March 7, 2021
"Taxi!" By now we have hailed more taxis than I can count. And we have taken public buses and subway rides too. Both Korea and Hong Kong have incredible public transportation systems. And cheap!
In Seoul our closest way to get around without a car was by first getting on a bus (the No. 11) and then going to Migeum Station where we would use the subway system. Seoul has one of the best subway systems in the world. It is quick, cheap, always on time, not overcrowded and clean. See link for video. For buses, subway system, and taxis we used the T-money card (see link). We could also use the prepaid card for purchases at convenience stores. Aside from weird things like subway entrances with an escalator going down and a long staircase going up, it was awesome.
There were always plenty of taxis, but the taxi system was a bit strange. There were not necessarily organized lines to stand in and certain taxis would only go to certain areas. So there were times when we simply wanted to hop in a taxi and go a few kilometers to get home, but no taxi would take us.
In Hong Kong there are also taxis, buses and subways (called MTR) a-plenty. Here the taxi system is more organized than Korea. At taxi stands everyone gets into a line. You must take the taxi at the front of the line. Believe it or not, a taxi driver farther back in a line won't take you. Here too we have a prepaid card system for paying for buses and MTR called an Octopus Card. Most taxis don't accept them, however, but convenience stores do.
The MTR system is cheap, clean, on time, and frequent. People are reminded over the intercom system to "mind your step", "wear your mask: together we fight the virus", and "don't look only at your phone when approaching escalators" or "do not eat or drink in paid areas of the station".
Thank you, Asia, for the cheap and convenient public transportation.
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