Hong Kong and Macau - Picking a hotel neighborhood - TST, Mongkok or Causeway (or another)??

I'm headed over to HKG next week for 5 nights, and looking to stya as cheap as possible. I don't mind tiny rooms as long as they are relatively clean. After much debating back and forth I think I am going to skip the Mansions as I just can't see being happy there so I'll spend a bit more money. I can find a number of 3* options for <$100USD/night (not bad, considering the rates seem to go up significantly for the weekend) but I cannot decide on a neighborhood. The three I see are TST, Mongkok and Causeway Bay. Should I mix it up and move around? How hard will it be to get between the areas on the MRT?

If transit is relatively easy I'll go cheaper/further away, though hopefully not too far.

Thanks,
S.

Unless you are in TST E, getting between TST and Mongkok is a snap. Few stops on MRT or bus up/down Nathan Road (or you could even walk). Causeway Bay would require a change of trains so it's a little less convenient.

sbm12 - All those areas are fine and convenient. But I will not move between them. And the quality of each property is more important than general area. Any particular names you came up with?

Or if you don't mind, what dates?

Dates are 6 - 11 Feb.

I've found the Dorsett Seaviw Hotel (http://www.dorsettseaview.com.hk/), 36 Boundary Hotel, Majestic Guest House/Sea-Land Guest House (http://www.sealandhouse.com.hk), The Charterhouse and a couple others.

I've also finally found some material on the MTR that seems to indicate that the Tourist pass should meet my needs for a few days, making the travel between areas to see things reasonable, even if it does mean changing lines - I do that all the time in NYC :D

S.

I do not recommend the MTR passes for most people, unless one's staying at perhaps the Novotel in Tung Chung or at one of the Disneyland Hotel, and need to use the MTR for long distance at least twice a day or more.

MTR is often crowded and not very fun to use. I use buses, ferries, and taxis more than the MTR.

As for the hotels, I have no 1st hand experience for any of them, but I don't like those guesthouses in multi-use buildings, unless you're so tight in budget. The Dorsett Seaview is quite convenient, and the Charterhouse is also okay.

But if you don't mind transportation time too much, you may want to try the L'Hotel Nina in Tsuen Wan. It's supposed to be a 5* hotel, but I don't think it has its formal grand opening. You can get it for $92/night on asiahotels.com, all in. It requires a couple of changes of trains to get to the city (MTR passes don't work on the West Rail anyways), or about 40 minutes by bus. Just an alternative if you want brand new nice hotel at not much more than the price of a guesthouse.

I find the MTR to be quick, convenient and easy to use. Yes crowded at times, but that's been the case for me in most cities. Nothing like let's say Beijing, where there is literally no room to stand and the next train is a minimum 5-7 minutes away (though that length of time is pretty rare in my experience).

I find the MTR to be quick, convenient and easy to use. Yes crowded at times, but that's been the case for me in most cities. Nothing like let's say Beijing, where there is literally no room to stand and the next train is a minimum 5-7 minutes away (though that length of time is pretty rare in my experience).

MTR doesn't go to a lot of attractions, include the Peak and anywhere on the south side of HK Island - including Stanley, Repulse Bay and Aberdeen. Neither does it go to the Cheung Chau or Lamma, or up to the Big Buddha. And as a tourist, wouldn't the Star Ferry be a more interesting way to cross the harbor? [The pass only covers the regular subway lines, not the East Rail, West Rail, Ma Rail, Light Rail or the NP360 cable car.]

Or say you're near the Star Ferry in Tsimshatsui and wants to go to the Ladies' Market in Mongkok. #1, 1A, 2, 6 and 6A buses depart literally every minute, and you get a seat. Or you can walk 5+ minutes and fight the crowd to get to the MTR train, stand to Mongkok, and fight the crowd to get out of the station.

Or say you're in Mongkok and needs to get to Time Square in Causeway Bay. You can stand in the MTR to Admiralty, fight the crowds and line up 10-deep to transfer to the Island line, then ride 3 long escalators to get up to the concourse, and walk 5+ minutes to the Times Square exit with lots of crowds. Or you can just take Tunnel bus 112. Still a chance to get a seat on the bus for the single ride there.

BTW, the Tung Chung line MTR is about every 10 minutes outside rush hour. I had to get to the Elements Mall and Olympic City a couple times during my trip to Hong Kong last month, and I've waited 5+ minutes for the Tung Chung line trains at least 3 times.

Or say you're near the Star Ferry in Tsimshatsui and wants to go to the Ladies' Market in Mongkok. #1, 1A, 2, 6 and 6A buses depart literally every minute, and you get a seat. Or you can walk 5+ minutes and fight the crowd to get to the MTR train, stand to Mongkok, and fight the crowd to get out of the station
Another obvious advantage for taking the bus for this routing is you get to see parts of the city while riding. Unlike seeing nothing except for stations, tunnels, and crowds taking the MTR from TST to Mongkok.

I take the subway in NYC a fair amount and buses very rarely, but I guess I'll learn above-ground optoins for this trip :D

I booked two nights on HK Island just west of Central (Sheung Wan). Not a great location, but a good price, and sufficiently close to a MTR station and the tram that I should be OK with it. The next two nights are on Kowloon at the southern edge of TST (Salisbury Road). For my last night I may head up towards Mongkok, try to find a cheap room in Macau or figure something else out.

Thanks for all the suggetions!!

MTR doesn't go to a lot of attractions, include the Peak and anywhere on the south side of HK Island - including Stanley, Repulse Bay and Aberdeen. Neither does it go to the Cheung Chau or Lamma, or up to the Big Buddha. And as a tourist, wouldn't the Star Ferry be a more interesting way to cross the harbor? [The pass only covers the regular subway lines, not the East Rail, West Rail, Ma Rail, Light Rail or the NP360 cable car.]

Or say you're near the Star Ferry in Tsimshatsui and wants to go to the Ladies' Market in Mongkok. #1, 1A, 2, 6 and 6A buses depart literally every minute, and you get a seat. Or you can walk 5+ minutes and fight the crowd to get to the MTR train, stand to Mongkok, and fight the crowd to get out of the station.

Or say you're in Mongkok and needs to get to Time Square in Causeway Bay. You can stand in the MTR to Admiralty, fight the crowds and line up 10-deep to transfer to the Island line, then ride 3 long escalators to get up to the concourse, and walk 5+ minutes to the Times Square exit with lots of crowds. Or you can just take Tunnel bus 112. Still a chance to get a seat on the bus for the single ride there.

BTW, the Tung Chung line MTR is about every 10 minutes outside rush hour. I had to get to the Elements Mall and Olympic City a couple times during my trip to Hong Kong last month, and I've waited 5+ minutes for the Tung Chung line trains at least 3 times.

I do like busses here, though I never use them (I just moved here)... I forget how I got to Lamma but it was via subway/rail and it accepted my octopus. Agree that ferry is definitely a nice way to see the harbor.

I don't know about fighting crowds 10 deep though. People queue up pretty welll, and remember I've been living in Beijing for a year and a half

I do like busses here, though I never use them (I just moved here)... I forget how I got to Lamma but it was via subway/rail and it accepted my octopus. Agree that ferry is definitely a nice way to see the harbor.

I don't know about fighting crowds 10 deep though. People queue up pretty welll, and remember I've been living in Beijing for a year and a half

Lamma is an island off the southwest coast of HK Island. I'm sure you took a ferry there. :)

Everything takes Octopus in Hong Kong, except taxis and the red minibuses.

And wait, I didn't say fighting crowds 10 deep. I said, fighting crowds and line up 10 deep. :)

I take the subway in NYC a fair amount and buses very rarely, but I guess I'll learn above-ground optoins for this trip :D
While I think buses are the most convenient form of transportation in HK--it goes point to point--it can be quite daunting for visitors. On a major thoroughfare like Nathan Rd or Hennessey Rd, the side of road is completely lined with bus stop signs. The rider needs to know which route to take and where the bus stop sign for that route is, because the buses only stops every other block.

I relied on a pocket bus guide. It came as a part of pocket atlas, and was sold in bookstores. To use it, I flip to the page where I am, find the bus route that will take me to where I want to go on the left side, and find where I can board the bus on the map on right side. IIRC the atlas was bilingual and the bus guide was Chinese, but it could be bilingual too.

I think this (http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/hong-kong-guidebook-street-atlas-153918/) is the one. Much cheaper in HK, around $80 iirc.

And that's only the big buses. The mini buses should be off limits except to locals. ;)

I forget how I got to Lamma but it was via subway/rail and it accepted my octopus.
Could you have meant Lantau instead? As already pointed out Lamma is not accessible by any forms of trains nor subways.

Green minibuses are okay. But red ones should be off-limits to even locals! :) Ride them if you have a death wish.

Yes yes, Lantau, not Lamma. Was still in a sleepy daze this morning...

I would choose Charter House as it is in the HK Island side...which I personally find more desireable than Kowloon. I don't think the Dorsett hotels are really known for anything good.

Causeway Bay is a shopping and hangout mecca, with TST being a bit more touristy. MongKok will probably be too local for a tourist's tastes and quite crowded. But anywhere you choose the train is more than convenient to get around, transfers are easy as pie as you simply walk across the platform and the trains arrive every 3 mins or less usually.

Buses are complicated if you can't read chinese or know the stops since there's so many of them.

I agree with not getting the MTR Tourist pass unless you go far out of the city. However, it is worthwhile if you buy it with the airport express pass. I think it's $300 HKD which includes a airport express roundtrip ticket and a 3 day unlimited MTr pass. You also get $50 back when you return the octopus card, so it's really only $250. The airport express is already $200 normally so $50 for 3 days MTR is phenomenal. I always get this when I go to HK.

I'm headed over to HKG next week for 5 nights, and looking to stya as cheap as possible. I don't mind tiny rooms as long as they are relatively clean. After much debating back and forth I think I am going to skip the Mansions as I just can't see being happy there so I'll spend a bit more money. I can find a number of 3* options for <$100USD/night (not bad, considering the rates seem to go up significantly for the weekend) but I cannot decide on a neighborhood. The three I see are TST, Mongkok and Causeway Bay. Should I mix it up and move around? How hard will it be to get between the areas on the MRT?

If transit is relatively easy I'll go cheaper/further away, though hopefully not too far.

Thanks,
S.

Green minibuses are okay. But red ones should be off-limits to even locals! :) Ride them if you have a death wish.

When I was in HK with my Australian-resident but HK-born and bred friend last year, we rode almost every conceivable form of public transport available (MTR, Airport Express, Star Ferry, Bus (incl. through tunnels), Tram, Taxi, Green Minibus and even the mid-level Escalators), but she very deliberately avoided the red minibuses. Something to do with the terms of their contract - 'the more trips/miles they do, the more money they make', so they are allegedly somewhat 'reckless' to say the least. :eek:

Causeway Bay is a shopping and hangout mecca, with TST being a bit more touristy. MongKok will probably be too local for a tourist's tastes and quite crowded.

Buses are complicated if you can't read chinese or know the stops since there's so many of them.

I agree with not getting the MTR Tourist pass unless you go far out of the city. However, it is worthwhile if you buy it with the airport express pass. I think it's $300 HKD which includes a airport express roundtrip ticket and a 3 day unlimited MTr pass. You also get $50 back when you return the octopus card, so it's really only $250. The airport express is already $200 normally so $50 for 3 days MTR is phenomenal. I always get this when I go to HK.

Very savvy comments about neighborhoods and suggestions of the airport express pass with 3-day MTR. It saves money and the hassle of having to stand in line to get change and buy tickets.

Roundtrip AE to Hong Kong is $180, to Kowloon is $160. And if there are two or more people traveling together, even steeper discounts. So, your $50 for 3 days premise is not true. It's $70 or more.

And really, how many times are you going to take the MTR in 3 days? One will not recover the $70 usually, unless at least going to Tung Chung/Lantau once.

Everybody should get an Octopus card anyway, so no need to find change for each ticket anyhow.

I agree with noodlesz that the Airport Express pass package and unlimited 3 day MTR travel is a great deal. Considering the fact that a single trip on the MTR from TST to Central is $8.50 (from the MTR fare table) and the RT is $17.00, you can easily spend $70 or more on MTR travel in 3 days. I've had an Octopus cards for years and yet I still buy the special pass sometimes when I know I will be moving around a lot in Hong Kong.

What is Mansion House?

What is Mansion House?
A crumbling old set of buildings on the south end of Nathan Road. They used to be apartments or something of that nature. Now they are sweat shops and "guest houses" which really are mostly terribly small and dirty rooms, all run by one or two companies that pretend to "compete" with each other in an effort to take extra money from their guests who accidentally check in to the "wrong" property, among other scams.

I agree with noodlesz that the Airport Express pass package and unlimited 3 day MTR travel is a great deal. Considering the fact that a single trip on the MTR from TST to Central is $8.50 (from the MTR fare table) and the RT is $17.00, you can easily spend $70 or more on MTR travel in 3 days. I've had an Octopus cards for years and yet I still buy the special pass sometimes when I know I will be moving around a lot in Hong Kong.

Roundtrip AE to Hong Kong is $180, to Kowloon is $160. And if there are two or more people traveling together, even steeper discounts. So, your $50 for 3 days premise is not true. It's $70 or more.

And really, how many times are you going to take the MTR in 3 days? One will not recover the $70 usually, unless at least going to Tung Chung/Lantau once.

Everybody should get an Octopus card anyway, so no need to find change for each ticket anyhow.

You definitely need an Octopus card. I'm torn on the unlimited as to whether I got my money's worth or not. The real "money" on the MTR savings is when you transfer lines or cross the harbor, and that isn't something that I did a ton, though probably once a day. I am a big fan of subway systems since I depend so much on the one here in NYC, but I managed to try just about every option in HKG (not the red-tops) and I think that I'd still lean towards using the MTR, except that the stations are so big it can take 5-10 minutes to find your way out :eek: That being said, even with the added time of finding my exit the MTR was faster than the trams, and the traffic wasn't bad while I was there.

A couple things in favor of the unlimited include that I think I got an extra day (I arrived on Wednesday night and used it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and I didn't have to think about anything when I was riding. I probably just broke even.

The main strike against it is that it is only MTR. I didn't quite understand that when I got it, which made getting off the tram on Thursday interesting, to say the least.

The other really nice thing about the pay-as-you-go option is that there's no penalty for loading up the card. When you return it in the airport at the end of your stay they give you back the HKD50 deposit and also the balance on the card, so there's no fare money lost there. I don't know of any other transit system in the world that does the same. I managed to use ~HKD40 on the one day I really pushed it, including a couple MTR rides across the harbor, a bus to Stanley and then two busses and a mini-bus back to Central. If I was only on the MTR I wouldn't have come close to that spend, but I also couldn't have made it to all those places on the MTR.

It is <$10 for the 3(+) days of unlimited MTR rides. If you're not sure what you're doing or where you're going it isn't a terrible option, if for no other reason than it means not thinking about that aspect.

S.

The 3-day MTR pass portion of the tourist card starts counting when you first use the MTR, not the AE, and not the free MTR transfer associated with the AE trip. For sbm12, that means he uses his on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

And there is actually a small cost for using the Octopus. For cards that are refunded within 3 months (or something like that), you only get $43 of the deposit back, so your cost of using it is $7.

[My mom is the type of person who really cares about HK$7, so she will switch her "old" card with relatives visiting Hong Kong, so they can refund the "old" card with no penalty, and she will use their "new" card from then on.]

I booked two nights on HK Island just west of Central (Sheung Wan).

The next two nights are on Kowloon at the southern edge of TST (Salisbury Road).

For my last night I may head up towards Mongkok, try to find a cheap room in Macau or figure something else out.


I ended up gong back to the same place on the last night as I had spent the first two nights. The location was actually very convenient (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=107+Wing+Lok+St,+Hong+Kong+Island,+Hong+Kong&sll=22.28647,114.150608&sspn=0.006383,0.009903&ie=UTF8&ll=22.284828,114.152863&spn=0.006383,0.009903&z=17), which I wasn't expecting when I booked it. The hotel is called Mingle on the Wing and it is part of a small, local chain. The room was small, but passable and had a little desk area in addition to the bathroom and bed. Most importantly to me, it was clean and quiet and reasonably priced ($60/60/90 for the three nights). It was about a 5-10 minute walk up to the SoHo area with a bunch of restaurants, across the street from the MTR entrance and there were two 7-11s, a Circle K and a bunch of other shops/restaurants on the block. It was also about a 5-10 minute walk to the Macau ferry terminal. The cab there from the Star Ferry terminal didn't tick from the initial flag drop of HKD15.

The two nights in Kowloon were at the Renaissance. I had booked a junior suite for ~$225/night and my Marriott Gold status got me a great suite (1814) on the 18th floor (exec club level). I had slightly obstructed harbor views (http://gallery.millerworks.net/gallery/3554450_DXBHW/6/252790569_55Mwz) and more space than I knew what to do with. The exec club access provided all manner of food and drink, including breakfast, tea (with finger sandwiches), beer & apps at happy hour (other booze was consumption priced) and desserts at night. That definitely helped on the budgeting :) The down-side of the Ren is that it is a PITA to get to from the MTR, and only slightly better from the ferry. To get to/from the MTR you have to walk through the tunnels under Salisbury road and then back up and then back down (or a block out of the way) to get under/across Nathan road. There may have been a slightly better routing, but not by much. At least with the ferry terminal you could just walk along the waterfront until you got there, but it wasn't easy.

S.

Does the MTR have air conditioning?

Does the MTR have air conditioning?

Yes.

Does the MTR have air conditioning?
Yes.

And heat in February :)

And heat in February :)

"Heat"? What is that? :p

"Heat"? What is that? :p

It was 40-50F last week (coldest NY in 12 years) and they seemed to have heat on in the MTR cars. It was somewhat oppressive and disgusting to me, particularly since I had my jacket, but it was there. I don't recall the stations having heat active, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

It was 40-50F last week (coldest NY in 12 years) and they seemed to have heat on in the MTR cars. It was somewhat oppressive and disgusting to me, particularly since I had my jacket, but it was there. I don't recall the stations having heat active, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

I am pretty sure there's no heat in the MTR cars. It may be some residual heat source from SOMETHING, but it's not real heat. :)

I went back home to HK recently to work and celebrate CNY with our family and friends. 40-50F is definately cold for local standards but as a HKer myself who have gotten used to the harsh Toronto winters, all I needed was a t-shirt + an extra sweater on the outside to put up with that type temperatures.

I'm in HKG right now.... it's comfy but everyone seems to be bundled up. I think it's because I'm from the northeast US where it's rarely ever this warm in the winter there, but the cold that Southern China was feeling recently is extremely abnormal for this area.

I'm just walking around in a t-shirt/cargo pants and feel fine. Forecasting a high of about 18C or so today.. loving it!

A crumbling old set of buildings on the south end of Nathan Road. They used to be apartments or something of that nature. Now they are sweat shops and "guest houses" which really are mostly terribly small and dirty rooms, all run by one or two companies that pretend to "compete" with each other in an effort to take extra money from their guests who accidentally check in to the "wrong" property, among other scams.


That's not entirely accurate. Have you ever actually been in any of the mansions?

I was in the Chungking Mansion as late as yesterday and while some of what you state is correct, it's not 100% accurate.

Some of the guesthouses in there are really nice, frankly. It's all hit or miss. It's not the Penninsula Hotel but that's the point of them.. you're still getting what you pay for. Some are owned by the same people but not every single one of them is owned by one person as you're implying. Anyone who is smart will look into the room first before agreeing to it. Still not a promise of perfection, but it's giving someone a chance to get out.

Also, there are some sweatshops in there but also residences for people who've lived there for quite a number of years as most are apartments or converted from them. It's a pretty interesting place, I'd say... definitely distinct and unique.

The hard part about the mansions as guest house accomodations is that you can't reasonably book in advance and expect to have any control over the level of quality you receive. If you are in town and willing to work the system you can view the rooms and pick one before agreeing to pay for it (if they let you, and most proprieters seems to allow this), but that is hard to do from out of town. Since their online bookings/reservations process is 100% non-refundable that made it rather difficult for me to be confident booking with them.

I completely agree that it is distinct and unique, but it isn't what I look for in housing, even from the cheap, guest-house level. As I said in my original post, I was willing to spend a bit more money to get something that was 100% what was described on the webpage rather than risk the Mansions.

You should be able to get a decent rate on the 2-3 star hotel along Nathan Rd.

Hi, I'm looking for a cheap hotel (for me and my bf) to stay in within Mongkok/Yau Ma Tei/TST area in early May. Looking to not spend more than USD80 per night. Would like your suggestions and inputs... Thanks!

The couple I noted in post #4 on this thread seem to be OK and will probably be in that price range. Just remember that a "double" room at the 2-3* business hotels is not really a Double bed and likely will not fit two people very comfortably.

I also had pretty good success using www.wotif.com to get some comparison pricing and ideas to help make some decisions.

Hi, I'm looking for a cheap hotel (for me and my bf) to stay in within Mongkok/Yau Ma Tei/TST area in early May. Looking to not spend more than USD80 per night. Would like your suggestions and inputs... Thanks!

Check out these no-frills hotels run by non-profits and see what their rates are. Compared to other 2-3* hotels in this price range, they have bigger rooms. And these are real hotels and not guesthouses inside multi-use buildings:

YMCA International House
Caritas Bianca Lodge
Salvation Army Booth Lodge
YWCA Anne Black House

The Salisbury YMCA (next door to The Peninsula Hotel) is a real deal!

The Salisbury YMCA (next door to The Peninsula Hotel) is a real deal!

It's also not $80 or less for 2 people.

Feb rate was HK$820 for standard double ($106)
Mar rate is HK$950 ($123)
April rate is HK$1,050 ($136), and HK$250 extra for certain dates.
May rate is HK$920 ($119)
June to August rate is HK$850-950 (HK$110-123)

More for harborview, less for single room.

Hmm... Thanks for the advice.

Have shortlisted Stanford (Soy Street), Largos Hotel and YMCA Intl House...

Any comments of these three hotels??

Actually I currently hold a booking at Metropark Kowloon (Waterloo Street), but I realised that it doesn't look that close to the MTR, hence looking for closer hotels that will alllow us to pop up to the room, drop off our shopping and then head back down for more shopping...

Thanks!

The hard part about the mansions as guest house accomodations is that you can't reasonably book in advance and expect to have any control over the level of quality you receive. If you are in town and willing to work the system you can view the rooms and pick one before agreeing to pay for it (if they let you, and most proprieters seems to allow this), but that is hard to do from out of town. Since their online bookings/reservations process is 100% non-refundable that made it rather difficult for me to be confident booking with them.

I completely agree that it is distinct and unique, but it isn't what I look for in housing, even from the cheap, guest-house level. As I said in my original post, I was willing to spend a bit more money to get something that was 100% what was described on the webpage rather than risk the Mansions.
Fair enough; like I always say, those places work for some people but it's really not for everyone.

I'm in your camp and prefer something pre-arraigned if I'm flying for 18 hrs to get somewhere. I tend to enjoy the extremely exotic when going places like HKG because I live in a sterile, quasi-rural (10 minutes from Wilmington Del) area with no street lights and a town with no police force :)

I'd even say that worst comes to worst, book one night, love it and can lock up a few more afterwards. Otherwise, move on....

I'm in your camp and prefer something pre-arraigned if I'm flying for 18 hrs to get somewhere.

I hear the holding cell at HKIA is not too bad. I'm sure the IMMD will gladly set it up for you if you want to pay to stay there. Also, I believe it is 18 hours from Iraq to Gitmo, so that can be arraigned also.

You've really got to book far in advance of your trip if you want to stay at the YMCA Salisbury or YMCA International House. On my first trip to Hong Kong I was fortunate to get a room at the Salisbury, but since then It's always been booked solid when I try. Last trip I stayed at the International House but it also was booked solid when I tried to book for March. I managed to get a room at Dorset Seaview for eleven nights.

I hear the holding cell at HKIA is not too bad. I'm sure the IMMD will gladly set it up for you if you want to pay to stay there. Also, I believe it is 18 hours from Iraq to Gitmo, so that can be arraigned also.
Probably nicer than Philadelphia's central lockup :eek: I guess I could carry a kilo of Colombia's finest next time and find that out for myself next time I land in HKG.

I live a lot closer to GITMO than Iraq these days so i'll take the 4 or so hrs instead of 18 :p At least Gitmo is warmer than here these days.

The 3-day MTR pass portion of the tourist card starts counting when you first use the MTR, not the AE, and not the free MTR transfer associated with the AE trip. For sbm12, that means he uses his on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

And there is actually a small cost for using the Octopus. For cards that are refunded within 3 months (or something like that), you only get $43 of the deposit back, so your cost of using it is $7.

[My mom is the type of person who really cares about HK$7, so she will switch her "old" card with relatives visiting Hong Kong, so they can refund the "old" card with no penalty, and she will use their "new" card from then on.]

Another think to know about with the Octopus (if you spend any time in the Mid-Levels) is that there is an MTR discount of HK $2 off your next journey for touching the 'fare-saver' around Hollywood Road on the Central-Mid Levels Escalator - it's a terminal with an LCD screen and Octopus reader and can have huge queues at rush hour, with some people swiping 30-40 cards!