The Spotter’s Guide to Lamma
Lamma Island tends to attract birds of a feather—laid-back types who enjoy nature and a good beer in equal measure. In this field guide, Kate Springer tracks down a handful of chirpy Lammaites who will make you feel at home on your next visit. Photos by Chris Luk. Translation by Zoe Lai
The Lamma Expert
Frater Omniscis Totalis
Plumage: You’ll know him by his heavy Swiss accent, thick-rimmed glasses and long ponytail which he preens annually: “I haven’t been to a hairdresser since moving here,” he says. “My wife takes a pair of scissors and cuts off my ponytail once a year.”
Migration: The omniscient Lamma-Gung has been an island resident since 2001, having moved to start over after the dot-com bubble burst. “I worked as a regional IT manager and was headhunted to work at a startup. Like most startups, we didn’t make it,” Lamma-Gung recalls. “The entire market collapsed and I went from a high-flying general manager to unemployed in just a few weeks. I downsized to Lamma where the low rents were attractive.”
Though it was a big adjustment, Lamma-Gung quickly found a niche for himself. “There was no media out here when I got here, so I thought ‘why not’?” Lamma-Zine started as a classifieds website, and now it’s grown to cover events, people and music. What started as a hobby quickly became a go-to source for residents and newcomers. “I could do five stories a day on who is sleeping with who, but I want it to be a positive environment without gossip,” he says.
Over the past decade, Lamma-Gung has watched the island transform into a more upmarket place. “Richer people who can afford entire three-story houses are moving in, while poorer or retired people have to move out.” He lived in Yung Shue Wan until recently, when he relocated to Pak Kok Village on the north of Lamma—which is less expensive but also less developed, lacking basic infrastructure such as grocery stores and medical services. He worries that it’s only a matter of time before Lamma turns into another Discovery Bay. “We’re in a kind of enchanted state right now, like Hong Kong before the handover,” he laments. “It will probably become more like other outlying islands in the next five to 10 years.”
Where to Spot? Lamma-Gung spends much of his free time covering events across the island, such as Comedy Night, Lamma Fun Day and the Lamma 500 dragon boat races. He’s also an avid photographer, and has been known to shoot many a fiery sunset along the Yung Shue Wan harbor.