China - Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a hell of a place. Part New York, part London, part Indiana Jones. It is surprisingly mountainous with many roads that a human being just really shouldn’t walk up. It has an amazing China town area, funny right (really cool walking through and seeing all their crazy shit), an amazing overlook in Victoria peak (which is honestly outstanding but it takes a million years to go up a million escalators…but still maybe one of the best views you could ever get of a major city), an amazing zoo (weird but true, and it’s high up with great views), amazing restaurants and hotels, and more upscale malls than I thought possible. I mean, how many Pradas does one need. Apparently this many…this many Pradas exactly.

I like how different Honk Kong is from the Mainland. It’s cool to see the difference in a completely capitalist system from one that relies way more on nationalism. Transportation is great with water taxis, subway lines, and regular taxis everywhere. It is weird that Hong Kong is separated into two parts (Kowloon is on one side of the bay), but Hong Kong island is where all the fun is anyway.

Wan Chai is fun. The right kind of dirty. There is only one street in this area, maybe about two blocks long that makes it truly interesting, but it’s a fun street. With countless scantily clad girls in front of their store trying to get you to come in for a drink or a massage or a show. There are also plenty of regular restaurants with elevated patios that allow you to watch all the action from the side (which is always nice to get your bearings). The girls here aren’t too pushy as they really just stick to their store fronts.

Lan Kwai Fong is probably my favorite area. Packed with bars and restaurants and just nightlife in general. People crowd this place like the most crowded places you’ve seen. But not like in shitty cities where you find tons of people trying to take advantage of you. This is just tons of people out drinking and having a good time. I would stay in or near this area upon my next visit.

Jan 2024 Update.

Still great but still more subdued. The above picture is of the Fuji building which is supposedly a strip club sort of extravaganza. There are 2 types of people in this world, and I am the type that no longer walks in that door :)

Notes to self:

-The express train from HKG is mega easy. It sits right in front of baggage claim, costs like 15 bucks, goes to Kowloon and Hong Kong stations, and gets there fast. Way better than dealing with some jack wagon charging who knows what in the cab line.
-Speaking of which, generally speaking it’s 40 or more USD to get from the airport to central, and it’s about the same to get to the border with Shenzhen…then like 6 bucks from there, haha. Cabs in Shenzhen are way cheaper!
-The Hong Kong subway is easy to use, and separately the old school tram cars aren’t necessarily a San Fran must do experience, but they are still pretty cool.
-Gotta seek out some ridiculous Peking (Beijing) Duck. Ultra thin pancakes and the best duck in the world. Really cool.
-Most recently Wan Chai was kind of lame. It was like China was trying to shut down all of the less than reputable places. It could of been the weather, it could of been the time of year, but it was just not happening while we were there…plus our freaking duck place had closed down for good…ugh!
-Buy the Big Bus tour! Not only is it pretty good just in general, but you get neat perks with the ticket. Skip the line ticket to Victoria peak, which is worth its weight in gold, not kidding. Plus you get a ferry ride to Kowloon and a little boat ride.
-We have done Lan Kwai Fong a number of times and it’s always fun, but the real experience is in Soho. First of all the escalators are just rad, but each level at an escalator stop has its own feel and its own fun. I would of spent every night in Soho.
-Total sidebar, but The Woods cocktail bar and restaurant in Soho was a ton of fun and a very NY experience.

JW Marriott - Jan 2024

The JW Marriott Hong Kong was another grand dame. They upgraded me to a Victoria harbor view (crappy picture but it’s there! haha) and it would be a mistake to not try for this, it changes the whole room. My room was relatively standard otherwise but I didn’t need much. Only water in the mini bars. Standard crappy tv selections, breakfast in the executive lounge was fine offerings wise, but pretty freaking fancy accommodations wise.
I walked along Lockhart and other roads in wan chai. Had some duck. Had some beers. It’s about the same I’d say, but still much tamer than its heyday.

iclub Wan Chai - Mar 2018

We wanted to stay in Wan Chai, and this location is pretty perfect.

Nice clean modern hotel with water pressure that will rip your skin off…in a good way.

I’m happy…but if my girl was here I’m not so sure. Rooms are really small and spartan, but when you land from a million hours of travel you just want clean, cozy, and a good bathroom. Check, check, and check. I would not call the bed comfortable though. Asian mattresses tend to be harder than US mattresses.

You can hear everything in this hotel, and my friend tested that theory…

Notes to Self:
-Guy checked me in real early. Thanks bro.
-Same guy also saved my life with the executive bathroom key! (second stay in same hotel, haha)

Hotel Cosmo - Nov 2013

This hotel is on a sort of blank (no retail) street in the Wan Chai area of Hong Kong (I would say it’s about a 10 minute walk to the nightlife portion of Wan Chai). It has a sister hotel (The Cosmopolitan) which is about half a block down the street (I mainly know this because the taxi took us there accidentally…but that one seemed very chainy).

The lobby of the Cosmo was surprisingly modern and cool, but not very big. The bar, which is awesomely named Nooch, is on the lobby level and looked cool enough, but very plain.

The room was sadly not modern. It had a tiny tv and was pretty small. They got me on a cheap upgrade while checking in, but other than being on the top floor, I’m not sure how that helped me. The one cool feature is that the vanity area in the bathroom had a an interesting view right onto the bed…which can always be fun. Other than that, the shower was small and the bed was average. The desk did have a usable computer on it, which I found interesting and unusual, but purposeless for me.

Not the greatest hotel, but I was desperate at the time and wanted to stay in Wan Chai.

W Hong Kong - Dec 2010

Cool hotel…but I feel like one must explicitly say “Kowloon” to all of us ignorant Americans who don’t realize that this hotel…and may many other things, aren’t technically on the island that is Hong Kong. That being said, it’s right on the edge of Kowloon and you can see Hong Kong proper quite clearly. Like everything else in the Hong Kong area, it’s connected by shopping mall to anywhere you want to go.

The hotel lobby is not on the first floor…blegh, but it is nice once you get up there. The pool wasn’t open while I was there but the spa definitely was…sick stuff. Nothing like sitting in a hot tub with floor to ceiling windows 60 floors above a major city like HK. Bar was cool. Basic room was pretty small, but with nice bathroom/bedroom separation (kind of like a studio with a half wall, bathroom on one side and bed on the other). They did catch my group with an extra person in the room…they charged me without comment…so wily.