Hong Kong Wanderlust Day 1

📍 Hong Kong · 👁 3273 reads · ❤️ 127 likes

Recently, with nothing much to do, I flipped through some photos, and many memories came flooding back.

Below I’ve selected a large number of photos, accompanied by a few words here and there. (Also known as “look at the pictures and talk.”)

The Hong Kong individual visit endorsement is limited to applicants from large cities; because of my registered residence, I could only apply for a group tour endorsement. And I absolutely hate group tours—they offer no freedom at all and completely ruin most of the fun of traveling.

So I adopted another strategy: The Hong Kong government allows holders of Mainland China passports to stay in Hong Kong for seven days if they are departing from Hong Kong to a third country, and likewise, they can stay for seven days when entering Hong Kong from a third country.

I booked a super cheap Hong Kong–Hanoi flight and obtained a separate Vietnam visa on a piece of paper, then took the high-speed train from Shenzhen Futian to Hong Kong West Kowloon.

Sorry, how is that “FIT”? What did FIT do wrong to deserve this treatment?

The first time I saw this, I was really shocked—this kind of保姆式 (nanny-style) reminder is very considerate but totally unnecessary.

I’m terrified of crossing roads; even with a green light, I look left and right for any illegal speeding vehicles.

Wow, at first glance I thought it was some kind of special forces.

Looking closer, hmm. In a sense, they really are the Salvation Army, aren’t they?

Got myself an Octopus card—the universal card for Hong Kong. Octopus: can be used for buses, subways, and convenience stores.

Strictly speaking, only the $10 banknote is the legal tender of Hong Kong, issued by the SAR government.

But carrying a bunch of $10 notes to buy things is really troublesome.

So there are also other denomination notes issued by the Bank of China (Hong Kong), Standard Chartered, and HSBC—a kind of “promises to pay the bearer on demand at its office here” token certificate. That means if you take this token to the bank, the bank promises to give you the equivalent of 10 yuan (Hong Kong dollars) in cash.

1 Hong Kong dollar is roughly 0.8 Chinese yuan.

Wow. I absolutely love bookstores.

Cute! Want it!

Well, can’t afford it. Bye bye (￣▽￣)Bye~Bye~

“Cambridge Essential English Grammar” — the promotional sticker in the lower left corner fits perfectly. For a moment I thought it was printed on the original cover, haha.

I skimmed through it at the time and took a photo, planning to study it carefully when I got back to the hostel that evening to see if it suited me. (Thinking back now, that behavior wasn’t great—it could be a copyright infringement; please don’t imitate.)

A wide variety of books.

They also sell some small trinkets!

ICAC, a frequent character in Hong Kong movies.

Looks like just a branch office, a small storefront?

Actually, I’ve already visited too many religious sites, since most of them are free, haha.

So the Salvation Army has a headquarters too…

For a moment I felt like I was in Chongqing.

Your Mandarin?

“青衣” (Tsing Yi)? Are you sure you wouldn’t call it “正旦” (leading role)? You’re the Great South, after all.

No old men playing Chinese chess for me to observe.

This screen wall doesn’t really go well with the modern buildings behind it.

First time seeing text between “招商” (China Merchants) and “银行” (Bank).