Hong Kong
A couple of weeks ago I went to Hong Kong. I went from Guangzhou to Hong Kong which was very easy. I looked up in advance and saw that Alipay and Wechat worked for money in Hong Kong. Well, turns out, they don’t. And, I didn’t get cash at the train station, but I should have. So I started out with a taxi driver, and I asked if I could use Alipay, but he said don’t worry about, it, we’ll figure it out later. There I should have stopped. But he took me to my hotel and then demanded $100 U.S. cash. Well, I certainly don’t have that since we don’t even use Cash in mainland China. He was about to drive off with me in the car and take me I don’t know where (we were already at my hotel!) so I said, wait, I would check with the hotel. So they did do a money transfer and give me cash by charging me a 5 percent fee each time. So I gave the guy $200 Hong Kong cash, which he was displeased with, he wanted $300. So the hotel person was about to go and chew him out for ripping me off, when he drove off. So, I got more cash to move about the city but I didn’t have the freedom I usually do because of the cash issue. Every time I tried to use Alipay or Wechat it was declined. So, I went to Marks and Spencer Department store — my main goal of Hong Kong (finding bras in China) and walked around a little and had pho. The very best part of my Hong Kong trip was first seeing the epic and amazing port area from the taxi — it was the biggest and most magnificient I have ever seen. But also, the view from my room. I was at the Royal View hotel in Tsuen Wan and it was right under this amazing bridge, overlooking the water, and the port traffic. And unlike many buildings in China, there was no one that could look into the windows. So, the bed was right next to the window. So I left the curtains open, and woke to the amazing view and slept to the amazing view too. I would stay again, it was fantastic. Next time I go to Hong Kong, I need to fix my Uber account, and get the Octopus card. Although I hear that I can catch the ferry to Hong Kong, so that sounds pretty amazing as well.
