Hi guys! Today I list you guys 5 must BRING items when you're visiting Hong Kong. Some items can be brought from home, some others can be purchased once you arrived in Hong Kong. Whether you're going for holiday or study, this list of things will work for you!

Octopus card is a contactless smart card for payment. If you've been to Singapore, it works like their ez-link card which is used to pay the public transportations, but with additional function to pay for your shopping! (similar to Flazz BCA card in Indonesia). You can apply for Octopus card at Customer Service Centres at all MTR station. The initial payment would be HK$ 150, consists of refundable HK$ 50 deposit and HK$ 100 initial stored value. If you refund the stored value and the deposit within 90 days, there will be administrative fee of HK$ 9.

The standard on-loan Octopus card (left) and my temporary student Octopus card (right)

You will use Octopus card a lot when you're in Hong Kong, especially to pay for the MTR and bus as the main transportation here. As many stores and restaurants accept it as payment, it is also useful to pay your purchase when you're in hurry (just tap and go!) or to avoid small coins changes when you pay with cash. Not forget to mention when you need to buy the cold drinks in the vending machine!

2. Shopping bag
After you pay for your shopping, don't be confused when the cashier just hand you your stuff without giving any plastic bag to bring it home. With the concern of environment, since April 2015, stores will not give any plastic bag and you will be charged by HK$ 0.5 for every plastic bag you asked.

Cute BYOB campaign (picture from HK's Environmental Department)

Thus, it is better to bring your own shopping bag. Instead of bringing the plastic one, bring the reusable shopping bag. Pick the durable and spacious one so you can fit all your shoppings in one bag. You can also buy it once you arrived in Hong Kong, they got so many reusable shopping bags with cool designs!

3. Umbrella
I won't talk a lot about this point because I know you guys tired with my speech about how important umbrella is 😝 If you still don't get it why umbrella is important in Hong Kong, read my umbrella experience here and here.

4. Comfortable shoes
If you are the type of person who love to explore the city from one place to the other places, you are responsible to ensure your leg function properly during your stay in Hong Kong. I can ensure you that you will walk A LOT in Hong Kong. My average number of steps in HK escalate by... 10 times? if we compare it to the time when I was in Indonesia.

My steps count last week

Make sure you bring your most comfortable pair of shoes that won't hurt your feet. For you who love to travel with style, I realize there is a trade-off between comfortable and style. My best suggestion would be to use your sport shoes/sneakers. Pick a pair with fancy and cool design that would fit all your outfits. If you don't have one, you can always buy it in Hong Kong's Sneaker Street.

5. Jacket
During the spring/summer, it will protect you from the direct sunlight. During the autumn/winter, it will make sure you warm despite the strong wind. Bring the lightweight jacket/cardigan/sweater that can easily fit in your bag.

It also works as fashion statement!

Aside from those things, of course don't forget to fill up your wallet with $$$, get a prepaid  SIM card for your 24-hours Snapchat live update and prepare your camera! Hong Kong got so many interesting spots that I'm sure your camera does not want to miss😉

I hope this list helps you to decide what to pack for your stay in Hong Kong! Comment below for any question and I'll see you on my next post! xx