Sleepless in Hong Kong

March 20, 2009 10:45 AM

I have $500, a backpack, and 3 days in Hong Kong, starting Monday, with nothing to do but wait for a visa (which means I ain't leavin'). Aside from standing around the Tsim Sha Tsui 7-11 eating Doritos and browsing the suitcopywatch collections and trolling Wanchai in the vain hopes of meeting someone who isn't a prostitute or looking for one, where are some fun, up-all-night places to go that involve cheap alcohol and good company for a 20-something?
posted by saysthis to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

Not sure if the visa thing is an issue, but Macau is up all night and definitely worth checking out.

It rained the entire time I was in Hong Kong, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I imagine I could have.
posted by backwards guitar at 10:50 AM on March 20

Yeah, visa's an issue. They take your passport.
posted by saysthis at 11:20 AM on March 20

And I'll be bringing an umbrella. :) I've had the rain spoil some of my previous trips there too. Hopefully it won't be too bad this time.
posted by saysthis at 11:21 AM on March 20

I love Chungking Mansions in Kowloon. Nowhere in the area will you find such cultural diversity. Everyone doing their business (legal and otherwise). You can grab some cheap Indian (food) and a beer, and just watch Hong Kong's version of the UN pass you by.

As for bars - Lan Kwai Fong is a good area to have some early beers and walk around. Started by a Jewish dude from Montreal. No prostitutes. Just up the hill from there is Dragon I, and then you may want to hit up Drop.
posted by gman at 11:57 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]

Drop and Dragon I could work, gman, these could work...

Chungking Mansions - always my first stop off the train in HK, because I just want BED when I get there.
posted by saysthis at 12:12 PM on March 20

If you end up meeting someone to hang out with in HK, many restaurants are open until late. I remember going out with my relatives for hot pot at midnight and the restaurant was jam packed.

I am pretty sure that Victoria Peak is open until fairly late as well, but also crowded even around 11 pm.

Also, while you are in HK, you can go to Flow, which is a terrific used bookstore and then you can catch up on your reading. :)
posted by so much modern time at 8:03 PM on March 20

LKF is a bit, uhm, Porsche-y and I-Banky if there's not a big holiday. If you're in to that sort of thing, it's probably one of the best places in the world to do that. If you're not, Wan Chai's the place to get conversation on a limited time budget if you know where NOT to go. Junk Pub, Typhoon, and some Phillipino food was my way to avoid the stuff that went on in my neighborhood when I lived there.

If you're missing the mainland bars, want about a 35% chance of making a new friend, and want some compentent servers who don't charge $10 US for a Corona, there's a bar called Imagine near Chungking about two streets to the west.
posted by sleslie at 10:26 AM on March 21