Life and Work in Hong Kong Fragrant Harbour 香港

This past Sunday, I decided to try a little experiment for the sake of my next Blog entry.

I got up and walked to a local bakery (Delifrance) to have a cup of coffee. Then I hopped on the MTR or “Mass Transit Railway” (Hong Kong's primary rail system) and took a train into Central, a commercial district on Hong Kong island. I wandered around for a bit before having lunch at McDonalds (guilty pleasure). I then caught a matinee at IFC Cinema. After the movie, I picked up a coffee at Starbucks (can't get too much caffeine, even on a Sunday) and then went to do some grocery shopping at ParkNShop (ironic name, since most people in Hong Kong take public transit). I also went to Watson's (a drug store) to grab some toothpaste. It was now past 5 PM so I caught another train back home. Since I was loaded with groceries, I took a local bus back to my apartment rather than walk. A little later that evening, Big Mac related remorse set in so I went to the gym for a workout. While at the gym, I grabbed a bottle of water from a vending machine.

Apart from the clothes on my back and my house key, I took absolutely nothing with me, no cash, coins, credit cards, or ID, not a single thing, except for this:

My Octopus Card.

The Octopus Card is a smart card that is used in Hong Kong for electronic payments and identification. Originally developed for fare payment on the MTR, the Octopus Card was quickly adopted for a range of other applications. Today Octopus Cards can be used on virtually any of Hong Kong's public transportation systems, from buses to trams to ferries. They are accepted at certain grocery stores, department stores, drug stores, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores. You can use an Octopus Card to pay for parking (both at a parking meter and in a lot), use a pay phone, or buy snacks from vending machines. Octopus Cards are also used for identification at certain residential buildings (like my apartment), sports complexes, and Hong Kong schools (where they are sometimes used to take attendance, much to the chagrin of local students no doubt).

The key component of an Octopus Card is an embedded radio frequency identification ("RFID") chip. This RFID chip can also be integrated into other devices. There are Octopus wristbands, Octopus mobile phone covers, Octopus keychains, Octopus jewelry (see below left), and even Octopus watches (see below right). Ok, I admit that I might be a bit of a techno-geek but I find the idea of paying for groceries, lunch, or even beer (!) with my watch indescribably cool. 

An Octopus Card costs $150 HKD or about $20 USD. $50 HKD of this amount is a refundable deposit and the other $100 HKD is credited to the card. There are a few ways to add more funds. You can do it yourself at a self-service kiosk located in any MTR station in Hong Kong. You can also have your Octopus Card linked to your credit card so that it automatically gets topped up when low. If you want the human touch, you can add funds at an MTR customer service desk or at certain grocery stores and convenience stores.  

One of the arguable drawbacks to the Octopus system is the potential loss of privacy of its users. Assuming you use your Octopus Card for identity purposes or link it to your credit card, your movements and purchases could theoretically be tracked and monitored. London uses a smart card system similar to Octopus called “Oyster”, with one key difference being that Oyster can only be used to pay transit fees and not for other purposes. Police have apparently used Oyster data for law enforcement purposes; presumably such use is subject to appropriate judicial oversight.

And in case you`re wondering, yes, there is a Hello Kitty limited edition Octopus.

Next Entry: The Most Crowded Place in the World

Attribution: Image of McDonalds Octopus reader © 2005 Juntung Wu reproduced here under the GNU Free Documentation License. All other images are in the public domain.