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There is a 47-mile, five-hour ride on a regular double-decker bus around the territory is meant to appeal to people who are easily lulled asleep by long rides. According to Huffington Post travel starved, sleep-deprived residents might find a new Hong Kong bus tour to be a snooze. It was inspired by the tendency of tired commuters to fall asleep on public transit.
"When we were brainstorming new tours, I saw a social media post from my friend saying that he was stressed out by his work, he couldn't sleep at night. But when he was traveling on the bus, he was able to sleep well. His post inspired us to create this tour that lets passengers just sleep." said Kenneth Kong, the marketing and business development manager of ulu travel, the organizer of the bus tour.
Tickets cost between $13 to $51 per person, depending on whether they choose seats on the upper and lower deck. A goodie bag for passengers includes an eye-mask and ear plugs for better sleep.
The first "Sleep Bus Tour" last Saturday sold out entirely. Some passengers brought their own blankets, and changed their shoes to slippers, while some others brought travel pillows.
The tendency to fall asleep on public transport is a type of conditioning, according to Dr. Shirley Li, the principal investigator of the Sleep Research Clinic and Laboratory at the University of Hong Kong.
"People in Hong King don't have enough time to sleep. That's why we have kind of use other times to sleep. That's why we have to kind of use other times to sleep, which is our daily commute, especially when we are traveling on public transport.. For some people, they may tend to associate public transport with their sleep. And that's why they found it easier to fall asleep on the bus," she said.