During the first long weekend after the lockdown was lifted, as a "special forces" member, of course, I couldn't be absent. Recently, I have been observing the achievements of various big shots in opening overseas bank accounts, and coincidentally, a friend asked me about my destination. We quickly agreed and planned to go to Hong Kong.
Due to some objective reasons, I went to Hong Kong alone, so I may have more subjective experiences to share with you.
Departure#
We took a high-speed train to Shenzhen, a journey of more than 10 hours, in hard seats.
Responding to the call of "Youth has no price, hard seats direct to Lhasa"
Although I am not usually sleepy at midnight, sitting in a hard seat is really uncomfortable. If you don't sit by the window, there is no place to lean on. (If you sit in the aisle, you can lean your body against the left back, but it's very uncomfortable for those in the middle.) It's uncomfortable to have a sleepy head hanging on your neck. I slid down and found a comfortable position to doze off for a while, and woke up to check my phone until I saw the first ray of sunlight shining on the buildings in Shenzhen. It was finally over after more than 10 hours.
After getting off the train, because the hostel we booked was not available for check-in, we stored our luggage and went to the bank to exchange Hong Kong dollars. But since it was Saturday, we forgot that the banks were also closed, so we had to go to two Bank of China branches before we saw a list of banks that were still open during the May Day holiday. Then we took a bus there.
If it's Bank of China, you can use the "Foreign Exchange" function in the app to exchange Hong Kong dollars and directly withdraw cash from Bank of China's ATM in Hong Kong.
I exchanged 1000 Hong Kong dollars, and it really felt different when I held it in my hand.
- The issuance method seems to be "exchange coupons" rather than "currency", you can find more information online.
- Most banks in Hong Kong issue universal coupons.
- The largest denomination is 1000.
- HSBC's lion is really beautiful!
Can I not exchange cash?#
No, but I only exchanged cash to top up my Octopus card. You don't have to, but you need to have a way to top up your Octopus card. Cash can also be used to recharge other payment methods, such as Alipay HK.
Although Alipay's exchange rate is slightly better, Octopus card is not only widely accepted, but I have also wanted to experience this "all-in-one card" for a long time. It's not that QR code payment is not good, it's just that near-field communication is the best!
I feel like the current "digital RMB" is following this model, and I hope it will be popularized soon.
Arrival#
It's not an exaggeration to say that it took me nearly 2 hours to get out of the subway station in Hong Kong...
On the one hand, I was shocked by how I spent 44.5 Hong Kong dollars from Lo Wu to West Kowloon, and on the other hand, I became a primitive person without subway Wi-Fi.
I didn't buy a data package in advance because I knew I would get a Hong Kong phone number, so after I got "Discover Hong Kong" at West Kowloon, I went to three 7-Eleven stores in the subway stations before I found the "Club SIM" I wanted.
58 Hong Kong dollars, with a 20-dollar 7-Eleven voucher, 38 Hong Kong dollars, and a 6-dollar annual maintenance fee. Why not choose it?
Discover Hong Kong#
I saw this activity a long time ago, and shamelessly lined up several times to get several (covering my face). But each time I had to bind it to a WeChat account and a phone number to receive it.
I got two "All Day Passes" (perfect for two days of sightseeing), a restaurant voucher, and a store voucher to buy gifts. Thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, I love it. 😍
The first sip of water in Hong Kong, although it is also available in mainland China, I just love drinking it hahaha.
Central#
After getting off the subway at West Kowloon, I wandered around and entering the shopping mall was really intimidating. It's like a country bumpkin entering the city. 😂
Seeing the Apple Store, it looks so rich, and it dominates the scenery of the entire mall:
Looking outside from inside, great for taking pictures:
This place really gives me the feeling of "two different worlds". When I go to big cities in mainland China, I see similar things, similar facilities, similar "Changsha stinky tofu", "Lung Kong pig trotters rice", "Liuyang steamed dishes", "Chongqing hot pot"...
In Hong Kong, most of the basic facilities look different from those in mainland China, and I still have some difficulties in communicating with the locals. In short, it feels very different from traveling to other cities.
About Food#
If I don't know what to eat when I go out, then I'll go to McDonald's. But the sauces here are charged, 1.5 Hong Kong dollars each. The flavors are more diverse than in mainland China, but they are not very tasty. (Garlic chili sauce is always the best! I always use more than two when I eat McDonald's.) I bought some sauces to let my friends taste.
I can't find these three items in mainland China, but they are quite expensive. I think I had the Angus beef with mushrooms? I don't remember the name very well, it's just average, even with the sauce, it couldn't save it.
I don't know if the tomato sauce for the fries is free, they didn't give it to me automatically, so I ordered a large combo (which came with a pack of honey BBQ seasoning powder), and it tastes similar to the ones in mainland China.
An ice cream for 13 dollars, why is it so expensive??? It's smaller than the ones from Meixue Ice City, and the taste is similar...
Had a meal at a "cha chaan teng" using the consumption vouchers. After the discount, it cost 5 dollars. Loved it. Since I couldn't understand the menu, I just guessed based on the prices and small pictures. The taste was actually quite good, but the cost was really really really high... I wouldn't be able to accept it if this meal cost more than 80 dollars.
I didn't understand the first "toast" dish, but what came was a piece of toasted bread, and it came with a pack of Anchor butter. I didn't know how to eat it, so I just put the egg on top and ate it directly. The butter was a bit greasy. 😂
The cheapest drink in Hong Kong is definitely McDonald's, the prices of others are just too high, and I'm too lazy to queue.
If you register a new McDonald's Hong Kong account, you can get a drink for 1 dollar!
About the Sea#
I went to "Hung Hom" and there were few tourists there. I sat on a bench in the park and quietly watched the sea.
Speaking of this, because I had an all-day pass and no specific destination, I randomly chose a subway station to sit down and take a look. 🤦
About Architecture#
Checked in at a prestigious university!
The buildings here are very tall and have a unique style.
Don't enter if you're a dog 🐶, it's super luxurious.
Apple in Causeway Bay
Frequently mentioned in Hong Kong movies! I took a picture when I saw it.
The entrance is full of "Lao" (When can McDonald's drive-thru open? What's wrong with me being the only rich person? 😭)
About Local Products#
Of course, I can't forget the purpose of coming to Hong Kong:
I haven't even reached home yet, and the physical card arrived first. But this card has a custom number, because I was determined to get the number "8888", I used up all the attempts and forgot to choose a number I liked. So it's a random number.
I also got a Mastercard for my Octopus card. It's a bit troublesome to open it now, it's not easy to deposit money and activate the card. If you don't authenticate, you can only use "Faster Payment System" for transfers.
Speaking of "Faster Payment System", it's so convenient! You can transfer money across different banks, and you can use your phone number/email as the basis for transfers, super convenient!
About Discrimination#
Some older locals have a bit of discrimination against Mandarin speakers, as I encountered at Times Square:
I wanted to find a 7-Eleven to top up my Alipay HK, so I opened Apple Maps and searched, and found that the 7-Eleven was actually inside a building. So I asked the staff at the mall, who looked like an uncle, and he told me, "7-Eleven, of course, it's on the 7th floor, just go up that escalator."
He didn't even tell me that there was a direct elevator, so at that time, I didn't believe that there was a convenience store on the 7th floor. Even though I had money, what kind of operation was it to open a store inside a mall? But **Apple Maps did show a 7-Eleven inside a building, so I believed his nonsense and went upstairs to look for an elevator for several rounds.
It was already afternoon, and the special forces had already walked more than 20,000 steps, but I couldn't find my way back, and I was really tired. Otherwise, I would have scolded this person for misleading me.
Other places were fine, except that some people couldn't understand Mandarin very well, so I used English to eliminate any misunderstandings.
Back to Shenzhen!
I stayed in Hong Kong for two days and returned to Shenzhen on the same day. So the accommodation was quite cheap. The overall experience was very good, just a bit short on time. If you want to be a special forces member, you need at least 3 days, and if you want to take it slow, you need at least 5 days.
Since I still have more than 200 on my Octopus card and more than 500 in cash, I will definitely visit Hong Kong again this year. (I found my own reasons)