a.k.a. how do you say “can you break a 500?” in Cantonese?
One of the many things that makes Hong Kong different then any country I have visited (besides possibly Argentina, although I didn’t spend much time there) is the exchange rate. One US dollar is about 7 or 8 Hong Kong dollar. Although things that are western are expensive- a starbucks mint mocha is $35 HK dollar- most other things are not. For example, at a sushi restaurant, the “creativity rolls” all ranged from 20-30 HK dollar (3-4 US dollars). Long subway trips to outlying islands were 18 HK dollars, where as most of the ones around town were less then 10. It was a really easy place to spend money, because everything was so cheap. But it was very fun, and a little dangerous, to keep converting things to how cheap they really were.
Things that are western are very expensive, because westerners can typically afford to pay the difference, and if they want western items they will. However, since I was a tourist exploring the city and wanting the most authentic experience possible, I tried to avoid western things (besides the occasional mint mocha from Starbucks) and so spent very little money day to day. However, being western and having converted Australian money, I had a disturbingly large amount (for HK dollars anyway) on hand, and more then once found myself buying packs of gum or other small things in order to break large bills so I could pay for cab fares or subway tickets.
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