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...

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.

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.

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.

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.