My Lamma Forums

[ed]

I've been reading about Lamma island on this site. It sounds fabulous. I've been to HK before but never to the island. My wife and I are Canadian English teachers in Korea presently. We have two young children. We're wondering what Lamma island is like for families. What kinds of schools, activities, etc are there? What's the environment in general like for families? What are the ups and downs? Any information would be great.
Thanks,
Ed.

[Alan]

It's a pretty safe place for kids and much healthier in general than urban HK. Lots of room for them to play, including a beach, which if not scenic always has clean water (in the bacteriological, if not floating plastic, sense). There is a Catholic preschool and a govt primary school which have about half non-Chinese students.

Mosquitos are fierce. Look for a place with good air circulation and preferably insect screens. The latter are rare, the landlords just say close the windows and use AC all the time. I glued mesh over the windows and the outer door, bodgy but it works. A rooftop is nice, and higher gets fewer insects. There are lots of snakes, but I don't know of anyone being bitten by one. Too many dogs roaming around, some aggressive, all shitting everywhere. Worst wildlife problem is the large red centipede, which likes to crawl into your bedsheets and bite you on the foot (happened to me several times). Despite all that, one of the best places for kids in HK.

[Lamma-Gung]

Alan,
Thanks for doing your very best in keeping families away from Lamma!
I'll quote you in the e-zine!

[webdog]

But what Alan says is quite true. I don't think anyone who's simply scared of insects should consider Lamma. It's also one of the reasons why many people don't want to move here. On the other side of the lever is however a green environment, relatively low crime rate, a 'real' beach and reasonably priced shops allow you European lifestyle. For me the latter far outweigh the inconveniences.

[La Miglione]

well said webdog

why do we need to lie to people to get new neighbours, its a real cool place here

[Pooh]

[ed]

Thanks for all the helpful information. I really appreciate. Bugs and dogs aren't a big concern to us. But my wife is concerned about the power plant. What health concerns are associated with it on the island.? Has there been any kind of study done? It seems like a health-conscious island. Do the residents have concerns about it?
Thanks again.

[Alan]

[Alan]

[e]

[Pooh]

Thanks, Alan and e.

Alan, the photo you posted is really, really scary .(I hope no one will complain about it ) If I see one in the bathroom, the whole Lamma will hear my scream. May I know whether you live on the G/F? My flat is on the top floor of a two-storey house but the entrance is on G/F, just a yard away from the hill slope and bushes. This is the place I saw the centipede. My question is - since I am on the 2/F(though linked up by a flight of stairs from G/F), do I have a lesser chance to see these creatures on my bed?

For e, any advice on treating centipede bites DIY? It is no big deal to call the ambulance but it takes 20 minutes to walk from my place to the clinic. I don't think I can make it after a painful bite.

[Alan]

[webdog]

The scary centipede picture is too large and it makes the forum wider than the screen, so i make it smaller, not meant to undermine the ugliness of this monster!

[e]

[Pooh]

Thanks again, Alan and e.

Webdog has also done a good job by shrinking the photo of the centipede. By all means, it is less horrifying now.

[Lamma-Gung]

Wow, this is a great, helpful and most interesting discussion!
This is what we love about this website, people giving good advice and helping each other.

Reading all this bug talk makes me (almost) jealous about not having much experience myself yet, never having been bitten yet by any centipede, snake, spider or any other creepy crawly yet since moving to Lamma. I've only seen tiny geckos (I like those!) and occasional, but rare mosquitoes in our flat so far...

[e]

u must have one of the best flat on lamma, lamma-gung. few mosquitoes? or do u have special mosquitoes repellent methods u are hiding from us?

[Lamma-Gung]

e, I'm not using any mosquito repellents at all.
Just the standard solution of mosquito-netting on open windows that stay open almost 24 hours/day.

Following our landlady's example, we're just using very fine, cheap and almost transparent cloth glued to the window frames with standard white glue. It works and looks much better than the ugly, green standard plastic mosquito-netting and sticky tape that usually peels off in our humidity after a few weeks.

Also, we close all doors during dawn & dusk when mosquitoes are most aggressive, of course. We both hate mosquitoes, living on mosquito- and bug-free high floors of HK Island apartment buildings before. Fortunately, we haven't been stung for several weeks now...

[e]

thanks lamma-gung for the tip.

i didn't mean to change to subject of this topic but whilst we are still discussing about insects and centipedes here, can anyone enlighten me about the very tiny grey or red centipede-like things that crawl around at this season? do they bite?

[webdog]

I don't know about that, but my suggestion is to keep your doors and windows shield, at least those centipedes will be contained inside the infected flat. Got to care for your neighbours right?