The Octopus Card is just a plastic prepaid card, but it’s contactless, so you just have to place it next to a card reader, and it’s used almost everywhere. It started as a transit payment system, but many stores and most vending machines accept it too. I didn’t use my credit card the whole time I was here.
Hong Kong bakeries are insidious and addictive—obesity at bargain prices. Beware!
I’ve never seen so many watches. Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Tag Hauer, you name it—there must be hundreds of stores, and there are billboard-sized displays everywhere. You can easily spend more than US$100,000 for a watch if you are so inclined. Of course, there’s no tax.
If you have a smaller budget, there are plenty of opportunities to buy fakes in Kowloon. As you walk down Nathan Road, touts approach you and say “copy watch?” If you look Western, that is. There are also touts for tailoring services, and they’re much pushier. They’ll follow you.
There seems to be a market for replica guns. There’s a street in Kowloon with about two blocks of stores that sell them. I don’t know the legal status of guns in Hong Kong, but they’re not listed among the prohibited weapons when you go through immigration. Bullets, however, are.
For as many people as there are in Hong Kong, it’s remarkable how much empty space there is. Of course, most of that space is very steep.
Union flags are a common design on clothing and bags. I didn’t see anyone wearing a PRC flag. There was one guy in a Mao hat, but he was a Westerner.
Hong Kong is a nice place to visit, and I’m glad I went, but the crowds were starting to drive me nuts by the end of the week. I think next time I’ll go to the Seychelles or someplace like that.
