Hong Kong's Octopus Card

If you'll be visiting Hong Kong and touring on your own, travel around the area easily and cheaply using HK's Octopus Card. Cards can be purchased at any Mass Transit Railway station. Initial purchase includes a refundable deposit. For seniors, the initial price is HK$70 which is about $9 US.

Without the card, exact change is required to pay the fare. The MTR is easy to use, with signs in both English and Chinese. There are easy to read maps at most stations and route maps, on each train, light up as you approach a station. The underground concourses are filled with shops and are clean and air conditioned.

You can use your Octopus card almost all types of public transportation in Hong Kong. When you are finished using it, return it to any service center and the unused amount will be refunded to you, less a handling fee of HK7.

Worried About Germs?

Wonder how clean your hotel room is? Even if the maid did a great job, there are some things you can attack with sanitizing wipes when you first get to your room.

Light switches
Desk handles
Dresser handles
Telephone
Television remote controls
The refrigerator handle
Microwave touch-screens
Doorknobs

As for the bed spread, rip it off the bed and throw it into a corner. Unless you stay at a hotel that uses clean duvet covers between guests, you probably don't want to know what could be on that bedspread.

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Airplane Safety Instructions Made Interesting

OK ... I too have been bored silly, when flying, by the repetitive cabin safety instructions.

But for a unique look, take a peak at this video

http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/forums/thomson-airways-safety-video-superb-27746.aspx#33820

Laundering Money

Well, not exactly laundering money. Ironing, maybe.

There are many countries, particularly in Latin America, that will accept U.S. currency in addition to their own. However, the bills must be clean, unmarked and in very good to excellent condition. So if I was heading to Latin America, I would start putting aside $1s, $5s, $10s and $20s that meet these standards so I have what I need when I'm ready to take off.

Sometimes, though, I'll end up with a bill that looks good but is a bit on the crushed/wrinkly side. And those I iron. I set my iron on med-high and give the bill a quick once over.

Perfect!

Have you heard about Hipmunk?

Hipmunk is a new tool for finding flights and hotels.

I played around with it for a while. For flights it is really easy to use and I really like the way the flight prices and times are displayed in a grid. Makes it easy to see what is available by several criteria including price and departing time.

I tried the hotel search tool also. That worked fine until I tried to use the Heatmap tool. There is a little introductory video that I watched but I still don't understand how to "read" the Heatmap. Might have to play around with it a bit more.

When I look for airfare I typically start with Kayak but Hipmunk might be worth checking out.

Disneyland

Living in the eastern U.S., I hear a lot about people visiting Disney World in Florida. I wonder how many of the children making that visit know that the original is Disneyland in California.

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California, just south of Los Angeles. In 1953, Walt Disney started looking for a site that would hold his ideas for rivers, mountains and waterfalls; for his giant teacups and flying elephants; for a fairy tale land of castles and moon rockets -- to be called Disneyland -- a design that combined experiences in a way never done before.

If you will be visiting the original, be sure to do some planning before leaving home. The park itself can be overwhelming and it helps to have an agenda laid out. For instance, one hint from regular amusement part goers is to get to the gate at opening time and go left since most everyone else goes right. That way you avoid the crowds.

Planning will also help by saving you money. Making hotel reservations well in advance gives you a choice within a wide range of prices, instead of last minute having only the most expensive available to you. And planning ahead allows you to save on your Disneyland tickets by being able to order them before arriving in California.

For Princess Gamblers

I was reading Cruise Critic and there was a question about being able to get chips at the table using your cruise card. I knew it was possible to get cash at the slot machines using the cruise card. I had actually written a post for this blog on using the slot machines to turn cruise credit into cash.

Well, word from current cruisers on Cruise Critic is that you can just lay down your cruise card at the table, tell the dealer how much you want, sign a slip and get the amount in chips. There is no longer a fee.