如何成為坪洲人
每次跟朋友說起我們住在坪洲，第一個反應不外乎「咁遠？」，兩秒後便說：「我都未去過，有機會去探你，順便行下。」大部分說完真的會來探我們，感受過這個無車人少的寶島後，都心思思想搬入坪洲。不過，最終沒有一個搬進來。
我在坪洲住了四年，歸納出三個在這裡生活的要求：
第一，要一個有規律的作息時間表。不管你是朝九晚六或晚九朝六的人，你的生活一定要緊貼船期表。早上不能賴床，然後「飛的」返工；放工後亦不能蒲到盡興，飲到爛醉以後叫朋友送你返歸。就我而言，自搬進坪洲後，再沒有出席九點半的電影優先場或首影禮，反而試過坐船出去看特價早場。
第二，要接受到比手機更慢的家居 5Mb「寬頻」網絡。因為只有一個網絡公司提供服務，獨巿之下月費高企，上載網速之慢連 Facebook Live 也做不到。可以用手機上網代替嗎？視乎你家在坪洲哪些位置，有些角落連電話訊號也沒有，真正與世隔絕。
第三，不能暈船浪。颱風、黑雨對船期影響甚少，但海的風浪起伏捉摸不定，烈日下亦有可能翻起大風浪，拋到船客離座。亦試過因為濃霧，半小時的快船變成兩小時的搖曳。
當日搬進坪洲，主要因為 Kim 要從美國帶大狗來港同居，我認為狗需要足夠的跑動空間。而鬧巿環境對 Kim 而言是種挑戰，坪洲便成為一舉兩得的選擇。在坪洲準備過第一個農曆年時，島上的店舖都關了，我們要去坪洲唯一一間連鎖超巿，問經理超巿在新年會否休巿。他摸不著頭腦，回答我們超市年中無休。因為坪洲的生活氣氛和節奏跟外國一樣，我們才會有這種笑破肚子的問題。
My Home in Hong Kong
Travel is one of my biggest passions in life, and when I get caught up in planning my next trip I sometimes forget about the place I call home. Moving to Hong Kong in 2013, I had to adjust my lifestyle; open my mind to new experiences and new ways of doing things, learn the customs, get used to crowds and queueing, take many different forms of public transportation, and learn to adapt my way of thinking to understand and appreciate everything around me. With all of the differences and transformations I experienced in these four years, I never would have lasted this long in Hong Kong if I didn’t live on my small island of Peng Chau.
The city of Hong Kong can be extremely overwhelming with the fast pace, small spaces, and large crowds, but just a short ferry ride to Peng Chau and I am in a different world. I love the small town feel and the island lifestyle that is Peng Chau. On Peng Chau you can wear flip flops and comfy clothes wherever you go, people stop to say hello and have a chat (even if we don’t speak the same language) which gives you a community feel, there are no vehicles on the island (less pollution), we have beautiful beaches and walking trails and you can get everything you need without ever having to go into the city.
The lifestyle on Peng Chau is not for everyone. There is only one small corporate grocery store, everything else from restaurants to clothing shops are locally owned stalls, so there is not much variety. There is only one transportation option to get off of Peng Chau; a ferry which runs on a set schedule that you have to plan your day around. An evening stroll after dinner or going to the fruit stall to get dessert is the extent of the exciting night life Peng Chau has to offer. Not having to go into the city every day and not having an appetite for night life, Peng Chau is my oasis amidst “Asia’s World City”.
Many foreigners that live in Hong Kong choose to live on the outlying islands for an escape of the city, more space and nicer views, but Peng Chau is different than most of the other popular islands. Most of the other islands have a large community of foreigners and many shops and restaurants are geared toward them. Peng Chau has always been a small, local, fisherman’s village and doesn’t have very many foreigners in comparison. Although with the new wave of high-end condo construction and a new pub, I am no longer one of the ten foreigners that live here.
In four short years I have seen many changes on this tiny island. One of the things I have always loved about Peng Chau was its local feel; it never catered to foreigners or people from the city. Change is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s different and takes time to get used to. It also leaves me reminiscing about the little things that I love and forget to appreciate on an everyday basis.
