Enjoying the nights out ....in HK

In my previous travels, I normally shy away from going around the city at night time maybe because I used to travel alone frequently. One or two sloshed nights per week is my limit, but this trip to Hongkong was an exception. From the first night till the last, we were always out partying and hitting the night spots!

After pounding the streets of Hongkong during the day, either bargain hunting at the flea markets or clicking away our cameras at different landmarks in the city, amazingly we still had energies left for another reincarnation as Night Owls in HK. My body cannot take the daily torture like this; I do wonder how party animals can go on every night! For me, a frenzied week in HK is enough to last me for the next 3 months! (it’s been 3 weeks now since I came back to the Maldives and I have not gone out even once!)

Lan Kwai Fong

This is the famous bar district in Hongkong located just within the Central district. From our hotel, we took the train to the Central MTR station and alighted at the D2 gate. It’s easy to find the place coz there are arrow markers everywhere telling you which way to go.

After checking my LP guide book recommendations, we decided to go to The Cavern (sabi din kasi merong Pinoy band doon! Thank God for Lonely Planet!!! Hahaha).

I loved it! Neon lights, loud music blaring from the clubs/bars, yuppie people with a drink in hand milling around the place! This is the life! Hahahaha

What it said in the guidebook was true…..a Pinoy band was playing!

Soho

A friend suggested to me that on our last night in town we should meet up in one of the bars here (we initially planned on a “pub crawl” but I don’t think we can really hack it! Lol) and after a dozen lost turns and walking back & forth along Elgin Street, I finally found the place --- The Cutty Sark Bar.

Soho (meaning “South of Hollywood Road” as it is located just behind it) is another entertainment hub in the city but with a more mature, upscale and professional-looking crowd than Lan Kwai Fong. I did not see any drunk youngsters walking around the streets, it was mostly yuppies in shirts & ties meeting up with friends after work. I couldn’t let the night pass of course without going around the whole place, so I dragged my friend to a livelier venue than the quiet Irish pub we were sitting in.

We chanced upon a place with a throng of people outside wanting to go in. There was a huge bouncer manning the entrance, I felt so pretty when he flicked his hand to signal that I can go in (at muntik pang maiwan ang kasama ko! Haaayyyy!). It was claustrophobically small and crowded but the music was great and the atmosphere was awesome. A real exclusive hang-out!

I pitied my friend who was not really in his element in the skin-to-skin atmosphere at the club so after finishing off my bottle we went out again to look for a quieter place. I was a bit tipsy by then and when ordering, I just told the bartender to get the same beer that he was holding --- ooopppsss, it was the Belgian beer, Stella Artois, to which I definitely don’t have the knack for. Pang-San Miguel lang yata talaga ako kasi na-windang ang byuti ko with just 2 bottles!

Side Streets

You can also be spontaneous, while walking around Temple Street Market at night and not finding anything good at all we ended up sitting in a little roadside eatery as in “turo-turo/bangketo” variety at 10:30pm and had a few sticks of grilled pork/fish balls (I’m not quite sure what we were eating but it did not taste like the fish balls we had back home). We washed it down with grande cans of San Miguel Beer bought from a nearby 7-11 store. What a way to cap the night!

Hongkong really has a lot to offer at night, depends on what your budget is or whether you want to be in a crowded, loud disco club or sitting in a quiet corner of an Irish pub. You can all get it there and more!