Subway Adventures

by Maggie Muth

When I ride the subway in Hong Kong, it’s an adventure every time. My mom and I walk to the subway station, and as we walk we see a man  roasting yams and it smells like a campfire. We get to the station and use our octopus cards (like debit card) to get in to the station. Beep! goes the machine. Now we are in the subway station. Mom and I go up the stairs to the trains. It’s not very crowded at this time of day because most people are at work or at school. Right now we are at the University station on the light blue subway line. We have two options: one, to go towards Lo Wo and Lok Ma Chau; or two, to go towards Hong Hom. We are going to Sha Tin, two stops down the line. Hong Hom is down the line at the end so we get on the train to Hong Hom. The slidey red train doors open with a squeak, and we get on the train. The person behind us almost falls into the big gap in between the train and the platform. A cold blast of air hits us from the air conditioning vent as we walk in. I grab on to the bumpy red pole and smell French fries. The train doors close with a slam and we’re off. Zoom! Everyone is talking in different languages when we lurch to a stop at Fo Tan. People get on and people get off. The doors close and we’re off! Again. The train stops at Sha Tin, and mom and I get off to pick up the laundry. Talk about subway adventures!     

Using the machine to put money on my "Octupus" card - which lets me ride the subway

Entering the subway after scanning my "octopus" card

The train with the slidey red doors