My Date with Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s that girl you stay in love with even though she keeps stabbing you in the back. She’ll suck you dry, and I mean that literally – and financially; you’ll sweat your balls off trekking around the muggy mountainous maze that is the city, then get frugally drunk off 2 USD beers from 7-Eleven and wake up the next morning realizing you lost all your money betting on the Happy Valley horse races anyway. But she’ll make it up to you with a great massage and whispered reminders of what a handsome American you are.

... good luck, man.

I can’t help but dig her fashion sense. She must shop at some dope underground thrift stores – her wardrobe’s eclectic, ranging from high fashion international to funny straw hats, and she’s not afraid to wear something off the rack without washing it first.

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Juxtaposition is her style; it felt like most time she posed for me, her visage captured some form of stark contrast. She can be fierce, she can be tranquil, but she’ll always get hot and wet for you. And if you give her the right attention, she’ll definitely put out on the first night.

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I’ll cut right to the good stuff. Lan Kwai Fong (or LKF as it’s called by Hong Kong’s vibrant community of expat revelers) and Wan Chai are the two stops that house the two popular nightlife districts. The former maintains a thin veneer of class, requiring pants to enter the clubs and often sporting cover charges up to several hundred HKD (the conversion is about 7:1 USD). It’s not uncommon to witness a couple of rich Asian dudes buying the bar while surrounded by European model-types who may or may not be paid by the club to be there.

China Bar being ironic.

Sorry for the picture quality . . . you know how it is. P.S. no they don’t.

I went out there on July 4th and sadly the American presence was pretty weak; I did hear one half-assed “USA” chant though, and Elvis even made an appearance with an entourage of hippies.

#toomanydicksonthedancefloor

Wan Chai cranks it up a few notches on the ratchet scale, with its easy entrance clubs packed on a Wednesday and no pants requirement. To clarify, that’s a lack of requirement for long pants, not a requirement for no pants. But in neither district is it likely to see a bouncer even glance at a legal form of identification.

Case and point: this guy was there.

Hong Kong’s more than just sexy though – she’s also a great artist. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

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One "street artist" just slapped a pill sticker all over the city. At least it seems he or she has a firm grasp of the important aspects of the English language - all trash receptacles hilariously read "litter cum recyclables”. Also, nothing says nice Chinese antiques store like a reminder of the secret feminine nature of every single gangster.

After a long night on the town one requires a long day of recovery, so friends and I hit up Hong Kong’s surprisingly strong beach game. One can witness the feng shui buildings and unique apartment complexes scaling the “Dragon’s Back” mountains, which loosely resemble a dragon slinking down to the bay for a drink.

The cool buildings are behind me, I swear.

And finally, there’s nothing like some coffee and a great skyline:

Oh yeah, baby.Oh yeah, baby.

 

All pictures courtesy of Jeremy Bell.