Getting Around Hong Kong - By Octopus

Getting around Hong Kong first requires knowing where you're going. Then you need to think about how to get there -- by land, under land, by sea, or by "air." Today we did a bit of all. We started out on the Star Ferry crossing Victoria Harbor from Kowloon to Hong Kong island. New York may have the Staten Island Ferry, but that's merely for commuting. The seven minute, 30 cent (US) Star Ferry is about getting from one downtown (Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon) to the other (Central or Wan Chai on the island). It's one of the most pleasant, cooling, and visually stimulating ways of getting around in this city.

We also traveled "by air" today, taking the top deck of a double-decker trolley from one end of the island (Western Market) to the other (Shau Kei Wan), watching the city wake up along the way.

Then underground, via the MTR -- the cleanest and most efficient subway system I've ever been on -- back to the downtown area for lunch (Thai Basil again) and some final shopping (Shanghai Tang and the CRC Supermarket again) for our last day.

Finally, after a return trip by Star Ferry, a bit by land -- a final walk around the neighborhood of our Kowloon hotel.

One of the handiest aspects of getting around Hong Kong, especially for inexpensive transportation like the ferry, buses, trolleys, and the MTR, is something called the Octopus Card. It's a smart chip card that stores cash and that's swiped entering and/or leaving all these modes of transportation (except walking -- although you can use it to fuel yourself as many convenience stores and most shops in MTR stations let you swipe it for purchases. For a currency system that relies on coins for almost everything up to about US$1.25, it's a real convenience. Most locals don't even take them out of their wallets or purses to swipe, and our favorite jeweler in town couldn't resist showing off his "new toy" -- a wristwatch with a built-in Octopus chip.