January 1999 A boat man's life in a typhoon shelter
By Sarah Leung
Said he: "People living here like chatting with me and asking
me for advice because they think that I am a knowledgeable person."
He is Mr. Ho Chi Keung, the 56-year-old owner of Chuen Keung
Floating Boat, a boat restaurant located at the centre of the typhoon shelter.
Mr. Ho runs this business mainly because of his father.
Mr. Ho's father started a grocery store many years ago. Later,
he bought a boat and started selling groceries to fishermen living in the typhoon
shelter.
Said Mr. Ho: "Like other people, fishermen at that time also
held wedding banquets. My father discovered that they prepared the dishes by themselves
or asked someone who was good at cooking to help them."
Recognizing the great demand for a good cook who was specialized
in preparing food for wedding banquets, old Mr. Ho changed the structure of his boat and
started providing dishes himself.
"At first, there were no waiters or waitresses to serve our
customers. My father cooked the dishes, the fishermen took them and then ate on their
own boats," said Mr. Ho.
Since the business was profitable, old Mr. Ho later bought a boat
in which he could place 10 tables.
"In 1968, my father asked me to assist him. He promised to buy
another boat which could hold 20 tables as I wanted my floating boat to look like ordinary
restaurants on the land. Since then, I started helping my father to run the business," he
said.
However, he encountered many difficulties at the beginning.
He said, "Boat people were not accustomed to dining out, families
used to have meals on their own boats.
"I tried very hard to change their attitudes."
Mr. Ho had once lived on a boat for four years. He does not enjoy
living on a boat, but he loves Lunar New Year in the typhoon shelter.
Said he: "It is the most important festival in the typhoon shelter.
Many fishermen and their families come back 15 days before the last day of the year.
"They clean and repair their boats. They also prepare the financial
budget of the coming year.
"Other than visiting their relatives and friends, they also let
off fire crackers. Therefore, there are joyful scenes everywhere in the typhoon shelter."
Of all the events which have happened during his 30 years of life
in the shelter, a typhoon in 1977 impressed Mr. Ho most.
He recalled, "The typhoon was so close to Hong Kong that it caused
great damage to the fishing boats.
"About 70 boats were seriously damaged, and 10 of them could not be
used again.
"One Marine Police ship sank and the other one was even blown to Tuen
Mun Temporary Pier.
"Fortunately, my boat was docked at a small typhoon shelter that had
been previously reclaimed. Therefore, it did not get damaged."
Mr. Ho thinks that attitudes of the new marine generation have
changed a lot.
"I have a friend who owned a fishing boat that generated great
profits. Unfortunately, he had a stroke two years ago and his son was unwilling to continue
his business.
"Therefore, he had to sell the fishing boat and he was very upset"
said he.
However, most people who live in the typhoon shelter still deeply
believe in their god and have many taboos.
"When a person dies, his or her family members will pack all the
nets and point their boats to the west.
"Other people will move their boats to other places in order to
avoid misfortune," said he.
He also closed his boat restaurant for a month when his father
died in 1984, as he knew no customer would come.
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Neither he nor his father is a fisherman, but everyone in
Castle Peak Roach Typhoon Shelter knows him very well. 