Navigating Hong Kong

When we prepared for our trip to Hong Kong. my mom mailed me some older maps that she had used and collected. We actually skyped (if that can be a verb) about the different places we can go and things to see. It was helpful, but when we arrived, I realized that it wasn't quite as convenient to get around as we'd thought. This is due to the fact that we are staying in the Mid-levels, homes, flats, and buildings that are placed along the hillside of the Peak of Hong Kong. 

As a result, streets zigzag down towards Central and Admiralty, two adjacent districts in the city. If you head down one stair case, which sits just west of where we are staying (down a cemented slope and through a few parking areas and through the Hong Kong Park), you end up in the south part of Central, just west of the Bank of China. If you head down a more easterly staircase, you end up walking down Kennedy Rd. We haven't figured out which staircase takes us to Admiralty, so we always end up in Wan Chai when we walk east. Wan Chai is further east than Admiralty. It takes about 15 minutes to get down, and it probably takes longer to get up. We haven't really timed it.

One other thing that should have been obvious to me is that people here would assume I speak Cantonese. I don't look like some random Chinese ethnicity out for a visit, because, doy, I was born here. Sadly, I don't remember much cantonese -- I can count to ten, mumble my address, and ask where the toilet is -- and I don't know enough "questions" to ask purveyors to explain their menus. I do just a hair better in Mandarin (Potonghua) but it's less commonly spoken in the market streets to which I am addicted but can't really communicate. My recommendation: Get a Lonely Planet phrase book and muddle through some of the phrases. I've been looking for one since I found it at the HK Central Library in Causeway Bay (10 stories of books, mostly in Chinese). It will be very helpful. 

The best advice we have been given is to purchase an Octopus Card. These cards are accepted at the MTR (the subway), the buses, the ding ding trams, some taxis, and some grocers. You can purchase the cards at the customer service or information desks in the MTR stations (just look for the signs). Then you can refill them at the 7-elevens and automated machines that are spaced all over the MTRs and the 7-elevens all over the city. All you have to do is beep them on the reader panels, which look like Octopus cards glued to the people gates and machines. The cards even work through the wallets and purses, so you don't have to dig out your card every time you need it. 

Finally, study the map of Hong Kong and develop a plan of where you'd like to go. Don't be shame (thanks Hawaiian friends for that idiom) about carrying a map around, and go into hotels and ask for directions. If you go to a hotel that clearly caters to foreigners, you'll have an easy time navigating. If you're braver, just ask someone you hope speaks English. :)  We have found some cool coffee shops, restaurants, and stores as a result of asking questions.

Oh, and don't be afraid of wandering and getting lost. Hong Kong isn't that big. You run up to the hillside and the South China Sea pretty quickly, and you'll see that many streets and signs are written in both Chinese and English. I don't like getting a map out on the street, so I go inside to a cafe and sit down to stare at my map. You can also go down to the MTRs and look at their maps and compare them to your map. It really is easy to navigate, you just have to have a goal and then understand that the map makes things look far apart, but as long as you're comfortable walking ten or more blocks, then HK is easy. If not, you can always hop in a taxi - several of the drivers we've had speak some English - or jump on the MTR.

Travel costs, approximate, in HKD:

Taxi - $18 for the first mile or so; about $25 to go from Central to the Mid-Levels
Bus - Minibus - $5 to $10, depending on the route
MTR - $5-10 depending on how far you travel
Ferries - $2 and up
Walking - $0 but you have to explore where you're going :)

With the exchange rate of about 7HKD to $1, transportation is very affordable and easy to use.

Travel tips: Remember that traffic is opposite to that in the States, so remember to look the Right then Left, for the most part. Several of the more heavily-trafficked areas have signs on the ground that tell you which direction to look. Don't try to run any "don't walk" signs, which tick slowly for the visually impaired, and wait for the "walk" signs, which are signaled by rapid ticking. Or you can wait for a mob of people to cross, even on a red, and hope that the taxis slow down (they usually do and will honk like crazy).
Take your time to walk from place to place. There is so much to see!