wco81

http://www.placestoseeinyourlifetime...ng-kong-24414/

So which buildings let you go to the observation deck? They claim IFC and the Peak Tower? Is the Peak Tower on top of Victoria's peak?

Also, Star Ferry Harbor tour? A double-decker boat? Haven't heard of that one, just rode the Star Ferry across.

BTW, have they moved to smart phone apps. or NFC for payments instead of sticking with the Octopus Card?

It would be great if they take Apple Pay. I'm going in February.

mkjr

dude. HKG has been using NFC payment LONG before crapple decided to install NFC in its crappy phones...

yeesh.

i will go and just get my popcorn.

what exactly is your question?

wco81

Accepted at HK stores but not MTR or Star Ferry?

http://www.apple.com/hk/en/apple-pay...use-apple-pay/

The questions are:

1. Can you get on the observation decks of the IFC, Peak Tower and other buildings as indicated in the link?

2. What is the Star Ferry harbour tour on a double-decker boat?

3. Are NFC payments, specifically Apple Pay, accepted on MTR, Star Ferry and other transport?

G-CIVC

you cannot use apple pay for MTR/Star ferry/other transport mediums.

wco81

Yeah I suspected as much. If you can use it on the London transport, no reason you shouldn't be able to in HK, unless the Octopus company has that much influence.

mkjr

there are schedules for the same via this link.

http://www.starferry.com.hk/en/Introduction
http://www.starferry.com.hk/en/RouteMap
http://www.starferry.com.hk/en/Fares

of course you could have just gone to the star ferry site and saved some time.

basically, it's an extended tour on the same ferry you take.

G-CIVC

The reason is because HK is still a very cash-based society. It may seem normal to swipe for very small purchases in the states, but here swiping at a McD might attract a few stares.

garykung

None...do you have any idea of the rental cost of a building floor in a prime business area?

No.

See it yourself - http://www.starferry.com.hk/en/Introduction

It will be greater if you simply stick with Octopus Card.

In Hong Kong, we eat peanuts...

jamescho

The IFC has an "observation deck," i.e. the Hong Kong Monetary Authority information center on the 55/F. It's free to visit, as long as you show photo ID. The Peak Tower started charging for its observation deck a while back, but the view is better on Lugard Road anyways.

And very unlikely that Hong Kong is going to accept other NFC payments when Octopus is owned almost entirely by MTR and the other bus companies.

G-CIVC

SKY100 is the only 'observation deck' a la NYC/Tokyo/Shanghai etc style. But my recommendation is to give that a pass and grab a drink at the RC HK instead (102-118/f of the same building).

wco81

What is Lugard Road?

And what is the RC HK?

Chinatrvl

You can pay contactless just about everywhere, with credit cards, Alipay, Wechat or Octopus. Apple Pay has been available for about one month now.
However, introducing Apple Pay in Asia feels like introducing Windows 95 there.
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/articl...ayment-systems
http://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/...-paying-mobile

Lugard Road, circuit road around the peak. Better views and free. https://goo.gl/maps/c2XHdkxKZU82

Ritz Carlton Hong Kong O2 bar - great if the weather is fine.

wco81

Thanks, interesting articles. I've heard about WeChat, like an operating system which sits on top of the mobile OS.

But presumably, those Chinese mobile-wallets link up to bank accounts? Is that what Chinese people are using mostly, direct debits from their bank accounts?

For Westerners, especially Americans, especially Flyertalkers, credit card use is heavy to accrue rewards. It sounds like Apple Pay is more credit card-centric than WeChat. Plus you don't have to be in the app. or even unlock the phone. The NFC will bring up the UI for authenticating with finger ID.

When Apple Pay was first announced 1-2 years ago, some big retail store chains announced something called Current X, which would make mobile payments by generating QR codes and linking up your bank accounts. Most people criticized Current X, which really never got off the ground here. WalMart cancelled it recently I think.

So while both Chinese and Western countries have mobile payments, the backend of those mobile payment systems are completely different, reflecting the differences in culture. Unlikely that either system will gain much traction in each other's domains.


Is Lugard Road the circuit around the tram station or does it lead down to the bottom? I've always taken roundtrips on the tram but I hear you can hike down back to Central from the Peak?


Ritz Carlton Ozone bar looks spectacular but sounds kind of formal, maybe not the right vibe for someone wanting to take some pictures with a DSLR. You need reservations to get a seat by the windows?

christep

I get rewards on my Octopus spending simply by having it reload automatically from my (Citibank) credit card. I could, if I wished, have the Octopus card physically integrated into a credit card, or into the SIM of my phone (which costs a fraction of the price of an iPhone and does everything that I could want).

You appear to be trapped in the very small subset of the world that has been captured by Apple. We other 90% have (generally far, far cheaper) solutions that do pretty much the same thing without locking us in to anything much. And that's true in Western countries too as far as I can tell.

wco81

Well I don't want to get into the merits of Apple vs. non-Apple products.

Apple Pay isn't the only reason I have an iPhone but I've been able to use Apple Pay in several countries including New Zealand earlier this year.

Octopus was and is a nice payment system. But it's limited to HK so a lot of visitors would be looking to use a system which they already have and which they've been able to use in several countries.

I'll deal with getting an Octopus card when I arrive there and managing it so I have no credit left by the time I leave. It is more of a hassle for short-term users like tourists visiting HK than residents who will be using it on an ongoing basis.

I know that the next time I go to London, I won't have to deal with getting an Oyster card because the London Underground takes Apple Pay and other western mobile payments.

But it sounds like the MTR and other transit systems don't accept WeChat or other mobile payments either, unless you load credits into the SIM (prepaid?)?

You can reload your Octopus with a credit card? Is that only for automatic reloads? When I reloaded at a 7-11, I had to pay cash.