Hong Kong and Macao Pass
Since the Hong Kong and Macao Pass has an electronic certificate, it has become a particularly simple matter to apply for endorsement. Every time you add an endorsement, you only need to go to the entry-exit administration office, go to Hong Kong and Macao Pass to endorse the self-service machine, swipe your card, select Hong Kong/Macao, click the number of times, and then scan the mobile phone code to pay. Only 15 yuan is needed for each endorsement.
Note that each time you apply for an endorsement, Hong Kong can apply for two round trips within one year, and Macao can apply for one round trip within one year. After these trips, you need to go to the entry-exit administration office for another endorsement.
This time, I applied for Hongkong twice a year and Macau once a year, that is, I directly chose the maximum number of times I could do, and the total number was 45 yuan. All processing time, 2 minutes!
if you haven't applied for electronic identity before, I suggest you apply for one. It is much more convenient than the traditional pass. Not only does it not need to queue up for endorsement in the future, it is very simple; And it's convenient to pass through Hong Kong and Macao. You can pass by swiping your fingerprint directly at the gate without queuing.
transportation booking
from most cities in the mainland to hong kong, it is usually by plane. This time, I first went to Guangzhou from Shanghai, got together with my old colleagues who worked in Guangzhou in those years, and played for a few days before going to Hong Kong from Guangzhou. So I bought a plane ticket when I came back from Hong Kong, but when I went to Hong Kong, I first took the high-speed train to Guangzhou, and then took the Guangzhou-Kowloon through train a few days later, starting from guangzhou east railway station and going to Hong Kong-Kowloon and Hung-chien Station.
When I was still in Guangzhou, there were generally two ways to go to Hong Kong: one was the Guangzhou-Kowloon through train, which took about 2 hours; The second is to take a boat from Panyu, Guangzhou, where I live, to the China-Hong Kong terminal near Hong Kong Harbour City. The whole journey takes about 1.5 hours.
I bought the Guangzhou-Kowloon Pass through Taobao this time, which is better than the fare of 5 yuan. You can buy it on the same day and send it to Shanghai by SF Express. I received it the next day, which is very convenient. You don't have to wait in line to buy tickets on the day of departure, let alone worry about not being able to buy the required trains.
However, taking the Guangzhou-Kowloon through train will soon become history. At the end of September this year, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway will be opened soon. By then, you can travel from major cities in the mainland to Hong Kong by high-speed rail. It is also a great blessing for all those who have flight phobia and plane delay panic!
Internet tools
In the past, when I went abroad or went to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, I rented a mobile wifi for the convenience of surfing the Internet.
the advantage is that you can connect multiple digital devices. If three or four people travel together, you can rent a mobile wifi, and everyone's mobile phones can be connected. If you share the rent, the rent is really not expensive.
so, if it's a multi-person trip, I still suggest renting a mobile wifi. I have been using "roaming the world" before, and the signal is good. And the flagship store on Taobao often has some preferential package activities.
Because I was traveling alone this time and didn't have a computer or anything, I started an international roaming directly without moving my office to the road, and used a traffic packet to surf the Internet. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all have such overseas traffic packages, with unlimited daily traffic and capped prices. Telecom, for example, is capped in 25 yuan every day.
bank card
domestic partners have long been accustomed to the convenient digital payment life in recent years. Wechat payment and Alipay almost dominate the world, and ApplePay can only bow down.
But if you travel abroad frequently, after all, you still have to wait for two horse fathers to conquer the world for some time, so credit card is still the most important and convenient payment method.
All-currency credit cards issued by major banks are widely used now. However, because I pay attention to "big player Zhang Lei" on WeChat
, but as an old aunt in a slum, I can only watch black cards for the time being (PS. American Express Centurion Black Card is a noble "black card" in a strict sense, which can be described as "the king of cards" and a status symbol). However, when we know that American Express issues cards jointly with seven cooperative banks in China, and there are many card types to choose from, we can always find the one that suits us. I recently applied for one.
Of course, the most recommended card is the American Express Platinum Card of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Compared with other platinum cards, the rights and interests of this card are really strong. However, as a miserable house slave, he is seriously short of cash at present, so he applied for a "box card" jointly issued by American Express and Bank of China (the card looks like a suitcase). Its application procedure is relatively simple (especially if you have a bank account in China). It took me only one week to receive the card after I submitted my application! Come on!
Although it's not a platinum card with high rights and interests, I still recommend this kind of "box card" with "travel style".
first, the application is convenient and quick, and it is suitable for "walking away". The requirements for capital and running water are not too high, which can be said to be suitable for most wage earners;
Secondly, when I studied the rights and interests on the website of American Express, I found that its home now has a series of activities, and found good local shops in Taiwan Province and Hongkong. For example, I'm going to Hong Kong. From July to August this year, thousands of local specialty stores will participate in the event. If you pay by American Express credit card, you can get a 2% discount when you buy more than 15 yuan dollars. The promotion lasts for one year until next summer!
This activity called "Appreciating the Tunnel" can be said to have broken my impression of American Express in the past. It turns out that American Express is not just a high-end, large-scale and luxurious store located in CBD or CBD. It is rare that there are many small shops that really go deep into the streets and lanes of Hong Kong, covering a wide range and closely related to people's daily lives. It can be said that it is a microcosm of the original Hong Kong style.
Most shops in Hong Kong have local characteristics, which can really give you a good reference for your next trip to Hong Kong, so that everyone can't put it down for the "authentic" good shops in Hong Kong!