When the government re-imposed the restrictions limiting gatherings in public and dining up until 6 pm, it was expected that the rules would be in place until infection rates stabilised and the vaccine could be easily deployed. Unfortunately the variance in untraceable cases and lack of an authoritative vaccine rollout has meant that these restrictions have been on a rolling extension. Each week since the New Year, the restrictions have been extended for another week, and another week, and another week. The public has been informed that restrictions will remain in place until after the lunar new year. Until then, public premises and venues will remain at 50% capacity, fitness centres will remain closed and restaurants cannot seat parties of more than 2 people per table, or after 6 pm.
Because of this, larger-sized rental properties in Hong Kong, mostly sourced from AirBNB have become a popular weekend option. Most of these rental properties fall under the category of "private premise", which means you can technically host as many people as you want. The one caveat is that there is usually a minimum booking of 2-3 nights, however with most people having access to surplus annual leave a lot of these properties are booked up until the end of February. In an attempt to add variety up the current restrictions, some friends decided to hire a houseboat for the weekend.
The boat is moored in Aberdeen Marina and can only be accessed through the local Sampan service that brings boat owners from their vessels to the shore. It's a different world out here, there's the eye-watering mega-yachts owned by tycoons, there's the local fishermen and trade boats, there's the various boat hire services and there's also a small community of people who live on houseboats. Then there's us, a group of people who want to have a BBQ and share a meal with more than 2 people and not wear a mask when we're playing cards. We also threw a huge party.
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