| Visit to Ko Lau Wan/Tap Mun - 08/11/2009 |
| Tuesday, 02 March 2010 23:50 |
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Our visit to Ko Lau Wan was possible thanks to Yung Chan and Ricky, both from Ko Lo Wan Village. Yung introduced us to Mr Shek and Mr Chan, both reputable villagers very familiar with the affairs in Ko Lau Wan and its neighbouring islands. Mr Chan shared a lot of stories about his early fishing days and gave us invaluable information to follow up on. Mr Shek very generously showed us around Ko Lo Wan, and took time out to introduce us to the delights of the only local restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious meal before heading off to our next stop. (An important visitor’s tip: try the steamed octopus balls — they’re divine!)
That afternoon, we stopped at Tap Mun, where we met with village elder Mrs Ho. Like most of the older generation on the island, she used to go out fishing to help her family make a living. We spent a good time with Mrs Ho, amazed by all her stories of life in Tap Mun in the old days, and her energy!
Afterwards, we continued talking to locals we met around the island, asking about and looking for traces of stone lions. Everyone we met was very friendly and happy to chat with us, and we were lucky to get a number of leads on the sunken lion.
There isn’t a unanimous explanation of how the stone lion got to its current location. Most people we talked to believe that there are a pair: one male and one female. A possible explanation is that the sunken lions had been replaced by a new pair as part of a local Tin Hau Temple renovation because the originals were not big or ‘healthy-looking’ enough to foster prosperity in Tap Mun. Another possible reason is one related to feng shui: the villagers wanted to change the ‘bad luck’ they seemed to have befallen after a fatal accident of a promising young villager during a trip to the island hillside to sweep graves.
The Group will continue to follow all leads and will update this website with any new findings!
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This was a follow-up visit to the 
