CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

I used to carry a small pouch to hold coins.  One after another became unuseable so after a while I don't carry coins any more.  But I get coins when I pay for things with cash.  Slowly the coins built up.  I thought of using one of those coin machines but they charge a fee.  Or you get a gift card but it's not the same as cash.  When you buy something, your money is already de-valued.  My son came up with the wonderful idea of paying for train rides with coins.  In New York City, subway and buses take MetroCard, a thin plastic that one swipes at the turnstile to get into the transit system.  I normally pay for it with a credit card, occasionally with bills, but never thought of using coins.  I recently put the idea to work, even though it was for the MetroCard's replacement, OMNY card, comes January 1, 2026.  It was a bit of a hassle, but I was able to spend $3.00+ to get an OMNY card.  It costs $1.00 to get the card, probably just to discourage people from just throwing empty ones away.  Yeah, humans suck, that's why we cannot have nice things.  I recall when the MetroCard didn't cost $1.00 to buy, spent ones were littered all over the subway station.  Anyway, back to the OMNY card, the coins had to be dropped just right in order for them to be registered.  If not done right, they travel down some separate path and come out in the tray where the cards would come out.  Still, it's the best way to use coins.

NYPD AT WORK

It is the third week of school bus strike in New York City.  Since I have some extra time, I've been accompanying my son on the subway to and from school.  It's a very unpleasant task.  While most kids wait quietly for the train to arrive, there are always some horsing around on the platform as if it's a playground.  Other kids would walk between subway cars as if they are mere escalator.  One even walked between cars while viewing a tablet, perhaps an iPad mini.  I am surprised none has fallen into the tracks yet.  Then there are those so-called students walking around with no book-bags whatsoever.  One day, one such non-student ran into my subway car shouting something to the effect of "It's that kid from yesterday!" and ran into the next car, followed, supposedly by two or three of his accomplices.  At the terminal where I transferred to my train to get home, when son and I were getting into the subway car I saw the same group already inside, with another group of kids standing around in circle, looking about furtively.  Things looked suspicious so we went to the next car.  Sure enough, at the first stop out of the terminal, as the train was pulling into the station I heard over the P.A. someone telling the conductor not to open the doors.  Everyone on the train was trapped inside.  Four police officers were then seen walking the platform, one officer had his arm around a kid, the officer's hand resting on the kid's shoulder, as they went toward the front of the train.  Some of the officers visited my car then quickly exited.  A long time later, the search proved futile, the doors were opened to let people in and out, and the train continued its course.

The next day, while waiting for my son in the subway station, I noticed three men hanging out in the same area.  Plain clothes of blue jeans and jackets, no visible insignia.  When the kid that walked the platform with the officers yesterday came into the station, however, these three men went with him.  The Q train arrived, after the usual awful long wait, the kids rudely fought their way into the train as usual, and the train went to the next stop.  However, again, at Bright Beach station, the conductor was told not to open the doors.  The undercover cops went about their work with the kid, and soon enough the non-student from yesterday with his partners-in-crime were taken off the train with their hands behind their back.  I could not tell if they were handcuffed or restrained with plastic cuffs but they sure were detained.

My guess is that the day before the gang robbed the other kid of his cell phone.  It happens so often these day, it's a safe guess.  I do know one kid who just the week before was robbed of his smartphone, in the same terminal.  I heard he was also hurt a bit, although when I saw him this week he didn't have any obvious sign of injury on the face.  This other kid that was helped by the police, perhaps he knows someone in the police force, or just happened to run into the police and decided to try his luck in getting back his phone.  The local police blotter didn't have any info so my guess is just that, a guess.

I do wonder what happened afterward.  For sure those robber kids went back home after a short detention at the police precinct.  Were they scared enough to refrain from doing what they did?  Or did they think it was an adventure that they want to re-visit?  How about that victim kid?  I wonder how safe it is for him nowadays to ride the subway.

What's New in Hong Kong

At the hotel I stay at, Harbourview Horizon, the club house is open until only 9 p.m. I got back at 8:30 and quickly whisked away the kids to the club house for them to enjoy a few precious minutes in the playground. These same kids were complaining about sore feet from walking all day, but now had the energy to slide, run, and crawl. Kids!

I didn't expect Hong Kong to change much since my visit in 1994. After all, how much more advanced can it be? Well, it can and it is.

I already mentioned about the subway's glass partition, but another obvious change is the use of RFID tickets. Back in 1994, entering or leaving the train platform requires feeding the ticket to the turnstile. For us tourists who buy single-trip tickets, this still holds true, but for the locals the Octopus card is the way to go. Without even taking the Octopus card out of their wallet/purse, most people simply put it atop the card reader and off they go. It is similar to the system in use in some office buildings. How I wish the NYC subway would evolve to the next level and use the same method. It is very frustrating to slide the dang MetroCard too fast or too slow.

Victoria Peak is probably to Hong Kong as the Statue of Liberty is to NYC - you have to go there when you are in HK. For me, another reason was for my Son to enjoy yet another train ride. He loves train very much. I remember the Peak that I visited in 1994 only had a few telescopes to look around. There was a path to walk about, perhaps lined with local artists hawking their wares. The Peak that I visited yesterday was a multi-story mall. There was a post office, a video game parlor, Madame Tussaude Wax Museum, souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, etc. Sadly, another change is the higher level of pollution noticeable from the Peak. I don't know if I have any 1994 photos taken from the Peak, but supposedly if I do, I would be able to see the difference. All the building tops are now covered in smog. One entrepreneur on the Peak viewing platform claimed that he can "clean up" the smog in the photo. I suppose he would take pictures of the tourist and then digitally add them to a clean HK skyline.

During my 1994 visit, I stayed briefly at the apartment of my future wife's Uncle on her mother side. Near the apartment was the "new" Dragon Center mall. What made the indoor mall special was that it had a working rollercoaster. Supposedly, for safety reason, the coaster is no longer used, but the tracks are still there. I tried to photograph the tracks but for whatever reason a security guard didn't let me. I don't see why. Even with 911 and threats of attacks to the NYC subway, no law has yet been passed to ban photographing in the NYC subway. Maybe the guard just liked to pick on us tourists. Other new additions to Dragon Center are the ice skating rink and arcade zone.