pwned by octopus

The GF was telling me how convenient the Octopus card in Hong Kong is, cos you don't need to tap out when alighting from bus. But I told her that is because you pay the full trip's fare regardless of where you are alighting (or, where you are boarding). It will be pretty unwise if you board a cross-harbour route just to get to a few stops later. That kind of encourages people to walk more. Of course, there are other means to work around, such as taking the MTR or hopping onto a bus route that is reaching its destination soon.

But when it comes to usages, the Octopus really has an upper hand compared to ours. Not only can you use it on various mode of transport (be it bus, MTR, ferry, tram, light bus...), you can use it at supermarket, fast food restaurant, food court, meter parking, and even when buying capsule toy. Yes, the Gashapon! You just tap the card and turn the knob. Reloading the card isn't a problem too since convenient stores are everywhere. They don't charge you surcharge like those in Singapore do. Furthermore, the Octopus doesn't just come in the card form, but other ornaments as well such as wrist watch, handphone strap, keychains, etc. Don't be surprised when you see commuters tapping their watch at the MTR station.

Lots of catching up here, be it infrastructure or habit.