Hong Kong     Check Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice before travelling.       Leave details of your travel plans, your passport and your credit cards with friends or relatives at home.       Carry a copy of the data page of your passport with you, separate from your actual passport, in case it becomes necessary to replace a stolen/lost passport.       Enter next of kin details into the back of your passport.       Insurance. Make sure you are adequately covered by both medical and travel insurance. There is no reciprocal National Health Service agreement and medical costs are to be borne by the individual. Healthcare costs in Hong Kong are very high. Check that your medical insurance covers medical evacuation. Insure against unexpected loss (eg missing flight, lost passport, stolen/lost credit cards and cash). Robberies and pickpocketing do occur in Hong Kong, though violent crime is rare.       Funds. Ensure that you have enough funds for your stay and return flight. Prices in Hong Kong can be considerably higher than in most areas of the United Kingdom.       Belongings. Keep all your belongings, cash, passport and cards in a safe place. Crowded areas such as the Mass Transit Railway system and the tourist areas of Hong Kong are known to contain pickpockets. Robberies have occurred in the main nighttime entertainment centres.       Travelling to mainland China. Purchase a visa before arriving at the land border between Hong Kong and China. Otherwise you will probably be detained, receive a fine and sent back to Hong Kong. Visas are not currently available to British Citizens at the border – you should therefore apply for these at a Chinese Embassy or at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs office or China Travel Service office in Hong Kong.       Drugs. Don’t become involved with drugs. Possession of drugs can lead to imprisonment. Legal cases could take some months to come to trial. Persons using prescribed drugs should carry an explanatory note from their doctor or hospital.       Don’t carry anything through customs for someone else unless you know exactly what it contains.       Overstaying. Don’t overstay beyond the limit of your visa. The Hong Kong authorities consider overstaying a serious matter and you may be held in detention, fined and deported, or removed at your own expense. In general, British Citizens are allowed a six month visa free stay in Hong Kong.       Photography. As a general precaution don’t take photographs of military installations in Hong Kong. Since the 1997 handover, the defence of Hong Kong has been the responsibility of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). All previous British military barracks now belong to the PLA.