Going to and fro: busses, trains, ferries, escalators, and elevators

I took six different forms of transport to get to my office at Hong Kong University this morning. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, I did this, was because I had a bit of time and I wanted to keep my resolution of trying one new thing each week. I had not tried to get to the office with this particular routing and I wanted to see what it was like. While not the fastest way for me to get to work, it was not any more expensive and was certainly more scenic than the way I usually go, which involves a mini-bus, three MTR trains, and a double-deck large bus. Secondly, I used all these forms of public conveyance because I could. One of the amazing things about Hong Kong is the absolutely brilliant public transport system, which incorporates so many of the different forms of technology available for moving people around. My journey this morning involved an elevator in my building, a green mini-bus, two MTR trains, the Star Ferry , a double deck CityBus, several escalators sprinkled within this, and finally a couple of elevators to get from Pok Fu Lam Road to my office half way up the hill (HKU is very vertical). While I won’t talk about the escalators and the elevators in this account, I think it is worth providing a bit more about the MTR, the ferry, and the busses.


My first bus of the day was actually one of the green minibuses that one sees throughout Hong Kong. These little busses are great as they don’t always have a regular timetable, though this is not always the case. Instead there is a fleet of them running regular services along what seem to me to be shorter routes, linking the housing estates with shopping malls and transport hubs. Our route is the number 69K and there are several of these mini-busses making the circuit from the top of our hill to the Shatin station all day long and well into the evening. One must sit on these busses and they will pass you by if they are full. Fortunately, we live at the top of the hill so the only time when this really happens is in period just after the Shatin college lets out and the children take up all the places. To catch one of these busses, one needs to stand at the designated stop and wave your hand. If the bus is not full the driver will stop for you. If it is full, they will wave at you and drive right on by. Getting off is a bit more difficult as, unlike other forms of transport in Hong Kong, there is no bell or forced stop except at the end of the route. What you must do is yell out the name of your stop if you know it—ours is Sook Say (meaning quarters). Everyone also adds a please onto the end: mgoy in Cantonese. If you don’t know the name of the stop, then a “Yow Lok, mgoy” will also work. “Yow Lok” sort of means stop, but is only a phrase used on the mini-busses. You wouldn’t say this to a taxi driver, for example (actually I try not to use the Taxi’s as they are quite confusing and it is often difficult to convey where you want to go to the drivers).

The MTR is the subway system in the Hong Kong SAR. There are several lines that make up the system. Our line, the East Rail Line, starts at the border with China and extends all the way down to Hung Hom, which is on the right side of Kowloon toward the bottom. The trains come through our station, which is Shatin station, about every minute during rush hour and about every three minutes at other times. It runs over ground until it reaches Lion Rock and then does a combination of over and underground travel until Hung Hom.. Because this is a fast train to China, it also has a first class carriage, which you can use if you buy a first class ticket or swipe your octopus card at the machine before boarding. If you don’t swipe your card and the train people catch you there is quite a fine—I’ve witnessed several people trying to talk their way out of this. While the first class is a bit more expensive, it is sometimes worth it as you can ensure that you will get a seat. The other carriages are more like standard subway carriages and are mostly standing. It took me about 15 minutes to get from our station in Shatin to the Hung Hom end of the line. At that point I changed trains to the West Rail Line, which I rode for one stop to East TST. Approximately 19 minutes in total and cost just HK$12.6 (which includes the first class upgrade). It was a comfortable, if a bit boring ride as there is pretty much no scenery. I like the MTR, though because it is fast and very efficient.

At TST East I walked (or road escalators) underground to the L6 exit. This exit brings you out on the point of Kowloon right near the Star Ferry Terminal. There are several ferries that leave from this terminal, but today I rode the ferry to Central. The ferries themselves are small wooden boats, painted green and white and have two decks. There is the lower deck, which I tend to prefer, and the upper deck which costs about HK$1 more (the cost goes up a further HK$1 on weekends and holidays, but is still very good value). The total cost today for the ferry across was just HK$2.5, so I not really much expense at all. I chose the upper deck today because it is cold and rainy and the ends have glass on the windows, so it is a bit warmer and drier than the lower deck. I love the Star Ferry partly because it is a romantic way to travel. The boats, while not the originals, have been crossing the water between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island since 1880 according the company’s web site. There are 12 ferries that that are part of the fleet, each of which has the word star as part of their name (e.g., morning star, etc.). The boats in service now date primarily from the 1950’s and 1960’s and while electric, are still wooden. The style and age of the boats add significantly to the romanticism of the journey. As you cross Victoria Harbor on the ferry one sits and sees the cityscape of Hong Kong move closer, while Black Kites fly over the water looking for fish (there are no Gulls here). It is a calming and quite experience for me; time out from what is usually the crush of movement and people and the accompanying assault of noise and smog smells that characterizes my usual journey to work. These days, as was evident this morning, the ferries are not used by commuters in the same way that they once were. This is largely due to the movement of the ferry pier from near city hall to below the IFC building (the IFC building was, until recently, Hong Kong’s tallest building). I hope it does not mean the slow decline into extinction of the ferry.

Upon exiting the Ferry I caught the second and last bus of my journey: The number 7 CityBus. This was a double decker bus similar to those you would find in the UK. Indeed, as the traffic travels on the same side of the road as is the case in the UK, I believe these busses are indeed the same models. Adrian would know more about this than I and I believe he muttered something about one of the bus companies in Sheffield is operating retired stock from Hong Kong on one of its routes. I must confess that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to this bit of trivia at the time of the telling, but I do wish I could sound a bit more authoritative at the moment about this. I sat in the tourist seats, on the top deck at the front. Most regular riders seem to keep clear of these seats, but tourists gravitate toward them. I like these seats because you can see where you are going and as I was not entirely sure how far along my stop was seeing where I was going seemed a good idea. As it turned out, this was a good idea as the stop was at an entrance to the university that I was not so familiar with and I would have missed it if I were not looking carefully. The journey of the number 7 goes up Queen’s road Central to Queen’s road East before eventually entering Pok Fu Lam Road. As one progresses along the ride the bus seems to travel back in time. The area around the ferry terminal is all reclaimed land, with tall (very tall) new buildings all proclaiming their connection to the west. By the time you reach Queen’s Road East, the streets are full of shops selling edible birds nest, shark fin, and Ginseng or red lanterns and incense to burn for the ancestors. There are also small sidewalk vendors selling bau out of the small bamboo steamer baskets and restaurants with bright yellow cooked chickens hanging in the windows. One eventually travels through a winding street, climbing up the hill, which is full of antiques sellers with widow displays of wooden Chinese furniture or ceramic pots, before finally emerging out near an overpass (which leads back over to the new Harbor tunnel to Kowloon). People have been living in the area around where Pok Fu Lam Road meets Queen’s Road East since the early 1700’s. In contrast, the area near the overpass is near the university and where the new campus is being built. In the next few years there will be a new MTR line with a station here, thereby making my journey route today even more irrelevant and seemingly inefficient, but I am sure no less interesting.

A New Year and New Experiences

Happy New Year!

I arrived back in Hong Kong on the 18^th of December. I just managed to escape the airport closures. My flight left from Manchester on the 17^th and was late departing and I must say I was getting nervous as I watched the flakes begin to fall. But escape I did!  I expected to arrive in a warm climate, cast off my coat and enjoy the sun. There has been sun—only 2 days of cloud or rain since I arrived—but it has not been warm.  Today’s high has been only 58 degrees (13 C).  While this sounds ok, there is no central heating here and our flat is on the shady side of the building, thus we have no sun to warm us through the windows. I have had to purchase a jumper and a pair of slippers and I wear my coat when I go out.  It has been like this since I arrived and the weather looks to stay this way for at least another 2 weeks—for those considering travel to Hong Kong in the future, do make note of this particular climatic feature!

Arriving on the 18^th meant I was plunged right into Christmas preparations.  It was a bit odd being here for Christmas. There were certainly decorations around in the malls and so forth, but for the most part it was a regular day for most people.  For example, I purchased something from Ikea and had to ask them NOT to deliver it on Christmas Day.  The children and Adrian were off school/work though and we did try to do some traditional things.  Adrian had purchased the Michael Palin series Around the World in 80 Days, which is always on TV over the Christmas period, so we watched that each day. We also had Ensalada de Noche Buena (A Mexican Christmas Salad) on Christmas Even, which is a longstanding tradition in our family.

Christmas also held some new activities as well. I conquered my fear of the wet market and managed to purchase a fish that I think was a Barramundi.  I poached it and had a Thai sauce that I put over it. It was really lovely and the meat was sweet. To be truthful, I don’t really remember what else we had as that night Adrian, Simon and I all woke up and were ill. We remained ill for the next three days, and there was a competition over who had to make the most trips to the bathroom to be sick (Simon won with 8, Adrian and I tied at 5). Everyone stayed pretty much in bed on Boxing Day, but Adrian and I tried to get out the following days. We went to Stanley with Grace one day, which was enjoyed by all. She doesn’t often come out with us and it was nice that she did.  Another day we found a new footpath around the Peak, which has really nice views.  I would definitely take visitors there. Finally, at the end of the week, Adrian and I went to Macau. Macau is really a place to go if you like to gamble. We don’t so found it a bit difficult. Fortunately the children did not go with us as they would have hated the day, which was spent mostly walking about. We did go to a very nice garden, for me only to discover there was no memory card in my camera—all photo’s left only to the imagination.

On New Year’s Day we agreed that we would write down our resolutions. Mine are to do yoga twice a week, send two papers off to journals by June, try something new each week, and improve my Cantonese. So far I’ve not done any Yoga, my books are all in the UK still and the shippers don’t look like they will send them until later this month (grrrrr), though most of what I need is available electronically, I am working on my Cantonese and I have learned a little bit more so we shall see on that one. I am doing great with the try new things though.

This week I have done two new main new things (though these were not the only new things I did). The first thing was to have my palm and face read at the Chinese temple. This was not an inexpensive venture costing about $HK500. It was very interesting though. I learned that my children will take care of me in my old age so I don’t have to worry and that Adrian and I will stay married. I also learned that I have a lucky line which means things will work out. But the first thing the woman did when she looked at my hand was look shocked when she saw my lifeline, which is apparently weak and mingled with my work. She told me to take a foreign holiday!  (I kept thinking, but I’ve just gotten here!). She said that I had a good palm but that I need to take care of my health and get enough rest. I’ve told Adrian this means he has to let me have the occasional lie on the weekends!

The second was to go to see the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor about my migraines (and also because I felt I needed to address this lifeline thing).  As part of the benefits associated with Adrian’s job we can each access 15 visits with 2 packs of herbs each visit.  This was quite an interesting experience because it was so different from anything I’ve done before. I went into the consulting room where there were two doctors training on the main doctor. I was not introduced to any of them, so I have no idea what any of them are called. The main doctor asked me several questions about whether or not I felt my blood pressure was normal or my sleep was normal or my appetite was normal. This was fine though I am not really sure what normal is. I was then asked to stick out my tongue. All three responded in a way that was similar to that of the palm reader—I am guessing my tongue does not look good. It was never explained—at least not in English. I left with about half the forest in a bag that I have to concoct into tea to be drunk three times a day for three days.  The prescription is all in Chinese characters, but I do have a book that revealed what a few of the 14 different ingredients were. Of these, a few will be familiar plants to European/American readers, and they include: Lovage root, which is good for qi movement and Kudzu root, which is good for all sorts of things. I am not sure if this is the same Kudzu that is eating the American South, but it might be worth investigating!  I’ve had the first day of the treatment, and feel pretty much the same so far. It was really awful tasting, but something that tastes that bad must do something for you. I have to go back to the doctor on Monday, so I wonder what that will bring!

Next week I start teaching at HKU, where I am a visiting Associate Professor. Hopefully that will go ok. I am looking forward to it and everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. I have managed to get settled in and find my way there with only limited difficulty (going through Central is not the best way from here).