Around DB March Issue 2016

LIVING IT UP IN ANTARCTICA

HOW WE ARE ENDANGERING

WILDLIFE WORLD WIDE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S

PROFESSOR SUGATA MITRA REINVENTING EDUCATION

SUE MELDRUM

OF AT HOME IN DB LOOKING FOR A SUCCESSOR

(AND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE THE NEW GIRL IN THE PLAZA)

DB’S CRICKETING INTERNATIONAL

YOUR TICKET TO THE TENNIS

CHRIS CARTER

NATIONS CUP ALSO: ISLAND-WIDE EVENTS * PRIZES * COMMUNITY SNAPS * CLASSIFIEDS * THOUGHTS ON ISLAND LIFE

Join your community online

Publishers in DB since 2002 MARCH 2016

SALES / RENTALS 明翠臺 PARKRIDGE

$14K/4.35M

MARCH 2016

海堤居 LA COSTA

$36K

觀灣樓 BAY VIEW

T

EN

G EA

Gross: 530’ Saleable: 440’ 2

Cosy apartment. Conveniently located for all transport in and out of DB.

1

海蜂徑 SEABEE

$70K

康慧臺 HILLGROVE

海馬徑 SEAHORSE LANE

$8M

4

旭暉閣 JOVIAL

T

2

AD

Location! Nicely renovated apartment with open kitchen, balcony with great sea views. Must see!

倚濤軒 CRESTMONT

海蜂徑 SEABEE

$10M

4

Deluxe garden house with pool, fully equipped kitchen and spacious living. Great for entertaining.

3

海澄湖畔 SIENA ONE

$13.5M

2

A

Gross: 1023’ Saleable: 777’

$13.8M

1

Very good condition, open kitchen, balcony with stunning sea views. Quiet area and vacant sale!

2

海馬徑 SEAHORSE

T!

EN VAL AG NK AD A LE W B O L BE

2

$119K/27M

NT

E

E OL

AG

S

Gross: 1213’ Saleable: 1138’

Gross: 1282’ Saleable: 1108’ 3

T

G EA

L

SO

Successfully combined unit with open kitchen, spacious living and in a tranquil location. For sale with tenancy.

寶峰 PARKVALE

$10.5M

EN

N GE

Gross: 1446’ Saleable: 1220’ 5

$165K/55M

Gross: 3100’ Saleable: 2403’

LE

Gross: 919’ Saleable: 776’ 2

Lovely renovation duplex with roof terrace, modern open kitchen, bright and airy.

1

T!

L

SO

$120K

Stunning one of a kind 4 bed apartment, on the beach & very close to pier & DB plaza. State of the art decoration. A must see!

3

EN

G EA

Gross: 1323’ Saleable: 1085’ 2

Gross: 1703’ Saleable: 1626’

Lovely townhouse offering generous living space. Close to all transports and schools. Ready to move into.

2

L

SO

Fully renovated low rise home with balcony by the sea.

Stone’s throw to all amenities. Bright and airy throughout.

2

Gross: 1642’ Saleable: 1406’ 4

G EA

Gross: 1037’ Saleable: 927’ 3

T

EN

L

SO

$52K/12.7M

Beautifully renovated low rise garden apartment w/ tranquil sea views, fully equipped open kitchen & generous living space throughout.

3 2

In very good condition. Bright apartment with balcony and roof terrace. Great for entertaining. Must see!

Gross: 1703’ Saleable: 1626’ 4 2

Quality designed lowrise with practical layout. Walking distance to beach, Plaza and pier. Must see!

www.headlandhomes.hk

2987 2088

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LittleLife Freedom S3 Child Carrier

Orchard Giant Railway Jigsaw $175

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Childhome Sit 'n Bounce Relax Chair 2-in-1

Lascal KiddyGuard

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with canopy & tray

onanoff Headphones Travel Buddies

Mamas & Papas Haxby Cot/Toddler Bed

$3,500 Ivory (mattress sold separately)

Fairybelle Carriage & Unicorn

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Stanley Plaza Store, Stanley T 2555 6318

Sai Kung Store, Sai Kung T 2976 0223

D Park Store, Tsuen Wan T 2799 2923

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www.facebook.com/bumpstobabeshk

MARCH 2016 FEATURES

46

30

PROFILE Au revoir At Home in DB founder Sue Meldrum

34

IN FOCUS How animals across the globe are facing extinction

42

FAMILY MATTERS Getting into the swing of expat living

51

MONEY MATTERS Tips on choosing a financial advisor

56

ESCAPES Antarctica – the trip of a lifetime

60

ACTION All set for the Tennis Nations Cup

REGULARS 30

25

COMPETITION Win big prizes at www.arounddb.com

39

MOMENTS Chris Carter, 18, gears up for the ICC World Twenty20

46

TALKING POINTS Educational researcher Professor Sugata Mitra on the future of learning

68

DB FACES Candid community snaps

80

OUT THERE Thoughts on island life

AGENDA 10 39

10

IN&AROUND DB Catch up with the latest community news

65

HK HAPPENINGS Find fun things to do across the harbour

71

CLASSIFIEDS Great deals, employment, businesses and more

74

PROPERTY Choice local and overseas homes to buy or rent

77

LOCAL NUMBERS Your ultimate guide in DB and Lantau

60

LIVING IT UP IN ANTARCTICA

HOW WE ARE ENDANGERING

WILDLIFE WORLD WIDE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S

PROFESSOR SUGATA MITRA REINVENTING EDUCATION

We also publish…

FEBRUARY/ MARCH 2016

2 0 1 5

If you have a story idea, email rachel@baymedia.com.hk To publicise a local event, email sam@baymedia.com.hk For general enquiries, email info@baymedia.com.hk To advertise, email lissa@baymedia.com.hk Around DB, Bay Media, 7E Glamour Court, Discovery Bay Call 2987 0577/ 2787 0886 Fax 2987 0533

SUE MELDRUM

OF AT HOME IN DB LOOKING FOR A SUCCESSOR

ON THE COVER

(AND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE THE NEW GIRL IN THE PLAZA)

DB’S CRICKETING INTERNATIONAL

YOUR TICKET TO THE TENNIS

CHRIS CARTER

NATIONS CUP ALSO: ISLAND-WIDE EVENTS * PRIZES * COMMUNITY SNAPS * CLASSIFIEDS * THOUGHTS ON ISLAND LIFE

Join your community online

Publishers in DB since 2002 MARCH 2016

Tennis Nations Cup player to watch: Kyoko Funo

Photo by www.evoqueportraits.com

DISTRICT COUNCIL COMMUNIQUÉ

RANDY YU HO KWAN GETS POLITICAL

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!

RINGING IN THE YEAR OF THE RED FIRE MONKEY

CALL OF THE WILD

HOW HIKING CAN FREE YOUR MIND

Win Into tick the the ets plu Lon Wo to s The gin ods see es and din ing Beach Maste vou Hou rs, che se rs

ALSO: ISLAND-WIDE EVENTS * PRIZES * COMMUNITY SNAPS * CLASSIFIEDS * THOUGHTS ON ISLAND LIFE

Join your community online

Publishers in Lantau since 2002

SPORTS • LIVING • PETS • HIKING • DINING • HEALTH • COMMUNITY

For the latest Around DB updates, find us on

and www.arounddb.com

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YOUR ROUNDUP OF RECENT COMMUNITY EVENTS

Publisher Corinne Jedwood corinne@baymedia.com.hk Managing editor Rachel Ainsley rachel@baymedia.com.hk Assistant editor & magazine coordinator Sam Agars sam@baymedia.com.hk Advertising & sales manager Lissa Morris lissa@baymedia.com.hk Art direction Terry Chow terry@baymedia.com.hk Digital coordinator Carlos Magno carlos@baymedia.com.hk Accounts & office manager Monika Carruthers accountant@baymedia.com.hk Photography Baljit Gidwani Michael Keating (intern) Contributors this month Beverly Au Trisha Hughes Meena Hwang (intern) Joe Dobbs Elizabeth Kerr Peter Sherwood Kate Whitehead Printing Fantasy Printing Limited 7/F Tin Fung Industrial Mansion, 63 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong Disclaimer The views expressed in Around DB are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or contributors.

The publisher and editor cannot be held responsible for differences of opinion or statements published in good faith. The publisher, contributors, their employees and partners are not responsible for the results of any actions, errors or omissions taken on the basis of information contained in this publication and expressly disclaim all and any liability for any such action of any person. The mention of specific companies or products in articles or advertisements does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by this magazine or its publisher in preference to others of a similar nature which are not mentioned or advertised. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without permission.

www.evoqueportraits.com

PICNIC IN THE PARK Picnic in the Park’s 10th anniversary concert was a smash, with revellers from all over Hong Kong grooving into the night. A bumper crowd of over 11,000 watched on January 30 as around 60 acts took to two stages in Siena Park.

Find more photos of community events @ www.arounddb.com

IN&AROUND DB

March 2016

11

IN&AROUND DB

CNY CELEBRATIONS IN DB DBers got into the Chinese New Year spirit on February 9 with lion dancing performances at Siena Club and the Discovery Bay Recreation Club.

www.evoqueportraits.com

12

March 2016

IN&AROUND DB

ISLAND DANCERS AT CNY Students from Discovery Bay-based dance school Island Dance put on a show during the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 8.

Photos by David Feehan and Madhu Kashyap

FUTURE STARS ON SHOW DB dance school, Future Stars Academy participated in the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 8 and held its dance showcase spectacular, From Broadway to Hollywood, at City Hall on February 11.

Photos by Emma Cameron

VALENTINE’S DAY IN DB The romantics of DB were out in force on February 14, taking in the beautiful candle display on Tai Pak Wan and dining at local restaurants.

www.evoqueportraits.com

LARRY FEIGN BOOK SIGNING DB Mui Wo cartoonist and author Larry Feign held a book signing at Bookazine, DB North Plaza on February 21 to celebrate the publication of his latest satirical work. AIEEYAAA! Learn Chinese the Hard Way is a satirical dictionary which pokes fun at life, love and culture clash in Hong Kong and China. It features cartoons and actual definitions in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, plus an introduction on how not to learn Chinese.

Photo by Around DB

March 2016

13

IN&AROUND DB

VALENTINE’S RACE Lantau Base Camp’s Ultimate Direction Valentine’s Race saw runners cover 13 kilometres on February 13, starting from the Nam Shan Picnic Area.

Jeremy Ritcey and Valerie Lagarde won the race, while DB residents Nikki Han and Joyce Edmonson took home the women’s Team of 2.

Photos by Claud Rolff and Anya Belcher

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MUSIC DEPARTMENT PRESENTS

a night on broadway Welcoming New Members Wednesday 23 March Time: Drinks reception 18:00, Doors Open 18:30 Venue: Discovery Bay Community Hall, North Plaza

A musical journey to the bright lights and catchy tunes of the broadway stage, including performances from DBIS Orchestra, Primary and Secondary Choirs, Year 1 and 2 Singing Group, Primary and Secondary String Ensemble, Primary Wind Band, FOBISIA Performing Arts group, Chinese Drumming Team, and more.

Lantau Boat Club Discovery Bay

Want to try something new right on your doorstep?

Meet new friends? Get some exercise or spend a few hours out on the water?

We welcome beginner and experienced members to join our thriving club and community of rowers, paddlers and sailors contact: admin@lantauboatclub.com website: www.lantauboatclub.com

Chef Pour Toi

DB-based private catering service Catering

Corporate or Private Parties

Cocktail Receptions

Lavish Buffets & Barbeques

Our dedicated chefs use only the freshest ingredients to turn food into art. We provide you with the knowledge to turn your event into a success, allowing you to focus on your guests while we do what we know best.

Contact Chef Pour Toi to get a quote for your tailor-made party.

Email chef@chefpourtoi.com

IN&AROUND DB

YOUR GUIDE TO UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

www.davidchislett.com

DB ENTREPRENEURS NETWORKING BREAKFAST

March

1

March 5

Zaks, Discovery Bay

If you have started a business in DB, or are looking to do so and you need local services, support, customers and networks, the DB Entrepreneurs Networking Breakfast is for you. Beginning at 8am and hosted by T8 Consulting, in conjunction with Around DB and Parsons White Wealth Management, the breakfast is set to become a monthly fixture in the DB calendar. For more information, head to http://goo.gl/Oepkny; to enquire and register, visit https://goo.gl/0aRxRb.

BACK TO BASICS

The 23rd edition of the Tennis Nations Cup is sure to offer up bucket-loads of entertainment, so get on down and catch DBers showcasing their tennis skills and sporting their best kit. To hear from some of the top players and club coaches, turn to page 60.

Contact drbc-enquiries@dbrc.hk.

16

March 2016

across from Haven Court, 2pm to 4.45pm. For more information, call 2238 3617.

March 5, 12 & 19

Proverse Readers’ Club, Dymocks DB Plaza, from 3pm to 4pm.

Email proverse@netvigator.com or visit proversepublishing.com.

ch 5 Mar

www.rumiyogawear.fancy.com

OZZIE COZZIE 5 & 6 ROADSHOW March OpenSpace, DB North Plaza

TENNIS NATIONS CUP Discovery Bay Recreation Club

STOCK UP AT THE PLANT MARKET

MEET LOCAL AUTHORS at the

The HIT Room, DB North Plaza The HIT Room is holding a workshop to show DB residents how to make their own beauty and household cleaning products using all-natural ingredients. You can also purchase a pair of Rumi yoga pants, made from recycled plastic bottles, at discounted prices.

To secure your spot (HK$150 a head), email info@thehitroom.com.hk.

Find more information and events @ www.arounddb.com

March

5&6

www.evoqueportraits.com

Get ready for the Easter holidays with the latest designs from top swimwear brands Seafolly, Baku, Moontide and Sunseeker. With something on offer for men, women and children and certain items on sale, this truly is a one-stop family pop-up. For more information, head to www.ozziecozzieco.com. www.ozziecozzieco.com

IN&AROUND DB

BONAQUA LIFEPROOF ACTION SPRINT Start: DB Plaza

The second leg of Action Asia’s Bonaqua Lifeproof Action Sprint series covers 13 kilometres of DB’s beaches, trails and roads. Registration, starting at HK$250, is a must, so head to www.actionasiaevents.com to secure your spot.

March 6

Throughout March

TO ADOPT A PET through

Protection of Animals Lantau South (PALS), call Jacqui Green on 9197 4371, for Hong Kong Paws Foundation (PAWS), call Kat Cheung on 9485 5188.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY to all the fantastic

8 March

women in DB and Lantau! Who is your pick for the most inspiring woman in our community? Cast your vote on the Around DB Facebook page from March 8 to 10, or email us at info@baymedia.com.hk.

www.actionasiaevents.com

MOON BEAR CONCERT Globe Theatre, DBIS Get set for a great evening of top local music at the annual Moon Bear Concert. Organised by long-time DB resident Clara Chan, all proceeds go towards Animals Asia’s quest to end bear bile farming. The concert kicks off at 7.30pm, and you can purchase tickets (HK$180, HK$90 for students/ seniors) at Island Veterinary Services. For more on moon bears turn to page 34; for concert information, contact Clara at ccyc123123@gmail.com.

March 12

DMR SCHOOL OF BALLET ANNUAL SHOW Auberge Hotel, Discovery Bay DMR School of Ballet’s Spring Extravaganza promises to be a classically elegant, show-stopping performance, featuring ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance. Running from 1pm to 3pm, it involves dancers aged six and up.

Tickets (HK$525 for adults, HK$325 for children aged three to 11) are available at DMR School of Ballet.

Admission includes a welcome champagne and afternoon tea.

For more information, email info@dmr-hk.com.

13 March

Photo courtesy of DMR

13 March www.evoqueportraits.com

SHOP THE DISCOVERY BAY SUNDAY MARKET in DB Plaza from 11am to 6pm.

HELP HONG KONG VETS MAKE A DIFFERENCE DB vet Ivy Cheung from Island Veterinary Services is calling on donations to help her and a group of Hong Kong vets in their quest to assist the animals of Malapascua. Malapascua, an island in the Philippines, was one of many devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. One of the things the community lacks is access to veterinary services, leaving it with an unmanaged domestic animal population at risk of disease. To help Ivy and her team provide six-monthly free neutering, make a donation at www.youcaring.com/malapascua-island-cat-and-dogdesexing-506339.

https://commons.wikipedia.org

March 2016

Photo courtesy of DMR

17

IN&AROUND DB

YOUNG WRITER’S COMPETITION Open to students across DB and Lantau

A NIGHT ON BROADWAY rch 14

Ma Through

The deadline for the Around DB and Life on Lantau Young Writer’s Competition (YWC) is March 14. This year, we are asking students to write a nonfiction account of 600 to 700 words highlighting a particular community concern. Now in its fourth year, the competition provides secondary school students living and/ or studying in Lantau with the chance to get published. The competition is sponsored by EpicLand and the Meat Snack Group. To enter , check the YWC guidelines at www.arounddb.com.

SUE MELDRUM IS HOSTING HER LAST AT HOME IN DB

Discovery Bay Community Hall, DB North Plaza

Discovery Bay International School presents A Night on Broadway, a musical journey encapsulating the bright lights and catchy tunes of the Broadway stage. Expect performances by the school orchestra, the primary and secondary choirs and string ensembles, and scores more. Entry is free, drinks are on sale from 6pm and the doors open at 6.30pm. For more information, email communications@dbis.edu.hk.

3 MARCH 2

17 March

coffee morning before leaving for Australia, and she is looking for a successor to run the popular community service. For details, turn to page 30 or email sue@athomeindb.com.

CELEBRATE WWF’S 10TH EARTH HOUR

March 19

by switching off your lights from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

Visit www.earthhour.hk.

March 20

JOIN A BEACH CLEAN-UP

at Nim Shue Wan, organised by Plastic Free Seas and DB Green, from 9am to 11am.

Visit www.dbgreen.org.

Photo courtesy of DBIS

EASTER EGG HUNT AND FUN FAIR Tai Pak Wan and DB Plaza Kids aged between three and 10 can get involved in an Easter Egg Hunt, with a massive 30,000 prizes on offer and all participants receiving a welcome goodie bag. The event coincides with the DB Plaza Fun Fair, featuring inflatable games and interactive carnival games. The fair is free of charge and only available to egg hunters. For details, head to www.facebook.com/VisitDiscoveryBay.

March 21

WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY Don your colourful or

mismatched socks to help raise awareness.

Visit www.worlddownsyndromeday.org.

& March 25

26

March 23

HAPPY HOLI FESTIVAL! Join DB’s Indian community to welcome the coming of spring.

18

March 2016

Photo courtesy of HKRI

SAT 5 th • SUN 6 th • M ARCH

OZZIE COZZIE ROADSHOW

Now brewing at Discovery Bay!

NE W LO A TS RR ON IVA SA LS & LE

On

e StOp

Fa m

i ly S w i m

wea

r ShO

pping

OpenSpace Studio DB North, 96 Siena Avenue, Unit 6/GF, Block Two 10:00am - 6:00 pm

Enquiries: 9462 0352

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2851 2857 www.pascucci.it

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IN&AROUND DB

EASTER FUNLAND DB North Plaza

Enjoy some Easter fun at DB North Plaza with games, balloon twisting and face painting from 12pm to 6.30pm each day. Game tickets cost HK$30 – Tai Pak Wan egg hunters receive three free tickets. Head to www.facebook. com/VisitDiscoveryBay for details.

-28 March 25

Photo courtesy of HKRI www.imi.com.hk

SAVE THE DATE

TRAILWAGGER

April 16

Mui Wo to DB

Registration is now open for Hong Kong’s first ever Trailwagger, combining Lantau’s majestic trails and the local communities’ love of dogs over 8 kilometres. Beginning in Mui Wo, the race will culminate with a beer and burger in DB. All proceeds go to Animals Asia, and Around DB is the media sponsor. Contact info@trailwaggerhk.com to find out more and to secure a spot for you and your four-legged friend.

Photo courtesy of William Sargent

NEW IN DB CODING KIDS HK

CAMEL'S MILK SOAP

Coding Kids, now operating in Discovery Bay, offers kids the opportunity to learn the rules of coding, how the internet works and how to make basic websites.

Classes are on offer for children aged 12 and up, as well as adults. To find out more, call 6274 1167, or visit www.codingkidshk.com.

Photo courtesy of Crowntop Corporation

MADE IN JAPAN

Photo courtesy of Coding Kids HK

20

March 2016

Hong Kong’s Crowntop Corporation is bringing the best of Made in Japan’s products to DB for the first time. Made in Japan’s range includes baby clothes and accessories, beauty and medical-care products and functional body-shaping undergarments. Crowntop is looking for a DB distributor or agent to expand the business, so if you fit the bill, email matsunaga@crowntop.com.hk. For more on Made in Japan, head to www.acti.com.hk.

DB’s Impress You Soap Company is now selling The Camel Milk Soap Factory’s famous all-natural soap, handmade using pasteurised camel’s milk sourced from camels in the UAE. The soap contains 100% pure and natural products and softens the skin, promotes cell regeneration and assists in reducing signs of aging. For more information, contact Kristy on 6201 7749 or impress.you.soap@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Impress You Soap Company

Cambridge on Lantau

DB Girls ­ 95223297 or 97578314 Tung Chung Theresa ­ 95762147 South Lantau Sarah ­ 63330952 info@cambridgeweightplan.hk

Est. 2004

TEL: (852) 3167 7022 email: classes@completedeelite.com

Kids

CAKE JAM

EVERY FRIDAY 3-5pm

$320/person (1hr)

WWW.COMPLETEDEELITE.COM

IN&AROUND DB

LANTAU EVENT HIGHLIGHTS TRANSLANTAU

Start: Silvermine Beach, Mui Wo

For more Lantau events, read Life on Lantau in print or online

DASH FOR A BEER h 11 Marc

to 13

Start: Tong Fuk

Get set for the eighth Lantau International Beer Dash, a hugely popular 5-kilometre fun run which starts in Tong Fuk and sees participants dress up and drink a different international beer at every checkpoint. Around DB is one of the sponsors. Entry costs HK$380 for an individual and HK$1,480 for a team of four. Limited spaces are available, so head to www.active.com to enrol.

March 19

Photo courtesy of Sabrina Dumont

The TransLantau is now in its fifth year, with 90% of the course on the Lantau trails and covering two country parks. Solo or in teams of two, participants take on either the Ultra 100km (5,800 metres + elevation), or the sister races of 50km (2,700 metres + elevation) and the 25km (900 metres + elevation). Registration closed after just two hours this year but you can show your support at the start or finish on Silvermine Beach. Visit https://translantau.com.

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE Ark Eden, Mui Wo

Photo by Terry Chow

April 5

March 25

Ark Eden is hosting a 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate course over a period of 12 days. Permaculture is a creative design process applied to food production, home design and construction, and energy conservation and generation. It explores the social, educational and economic structures that support a culture that cares for the planet and all its inhabitants.

For registration and more information, contact Jasmine on 9277 4025, 2984 8514, or jasmine@arkedenonlantau.com; or visit https://arkeden.wordpress.com.

https://commons.wikimedia.org

Here’s your chance to win great prizes!

Win tickets to see Shakespeare’s Globe The Merchant of Venice

COMPETITION

Around DB competitions are incredibly easy to enter (you’ll even find the answers to our questions right here). You have until the 10th of the month to submit your answers.

To enter, email info@baymedia.com.hk, click on the competitions link at www.arounddb.com, or scan the QR Code below. Don’t forget to give us your name and telephone number!

YOUR PRIZE: ABA Productions is offering two readers, two A-reserve tickets (worth HK$795 each) to see the opening night of Shakespeare’s Globe The Merchant of Venice on September 7, at 7.45pm.

What does triple liposome technology deliver?

Photo courtesy of Sense of Touch Group

Win a Sense of Touch facial treatment YOUR PRIZE: Sense of Touch Group is offering two readers an 80-minute Signature Fresh Collagen Infusion Facial, each worth HK$1,180, and two readers a 60-minute Hydrating Recovery Facial, each worth HK$820, at any of its five spa locations, including DB. FIND THE ANSWER: Using revolutionary triple liposome technology, these Sense of Touch facials deliver fresh, pure collagen and other active ingredients to every layer of the skin, transforming it from the inside out. The treatments minimise fine lines and combat signs of ageing. Learn more at www.sotlabs.com, or www.senseoftouch.com.hk.

Who stars as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice?

Photo by Manuel Harlan

FIND THE ANSWER: Double Olivier and Tony award winner Jonathan Pryce plays Shylock in his first appearance with Shakespeare’s Globe. The London-based group returns to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wanchai, September 7 to 11. For early-bird tickets, visit www.hkticketing.com or call 31 288 288.

Which anniversary does this show celebrate?

Win tickets to Barney’s Greatest Hits YOUR PRIZE: Smile Live Entertainment is offering three readers, two A-reserve tickets (worth HK$450 each) to see Barney’s Greatest Hits on March 25, at 5pm.

FIND THE ANSWER: Sing and dance with the purple dinosaur, Barney and his friends Baby Bop, BJ and Riff. This high-energy song and dance production, showing March 25 to 27 at Star Hall, Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre, celebrates over 25 years of Barney. To find out more, visit www.facebook.com/SmileLiveEnt; for tickets, visit www.hkticketing.com.

Photo courtesy of Millennium Entertainment International

March 2016

25



COMPETITION

Win tickets to see The Illusionists YOUR PRIZE: Lunchbox Theatrical Productions is offering three readers, two A-reserve tickets (worth HK$795 each) to see The Illusionists on April 14 at 7.45pm.

Who composed the music for Swan Lake?

How many illusionists are performing?

Photo courtesy of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions

Win tickets to the Imperial Ice Stars’ Swan Lake on Ice Photo courtesy of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Photo by Manuel Harlan

FIND THE ANSWER: The biggest and best-selling magic show in the history of Broadway, The Illusionists has toured 200 cities in 25 countries. Featuring eight world-class performers, the show promises mind-blowing spectacles, hilarious tricks and death-defying stunts.

Catch it at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, TST, April 14 to 24. For more information, visit www.lunchbox-productions.com; for tickets, visit www.urbtix.hk or call 2111 5999.

Win tickets to the Asia Contemporary Art Show YOUR PRIZE: Asia Contemporary Art Show is offering three readers, two VIP invitations to the eighth edition of its flagship event. The invitations guarantee admission through March 24 to 27.

YOUR PRIZE: Lunchbox Theatrical Productions is offering three readers, two A-reserve tickets (worth HK$745 each) to see the Imperial Ice Stars’ Swan Lake on Ice on April 27 at 7.45pm.

FIND THE ANSWER: The award-winning Imperial Ice Stars bring Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece to life, with magnificent ice-dancing choreographed by acclaimed artistic director Tony Mercer. Swan Lake on Ice is showing from April 27 to May 8 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, TST. For more information, visit www.lunchbox-productions.com; for tickets, visit www.urbtix.hk or call 2111 5999.

How many galleries are exhibiting?

FIND THE ANSWER: The eighth Asia Contemporary Art Show features over 3,000 artworks, presented by more than 80 galleries across 15 countries. It is showing from March 24 to 27 at the Conrad Hong Kong, One Pacific Place, Admiralty. Admission is free for children under 16 years, accompanied by an adult. For more information, visit www.asiacontemporaryart.com; for tickets, visit www.hkticketing.com.

www.asiacontemporaryart.com

Congratulations to last month’s winners Ting Lloyd for the Faust workshop; Rebecca Clements for the

Hoka One One running shoes from Action X; Linda Barnes for The HIT Room fitness package; and Tony Karton for outdoor training with d.BeFit.

26

March 2016

Join our growing ESF Tigers basketball programme at Discovery College ESF Tigers Basketball have expanded their popular after-school basketball programme at Discovery College (DC) by adding a Development Academy programme which takes place every Saturday.

Students who attend our regular Monday afterschool classes are eligible to join the Development Academy where enhanced skill development and team fundamentals are coached.

Basketball is a great team sport that can be played by anyone - no matter how big or small you are or whether you're very young or just becoming a teen!

We look forward to seeing you on the court soon!

Term 2 Finishes on 24 March 2016 Term 3 Starts on 11 April 2016

Michael & Will Young • Co-Captains of U17 Elite Team Excellent Fundamentals • Experienced ESF Tigers players Qualified Basketball England Coaches

OPEN TO ALL ESF & NON-ESF STUDENTS After-School Programme - Mondays BA1 (Ages 5 to 6): 4:30pm - 5:30pm BA2 (Ages 7 to 8): 4:30pm - 5:30pm BA3 (Ages 9 to 10): 5:30pm - 6.30pm BA4 (Ages 11 to 12): 6:30pm - 7:30pm Development Academy Programme - Saturdays Under 9s (born in 2007/08): 9:00am - 10:30am Under 11s (born in 2005/06): 10:30am - 12:00pm Under 13s (born in 2003/04): 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Photo by www.evoqueportraits.com

PROFILE

30

Sue Meldrum, the founder of At Home in DB, is moving to Australia this month

March 2016

PROFILE

SO LONG FOR NOW Departing DBer Sue Meldrum leaves a welcoming legacy she hopes to need again one day. Elizabeth Kerr reports

I

t’s a cool and rainy morning under a heavy grey sky, when Sue Meldrum hobbles into the Uncle Russ in DB North Plaza on crutches. Was it a skiing accident in Niseko or a rafting catastrophe in Queensland, that’s put her here? “No, that would be nice,” she says with a chuckle. She’s recovering from hallux abducto valgus surgery – an affliction better known by its more, no pun intended, pedestrian name of bunions.

On both feet. In a very Sue kind of way, it was all or nothing.

“There was never going to be a good time to do it, so I thought suck it up,” she says. “If I’m going to go through this pain and agony, I don’t want to do it twice.” That’s typical of Sue: Dive right in.

Family matters For nearly nine years, on and off, Sue has been a fixture in Discovery Bay, particularly

on its welcome wagon. Admittedly, that phrase belittles the point of At Home in DB (www.athomeindb.com), the networking and support group for newcomers to Hong Kong, and DB in particular, that Sue founded in 2012.

In many ways, Sue, now 50, is an exemplar of the DB community. Born in England and raised in Sydney, she worked for the Otis Elevator Company in New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and India in her early twenties. She and her husband Guy met in Sydney in 1995 when both worked for the same multinational. In 1998, they were transferred to London, Sue working in communications (focused on Formula 1) and Guy in duty free. The couple bounced around another four countries before ‘settling’ in DB for the first time in 2007.

A traditional expat family, Sue’s son Jacques (named after Formula 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve) goes to school in London where he was born, and daughter Sophie now boards in her birthplace, Sydney. Guy has just completed a four-year commute from Seoul and the couple are settling in Australia for a stretch, though the plan is to return to DB in retirement.

At home in DB It should come as no surprise then that Sue has made At Home in DB, which exists to help out people just like her, thrive. She’s been the new kid in town 11 times. The idea had its origins in her involvement with the Australian and New Zealand Association (ANZA) in Korea and later a miserable newcomer experience in Moscow, where she found herself intensely disconnected.

“We had a wonderful mix of nationalities in ANZA who relied on the group to help them adapt to their new life in Seoul,” Sue says. “It was a huge adjustment for many newcomers, as spouses were not permitted to work in South Korea and the language and culture was challenging. ANZA was instrumental in bringing people together and providing a platform for a meaningful life.”

At ANZA, Sue befriended people from all walks of life, who were working together on various social, charitable and human rights enterprises. The year she was president coincided with the celebrations of 50 years since the end of the Korean War. “There were many projects and events to organise with the Australian and New Zealand governments,” Sue says. “Through ANZA, I ended up loving my time in Seoul.”

Landing in Hong Kong (the second time), Sue found herself in a position March 2016

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PROFILE

where she had the time and energy to do something similar for other people, and so At Home in DB was born. The motivation was really about “helping newcomers feel orientated and welcome” in their new community, a frequent problem anywhere and one that is more often unique to women.

But Sue is welcoming of everybody.

The small orientation-focused coffee mornings held in her home soon blossomed into hikes, talks, and trips into the wilds of Shenzhen and beyond.

Success story Residents found Sue through Facebook groups (and Around DB), and via flyers and posters placed at bus stops, property agencies and schools (because she never stops, Sue chaired Discovery College PTA for two years).

General coffee mornings soon turned into themed ones covering topics such as shopping, housing, health and Chinese culture. The attendee profile changed too.

“Our talks for Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival help newcomers understand the culture in Hong Kong, and they are very popular,” Sue notes. “They also bring in people who aren’t necessarily new to DB but have an interest. Perhaps they’d been here a year but hadn’t yet celebrated.”

Over the years, At Home in DB morphed into a great tool for promoting small, independent DBbased businesses, too. Partners offered up door prizes and spread the word.

Worthy causes and social enterprises also reaped the benefits (Nikki Boot at DB Mothers & Friends is a partner in philanthropy).

professional communications skills and received enormous pleasure in being able to share my experiences and give back.”

A leaving gift

As well as organising one final coffee morning on March 17, before her departure – “To bring together everyone At Home in DB has helped over the years, and to thank people because I’ve had enormous support from friends and small business owners here” – Sue is looking for a successor. She admits it’s a commitment – coordinating publicity, organising events and keeping current on what’s happening in the community – but insists At Home in DB has “a lot of possibilities”.

As Sue prepares for the next chapter of her life she reflects on At Home in DB’s legacy. “I desperately want to pass it on. I would be so disappointed if it were to just disappear,” she says.

“Through At Home in DB,” she adds, “I have met wonderful people, made many new friends, honed my

“We have a great grounding now as residents, and businesses value what At Home in DB has to offer,” she concludes. “There’s an opportunity to take it to the next level, if that’s what someone chooses to do. It’s got a life of its own.” Kind of like Sue, who’s starting yet another one.

Though At Home in DB isn’t exclusive, Sue did start off with women in mind.

“It’s been great,” she says. “Women here are particularly open to helping you. You do have to ask, but if you do, they will.”

Are you interested in running At Home in DB? Sue Meldrum is moving to Australia in March, and she is looking for someone to take over the popular community service. She would transfer the At Home in DB website and Facebook page, plus mailing lists, contacts, promotional material etc. to her successor(s). If you are up for the challenge either by yourself or with others, email Sue at sue@athomeindb.com.

Find more local heroes

@ www.arounddb.com

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IN FOCUS

Photos courtesy of www.wikimedia.org and Animals Asia, and by Terry Chow

THE SIXTH EXTINCTION

34

Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” It’s clear then that most countries fall disastrously short. Peter Sherwood reports

T

he world’s wildlife population, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, has dropped by more than 50% in the last 40 years, according to the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). In South America, the rate of depletion has reached an astonishing 83%.

This so-called ‘sixth extinction’ (see the award-winning, 2014 book

by Elizabeth Kolbert) has been compared to the previous five great mass extinctions on Earth. Unlike March 2016

the others, the current destruction is entirely anthropogenic – a result of human activity.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that more than 3,000 animal species are endangered. The numbers grow alarmingly each year.

Creatures across land, rivers and seas are being decimated as humans kill them for food in unsustainable numbers, while polluting or destroying

their habitats. To make matters worse, Asia is at the forefront of insatiable demand for animal parts for mostly ineffective and superstition-driven traditional medicine and ‘delicacies’.

Gratuitous slaughter worldwide has brought numerous species to the edge of the abyss.

Hiding a grim reality Stand by for a measured rant. The WWF’s panda logo hides a dark truth.

While it speaks loudly to the successful

IN FOCUS

procedure is invasive and painful, causing massive infection,” she says.

Extracted bile contains high levels of ursodeoxycholic acid known to be useful for treating liver and gallbladder conditions. However, there are now many readily available herbal and synthetic alternatives with the same medicinal properties.

Most farmed bears are kept in cages so small that the bears are unable to turn around or stand on all fours. Some are caged as cubs and never released.

Bears may be kept caged like this for up to 30 years, starved, dehydrated and suffering from multiple diseases and malignant tumours that ultimately kill them.

From Asia to Africa

The WWF’s panda logo hides a dark truth

salvation of a single species, other Asian bears are being tortured to death.

For pandas, natural selection would have stepped in long ago but, too cute to let go, they have become a valuable public relations commodity. Every time a panda is returned to the wild or, by the miracle of IVF one gives birth in some foreign zoo, people go all gooey and run out to buy a black-and-white plush toy. I love them too, but the propaganda hides a grim reality.

According to DBer Connie Lo, head of direct marketing at Animals Asia, more than 10,000 bears are kept on bile farms in China, and around 1,200 in Vietnam. “The bears are kept in appalling conditions and subjected to regular bile extraction. The

Just as appalling are the tiger farms in China, often billed as zoos and tourism enterprises, where these magnificent creatures are bred for their body parts, believed to cure erectile dysfunction.

The world’s largest cat species now numbers less than 3,000 in the wild, while in China there are 5,000 captive in appalling conditions in farms awaiting slaughter.

Rare snakes, along with hundreds of other ‘exotic’ wildlife species in Asia, are hunted mercilessly, with many considered a delicacy and purported to hold medicinal properties. Pangolin poaching is also epidemic. The animal, a scale-covered anteater, is now the most frequently seized mammal in Asia’s black-market wildlife trade, according to Worldwatch Institute, a non-profit organisation. It is estimated that more than 200,000 pangolins were killed between 2011 and 2013.

Pangolin foetuses, in particular, are considered a delicacy, one associated with enhanced virility. Pangolin blood and body parts have also long been an ingredient prized in traditional Chinese medicine.

The carnage is massive, depressing and global. While the massacre of elephants

and rhinoceroses as part of the world’s US$19 billion illegal wildlife trade is well known, the practice continues. Dr Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife campaigner based in Kenya, told The Guardian in 2014: “Not a single African leader has spoken out on this. The silence is deafening.”

The world has lost 95% of its rhino population in just 40 years. In 2014, National Geographic reported that ivory-seeking poachers have killed 100,000 African elephants in just three years. A decade ago there were about 142,000 elephants in Tanzania alone.

The population today is less than 55,000. The slaughter rate is 30 a day.

The illegal ivory trade is also funding terrorism in Africa, giving rise to the term ‘blood ivory’.

Japan, Denmark and HK too On land things are bad, and what’s happening in the oceans may be even worse. Around 100-million slowbreeding sharks are caught each year according to a 2013 article in the ocean-policy studies journal Marine Policy. Their fins are sliced off, so that people can make a luxury soup to impress friends, and the sharks are thrown back to drown. Sharks have been around for millions of years.

China is bringing many shark species to the brink of extinction in less than five decades, a nanosecond in time.

Another national nightmare for animals in the wild is Japan, hell-bent on slaughtering the magnificent whale and dolphin despite international opposition. The horrors of Japan’s bloody dolphin hunt were secretly documented in the 2009 Academy Award-winning film The Cove: dolphins and porpoises are herded into a small bay and butchered with knives and spears. Up to 23,000 of these beautiful creatures are agonisingly killed each year. All this cruelty, they say, in the name of ‘tradition’.

Every year, Denmark’s Faroe Island also sees hundreds of whales and dolphins annihilated in a shallow bay. There are  March 2016

35

IN FOCUS

Bear bile farming is rife in China and Vietnam

no professional whale hunters on the Faroe Islands and no one relies on it for their living, but locals defend the attack saying it is primarily for food.

While you won’t see such blatant animal slaughter here at home, Hong Kong’s Chinese White Dolphins are gradually being decimated by our own actions.

“Sadly, they are today an endangered species,” explains DB resident Gary Stokes, director for South East Asia at Sea Shepherd Global. “Pollution, coastal development, overfishing and increased boat traffic off the coast of Lantau threatens to wipe out the species entirely, or at best drive them away. Sightings have diminished rapidly in recent years, from an estimated 160 in the early 2000s to just 60 today.”

Any hope in Asia?

According to a 2014 report in I Digest: Insight into China, “Throughout Chinese history, animals have been viewed as subordinate to humans, tools and property to be used for societal and personal advancement.

This may explain, to some degree, the seemingly ambivalent nature of the Chinese in the past to the wildlife trade and animal welfare.”

It seems that the times are changing, however. A 2014 report in The Guardian revealed that under a new measure introduced in China, people who knowingly eat products made from 420 species classified as endangered now face up to 10 years or more in prison.

Tigers are still bred for body parts in China

Movie star Jackie Chan has long been involved with WildAid and is also an ambassador for the Save China’s Tigers organisation. Former NBA basketball hero Yao Ming has also become a wildlife crusader in his home country, challenging the deep-rooted tradition of sharkfin soup, and focusing on African wildlife, also through WildAid. But

March 2016

celebrity won’t save the natural world and there’s a long way to go with wildlife conservation.

With so many animals nearing defeat, our children may well look back in disgust at these atrocities carried out in the name of vanity, mindless consumerism, superstition and gluttony. But the panda is doing fine.

DBear update Did you know DB is in the process of adopting a moon bear through Animals Asia? A donation of HK$155,000 covers everything in the first three years of the bear’s life – his medical care, food and enrichment. Through charity sales and competitions, DB residents Clara Chan, Dr Francis Chiu, Christine Lampert and Lauren Gordon have raised over HK$40,000 to date. To get involved email Clara at ccyc123123@gmail.com, and be sure to attend the Moon Bear Concert on March 12, at Discovery Bay International School.

Residents Clara Chan and Dr Francis Chiu are raising funds to adopt a moon bear for DB through Animals Asia

Find it • Animals Asia, www.animalsasia.org • International Union for the Conservation of Nature, www.iucn.org • Save China’s Tigers, www.savechinastigers.org • Sea Shepherd Hong Kong, www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdHK • WWF, www.wwf.org.hk • WildAid, www.wildaid.org • Worldwatch Institute, www.worldwatch.org

Find more topical local topics

36

Ivory-seeking poachers have killed 100,000 African elephants since 2014

@ www.arounddb.com

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MOMENTS

SAFE HANDS Sam Agars catches up with 18-year-old, DB resident Chris Carter to talk international cricket

W

hen Chris Carter moved to Hong Kong permanently in late 2014, he wasn’t even playing cricket, let alone entertaining the notion that he would one day represent the country. Fast forward 15 months, and the 18-yearold Discovery Bay resident has nine international games under his belt and is preparing to take part in one of the biggest spectacles in the game, the ICC World Twenty20 (WT20) in Bangladesh starting March 8.

Photo by Sam Agars

Chris, who is studying part-time at Hong Kong University and the University of London, will travel to Bangladesh as part of a 15-man squad, with his likely role to be backup to first-choice wicketkeeper Jamie Atkinson. This being said, Chris was Hong Kong’s ‘keeper in the Asia Cup from February 19 and is hoping his performance with the bat there will boost his chances of playing solely as a batsman at the WT20. As he says: “Either way, just to be there with teams like Australia and South Africa will be amazing.”

Chris made his Hong Kong debut in June last year and soon after started training full-time with the national side. Before long, he earned selection on a tour of the UAE and his first taste of international cricket. On the tour, Chris played four Twenty20s and two one-dayers. He also got to test himself against some of the world’s best in tour matches against Pakistan and England, making 34 batting at number five against the English.

Find more local heroes

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” Chris says. “It was kind of that feeling where you have got nothing to lose so you just go out there and have fun. [England paceman] Chris Woakes was by far the fastest bowler I’ve ever faced.”

Meteoric rise Born in Clearwater Bay in 1997, Chris and his family relocated to Perth two years later, where they lived until returning to Hong Kong in early 2013. Chris finished his schooling at Hale School in Perth as a boarder in late 2014 before settling in DB. Chris played school, representative, club and second-XI grade cricket in Perth, but he made the life-changing decision to join the Kowloon Cricket Club in March 2015 just for fun.

Perth-born head coach [former Australian cricketer] Ryan Campbell immediately spotted his potential.

While Chris’ rapid rise has exceeded all of his expectations, a maturity that belies his years and an ability to stay grounded should ensure that the ride of his life isn’t finished just yet.

“Cricket is kind of like life in the sense that sometimes you are in control of what’s at hand and sometimes you are not,” Chris says. “You are given a deck Chris Carter has faced of cards and you have to play them as England paceman they are, so to speak. You might get a Chris Woakes good ball and get out to it and you can’t do anything about it, but at other stages you can dictate the game and do it your way.and That’s how I compare it to life.”

Fung Tat Choi Chan Yu Ting

@ www.arounddb.com

March 2016

39

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FAMILY MATTERS

42

March 2016

FAMILY MATTERS

CHARTERING UNKNOWN TERRITORY Sharing her first impressions on moving to DB, Trisha Hughes provides a useful guide for first-time expats and reminds us all how it felt to be the new girl in the plaza

W

hen you told your friends and family that you were moving to Hong Kong, did you see their eyes almost glaze over in ecstasy and jealousy? They would have been imagining the hectic markets, the designer shops, the busy nightlife and they would have absolutely been imagining the travelling opportunities.

And if I am being completely honest, I was thinking those exact same thoughts too. I was definitely up for the challenge, especially with the juicy carrot of living in a fully integrated resort (Discovery Bay) being waved in front of me. We’ve all been there. We all know that euphoric feeling.

Before I knew it, there was packing to do, removalists to organise, pet transport and immunisation to arrange and an apartment to find. Unlike most expats, I was spared the horror of finding a new school for my children as mine have already grown up and left the nest. What made my heart miss a beat or two was the thought of finding a new hairdresser in a foreign country.

I almost broke out in a cold sweat at the thought.

The glorious mayhem Wrapped up in the glorious mayhem of the move itself, and of settling into my larger than expected sea-view apartment, it took me a few weeks to come back down to earth. But as all expats know, sooner or later reality sets in and we begin to think that somehow we’ve made a terrible mistake. Starting a new life in a new country is not a piece of cake. I, for one, hadn’t considered how far out of my comfort zone I would be. I wasn’t even in the same country as my comfort zone.

No one mentions the homesickness after leaving family members and close friends back home. No one mentions the loneliness, which I know exists.

After all, I was one of those lonely women walking aimlessly around DB Plaza. No one mentions the red tape involved in something as simple as opening a bank account and organising a credit card. And no one mentions that a normal grocery shop at Fusion is like something out of a Mad Max movie. Everyone careers around the aisles in a flurry of coats, scarves and mobile phones like they’ve been shot

out of a rubber band at warp-8 speed.

The only things missing are the spikes on the trolley wheels.

It’s these small cultural nuances that can catch you out and blindside you.

Mix it all together, and you’ve got a cocktail for stress.

What many couples forget to prepare for is the most important change of all: the one their marriage goes through.

A key stress factor is social isolation during the initial phase of relocation.

This isolation often leads to couples putting too much pressure on each other when they have no friends to spend time with or confide in.

Of course, everyone will say you can overcome the ‘loneliness’ obstacle by joining clubs or the gym, and interacting with people at your spouse’s work functions. But when you’re already struggling with so many emotions and changes, it’s just another overwhelming battle in the war to fit in and settle down.

There’s no fine art to expat living. A stint overseas can finish with a fairy tale  March 2016

43

FAMILY MATTERS

ending just as often as it can end up a terrible nightmare. What is certain is that we all have different stress levels and we all have different priorities and it’s not always a smooth ride. In fact, it can be a double-edged sword. But as the wise and experienced initiates of the expat realm will tell you, chartering into unknown territory is half the fun. They will also tell you it just takes time.

Light at the end of the tunnel You’ll be happy to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Gradually you’ll find the rhythm of that human current and you’ll start to go with the flow. You’ll come to understand, like me, that even if your scales say you haven’t put on any weight, being politely directed from the ‘medium-sized’ clothes rack to the ‘jumbo-sized’ one is not a personal insult. You’ll come to learn that you will never walk in a straight line anywhere because everyone is gazing intently down at their phones and they simply don’t see you in their path.

And very soon you’ll begin to wonder how you ever survived in a world without a helper. Those rare nights out back home, when not only did you have the expense of a babysitter to contend with but there was always the question of who would draw the short straw and be the one limiting their drinks in order to drive home. Very soon, thanks to the superb ferry and taxi service, all of that will become a distant memory.

So my advice is to allow yourself the time and an open mind to adjust to the local culture. You’ll find that Cantonese people are wonderfully helpful. On one occasion as I sat on a bus, balancing an open map precariously on my lap while trying to determine at which stop to get off, I had half a dozen locals, who could not speak English by the way, leaning over my shoulder, all pointing and gesturing. When I eventually stood

on the footpath at my destination, I found myself waving goodbye to a busload of strangers who were waving happily back at me. Like me, you’ll find that Hong Kong is a great place for expats, a modern and entertaining ticking bomb of human energy.

All being said, there’s no better way to prepare yourself for a move abroad than to read about the trials and tribulations of expats living and working overseas who’ve been there and done that. But don’t be governed by everything you read. As Mama

March 2016

For me, I’d rather say ‘I can’t believe I did that’ instead of saying ‘I wish I had’.

Go out of your way to spend 30 minutes alone

Try the 30-minute challenge today DB resident Kerri Gunthorpe, who works in Central as a relationship counsellor, separation support and family mediator and is also a visiting practitioner at the Integrated Medicine Institute (IMI) in DB North Plaza, has this advice for new expats.

“My husband and I have lived in Hong Kong over the years with our children and now in DB as empty nesters. After 34 years together I can honestly say that some of the biggest relationship challenges came from our expatriate living. Many of these problems are first-world issues but nonetheless, they can create opportunity for relationships to disconnect. Here are two simple strategies to help you: Stop trying to find the time for a lengthy catch up. The simple things are enough to keep your relationship connection going. Meeting your partner at the airport, when he gets back from a work trip, gives you 30 minutes to chat before the kids dive in for their time. You can also put your tiredness aside, and take 30 minutes to go for a walk together after the kids are asleep.

And try turning the phone off for 30 minutes. There is nothing more exasperating when we are sharing an issue of importance than hearing the other person’s phone ring or beep a message, or seeing them look away to check their phone. This creates disconnection, a significant feature in today’s relationship breakdowns. Pigeons took 30 hours to get the message to a recipient in years gone by. You can wait to check your phone for 30 minutes.”

You can contact Kerri through IMI in DB on 2537 1087.

Find more topical local topics

44

Cass of The Mamas & the Papas wisely said, “Make your own kind of music and sing your own special song”. Buy those extra fluffy slippers for walking on your wooden floors or marble tiles. Buy a water dispenser if you’re not sure about the quality of the water. And talk to that stranger walking aimlessly around the plaza.

You know the one – she’s the one who looks as lost and lonely as you felt when you first arrived.

@ www.arounddb.com

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TALKING POINTS

Photos by Sam Agars and High Jump Photography

THE FUTURE OF

46

LEARNING Professor Sugata Mitra’s recent talk at Discovery Bay International School provided parents and educationalists alike with plenty of food for thought. Sam Agars reports

Professor Sugata Mitra speaking at DBIS in February

March 2016

TALKING POINTS

W

hen world-renowned educational researcher Professor Sugata Mitra visited Discovery Bay International School (DBIS) to give a presentation in February, it quickly became clear to the audience that he has a tendency to question everything about the current education system.

The winner of the 2013 TED Prize, awarded annually to an individual with the vision to spark global change, is currently in the middle of a research project called School in the Cloud.

Through this innovative learning facility, he is looking into better ways to prepare children for modern life.

Professor Mitra trod a less than conventional pathway into education and his philosophies are far removed from traditional schooling methods.

From a background in political physics, he is now the Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at England’s Newcastle University. He is best known for his Hole in the Wall projects which have shown that, in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other.

A new meaning for knowledge Professor Mitra believes that the time has come for schools to remove irrelevant knowledge and skills from the curriculum and start using the internet as a knowledge base.

“My educational philosophy of the 21st century, of now, is very different from what it would have been if you had asked me the same questions, say, 15 years ago,” Professor Mitra says. “If I had to put it into one sentence, I’d say the internet is a game changer. For some reason we are in a bit of a state of denial but it is actually changing what thinking means; it’s changing what knowing means. That is, I think, the key to understanding what we should do with learning.”

In a world where people have constant access to the internet via their phones,

Professor Mitra asks why we take phones away from students during an exam. He believes the future of learning will be far removed from what we are accustomed to and says it is time to start implementing slow change in classrooms.

“There is a future which is only very vaguely visible right now, a future where a combination of the brain and the internet makes a very important concept disappear – the idea of knowing,” Professor Mitra says.” A lot of people ask, ‘Are you saying knowledge will be obsolete?’ No I’m not; I’m saying knowledge will have a different meaning. That combination of you and the phone knows almost

anything in the traditional sense.

Schools have to change to adapt to that creature.”

Hole in the Wall experiments Professor Mitra’s 1999 Hole in the Wall experiment, which inspired Oscarwinning movie Slumdog Millionaire, saw him bash a hole in his office wall and push through a computer for the young children in a neighbouring New Delhi slum to use. The result sparked a deep-seated curiosity in the learning methods of the young.

“A whole process starts and each action is learnt by everybody around,” Professor Mitra says. “I still don’t 

Professor Sugata Mitra with DBIS principal, Paul Tough

What the DBIS principal thinks “It was wonderful to welcome Professor Mitra to DBIS as educational research plays an important role in teaching and learning within schools.

Ideas such as his inform the ongoing discussions between teachers about the effectiveness of their practice.

Schools have to respond to the rapid changes in society and in particular the workplace. Helping children learn important transferable skills such as comprehension, analysis, evaluation and synthesis is crucial. Equally, helping children understand how to navigate safely and judiciously the welter of information presented to them through mobile technologies is of growing importance.

As for whether Professor Mitra’s ideas are likely to be implemented more widely in schools, our teachers use many of his suggestions now.

Opportunities for self-directed learning and learning which seizes upon the individual interests of children are a feature of our Discovery curriculum in both Secondary and Primary.

We are also looking at enhancing the ability of our students to investigate big problems and concepts in a structured and guided manner. That said, there will always be the need for teachers to teach essential knowledge and core skills.”

March 2016

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TALKING POINTS

know the exact process but it involves experiment, trial, error, transfer of know-how. If you leave groups of children unsupervised, with an internet connection, for a period of nine months, they go from a zero in computer literacy to the same level of computing literacy as the average office secretary in the West.

[Our findings] kind of flew in the face of everything we knew about instruction, teaching and learning.”

Professor Mitra went on to conduct his experiment throughout India, South Africa and Cambodia with the same result. Upon moving to the UK in 2006, he adapted the Hole in the Wall, so he could hold it inside English schools and apply it directly to learning. In schools, Professor Mitra would ask the students “big questions” (open-ended questions) and set them free to form their own groups and find the answers on the internet.

“I say, ‘I don’t know how you are going to find it but I am going to give you 25 minutes and let’s see if you can give me an answer,’” Professor Mitra says.

“When the answer comes back, that’s when you start getting a surprise because you have not told them anything about where to get the answer and how deep the answer should be. The children don’t know what’s meant for them and what’s not, they read everything. This

whole process is called a self-organised learning environment.”

The Granny Cloud Another of Professor Mitra’s groundbreaking concepts, which sees people beamed into places where good teachers won’t go or good teachers are not effective, is the Granny Cloud.

Using a method different to your usual teacher, the Granny Cloud educationalists aim to stimulate learning by using admiration and encouragement.

“Children, particularly below preadolescent, the three things they really dislike are order, methods and reason,” Professor Mitra says. “The grandparent knows this.”

The Granny Cloud is delivered via video calls. Rather than being physically present in the classrooms, the teachers (grandmothers – who can be people of any age) teach from the screen.

School in the Cloud On winning the TED Prize, Professor Mitra had US$1,000,000 at his disposal for a research project and so was born School in the Cloud. Combining the idea of self-organised learning and the Granny Cloud, Professor Mitra

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developed a cloud-based facility where children can explore and learn on their own, with or without a teacher.

“I still don’t know how well both things will work – it’s a three-year study which will end this year,” Professor Mitra says. “The first important thing is to analyse the data, which will happen around the end of this year.”

One problem Professor Mitra faces with his School in the Cloud is teachers questioning him about how this type of online learning can be assessed, leading him to question current exam structures.

“Why was the system the way it was?”

Professor Mitra asks. “Because you were taught things, so you could use them if you needed them one day. But we can think of a system which teaches children how to learn quickly enough, just in time, if they have internet access.

Maybe that’s the shift in schooling that we should look at. Just in case needs to change to just in time.

“The internet has to be taught like a subject and we need to review the curriculum as quickly as possible. We need to take out textbooks and replace them with electronic equivalents that can be reviewed and changed all the time for those subjects, and there are many, which are changing all the time.”

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MONEY MATTERS

SUPPORT SYSTEM Whether you are looking to save, invest, or grow your money, a financial advisor can help you achieve specific goals.

Joe Dobbs reports

S Illustrations courtesy of www.wikimedia.org

ome young friends nipped over from Sheung Wan to visit my wife and I a few weekends ago, primarily to ask for a bit of financial advice. I’m a bond trader, not a financial advisor, but I was happy to share my two cents’ worth, particularly when I learnt that the lovebirds had just lost rather a large sum to some dodgy insurance scam.

I hear too many stories about young or simply gullible people, who are attempting to save for their future, making ill-informed choices, or quite simply getting conned. (Consider pyramid schemes, and the fraudsters who deal in them.) When it comes to making finance-related decisions, the most important thing to recognise, as I told my weekend visitors, is if something sounds too good to be true, it is. The second is just as straightforward – get yourself a trusted financial planner and don’t move without his say so.

Why you need a financial advisor My young friends were rather taken aback when I advised them to employ  March 2016

51

MONEY MATTERS

a financial planner – more so when I advised them to pay him 1% of their annual assets. But to me this is absolutely essential. Whether you are just starting out, or well on the road to retirement, you need someone to watch over your finances for you. By having an independent financial planner on call, 12 months of the year, you get all the advice you could possibly need. What’s more, the cost involved is negligible since you are gaining expert advice that will help you pay off a mortgage, fund your children’s education and enjoy your retirement.

When choosing a financial planner, my first tip is that you avoid those who rely on commission for their income.

Advisors who profit from enticing you towards particular products can’t help but be biased. Better pay someone an annual fee or, if your needs are really simple, a flat fee for a financial plan, topped up with a few hourly consultations over the year.

Your advisor must have a degree, diploma, or an advanced diploma in a relevant discipline such as finance, economics, accounting or financial planning. On top of this, he should ideally be a Certified Financial Planner, or CFP professional. As

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March 2016

who is not a fiduciary, is bound to sell you financial products that suit your needs but that’s it – they don’t have to be ideal or in your best interests. you can see on the Institute of Financial Planners of HK website: “CFP Certification is the world’s oldest and most recognised advanced certification for financial planners. It is the pinnacle of financial planning excellence and CFP professionals are required to meet stringent initial and on-going standards on competence, ethics and practice.”

To get the CFP credential, an advisor has gone through a twoyear certification process, he is also committed to keeping up-to-date on the information you need through continuing education.

Note that advisors who rely financially on what they sell (insurance policies, securities or mutual funds) have professional relationships with the providers they work with. To avoid a conflict of interest, CFP professionals are bound by a strict code of professional conduct – they are ethically obliged to put your needs above their own. You are looking for a fiduciary – someone who has sworn to act in his client’s best interests at all times. A financial planner,

Questions to ask In order to choose the right financial planner, the one who will best serve your needs, you have to be prepared to ask a lot of questions. As a starting point, ask friends and colleagues, who are of a similar age and earning capacity, for their recommendations.

If you have children, ask other parents; if you are a recent graduate, talk to other graduates. Be wary of (run from) any financial planners who ‘cold call’ you – a successful advisor doesn’t have to hunt for clients.

While a friend’s recommendation is a good sign, rely on your own judgment. Be prepared to interview several advisors before you plump for one. Take your time, as you may like the first person you talk to but be totally blown away by the second or third. Approaches to finance vary widely, so explore the alternatives in order to find your perfect match.

In an initial meeting with an advisor, assess not only his qualifications but also his experience. Will you 

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feel happiest being advised by someone newly graduated with high qualifications, or by someone older with fewer qualifications but more on-the-job experience? Some financial planners work with their clients directly, and others have a team of people working with them.

Make sure that you meet (and warm to) the person who will actually be assisting you.

It’s important to assess whether an advisor typically deals with clients in a financial situation comparable to your own. Ask him about his other clients and request letters of recommendation. This way you can judge if he has the experience to deal with your issues and goals.

Discuss the advisor’s typical line of attack. Make sure his approach to investing isn’t too aggressive (or too cautious) for your needs. Importantly too, check that he is familiar with any financial products you currently own.

Watch to see that he focuses on the services and strategies he can offer you, rather than the products he can sell you.

Once you have a couple of potential advisors shortlisted, run a background check on each of them. Have they ever been convicted or accused of a crime? Ask which organisations they are regulated by and contact them. (The CFP Board keeps records on the disciplinary history of its members). Ask too about the advisors’

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FINANCIAL PLANNING ASK THE EXPERT HELLO RESIDENTS OF DB, LANTAU AND THE REST OF HONG KONG! It’s time to consult THE EXPERT about your financial planning!

My thoughts I understand we all go through different stages of life and so do our insurance needs. But the mandatory insurances required by the Hong Kong Government (including domestic helper insurance and automobile coverage) are always worth due diligence.

Note that if you rent your home, you need insurance to protect yourself from public liability lawsuits. And if you have a mortgage, your bank may demand that you take out both fire coverage and mortgage protection insurance.

Homeowners insurance is a security blanket. It is designed to protect you in the event of a catastrophe. Therefore, when you are choosing a policy, don’t always look to save money – the best deal may cost you more in the long run.

But be sure to shop around. When you receive your annual renewal statement, check to see if you can snag a better deal elsewhere.

Consider whether you have too much coverage. It’s common for policies to contain inflation-protection provisions that automatically increase your coverage amount. You may want to adjust your coverage amount to a more realistic figure.

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qualifications and credentials and make sure their claims are true and current.

You can find out through Google who administers the designation in question, then call the administrator for verification.

One final piece of advice. An advisor should fully understand your financial situation before suggesting ways that he can help you, or asking you how much money you have to invest. A good financial advisor will therefore ask you a great many questions when you first meet – about your health and your financial health (debt/ savings situation), and whether you have an existing will, insurance scheme and retirement plan.

Be as open and honest with him, as you want him to be with you.

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CONTINENT

Photos by Kate Whitehead and courtesy of Polar Latitudes

Out and about in Antarctica, Kate Whitehead enjoys close encounters with penguins, taking a Polar Plunge and chilling her cocktails with black ice

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T

he Drake Passage is the notoriously volatile stretch of water that separates Latin America and Antarctica. If you’re lucky, the waters will be relatively calm and the old hands on deck will declare a ‘Drake Lake’. However, you’re just as likely to encounter stormy seas, waves that batter the ship and have half the passengers heaving in their cabins. But whatever the Drake throws at you, it’s all part of the rite of passage to Antarctica – a twoday transition from the everyday world of wi-fi and worries to a far simpler yet more powerful place.

March 2016

It is 100 years since the British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was caught in the pack ice, marking the beginning of one of the world’s most exciting adventure stories. Today the Antarctic Peninsula looks much as it did in Shackleton’s time – a great white arm that extends from the main body of the icy continent, populated with penguins, whales and Weddell seals that appear to be smiling as they lounge on the ice flows. But unlike Shackleton and his crew, who were locked in a battle to survive, today’s expedition ships are packed with visitors psyched for the trip of a lifetime.

Sea Explorer, an expedition ship operated by Polar Latitudes, crosses the Drake almost every 10 days during the summer season, from late October through to March. Then the ice freezes over and Antarctica is again cut off from the rest of the world.

Bragging rights Travel to Antarctica still holds bragging rights, especially if you camp out on the ice or dare to do the Polar Plunge, stripping off and immersing yourself in the icy waters. And unlike most organised tours, tourists are made to

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Sea Explorer in Neko Harbour, packed with visitors psyched for the trip of a lifetime

feel as though they are explorers on a proper adventure. On Sea Explorer the expedition team is made up of 10 scientists, biologists, historians and adventurers, who nimbly switch between giving lectures on the wildlife, history and geology to navigating inflatable Zodiacs between the icebergs and facing down a snowstorm without flinching.

It is not a leisurely cruise. Expedition leader Hannah Lawson gives a wakeup call over the PA system each morning. It’s usually an early start after a late night, but she succeeds in

gauging the right tone for the time of day and usually gives a good incentive to crawl out of bed: “Good morning, it’s 6.30am and we are in Paradise Harbour. On your starboard, you’ll see a humpback whale breaching.

Breakfast will be served in half an hour.”

How very civilised this is, so unlike the experience on Endurance. No doubt Shackleton’s men weren’t greeted with cups of hot chocolate – and the option of a slug of whisky – when they clambered on board after time out on the ice. And the penguins, who hog

the limelight on Antarctic trips, are no longer served up as dinner. That’s right, the early explorers ate penguins.

Frederick Cook, an American surgeon and polar explorer wrote in 1897 that penguins tasted like: “A piece of beef, odiferous cod fish and a canvas-backed duck roasted together in a pot with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce.”

Losing your perspective The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) oversees tourism in the region and among the stringent rules aimed   March 2016

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ale ack wh Humpb

g watchin

An iceberg graveyard

s penguin arious il h y ll ccidenta le and a Adorab

at protecting the wildlife is the stipulation that visitors are not to get closer than five metres to the penguins and other animals. But the penguins don’t know about the rule, so if you stand still they will often come right up to you. It can make for some magic moments. Another IAATO regulation holds that no more than 100 people are allowed to land in the same space at any one time.

Beyond the penguins, whales and seals, the draw of Antarctica is the vast, icy landscape. It’s a place like no other on Earth and as such the usual rules no longer seem to apply.

The first thing to go is your sense of perspective. In the early summer everything is white – the mountains are covered in snow, glaciers roll down to the sea and the rest is part of the great ice sheet. There are no trees or anything that might give you a sense of scale, making it difficult to judge distances. Only when you see an inflatable Zodiac boat beside an iceberg, do you realise just how huge these majestic blocks of ice really are.

light the glaciers. This is the best time to hear them creak and moan. Every now and then a section will calve off into the sea, hitting the water with a loud smack and sending a tsunami across the bay. Liberated, these new icebergs float off.

The more you look at the icebergs, the more you come to appreciate the range of colours, from white through to turquoise, deep blue and black. The black ice is the oldest – 50,000-yearold water that has been compressed over time so that all the air and impurities have been removed. This black ice looks like shards of glass.

A taste for the ice

Expedition leader Hannah cuts the Zodiac’s engine and we drift through an iceberg graveyard. The icebergs here have run aground and are slowly melting. These are majestic slabs of ice, calved from a glacier and shaped and moulded by the sea. Sue spots a big chunk of black ice and leans over the side of the Zodiac and with bare hands, for a better grip, heaves it into the boat. “We’ll take this bit back – it’s the best ice to have in your G&T,” she says.

What makes the landscape even more surreal is the fact that it never gets properly dark in the summer. The sun sets after 10pm and even then there’s a twilight that’s enough to

Sipped on the ship’s deck, overlooking the icebergs, it is indeed the best gin and tonic ever. Now that’s another thing Shackleton probably missed out on.

Getting there To get on an expedition ship, like Sea Explorer, you must book through an agent. This entails no additional cost and the agent will advise you on the best time to go, provide help with logistics and ensure immediate ground support in the event of any problems. One of the best options locally is A2A Journeys, which has an office in Central and tailor-makes luxury adventure trips to Antarctica. Visit www.a2asafaris.com. You can also contact Flight Centre Hong Kong to organise a luxury Ponant cruise of Antarctica. Visit www.flightcentre.com.hk.

A smiling Weddell seal

Find more exciting travel destinations

58

March 2016

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Alex Yang of Team Korea

SMASHING SUCCESS Any way you spin it, DB’s much loved Tennis Nations Cup is sure to provide an ace time for all this month.

Beverly Au talks to top players and club coaches

H

Photos by www.evoqueportraits.com.hk

eld on the weekend of March 5 at the Discovery Bay Recreation Cub (DBRC), the 23rd Tennis Nations Cup is about to serve up a big slice of fun for DB tennis players representing their country, and their legions of fans.

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Tennis has always been one of the best loved and well supported sports in Discovery Bay, and this year’s event promises to be another smashing success. Each team is comprised of eight men and four women players, with 20 different national teams digging deep to bring sporting glory to their home country. An annual highlight for spectators, in addition to the court-side carnival, is that players dress up in fun, and often highly amusing, national costume.

March 2016

Game on Players to watch this year include Alex Yang and Kyoko Funo, representing Korea and Japan, and Richard Beck, who is captaining Team Australia. Alex and Richard have both played for the DBRC’s men’s A+ Team in the Hong Kong Tennis Association night league, while Kyoko plays in top-tier day and night league women’s teams for DB. All three have been eagerly hitting the courts these past few weeks preparing for this year’s event.

“I like the camaraderie and the country spirit of the Nations Cup,” says Alex, an 11-year DB resident and 10-time Nations Cup participant. “The DB tennis community likes to get outside and play tennis together. It’s more fun with more people. In past years,

there has been a good spirit. People sometimes get a little nit-picky with line calls but everything is settled on court and everyone has fun afterwards.

“It is also nice to have something to celebrate. Everyone looks forward to it and it is great because it brings neighbours together,” Alex adds.

As each team has just 12 players and a few reserves, not everyone gets to play.

Each team captain has his own way of picking players – whether on a firstcome-first enrolment basis, or purely based on talent. “The event is so popular that we had to cut a few people from our team this year,” Alex reveals, “so we drew names out of a hat.”

Richard, who will be playing in his 12th Nations Cup this year, says Team

ACTION

Kyoko Funo representing Japan

Richard Beck, captain of Team Australia

Australia’s preparations have included practice sessions and, appropriately enough, a team barbeque. “The Nations Cup is a great opportunity to bring people together and have a bit of competitive spirit,” he says. “We enjoy getting players who haven’t played in a while to join in. As people are representing their country, the tournament always brings out this competitiveness.”

the other teams in their group, with each match consisting of one men’s doubles set and one women’s doubles set. Each team is then ranked one to five, depending on the number of games won by each team. Then on the Sunday, the top team from each group is put into a pool and plays off for the title, while the second, third, fourth and fifth finishers are also put into pools to play off for additional prizes.

Kyoko played for Italy in the 2015 Nations Cup but will be representing her native Japan this year in her second attempt at lifting the trophy. “It’s a great time and the standard of the matches is good,” the bubbly three-year DB resident says enthusiastically. “I like playing with different people. The tournament is like a festival and I enjoy the food from all over the world that is served at the court-side carnival.”

DBRC tennis coach Ajit Gidwani explains: “At Sunday’s semi-final and finals stages, each match consists of a men’s doubles, ladies’ doubles and mixed doubles set. The winner is then decided by the total number of games won.”

How it works The Nations Cup is played over a weekend and each day has a different playing format.

On the Saturday, the 20 teams vying for the cup are randomly separated into four groups of five teams. Each team plays a match against each of

Player standards are high for the cup, which partly reveals why places for this event are so coveted. “There are a few players in the Nations Cup, longterm DB residents, who have played at a high level as juniors back in their home country. And many of the players play in the Hong Kong Tennis Association leagues,” Ajit explains.

Roberto Santamaria, DBRC head tennis coach, expects this year’s cup to be extremely competitive.

“Australia has won the Nations Cup many times, 10 times in a row prior

to 2015,” he says. “But last year Team China won and it was a surprise.”

This year, Roberto says, Team China players have to prove themselves not just against Australia but also other top teams, such as Germany, who always come close to winning the cup and have many new players from which to draw from.

“Being a well-rounded player is important, especially in doubles, as players need to be able to play from the baseline, and effectively at the net to be successful. Good communication with partners is also vital,” advises Ajit.

Having a ball Besides giving it their all for national pride on the courts, tournament players and their supporters enjoy a reputably raucous, if not downright wild, after-party.

“Each team dresses up in a theme which represents their nation and parades into the club for everyone to see,” says Ajit. “Prizes are given to the bestdressed team for both the day event and evening event. After the parade, we have the trophy ceremony for the winners of the tournament, followed by a buffet dinner and dancing.”  March 2016

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The combined US teams took home best dressed at the after-party, 2015

DBRC coaches Ajit Gidwani and Roberto Santamaria

“The after-party performances are great fun,” Roberto says. “You never know what people are going to come dressed as.” Memorable appearances to date have included a Santa Claus crew driving a golf cart, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and an Elvis impersonating band.

Last year, the prize for best after-party costume went to the combined US teams dressed as the stars of smashhit, seventies movie Grease; USA Lightening took home the prize for best dressed on court.

“The best part of the tournament has to be the diversity of the people playing in the event. The Nations Cup is a real celebration of the DB community, with people coming out for a good time,” says Ajit.

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March 2016

Team China – Tennis Nations Cup winners 2015

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HK HAPPENINGS

10 FUN THINGS TO DO IN HK THIS MONTH!

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KING AND COUNTRY

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wanchai

March 4-6 & 8-13

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of The Bard’s death, Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company is performing King and Country, Shakespeare’s Great Cycle of Kings – Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V. The trilogy, staged by Gregory Doran, tells the story of Prince Hal, a boy who grows up to become King of England. To book tickets, starting at HK$100, visit www.hk.artsfestival.org.

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D Park, Tsuen Wan

www.discoverhongkong.com

Drums, dance and delicious food are all in store at the 12th Tai Kok Tsui Temple Fair. Dedicated to Hung Shing, King of the South Seas, who is revered throughout China’s southern provinces, the day-long event is a celebration of Chinese culture and fun for the whole family. Don’t miss the grand parade in the morning and a 150-metre, luminous dragon dance at night. Visit www.tkttemplefair.org.hk for more information.

Bumps to Babes welcomed the newest member to its family by opening its doors in Tsuen Wan at the end of February. A well-known, trusted and authoritative voice for new parents and growing families, Bumps to Babes stocks leading brands from around the world. Open seven days a week, 10.30am to 8pm for baby essentials, baby equipment and toys. Visit www.bumpstobabes.com.

THE PSYCHO TOUR

King George V School, Ho Man Tin Brought to you by LA Comedy Live, Margaret Cho’s one-night-only performance immediately sold out, prompting a second date.

Promising a night of insanity and hysteria, the show features a ‘magical music performance’ plus tributes to the late Robin Williams and Joan Rivers. The threetime Grammy- and Emmynominated comedienne is performing for the first time in Hong Kong. To purchase tickets, starting at HK$480, visit www.ticketflap.com.

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER LIVE! AsiaWorld-Expo, Chek Lap Kok

On the heels of a massively successful Rock Out With Your Socks Out world tour, Australian pop-punk sensation 5 Seconds of Summer is back on the road to promote its second studio album, Sounds Good, Feels Good. Released 0 in the fall of 2015, the chart-topper features the singles She’s Kinda Hot, 1 h Marc Hey Everybody! and Jet Black Heart. For tickets, starting at HK$488, visit www.hatterhostels.com www.hkticketing.com.hk.

h Marc

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www.digitaljournal.com

March 2016

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HK HAPPENINGS

Friend us on Facebook for event reminders -13

10 rch

Ma

www.facebook.com/tastehongkong

TASTE OF HONG KONG

Central Harbourfront Event Space, Central For four days, 12 of Hong Kong’s top restaurants, along with 50 boutique exhibitors, are providing a succulent feast for food lovers. The al fresco banquet is paired with choice wine and spirits, exciting activities and top-notch entertainment. Visit www.ticketflap.com for tickets; find out more at www.hongkong.tastefestivals.com.

THE BEACH BOYS

Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wanchai The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is bringing US music legends The Beach Boys to town for an extraordinary live show. See them perform a selection of their all-time greatest hits, including Good Vibrations, Surfin’ USA, California Girls, Fun Fun Fun and Wouldn’t it be Nice, all to a vibrant symphonic accompaniment.

Tickets, starting at HK$380, are available at www.hkphil.org.

March 18-19 www.playtimes.com.hk

March 20

HONG KONG DERBY Shatin Racecourse, Shatin

Dating back to 1873, the BMW Hong Kong Derby is one of the most prestigious races on the local calendar, providing a once-ina-lifetime opportunity for the best local four-year-old horses to become the stuff of legend. The Hong Kong Derby now covers 2,000 metres, since it was increased from 1,800 metres in the 1999/ 2000 season.

Visit www.hkjc.com for more information.

HONG KONG ART WEEK Across Hong Kong

www.hkjc.com

March 2016

Victoria Park, Causeway Bay Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Flower Show encourages several thousands of the city’s residents, as well as horticulture enthusiasts from all over the world, to appreciate the beauty of flowers and share their love for cultivation.

This year’s edition showcases the Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon), along with a multitude of potted plants, floral arrangements and landscape displays.

Visitors can also enjoy educational and recreational activities, such as drawing competitions, floral art demonstrations, greening activity workshops, guided tours, commercial stalls and music performances.

For more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk.

March 11-20

March 23-27

Check out three internationally acclaimed events from www.wearebrandcollective.com March 23 to 27. Art Central showcases emerging and established artists from 20 countries at the Central Harbourfront, March 23 to 26. Art Basel focuses on contemporary art, 50% from Asia and Asia Pacific, March 24 to 26, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Conrad Hong Kong hosts 3,000 artworks at the eighth edition of the Asia Contemporary Art Show, March 24 to 27. To find out more, visit www.artcentralhongkong.com, www.artbasel.com and www.asiacontemporaryart.com.

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HONG KONG FLOWER SHOW

www.wikimedia.org

Uncle Russ Coffee is happy to announce

Uncle Russ Coffee Academy - Barista Skills Training Course Students will gain the knowledge and skills to prepare and serve hot and cold drinks in a cafe.

Course includes: • Origins and knowledge of coffee beans • Operation of espresso machines • Grinding, dosing and tamping skills • Extraction and brewing skills • Milk techniques • Creating signature drinks • Operation of a coffee shop • General trends of the coffee industry

For more information Tel: 2520 2816 Email: info@uncleruss.com.hk

DB FACES

COMMUNITY SNAPS!

Email your photos for DB Faces to info@baymedia.com.hk. Around DB accepts no liability for the photos sent

Who do you know? Find more familiar faces @ www.arounddb.com.

www.evoqueportraits.com

Win prizes from Uncle Russ Coffee and The Pier Bar! Congratulations to last month’s winner: Sharon Hubber (@iammrshubber)

T

he best snap wins! Your mission this month is to share a photo taken in DB or Lantau on our @around_db Instagram page and hashtag it #arounddb. You have until the 10th of this month to enter – so get tagging.

This is your chance to win a complimentary coffee from Uncle Russ, or a beer from The Pier Bar every day for a week. We will contact the winner via Instagram. Good luck!

OFFICE 3483 5003

www.homesolutions.hk

Sharon Riley Misako Takato Kim Jomar

9664 4749 9757 0927 9748 2367

(S-415475) (S-287062) (E-352962)

NOW SERVING SOUTH LANTAU AND TUNG CHUNG

18.88M VILLA IN CHUENG SHA 1472 Net (3500 Gross inc/ Roof & Garden)

Stunning Villa in desirable area. 3 large beds, 2.5 baths inc ensuite. Open plan kitchen adjoins entrance/dining/sitting room. Sweeping views of sea and mountains. Private car park. Quiet cul de sac. 2 mins to beach.

Newly renovated to hi spec by well known designer. 2 beds, 1 bath. Open plan living area that can be closed off or opened depending on space required.

Lovely quiet area with stunning sea views from roof. Sold with tenancy.

34K

Located in quiet gated community. 3 beds, 2.5 baths incl 1 en suite. Fully equipped open plan kitchen and dining room on GF, leading onto landscaped garden. Private undercover carport. Complex has shared indoor gym and outdoor children’s play area.

CHEUNG SHA BEACH HOUSE 1200’ + Terrace

Want to live right on the beach? Stunning 3 bed, 2 bath property in rare & unique location. Recently updated. Open plan living on G/F with all appliances.

Fully furnished! Parking nearby.

G/F MUI WO VILLAGE HOUSE 700’ + Patio

Call us any time at 3483 5003 or Email PROPERTY@HOMESOLUTIONS.HK

ho

-

Making you feel at home is our business

Spacious flat in lovely quiet area of Mui Wo village. 2 beds, 2 baths. Large living area with separate modern western kitchen. Master bed with ensuite.

Patio area accessed from living room. Minutes from beach.

th afric

shop an

13K

ng kong

-

VILLA IN CHEUNG SHA 1091’ (Approx 1400 sqft Gross) + Garden

The sou

35K

5.68M 2/F PUI O VILLAGE HOUSE 700’ + 700’ Rooftop

C-044849

Laser Hair Removal Free initial consultation

Our clinic uses the US FDA approved Apogee elite laser system which has been medically proven to safely remove hair from most areas of the body and face.

Packages and single treatments available

Cosmetic Dermatology – Facial Treatments Free initial consultation

We offer: Laser Rejuvenation | AHA/Glycolic Acid Peels | Botox | Dermal Fillers We also stock a wide range of prescriptive skincare products for home use.

SPECIAL OFFER 10% DISCOUNT (until end of April 2016)

ON ALL LASER HAIR REMOVAL PACKAGES, LASER REJUVENATION AND AHA/GLYCOLIC ACID PEELS If you would like more information please contact our specialist cosmetic nurse

View DB property listings @ www.arounddb.com

WORSHIP SERVICE Discovery College Sundays @ 10 am

CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP PRACTICAL BIBLE TEACHING KIDS CHURCH & TEENS

Pastor James Buckner Tel: 2987 7061 www.dbicc.org

View local business directories @ www.arounddb.com COMMUNITY

FINANCE & INSURANCE

NETWORKING BREAKFAST APRIL 5 AT ZAKS, DB PLAZA

AUSTRALIAN TAX RETURNS

Meet local service providers & customers, ask questions & get advice from those who have gone before. Contact info@t8-consulting.com for more information

EMPLOYMENT

Need to lodge your Australian tax return?

If you are an expat or collect rental from Australian property, you must lodge an annual return.

Let us do it for you here in HK. Contact Dwight Stuchbery, Australasian Taxation Services on 3571 8700, dwight@smats.net, or visit www.smats.net

EMPLOYER WANTED

Marie Amora is looking for a new employer. She excels at child minding, cooking & cleaning.

Call her on 6492 3511

EMPLOYER LOOKING FOR A HELPER? OR HELPER LOOKING FOR AN EMPLOYER? Place your free classifieds ad here.

Email info@baymedia.com.hk

Deadline for April issue classifieds

March 15

HEALTH & WELLBEING

HYPNOSIS &/ OR SHORT-TERM THERAPY

Quit smoking quickly.

Divorce/ Post-Divorce Coaching.

Resolve: • Fear of Flying/ Public Speaking • Overeating • Couples’ Conflicts • Career & Command-Training Stress • Anger Management • Phobias • Nail Biting • Insomnia • Exam Jitters Call Dr Melanie Bryan, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist & Hypnotherapist on 2575 7707, or visit www.mindmatters.hk

HOME SERVICES FTC RELOCATIONS

The experts in local & international moving. World-class service – competitive rates. FTC also provides short-term storage & handyman services. Operating throughout DB & Lantau. Call 2814 1658, or visit www.ftc.hk

AKASH MOVING

Local packing & moving service.

Best move – best rate.

Akash offers a packing/ unpacking service, provides boxes & packing materials & makes small deliveries.

Call 2421 8088, or visit www.akash.hk

HOME SERVICES

PETS

SONTHRA HANDYMAN

THE PLACE WHERE THE PETS GO - PETCODB

Furniture repairing by indoor/ outdoor & polishing specialist.

Any kind of solid wood plus hanging pictures (any wall work).

• Better quality • Great value • Low prices • Satisfaction guaranteed Contact Peter on 9674 7531, Sonthrapeter@gmail.com

HOUSE DOCTOR HANDYMAN

Fluent in English.

Hong Kong permanent resident.

• Plumbing • Electrical • Aircon installation & repairs • Curtain, blind, picture, mirror, shelf & picture hanging • Ceiling fan & light installation • Kitchen & bathroom renovation • Assembly of Ikea products • House painting Contact Frank on 9141 5706, housedoc999express@gmail.com

EXPERT MOVER

• Mover • Storage • Handyman Competitive rates.

Professional quality service.

Contact 2566 4799, sales@expertmover.hk.

Visit www.expertmover.hk

DOG SERVICES

Home boarding, behaviour modification, Tui Na Massage & grooming. Reliable & honest.

100% safety record over the past 11 years.

Call Dave Chan on 9872 5439, or visit www.quoquoclub.com

RETAIL ABBELIO WINES

Great value! High scoring!

Wines from around the world!

Free delivery & special offer for Discovery Bay residents.

For details, visit http://abw.hk/db, or call 3170 8458

SERVICES VERIDIAN LTD

Bookkeeping & accounting services.

(Manual/ Quickbooks/ Xero/ Kashoo.)

Specialising in personal & small businesses.

Contact 2987 2146 / 9444 0405, jrh4966@netvigator.com

KIDS

EARLY ADVENTURES PLAYGROUP

Grooming & Pet Care Services.

Trust us to provide loving & safe care for the ones you love!

Contact 2914 0382, info@petcodb.com.

Visit www.petcodb.com

SONTHRA TAILORING SERVICES

A dedicated playgroup with the emphasis on learning through play.

Activities to stimulate all areas of development. Come & look at our facilities. Classes for kids from 20 months to 4 years.

Morning & afternoon sessions.

Call 9511 2107, or visit www.earlyadventures.net

Tailoring for ladies & children.

(Shirts, pyjamas. Shalwar Kameez, baby dresses.)

Individual designs, copies, alterations & modifications.

Bespoke drapery, upholstery, bed & table linens. High quality, excellent service, competitive pricing, satisfaction guaranteed.

Contact 9637 1620, sonthrafarnaz@gmail.com

Our Customers of the Month

Marushka & Nikita Mypetshop in the North Plaza.

Shop G09-92 Siena Ave. DB North Plaza Tel: 2987 8873 Open Daily 10am – 7:30pm

March 2016

71

View local business directories @ www.arounddb.com

Alcoholics Anonymous If you want to drink, that’s your business.

If you want to stop, we can help.

No dues or fees.

24 hour hotline: 9073 6922 Lantau hotline: 5668 2667 www.aa-hk.org

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March 2016

View local business directories @ www.arounddb.com TRAVEL concoRdE TRAVEL

Leisure Travel & Cruise specialists since 1978.

Call 2526 3391, or visit www.concorde-travel.com.

Licence No 350343

BLACKOUT BOXING Formerly Boxfit

TUITIon & coURSES

LEARn SPAnISH

Native speaker, DELE examiner.

Experienced teacher.

IB, IGCSE, A-Levels & HKDSE Business Spanish & courses for adults.

Flexible schedule & locations.

(Special offers to students who live in DB & Tung Chung.)

For enquiries please contact Mr Erik R at 9666 9511, rerikm@hotmail.com

Sunday 12pm at Movement Improvement.

Learn precise boxing techniques to strengthen and condition your body.

Call: 6926 2168 or 6338 0283 for bookings.

Email: Errofit168@yahoo.com

cHInESE (MAndARIn & cAnTonESE), MATHEMATIcS & EnGLISH

Personal Professional Tutoring Service.

• Curriculum: HSK, IB, GCSE, SAT • ESF & all international schools, Year 1 to 13 • For students & adults (homework/ exams/ business) • Mother-tongue Chinese tutors from the PRC (Levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced) • Mathematics tutors (UK B SC) • Native English tutors.

(MA in Education, specialising in Early Childhood Stage) Contact 9107 5655, graciasx@hotmail.com

MAndARIn cHInESE cLASSRooM

In the Greens. Lessons for adults & children, individually & in small groups.

Any level/ time/ purpose.

Call 6071 9643, or visit www.dbmandarin.com

FULLY QUALIFIEd ScIEncE TEAcHER

With Honours Bachelors Degree.

Offering tutoring for KS3 & IGCSE Science (all disciplines) & IB/ A Level Physics.

Contact 6079 2052, mr.m.walker@yahoo.com.uk

MUSIc TUToR

Experienced international school teacher, UK conservatoire trained with 17 years successful teaching experience & excellent exam result record.

Available to tutor in international exam boards, ABRSM Music Theory & Cello, plus GCSE/IB/AL music tuition. For rates, contact 6076 6740, or debsinhk@hotmail.com

SINCE 1997

OUR SERVICES •Counselling for individuals, couples, families & adolescents • Sliding fee scale; affordable options for all clients • English, Putonghua, Cantonese, Russian, Hindi, Marathi and Marwadi speaking counsellors

www.resourcecounselling.org Serving the community over 40 years A Member Agency of the Community Chest

DOG & CAT GROOMING ( BY APPOINTMENT ) PET FOOD & ACCESSORIES SUPPLIES CAT SITTING SERVICE FREE DAILY DELIVERY Ground floor 11B, Discovery Bay Plaza, Discovery Bay (next to Island Vet) Tel: 2987 0428 / Fax : 2914 1313 / E-mail : petsgallerydb@yahoo.com.hk Open from 9:00 am till 7:30 pm (Mon - Sun)

Importing all natural, handmade products from small British producers

- Japan qualified – skilled piano technician in DB We can offer professional advice and services on all piano matters; Creating a good sound to make harmony with your heart!

One of the keys to piano maintenance is - How to keep your piano in good condition with a subtropical climate www.88keys.com.hk E-mail: info@88keys.com.hk Tel : 9687 0726

GMT FOODS Tel: +852 6647 2292 email: gillian@gmtfoodshk.com www.gmtfoodshk.com www.facebook.com/gmtfoods twitter@gillian_GMT

est. 2009

March 2016

73

Find short-term rentals @ www.arounddb.com LANTAU PROPERTY

BRIGHT LUXURIOUS 2-BED Fully-furnished sea-view apartment, with fully equipped kitchen, towels & linen, wi-fi & broadband. Very close to DB North Plaza, Club Siena & DB Tunnel. Contact 9278 8191, qiushengproperties@gmail.com

LANTAU PROPERTY

APARTMENTS IN TUNG CHUNG FOR LEASE Fully furnished, 2- & 3-bed apartments available for long/ short- term lease. Minimum rental period 1 month. In excellent condition.

Contact Miss Man on 9806 9175/ 9872 7395, tanford787@gmail.com

DELUXE SERVICED APARMENTS

CHERISH COURT

Fully furnished 1-2-bed apartments with beautiful decor, wi-fi & broadband. Well-equipped kitchen, luxurious bedding, weekly cleaning service.

Contact Annie on 2987 2626, annie@appletravel.com

Fully furnished, 2-bedroom flat with wi-fi & Now TV. Full sea view & Disneyland-firework view. Photos available.

Contact Jacqueline 9811 0718, jacquelinedb@gmail.com

LUXURY APARTMENTS IN SIENA 2 Spacious 600’ apartments for short- or long-term rental. Quiet with sea views over park, near Club Siena & DB Tunnel. Fully furnished with washer/ drier, bedlinen, kitchenware, 55” TVs, wi-fi, blu-ray home theatre. Contact the owner on 9317 0624, nialady2011@gmail.com

COSY NEW 1 BEDROOM Cosy & brand-new 1-bedroom flat with sea view, convenient location, fully furnished with bed linen, kitchenware, washer/ drier & English & Chinese TV channels. Free cleaning once every 3 days upon request. Minimum stay 3 nights. Contact Mary on 9726 6219, marydbay@gmail.com

OVERSEAS PROPERTY MODERN 1-BEDROOM FLAT Spacious open layout on a quiet, high floor.

Shower & fully equipped kitchen, washer/ dryer.

Wi-fi, English movies & news. Just unpack!

Competitively priced. Contact 6680 2007, greenmountain123@gmail.com

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA

FULLY FURNISHED 1-BED

53’ SAILING YACHT, LANGKAWI & THAILAND

Smart apartment on a high floor with sea view.

Close to pier & DB Plaza. Available fully furnished.

Call Tiareti on 9732 8985

Stunning 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom sailing yacht in a Langkawi marina, for overnight stay or private charter around Langkawi and Southern Thailand. For details, contact 9732 2544, garry@saffron-marina.com

Stunning cliff-top 2-bedroom beach cottage offering uninterrupted 180 degree views of the Pacific Ocean, just a 5-minute walk to Laguna Beach. For more information, contact 9732 2544, garry@saffron-marina.com

LUXURY 2-BED Newly renovated, 2-bed flat with balcony.

Luxuriously furnished, with TV, cable & broadband. Panoramic harbour views & short walk to pier. Contact Charles on 6140 7971, charles@headlandhomes.hk. Contact Katie on 9150 7319, katie@headlandhomes.hk

SLEEPS 4 Bright, fully furnished flat, sleeps 4. Fully equipped kitchen, plus wi-fi & broadband.

Towels & linens provided. Minimum stay 1 month. Email dbstay4@yahoo.com

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March 2016

AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY Everything you need to know about buying a property in Australia. Information on property markets, taxation, finance, migration & legal.

Free online at www.aussieproperty.com

PHUKET VILLA Deluxe, spacious 4-bedroom villa, with ensuite bathrooms & private pool.

Wireless internet access, sala, bar & BBQ area.

Fully equipped kitchen with laundry area.

Close to Laguna. Contact Roenel on 9050 4772, atsea@netvigator.com

THE RED LANTERN

Genuine antiques, small pieces of delightful furniture from the late ‘Ching Dynasty’

Six minutes walk from the Mui Wo ferry to the direction of the Silvermine Beach Hotel.

TEL: 2984 0099 FAX: 2980 4833 EMAIL: glandam@netvigator.com

Greenland Pest Control Tailored Pest Control Solutions for Rodent, Cockroaches, Fleas, Mosquitoes, Termites, Ants, Ticks etc…

For info please call Thomas 9871 0771 or May 9774 3554 Email: greenlandpest@outlook.com

AROUND DB AND LIFE ON LANTAU YOUNG WRITER’S COMPETITION 2016 ALL SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS LIVING AND/ OR STUDYING IN LANTAU ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER

Here’s your chance to prove and improve your writing skills, express your ideas and get published! From the articles submitted, our three mentors will each select a winning story and work on improving it with the author. The three finished articles will then be posted on the Around DB and Life on Lantau Facebook page for an online vote.

You are • A secondary school student living and/ or studying in Lantau

The article is • A nonfiction account of 600 to 700 words, highlighting something that’s happening in your community that you are concerned about • Authors submit their name, age, year group and school (the mentors will be given the age of the writers only)

How it works

Last year’s YWC winners: Maria Andreeva,

• March 14: Deadline for submission to info@baymedia.com.hk Janica Bergas and Ruhi Kumar • March 15 to 20: The mentors select three winning entries • March 21 to April 15: Each mentor meets with one winning writer to provide advice on improving the article. The writer reworks the piece and resubmits it to his/ her mentor, who checks it and passes it to our team for online posting • April 16, 8am: The three winning articles are posted on the Around DB and Life on Lantau Facebook page for readers to vote online • April 19, 6pm: Online voting ends • April 20: The results of Young Writer’s Competition (YWC) 2016 are posted on the Around DB and Life on Lantau Facebook page and www.arounddb.com

What you get • • • • •

The winning article is published in the May issue of Around DB and the June issue of Life on Lantau All three finalists are profiled in the May issue of Around DB and the June issue of Life on Lantau HK$1,000, HK$500 and HK$400 EpicLand day passes for the three finalists Gourmet goodie bags from Meatsnacks Group for the three finalists and three runners up Prize giving at EpicLand, the main competition sponsor

About the mentors Peter Sherwood and Elizabeth Kerr are delighted to be reprising their role as YWC mentors, and this year we are delighted to welcome Martin Lerigo on board to round out the mentoring team. All three mentors are writers and journalists of long-standing and, of course, Around DB and Life on Lantau contributors. Elizabeth, Peter and Martin are thrilled to have this opportunity to share their insights and help our young readers get published for the first time.

Be sure to check the YWC guidelines @ www.arounddb.com, or the Around DB and Life on Lantau Facebook page, and submit your article by March 14 to info@baymedia.com.hk

Add your business for FREE @ www.arounddb.com TUNG CHUNG

SOUTH LANTAU

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

FTC Apparel

FOOD, RESTAURANTS & BARS

2428 2566 FOOD, RESTAURANTS & BARS

Airport Izakaya Andante Bistro Delifrance Café Aficionado Chef’s Choice China Coast Bar & Grill Deli Viet Erawan Essence Federal Palace Restaurant Kimos Mansarover Indian Cuisine McDonald’s Delivery Moccato Olea Pizza Hut Regala Café & Dessert Bar Resto Rouge Skycity Bistro Spaghetti House Starz Wine Bar Zentro Garden

2286 6668 3602 8828 2109 4187 2286 6238 6504 4208 2286 6898 2109 0036 3760 6633 3602 8808 2626 0181 2886 3646 2109 1927 2338 2338 3602 8838 3602 8818 2330 0000 2286 6618 2886 3156 2286 6868 3969 1888 2109 1297 2109 0612 2802 8000 HEALTH & WELLBEING

Asian Hairdressers Bayside Dental Essential Health Family Clinic Human Health Medical Centre Tung Chung Animal Clinic Tung Chung Vet Centre Tung Chung Maternal & Child Health Centre Quality Health Dental Quality Health Medical Raffles Medical

3147 4088 2185 6550 2109 9396 2109 2288 2988 1534 2328 7282 3575 8370 2403 6613 2403 6623 2261 2626

Bahce - Turkish Restaurant Café Bar Caffe Paradiso (Tom’s Café) China Bear Como Lake Deer Horn Restaurant & Bar High Tide Restaurant La Pizzeria Lantana Italian Bistro Mavericks Restaurant Tak Chai Kee Seafood The Beach House The China Beach Club The Gallery The Kitchen

Dalcroze Impact Fitness Jill Marshall Pilates South Lantau Paddle Club Tony’s Salon Treasure Island

HOTELS

HOME & REPAIRS

Findley Leung Group Koon Wah Hardware Lee Wo Construction Engineering Man Shun Construction & Engineering New Look Design

3969 1888 3602 8888 2286 8888

Mui Wo Inn Silvermine Beach Resort Tai O Heritage Hotel

9021 1502 2987 8070 2162 5538 6273 7347 6674 6194 2611 9193 9045 2914 2420 1068 2109 3873 6341 3989 2109 4962 2988 8123 2786 9699 2385 9677 2109 9277 2179 6678 9264 8597 6688 2167 9662 1747 6443 6597 3473 8700 5400 4109 2403 6770

UTILITY, SERVICES & EMERGENCY HOTLINES

Tung Chung Ambulance Depot Tung Chung Fire Station Tung Chung Police Station

2984 7225 6810 0111 2985 8383

DEI Kindergarten Lantau International Kindergarten Lantau International School Lao Shi Lantau Mandarin lessons Little Lantau Montessori Kindergarten Mui Wo Owls School & Kindergarten The Story Studio

2109 9886 2984 0302 2980 3676 5197 4647 3689 6709 2984 0006 6341 3989

PROPERTY AGENCIES

SOCIAL, SPORTS & EQUIPMENT

9 Dragons Fitness Asia Pacific Soccer Schools Caribbean Coast Club House Coastal Skyline Club House Dance for Joy Edge’n Pointe Dance Centre Jumping Castles Perun Fitness Seaview Crescent Club House Smash Cricket Tung Chung Crescent Club House

2984 8334 2984 8487 2984 1802 2984 9833 9783 5840 HOTELS

LEARNING CENTRES

Clement Art School Discovery Mind International Play Centre Greenfield International Kindergarten Kidznjoy Sakura Kids Salala Kids House Soundwaves English Education Centre Sun Island Education Foundation Sunshine House International Preschool The Story Studio Tung Chung Catholic School (Yat Tung) YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College

6627 4806 6385 0304 9708 0187 9688 9112 2984 0990 2546 3543

LEARNING CENTRES

2421 8088 2109 2330 2988 1488

Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel Novotel Citygate Hong Kong Regal Airport Hotel

2984 0222 2984 0498 2984 9720 2984 0009 3484 3095 2980 3002 2984 8933 5465 5511 5662 8552 2984 1265 2504 4788 2983 8931 2980 2582 5991 6292

HEALTH & WELLBEING

HOME & REPAIRS

Akash Removals Mega Power Engineering/Locksmiths Shun Yu Engineering

LANTAU NUMBERS

2988 8282 2988 8733 3661 1694

Findley Leung Real Estate Home Solutions Real Estate Proper Trip Real Estate

2984 8334 3483 5003 2984 1666 RETAIL

Bikes Mui Wo BMX Shop Friendly Bike Shop Lantau Base Camp Quay House Red Hall Chinese Antiques The Red Lantern ZenvarA

2134 1234 2984 2278 5463 6060 2882 8710 2988 1368 2984 0099 9586 3459 SERVICES & OTHERS

Jumping Castles SPCA Phoenix Wills Suzanne Goodwin Photography Thai Palin Massage Twig (Design Studio)

6108 3400 2984 0060 6108 8471 9025 3949 3114 0030 6351 8923 TRANSPORTATION

Lee Hing Loong Hon Kee Transportation Company Lantau Tours New Lantau Bus Company

2984 2268 2984 8494 2984 8255 2984 9848

Add your business for FREE @ www.arounddb.com

DB NUMBERS

LEARNING CENTRES

COMMUNITY & HEALTH Bayside Dental Practice, North Plaza BMSE, North Plaza Catholic Church (Trinity Chapel) DB Alliance Church Community Centre DB International Community Church Discovery Bay Medical Centre Health & Care Dental Clinic Herbal Health Cares IMI (Natural Medicine Clinic), North Plaza Island Health Island Veterinary Services The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council, North Plaza

2987 0855 2259 3422 2987 9909 2987 8136 2987 7061 2987 5633 2666 6183 2834 7276 2537 1087 2987 7575 2987 9003 9879 0469 2259 3422

2812 2660 3480 1348 2987 8460 2987 2098

DAILY NECESSITIES 7-Eleven Convenience Store Fusion by PARKnSHOP Just Green Watson’s Pharmacy Wellcome, North Plaza

2987 4401 2987 7486 2448 1180 2987 4089 2947 9092

FINANCIAL SERVICES HSBC Luen Fat Securities Co. Ltd

Playtime Kids DB Playgroup run by Montessori-trained teacher. From 6 months to 4 years. 2623 4099; 9054 0565 playtimekidsdb@yahoo.com, www.playtimekidsdb.com

2233 3000 2987 1851

Bookazine, North Plaza Dymocks & Gallery Fotomax (F.E.) Ltd Fun to Read, North Plaza Pen’n Paper P-Solution

2987 1373 2914 2133 2914 2378 3105 3588 2987 8898 2987 1777

OTHER SERVICES

Apple Travel

Positive Steps 6341 5764, www.positivestepsplaygroup.com positivestepsplaygroup@gmail.com

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES BtoKidz, North Plaza Little Whale, North Plaza Nomadic Start-rite

MULTIMEDIA

Tree of Joy A playgroup offering a variety of fun classes to children from 14months to 3years+ under a nurturing and enriching environment.

9787 2755, info@treeofjoydb.com www.treeofjoydb.com

The Best Travel Agency in DB 2987 2626 cas@appletravel.com

Harvey Law Group International Canadian Law Firm in DB North Plaza offering you customised legal services on the many aspects of your personal and professional life 2116 1333 www.harveylawcorporation.com

PetcoDB Let us take the stress out of homework Homework Club and Private Tutoring, conveniently located. 9522 3297 info@wiseowl.com.hk www.wiseowl.com.hk

Grooming & Pet Services With Trust, Love & Safe Care For the ones you love 2914 0382 info@petcoDB.com www.petcoDB.com

HOME Good Luck Engineering Hoi Yu Transportation Hung Kee Co Interior 18 Japan Home Centre May’s furniture & curtain design Next Furniture Rapee-living Rich Point Hardware Materials Tactful Design & Build Tai Fat Hardware Store Wing On Department Store Yours Electrical Centre

2987 1313 2987 4488 2987 5087 2987 7803 2987 1041 2987 0222 2987 0222 2987 7082 2987 0789 2886 8555 2987 0789 2987 9268 2987 4428

LEARNING CENTRES

Musical Drama – Acting – Musical Theatre Tues & Wed classes at Discovery College 4 to 12 yrs - 2 fully costumed performances a year 8122 9475 admin@actingantics.com www.actingantics.com

Future Stars Dance Academy

Dance classes based on the ISTD requirements conducted in a fun, disciplined and safe environment.

2987 6867 melissa@futurestarsdanceacademy.com

Woodentots is a Montessori playgroup providing a caring and nurturing environment in the Plaza. Run by a qualified Montessori teacher for children aged 2 1/2 - 5 years.

6108 9131 woodentotsdb@gmail.com Art is a Verb, North Plaza Bayview House of Children DB International School (Kindergarten) DB International School (Pri / Sec) Discovery College Discovery Mind International Play Centre Discovery Mind Kindergarten Discovery Mind Primary School, North Plaza Discovery Montessori School, North Plaza DMR School of Ballet Early Adventures Playgroup Eye Level Centre Funfit HK International Learning Academy, North Plaza Kumon, North Plaza L’Ecole Française de Discovery, North Plaza Links Parenting, North Plaza Little Explorers English For Kids Mandarin for Munchkins, North Plaza SKH Wei Lun Primary School Sunshine House Int’l Pre-School Sunshine House Kindergarten, North Plaza Treasure House

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Island Dance A dance school offering ISTD Freestyle, Hip Hop & Tap & RAD Ballet classes from Monday to Saturday at DBRC & Club Siena. All ages welcome.

2987 1571 www.islanddance.com.hk

Little Explorers A drop-off playgroup for ages 18 months upward. Your child will have heaps of fun and make lots of new friends.

9327 0507

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March 2016

Amity Shoes Care Gillian florist, North Plaza Mypetshop, North Plaza Pets Gallery The Optical House Well Supreme Laundry Services

5369 2329 2529 8256 2987 8873 2987 0428 2987 1368 2987 5151

PROPERTY LISTINGS & BOATS

AQUABLU

Boat/ Yacht Sales & Brokerage - Berths/ Debentures - Marine Insurance - Marine Problems/ Resolution 6017 7802 Oceanblu@netvigator.com

Lifestyle Homes & Boats 2914 0888 info@lifestylehomes.com.hk www.lifestylehomes.com.hk Centaline Property Agency EPS Property Consultants Headland Homes Kingsland DB Land Master Property Savills Hong Kong

2987 8484 2987 2023 2987 2088 2987 2987 2987 6238 2987 1919

FOOD & BEVERAGE, HOTELS

Around DB’s April 2016 issue is coming out

APRIL 1

22º North Auberge Discovery Bay (Hotel), North Plaza Berliner Café Duvet Café Pascucci Caramba Mexican Cantina Chef’s Choice, North Plaza Ebeneezer’s Figos Seaside Café First Korean Restaurant Fresh Fruit Juice Paradise Hemingway’s by the Bay il Bel Paese

2987 2298 2295 8288 2987 8203 2987 0966 2591 1422 2987 2848 2172 6111 2987 0036 2987 2915 2987 9123 2987 4768 2987 8855 2987 0202

Add your business for FREE @ www.arounddb.com FOOD & BEVERAGE, HOTELS Island Café Jaspa’s, North Plaza Kiraku Tei Koh Tomyums La Création Bakery McSorley’s Ale House Mirch Masala, North Plaza Moofish, North Plaza Nevale Kitchen, North Plaza Pacific Coffee Paisano’s, North Plaza Peony Chinese Restaurant Salt & Pepper Solera Subway Super Super The Venue Brazil Churrascaria & Bar Uncle Russ, DB Plaza Uncle Russ, North Plaza Zaks

SOCIAL, SPORTS & EQUIPMENT

2987 9311 2997 8688 2987 2886 2987 0767 2987 1829 2987 8280 2987 1337 2987 6318 2172 7099 2987 1662 2673 4445 2500 1950 2336 8001 2555 0772 2914 0005 2914 1308 2777 8411 2682 0068 2682 8110 2987 6232

Sportsmanship Gymnastics Programs, Health Consultancy, Weight Management & Nutritional Supplements 2870 3524 www.sportsmanship.usana.com

The HIT Room Bodypump, Grit Strength, Boxing, Core, TRX, High Intensity Training.

Located at North Plaza 6621 7410 www.thehitroom.com.hk info@thehitroom.com.hk

Vikings Football Club Professional Soccer Coaching From ages 18 months to 8 years Tel: 9533 2600 vikingshk@outlook.com www.vikings.hk

SOCIAL, SPORTS & EQUIPMENT

CAISSA Chess Club HK The Club gets together at the DB North Plaza Community Center 9681 2896 contact@caissahk.com www.caissahk.com

Action X, North Plaza Club Siena DBees Ice Hockey DB Pirates Ltd. Discovery Bay Marina Club Discovery Bay Golf Club Discovery Bay Recreation Club GigaSports

2911 4833 2987 7382 6473 4277 2517 8248 2987 9591 2987 7273 2987 7381 2320 1238

TOYS & KIDS’ PARTIES

King’s Chinese Chess Academy

Offering Chinese Chess tutorials for adults and children chinesechessprofessional@gmail.com 6093 1590 www.chinesechessprofessional.com

Discovery Bay Cricket Club An internationally acclaimed club which provides a structure under which players, regardless of age or ability, can thrive.

Tel: 9011 1319 www.dbcricketclub.com

HK Dragons Football Club Football for 2.5- to 14- year old girls and boys 2987 4274 www.dragons.hk

Embody Classical Pilates, Yoga and more!

6624 8712 susan@embody.hk www.embody.hk

Babyland Bo Bo House Epicland Toysland

2997 8080 2987 4230 2441 0098 2987 7859

TRANSPORT SERVICES

Limousine Rental

Limo service in HK & China • pick up from / to DB Tunnel • direct transfer to SZ / GZ Airport 5303 3489 / 9654 0899 limo9689@gmail.com ACCESSDB Rehabus DB Golf Cart Services DB Transit Services DB Transportation Services

6283 9270 2914 2727 2914 0186 2987 7351

DB NUMBERS

TRANSPORT SERVICES Hire Car Bookings Passenger Telephone Hotline VIP Logistic Services Wiselink Golf Cart Services

2987 6348 2987 0208 2987 1213 2987 9368

UTILITIES, SERVICES & EMERGENCY HOTLINES 24-hour Customer Service Hotline China Light & Power Emergency China Light & Power Information Line Discovery Bay Commercial Services Discovery Bay Fire & Ambulance Discovery Bay Management Discovery Bay Office Centre Discovery Bay Police Discovery Bay Post Office Gas Leakage Emergency Hotline Lantau North Report Room North Lantau Hospital San Hing Gas Co Typhoon Signal Enquiries Water Fault Reports Water Supplies Department

3651 2345 2728 8333 2678 2678 2987 4242 2987 7502 2238 3601 2238 3388 2987 4052 2987 6046 2435 4511 2988 2369 3467 7000 2987 6738 2835 1473 2811 0788 2824 5000

WELLBEING

My Health Coach Lulu Improve your life balance through health and self awareness. I am able to offer a bespoke program just for you.

9154 1570 lulu@myhealthcoachlulu.com www.myhealthcoachlulu.com

M Spa Provides door-to-door treatment service. Conveniently located in the Plaza. Reflexology, massage, pedicure/manicure.

2987 0614

Nailed It Professional artificial nail services in DB 2987 2266 Afflatus Hair Workshop, North Plaza Maximum Care Salon De Coiffure Sense of Touch Spa Siena

2987 0283 2987 2060 2987 4112 2987 9198 2987 7382

View the business directory

Junior Cricket Academy Cricket for 3.5 to 15 year old girls and boys Tel: 9011 1319 www.dbcricketclub.com

Movement Improvement Specialized training in Pilates, Yoga, TRX, Spinning, Circuits and Personal training. The complete solution on your doorstep at DB North Plaza 2987 5852 www.movementimprovement.com.hk

@ www.arounddb.com March 2016

79

OUT THERE

I

am not what you might call an early riser, unless you think 8am is early. And I suspect that people who boast they leap out of the straw around four or five are either lying, incontinent, insensitive, or insane. Who in their right mind would volunteer to potter around in the dark at such a mad hour, let alone go jogging, a pursuit of the athletically unhinged?

There have been times when some idiot appointment saw my face in DB Plaza around dawn, or around 5am when a ferry dumped me there following 25 minutes of blissful unconsciousness, only to be woken feeling like my tongue had been run over by a garbage truck. Either way, I am unable to recall a daybreak venture to the plaza when I’ve not been witness to devastation caused by litter, and worse.

Even bleary eyed, I retained enough awareness to be appalled. This is not an inexpensive place to live and we’re all educated people. So what the hell is going on?

Photo by www.evoqueportraits.com

Responsibility is social glue

80

Certainly we can all find time to whine about DB, but then we also moan about inevitable weather and the presence of gravity. Reality is that were DB located 25 minutes from central London or Manhattan, I couldn’t afford to live here and likely neither could you. Perhaps because plaza tables are not our personal property, responsible people and cretins alike have equal potential to create a public mess with piles of cans, bottles and fast-food packaging, most of which contain more valuable nutrition than their original contents.

Should we be surprised? We primitive beings are but a chromosome away from chimpanzees and we’ve been in our present form for only about 100,000 years, a nanosecond in time.

JUNKING THE PLAZA While conceding that nobody wants to wash a rented car, Peter Sherwood gets mildly apoplectic about local littering And if anyone doesn’t think that reasonable and ordinary people of average intelligence are incapable of rubbishing their home turf, along with unimaginable atrocities of a colourful variety, then their reading of history must have been limited to Alice in Wonderland. Compared to what our species is capable of, trashing the plaza is like Hitler smacking his dog, Blondi, for peeing on Goering’s best boots.

If wrecking the plaza is a minor infraction, why am I mildly incandescent about it? Well, I think

‘Responsible’ has Latin roots (responsabilis) so I guess those thoughtless Neanderthals fouling the community have a get-out-of-jail card – they don’t speak Latin. And, as the Americans say: “Nobody wants to wash a rented car.”

Peter Sherwood has lived in DB for 17 years. The former head of an international public relations firm, Peter is the author of 15 books and he has written around 400 satirical columns for the South China Morning Post.

Find more from Peter March 2016

it is arrogance to blindly assume we can be irresponsible and do whatever the hell we want, relying on lowly paid cleaners to make it right – and with zero risk of our being punished or shamed. Responsibility is social glue, and personal responsibility a cornerstone of successful living.

@ www.arounddb.com