Make the most of HK$2 public transport fares in Hong Kong for seniors with a loop-the-loop day tour of the city, and save enough for a free lunch
- From February 27 concessionary public transport fares have been extended to residents aged 60-64, meaning most journeys cost just HK$2 (25 US cents)
- We propose a grand tour of Hong Kong – 11 trips by bus, minibus and ferry, with savings on the regular fares enough that lunch will feel like it’s free
There may well be no such thing as a free lunch, but in Hong Kong there’s the next best thing – a free ride. Lots of free rides. Well, almost free.
Just show an Octopus JoyYou stored value card and trips on the MTR subway system, Light Rail, ferries, kaito, franchised buses and red and green minibuses are yours for the price of a local postage stamp. On Hong Kong Island’s trams, the concessionary fare of HK$1.20 will apply to those aged 60 to 64.
Aged 60-something, I prefer to think of myself as eligible rather than elderly, and I’m certainly ready, willing and able to take on the “Two-Buck Challenge”: travel as far as you reasonably can in a single day and quietly gloat over the savings. As the old advertising slogan had it, getting there is half the fun.
So, with JoyYou, face mask, smartphone and a list of favourite haunts to hand, I’m planning to take the first step and board a ferry as soon as dawn breaks on the 27th.
Here is one possible day trip worth taking.
6.20am: Mui Wo – Central; ferry (regular fare – HK$47.10)
Even before the day’s properly started I’ll already be 45 bucks ahead. What’s more, this is a classic Hong Kong journey, segueing from a beach resort town patrolled by semi-feral cows and buffalo to the epicentre of Central’s skyscrapers, threading its way past humungous container ships and a scattering of little-inhabited islands en route.
Once docked, there might be a bus in the immediate vicinity, but it’s only a couple of hundred metres’ walk to the stop for buses serving the south side of the island. The nameless stall at Pier No 6 sells fresh pastries at this time of day, though its concept of coffee is a taste that is difficult to acquire.
Central – Stanley; Bus No 6 (HK$9.80)
On Stanley Main Street, Buddy Café is one of the few independent joints that’s open for breakfast, and its ham and eggs tick both the cheap and cheerful boxes.
Stanley – Sai Wan Ho; Bus No 14 (HK$10.20)
Time for a swift toast to the long-dead architects and engineers who, at the turn of the last century, built the Tai Tam reservoir dam – latterly the backdrop for many a luxury automobile advertising shoot – with little more than slide rules and their own grey matter to assist them.
Sai Wan Ho – Sam Ka Tsuen Kaito (HK$9)
What the Coral Sea Ferry Service Company lacks in aesthetic nous it makes up for with enthusiasm. Twice an hour (more or less) its merry, nautically decorated two-decker converted fishing smack putters across the harbour to Sam Ka Tsuen, a village in Lei Yue Mun.
The village is renowned for its (competitively priced) seafood restaurants, but it will probably be too early for lunch, so there’s the option of making a request at the century-old Wishing Tree, or taking a look at the Jockey Club Plus arts centre, which has preserved and restored the old village school, a handsome example of vernacular architecture.
This is a corner of the city that’s retained a fair dose of character, which is more than evident in its higgledy-piggledy geography.
Lei Yue Mun – Choi Hung; Bus No 6P (HK$6.80)
This is probably the least intriguing 35 minutes of the day, with the bus rumbling through the workaday environs of Kwun Tong, with not even a glimpse of the old Kai Tak airport to liven things up. The MTR is an alternative.
Choi Hung – Sai Kung; Minibus #1A (HK$9.70)
By this time of the day, I’ll be ready for a margarita (pizza) or similar and something to drink, which should set me back about HK$140.
Sai Kung – Sha Tin; Bus No 299X (HK$10.90)
This is probably the second least intriguing of the day’s motorised jaunts, though it does pass through two fairly substantial wedges of country park, which on any day but today would make for tempting hiking.
Sha Tin – Sheung Shui; MTR (HK$7.30)
It’s diverting to consider that, with a few (albeit fairly dramatic) changes along the way, and without a global pandemic, Sha Tin could be the starting point of a railway journey stretching as far as Europe.
However, today’s destination is Sheung Shui, practically the end of the line in Hong Kong. It’s by no means picturesque, but it does carry a distinctly edgy ambience given its proximity to the border, especially in the discount pop-up stores along San Hong Street and the adjacent alleyways.
Sheung Shui – Tuen Mun; Minibus No 44 (HK$16.80)
7pm Tuen Mun – Tung Chung Ferry (HK$19.50)
This is the one unmissable connection of the day: mount the gangplank by 7pm and it’s a smooth and stately journey back down the west coast. Any later, and it’s going to be a long drag back through the urban area by bus, because the last sailing will have departed.
There’s nothing like a sea cruise to round off a day’s gallivanting.
Tung Chung – Mui Wo; Bus 3M (HK$17.80)
It’s not so long ago that the only route over the top of Lantau was a single-track road with passing places. Not any more, though, and it’s a mere half-hour ride (and a final HK$2) to get back to the day’s starting point.
Like many places in Hong Kong, there’s no shortage of international restaurants for a celebratory takeaway (while dining restrictions are in place) supper, and Mui Wo scores particularly well, with American, Thai, Mediterranean, Indian, British pub, Turkish and Italian offerings.
Paying regular fares, the day’s Hong Kong loop-the-loop would cost HK$164.90. Those 60 and over pay HK$22 for 11 rides, which entails roughly HK$140 in savings. So maybe there could be such a thing as a free lunch after all.
