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anninhk
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 284
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 Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:21 am Post subject: |
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I think transport in Hong Kong is very cheap.
Even when I travelled from North Point to Mong Kok by MTR the cost was only $11. For shorter journeys it is around $3.4. Buses are cheaper.
The most expensive journey on the old MTR was about $22 - that was from one end of the network to the other.
At the local market fresh food is cheap too - on the way home I can pick up 8 apples for $10, bananas for $5, greens for $4-5.
Imported things are more expensive at the supermarkets - I suggest you log on to Park and Shop or Wellcome website and see their prices. |
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Surfdude18
Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 651
Location: China
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:52 am Post subject: |
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Those transport prices are very, very cheap compared with London, and the fresh fruit prices are not that much more than the mainland.
Cheers for that.  |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| An ID card, even if it's permanent, does not serve as a passport. For anywhere except Macau and China, a passport is required to exit HK. |
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once again
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 815
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:49 am Post subject: |
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| The last time I exited HK, to Malaysia, I used my ID card and not my passport. I entered HK using my ID card also. |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:41 am Post subject: |
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| Granted you can get through the immigration counters with your ID, but you will need a passport to board the plane. |
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hkteach
Joined: 29 May 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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Yes you do need to present your passport at checkin (and sometimes, but no always) at the boarding gate.
But, it isn't just for Macau and the Mainland...... it doesn't matter where you're going to or coming from, you can depart and re-enter HK with just the ID card - saves time and also saves space in your passport.
The advantage of having an ID card with your thumbprint embedded in it is that you avoid having to stand in a huge crowd when arriving back in Hong Kong from somewhere else. Great!
It also allows you to avoid those long queues when exiting HK too! Heading straight to the turnstile area means a much quicker exit/entry even if there are several people in front of you as each person takes less than a minute to get through.
When returning to HK after the Easter break the arrival gate was right near immigration and we were out getting our baggage in less than 5 minutes after we left the plane. How good is that?? If only the folks in my own country would agree to such a thing! |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:40 am Post subject: |
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| Don't get me wrong, I agree the ID card at the airport is splendid - nothing better than skipping the lines of people at the regular immigration desks. The point I'm trying to make is that you can't use your ID card at the other end, and because of that fact, someone at HK airport is supposed to make sure that you have a passport. I may be wrong but I think that the airline has a responsibility to make sure its passengers have a passport. Certainly, if you manage to board the plane without anyone checking to see if you have a passport then someone wasn't doing their job. |
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A'Moo
Joined: 21 Jan 2007
Posts: 1067
Location: a supermarket that sells cheese
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| Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 2:39 am Post subject: |
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| 11:59 wrote: |
Surfdude, there are two major and persistent myths about HK. The first is that the place is international and/or cosmopolitan, and the second is that the SAR is expensive. In reality HK is extremely homogeneous (around 98.5% of those in HK are HK Chinese, with the largest group of foreign nationals actually being Filipinas), and, as you rightly suspect many items in HK are exactly the same price as on the mainland (which of course makes such goods vastly cheaper for us in relative terms) and some items are actually cheaper than on the mainland (thus making them cheaper for us in real terms). Even for the few items that are more expensive (and they are few and far between) you have to bear in mind that, as the average Hong Konger earns some eight times more than your average mainlander, unless the goods or services are some eight times more expensive they are still ultimately cheaper for us.
If 1 RMB is equivalent to some $10HK, that is, if as your wife claims, $30,000 HK a month is equal to 3,000 RMB, how comes it that many Hong Kongers purchase foreign property and passports yet very few mainlanders seem able to? Also, if this 'exchange' rate is valid, how come NETs here will often have four or five lavish foreign holidays a year while most FTs in China are lucky to drum up enough cash for a single break within the borders of the PRC?
Bear in mind also that many of us, (myself included) like taking HK currency to China for banquets, etc., so we can get the best of both worlds: a first class First World income in HK and Third World prices in China (though fewer and fewer goods and services in China are truly cheap anymore).
You mention accommodation, but again, you must remember that for most of us here it does not matter one iota whether our rent is $8,000 HK a month or $80,000 HK a month as our employers pay it for us.
Sorry to shatter your wife's illusions. It can often be hard for Mainlanders to accept that fellow Chinese living just across the border from them can earn so much more money, both in relative and real terms. I see this a lot with Mainlanders who now flock here on the IVS (especially with high-tech products and western import items; remember that HK has no import tax or duties and no sales tax and also sheer scale of economy plays a major role). I suppose they simply don't want to face up to reality for, if they did, they would have to ask themselves why, if it is possible here in HK it is not possible over there in China proper. |
Agreed. Other than land and service-based products, HK and the mainland are pretty close as far as cost of product...
Wouldnt call HK either cosmopolitan nor international, but it wouldnt be considered a failure in either of these areas either, but its not the same as it was 10 years ago....
Its funny, whenever I go to Guangzhou now, it reminds me of HK 10 years ago, and whenever in HK, it reminds me of Guangzhou 10 years ago. |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 4:21 am Post subject: |
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| A'Moo wrote: |
Its funny, whenever I go to Guangzhou now, it reminds me of HK 10 years ago, and whenever in HK, it reminds me of Guangzhou 10 years ago. |
Curious to know in what ways HK today resembles Guangzhou 10 years ago? |
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A'Moo
Joined: 21 Jan 2007
Posts: 1067
Location: a supermarket that sells cheese
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| Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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Cleanliness, for one...
Standards of English in Government signage...This rarely happened 10 years ago, now it seems many signs are not up to snuff. This isnt a huge deal, its just that HK seemed to take pride in this facet a decade ago...
More illegal immigration...
Lower wages...
The worldwide problem of the wealthy becoming wealthier, the poor becoming even more destitute...
Just my own observations, which could be completely off. I dont have the time nor the inclination to look up statistics...And what was it they said about statistics anyways? |
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antoniahk
Joined: 10 Mar 2008
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:41 am Post subject: |
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| HK can be very cheap. I can eat at my local restaurants, full meal, with beer for around $60 per person. Groceries are cheap, transport is v. cheap, even taxis (I very rarely pay over $40 for a trip). My son's kindergarten costs $600 a month. Clothes are cheap, phone/power bills relatively cheap (depending on a/c use). On a teacher's salary (less than NET) I can save, invest, buy property, but there are people here who pull in $100K a month and still can't save money. Sad. All depends on your lifestyle. If you want to eat and drink in hotels and holiday chez Aman, then yes, it's pricey. If you care more about quality of life than having people fawning over you, then it isn't. |
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Surfdude18
Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 651
Location: China
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 1:47 am Post subject: |
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| antoniahk wrote: |
| HK can be very cheap. I can eat at my local restaurants, full meal, with beer for around $60 per person. Groceries are cheap, transport is v. cheap, even taxis (I very rarely pay over $40 for a trip). My son's kindergarten costs $600 a month. Clothes are cheap, phone/power bills relatively cheap (depending on a/c use). On a teacher's salary (less than NET) I can save, invest, buy property, but there are people here who pull in $100K a month and still can't save money. Sad. All depends on your lifestyle. If you want to eat and drink in hotels and holiday chez Aman, then yes, it's pricey. If you care more about quality of life than having people fawning over you, then it isn't. |
Yes, those prices are very much comparable with prices here in Dalian. In fact, while the kindergarten I am sending my son to costs 600 per month, that is only because he is getting half price fees (as it is the school where I teach). |
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Marcoregano
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 2:05 am Post subject: |
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| antoniahk wrote: |
| On a teacher's salary (less than NET) I can save, invest, buy property, but there are people here who pull in $100K a month and still can't save money. Sad. |
Why sad? If people want to go out and have a good time it's up to them. And not everyone wants to get saddled with property, investments, etc. and all of the trappings that come with it.
| antoniahk wrote: |
All depends on your lifestyle. If you want to eat and drink in hotels and holiday chez Aman, then yes, it's pricey. If you care more about quality of life than having people fawning over you, then it isn't. |
Some people would say that those who stay at home and obsess about saving are the ones who have little quality of life!! |
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