Not surprisingly, HKG airport is modern, clean and efficient (the immigration line was long, but it did move quickly).
Going into town, the Airport Express MTR line (HK$100/US$13) is fast (~25 minutes to Central) and only has a few stops. It even has wi-fi if you have signed up for that service.
As expected, there is English on virtually all signs (even in the city), so it’s easy to get around.
I should have bought my Octopus Card (the stored value transportation card) at the airport, which would have given me a free connection to the MTR subway (as I arrived too late to use the free hotel shuttle bus at Central for Airport Express passengers). Oddly, you can’t buy the Octopus card from a machine (though you can check the balance and add value from machines, once you have one). I ended up asking the 7-11 clerk who sent me back upstairs to buy one from the MTR customer service desk.
The Octopus card costs HK$150/$20, though a third of that is a refundable deposit. Like other decent transportation systems with smart cards, you touch a reader on entry and exit of subway stations and buses (though not the fixed price double-decker tram)
My hotel in Causeway Bay was easy to find, just a 5 minute walk from the MTR station of the same name. It’s a small (about 8×8 feet, including the ensuite bathroom, by which I mean picture a large shower stall with the toilet and sink thrown in there too) windowless single room (small twin bed with a thin but firm mattress) in a good location. And a TV – with only a dozen Chinese channels – woohoo! All for the bargain price of HK$400/US$52 a night!).
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