Friday, August 26, 2011

The Kowloon Kommutin' Sampan Blues



The Kowloon Kommutin' Sampan Blues
Duff Hughes

Looked over Jordan, what's coming from afar?
     coming for to carry me home
an over-loaded train of the MTR
     coming for to carry me home

Mong Kok to Admiralty, a five station hop
     coming for to carry me home
dispatcher comes on, says "Unscheduled stop!"
     coming for to carry me home

"Octopus Card ain't no EuroRail Pass"
      coming for to carry me home
"just jump inside, but watch your a##"
      coming for to carry me home

Doors won't close, please take a step back
       coming for to carry me home
at the end of the ride, it's "Mind the gap"
        coming for to carry me home

 Under the Harbour in this rocking steel tube
         coming for to carry me home
it's standing room only, no way to move
         coming for to carry me home

Then stand in que for the "75"
         coming for to carry me home
 stare out the window until I arrive
         coming for to carry me home

Wanchai's night markets and Happy Valley's Race Track
         coming for to carry me home
til Aberdeen's tunnel welcomes me back
         coming for to carry me home

Look for the sampan that's barely afloat
          coming for to carry me home
Ah Ying coasts slowly in her ancient little boat
             coming  for to carry me  home

If windy and rainy, gauge the waves' chop
           coming for to carry me home
make the leap on the rising, not on the drop
            coming for to carry me home

Dragon Boat racers paddling past
         coming for to carry me home
started out slow, but learning to go fast!
         coming for to carry me home

Junks passing in darkness, yachts in bright light
           coming for to carry me home
they've rounded the sea wall, come home for the night
           coming for to carry me home

Cradled by the Islands, protected from the Sea
            coming for to carry me home
    the Shelter is a refuge for all in its lee
               coming for to carry me home                   

'Watermark' is there waiting, moored to her buoy
           coming for to carry me home
come along side now, give a shout "Ahoy"
            coming for to carry me home

Holding the stanchion as I stand by the prow
            coming for to carry me home
climb over the railing onto the bow
            coming for to carry me home

Train, bus and sampan from my desk to my deck
            coming for to carry me home
the journey is the adventure, I'm not tired of it yet
            coming for to carry me home

Some men dream of home in a castle with towers and moat
coming for to carry me home
for me it's this Shelter, and my teak wood boat
coming for to carry me home

No more verses for now, this is the last
           coming for to carry me home
Aboard 'Watermark' , happy, with Joanna and cats
            coming... for... to... carry... me... home...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Jumbo Floating Restaurant


Perhaps my most famous neighbor in the harbour is Jumbo, the floating restaurant, reachable only by small boat.






Jumbo's lights twinkle on as the sun sets, and are visible from all parts of the Aberdeen Southern Typhoon Shelter throughout the evening.

The typhoon shelter has a long tradition of dining on boats, and even a unique "typhoon shelter style" cuisine.  Most of this has moved to shore over the recent years.

Jumbo remains, as a landmark, an attraction for tourists, and as a home for popular restaurants offering both formal traditional Chinese and casual Western atmospheres.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Night in the Typhoon Shelter


At night the view of the shore lines of Hong Kong and Ap Lai Chau Islands sparkle with the light of luxury high rise condos.  The Shelter is quiet, only a very few of the boats have anyone aboard, and fewer still show any sign of activity at this hour.  There is only the sound of the occasional sampan passing by, and sometimes the sight of a sailing junk's lights ghosting in to her home anchorage after an evening's dinner party cruise.  The Shelter sleeps peacefully while the city is wide awake.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Gentle Evening in the Typhoon Shelter


Typhoon shelters are a refuge for boats and small ships from severe storms.  The surrounding hillsides shield small craft from the direct impact of gale force winds, while the partially enclosed harbour and manmade breakwaters protect them from storm surge waves driven in from the sea.

As a home, the typhoon shelter can also be a peaceful refuge from the frantic pace of crowded modern Hong Kong.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Rainy Morning in the Typhoon Shelter


Welcome to the beginning of "Sheltered from the Typhoon"

I hope this will be an opportunity to share my view of a small but unique part of Hong Kong, the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelters and surroundings.