It’s our second last weekend of being in Discovery Bay. Next weekend we’ll be in London, the following one we’ll be somewhere in Italy, the one after that we’ll be recovering from jet lag in DB and the next sees us moving to Cheung Sha.

Discovery Bay was a great place to base ourselves as new arrivals to HK. It’s been nearly two years and it is time for us to leave. A number of reasons have prompted this move. The possibility of our rent doubling was the largest contributing factor. Even in the current economic climate, it would still be close.

The other reason is that we’ve reached the point where, as Mrs Wave would put it “this place does your head in” (that said, she‘s just bought another property here). She’s specifically referring to The Truman Show / university campus / resort-like tendencies of here. Mostly it’s pretty good, but there are other times when it all becomes that bit too much. When it’s more tilted towards the ‘bit too much’, it’s time to go.

DB is run by HK Resorts so it’s not surprising there is a resort-feel. The gardens are meticulously maintained, there’s never any rubbish around, there’s organized entertainment and activities, wireless internet access, we all live in estates, and people drive around in golf carts (that’s a photo of the car park at DB Plaza). The security is fantastic with each estate patrolled and it’s an incredibly safe environment for both children and pets. There’s a reason behind DB being an acronym also for Dogs & Babies. If this were a resort, it would be rated a five star in family friendliness.

The university campus feel comes from the estates. These remind me very much of the colleges at university. Each estate has a different feel based on the group of people it predominantly attracts. The buildings in each estate are painted the same way and their foyers all match.

The Truman Show is the whole manufactured, orchestrated feel that this place has due in part to it being fully self-contained. There are only two ways in – ferry or bus. It is cut off from the outside world as everything bar a hospital is right here. With over 16,000 people all staying in on the weekends, the central areas can become quite congested and noisy.

We are leaving for the quieter life. That said, I’m writing this sitting outside overlooking the bay while Mr Shallot drinks his beer and the dog has a nap. The cat just wants to be fed. Anyway, this new spot overlooks a great beach where Mr Shallot can surf (at times), there are some fantastic restaurants that are considerably cheaper than those in DB and there are national parks nearby.

In just a few weeks, like The Littlest Hobo, we’ll ‘just keep moving on’.

* Thanks to Burkhard Dallwitz for the title to this post. It’s the title track from The Truman Show.