Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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Category: Life in Hong Kong

  • Sha Tin to Central Link misinformation

    More misinformation from the MTR: “The Sha Tin to Central Link (SCL) is a strategic railway line that stretches from Tai Wai to Admiralty”.  It really isn’t!  What they are actually doing is linking up the Ma On Shan line and West Rail (through East Kowloon, in brown on the graphic) and extending East Rail…

  • MTR fail

    Confusing (wrong) information on the signs above the platform screen doors on the MTR’s Kwun Tong Line: You don’t change at Mong Kok to go to Tsuen Wan – for that you’ll want Prince Edward. Likewise, if you want to change to the Tsuen Wan line towards Central you should do that at Mong Kok. …

  • Cheesing

    黐線 chi1 sin3 – crazy, idiot; nuts ParknShop were selling this cheese for HK$40 (which is reasonable by Hong Kong supermarket standards).  Then a few weeks later it went up to HK$88, which is definitely 黐線 chisin.  Then it went back down to HK$44.  Then it was HK$22, which is slightly cheaper than the regular…

  • Food Gulu – update required. Plus spam.

    I understand that apps need to be updated periodically.  But why do you force me to update it before I can use it?  Almost every other app allows you to use the current version and update later (when you have time).  But not FoodGulu, oh no. Food Gulu is a simple enough app – it…

  • Red minibuses

    Interesting article from the BBC about red minibuses in Hong Kong.  Things I already knew: red minibuses don’t follow fixed routes, and are very dangerous. Things I learned from this: red minibuses first appeared in 1967; green minibuses started in 1980; the government wants to phase out red minibuses and replace them with the more…

  • Hong Kong not so good–Airport Express

    Well, not really – the Airport Express is generally very good. The trains now terminate at Asiaworld-Expo, which is odd for an airport express, but it brings the MTR some additional revenue and normally it doesn’t create a problem Except when, after a concert, the trains arrive at the airport full of passengers. That means…

  • Modern life is rubbish

    After the woman who tried to push past me and fell into the gap between the train and the platform, another pleasing outcome… A woman is walking along, typing something into her mobile phone.  I walk past her and into the lift.  The doors close (I didn’t touch the button, honest).  She is left outside. …

  • Changing trains (Hong Kong MTR)

    I’m always interested in other views of the MTR, including this one: hong kong metro: five transfers?? I jumped onto Google looking for hotels that would be convenient to the rail line from the airport.  Yikes! Is it my imagination, or am I seeing that: Only three stations in the city are on the Airport…

  • Pearl River Delta – Then and Now

    Some great “before and after” photos here: The great leap upward: China's Pearl River Delta, then and now

  • Let me just push past you–whoops

    The MTR is a world-class public transport system.  The passengers – not so much.  Leading to everyday frustrations, with the occasional moment of madness. Case one – trying to get off a crowded train.  Doors open.  I say “Mh Goi”, but no-one moves, so I have to force my way out through a crowd of…