Tag Archives: lost in translation

Confusing ‘L’ with ‘N’ on Nathan Road

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Marcus Wong

I’ve visited Hong Kong a number of times with my father, and every time he talks about Nathan Road (the main street of Kowloon) I hear ‘Leighton’ instead of ‘Nathan’ – leaving me horribly confused until I realise what he is actually saying. So why is an apparently simple street name so complicated?

Looking north up Nathan Road< Continue reading →

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Lost in translation while navigating the MTR

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Marcus Wong

Navigating the Mass Transit Railway network is Hong Kong is pretty easy – the map is easy to read, the signage is in both Chinese and English, and the audio announcements are repeated in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. So how did my dad and I managed to get confused when getting from A to B?

MTR network map (2013) Continue reading →

Posted in Transport | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The ‘secret’ Chinese restaurant menu

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Marcus Wong

When westerners visit Chinese restaurants, the idea of a secret’ menu that only Chinese people get is a common one – and on my last visit to Hong Kong I finally encountered one, on the popular tourist island of Cheung Chau.

Sampans moored to the seawall at Cheung Chau Continue reading →

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Octopus cards of Hong Kong: bilingual?

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Marcus Wong

On my last trip to Hong Kong I did the same thing as every local resident, and picked up an Octopus card so that I could travel around the city by public transport. What most people don’t know is that the cards come in two versions: English and Chinese.

Hong Kong's bilingual Octopus cards? Continue reading →

Posted in Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments