Coming From Lap Kok Airport into Central HK

Since I've had to write the same letter nearly a dozen times to people arriving in HK for the first time, I've decided to place one of these letters here, so instead of writing it all again, in future I'll just refer people to this entry in my blog:

No, Bernadette, don't for a second think about taking a taxi from the airport. Lap Kok's a zillion miles from anywhere and HK public transport is so sublime that a taxi that distance is the stupidest waste of money imaginable.

Come in by the city train. It really is perfect and so easy. You just come out into the Welcome Hall and look for the sign saying "Train to City". It's big so you can't miss it. And the train comes right into the airport complex so you just shuffle yourself onto the moving walkway and you're right there at the stop. And a train comes every 12 minutes so waiting is no problem. (Ooops, the train stops running, I think, at 1 in the morning, so this all depends on your ETA)

However, must tell you, to pay for the trip, on your way to the train, stop off at the Information Counter - it's right there on your way - and buy yourself a three-day (or whatever) Octopus Card: 

A Regular Octopus Card.

They also have tourist ones.

This is a debit transport card which is a HK invention and covers all public transport and it's wonderful and so convenient it really p*sses you off whenever you're in all other countries because they don't have one. (I was told before I arrived that I'd fall in love with my Octopus Card and it's true; you do!) 

And you always feel so funky and sophisticated when you use one of these because they're so strong you don't even have to take it out of your bag: just waft your bag over the top of the whatever and push through the turnstyle:

The Whateverit'scalled!

Also - VERY IMPORTANT - when you're at the Information Counter, you should ask whoever to write out the calligraphy (this is a shorthand term for Chinese Writing) for our address (or wherever it is you want to go since you probably aren't coming to stay with us). You would not believe how much easier this makes things at the other end.

And please admire our airport express train. It's fast and great and clean and there are TVs in the back of each seat, but the sound is usually so desperately poor you tend not to watch it, although I always use it to check temperature and weather report and all that stuff.

Then, about 20 minutes and three stops later later,  you arrive in HK Central. After you waft your Octopus Card in the right spot, just shuffle yourself across the several meters to the taxi rank and queue up. Like I said, HK mass transport is a work of genius and everything is perfectly integrated:

 

6 million people take 9 million journeys 

every single day 

and you can usually get a seat 

But it's more than just perfectly integrated. It's also beautiful. The mosaics they have everywhere are gorgeous: 

The Mosaic at Central.

And the colours in each station are sublime. Yup, each station has a signature colour! How smarty-pants is that! 

Wan Chai green!

AND did you know that the Scottish guy, McIllen, who invented the HK mass transport system back in the 1970s was voted by Time Magazine as 5th in the list of "The 100 Most Significant Asians of the 20th Century"? Yup! Right up there at the top. Way above people like Mao and Ho Chi Mihn! And it is totally deserved. Thanks to him we really are the envy of the rest of Asia - maybe even the world - and rightfully so. And can the same be said for the other two?

Then, in the taxi, keep it short and slow: If you have calligraphy, now is the time to waft it. And if you don't, mmm, the fun really starts. Don't be shy about going all ESL and worst-nightmare patronising. Just give the address slowly and clearly, beginning with the suburb, and then the street, and then our landmark (your own destination) and keep it up using different variations on the words until you hit on ones the driver vaguely recognises. Taxi drivers here always mean well but they usually are Mainlanders and their English is desperately limited and anything more than that will just cause them a great deal of stress!

So, as you can see, the only bit I'm worried about on your journey alone is the last part. But if you get lost call us when you get to our street and we'll come find you.  (OK, that bit is just for Bernadette. I'm not coming to find anyone else.)

So, there you go: how to get from our beautiful Lap Kok Airport to wherever you need to go to in HK.  And the very best advice I can offer is up there: get calligraphy for your destination. Honestly, it makes life so much easier!  And that goes for just about anything you want to do in HK. GET CALLIGRAPHY FOR EVERYTHING!!! That's what hotel staff are there for, so use them!