warning. So don't expect too many photos from me.

 I was too busy taking cover under the shade.

And munching on burgers from Silvermine Beach Hotel. I always look forward to events on the beach now because the hotel sets up a kiosk outside with very basic but very yummy burgers (HK$30 each).

Go on down to the Mui Wo church fair

The food and snacks are homemade and cheap (HK$30 for rice/noodles with choice of two dishes).

And the jumble is unbelievable. Lot of branded stuff (Le Sportsac duffle bag for HK$80, Burberry shirt for HK$10, agnes b wallet for HK$5).

The fair is until 3.30pm today at the church in Chung Hau village. The money goes to charity. If you get on your bike now, you might just be able to catch the tail end of the fair, when they are sure to slash prices further.

May fairs

Handmade Hong Kong's fair is on Mother's Day. They have some unique stuff.

And this one I have already marked in my diary. A charity market at the Mui Wo Church in Chung Hau Village. Buffalo Wilbur ain't gonna be allowed to sleep in that Saturday.

Cheung Chau on Labour Day

We were at a bit of a loose end as to what to do for Labour Day until Buffalo Wilbur got struck by the brilliant idea of taking the inter-island ferry to Cheung Chau. It seemed a lot of other people got the same idea as the ferry was quite crowded (for an inter-island ferry, that is).

It was an inspired choice. Cheung Chau was bustling.

The famous buns were everywhere.

People queueing up fo fishballs. Apparently Cheung Chau is known for its giant fishballs. I tasted some and they didn't taste that different from the normal-sized ones.

Baby ambulance to get through the narrow streets.