Fridae

Hong Kong is called "The City Of Motion" with a very good reason; people have a love for speed! Walk down to Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay and you can see how everything moves in fast forward. Making sense out of this chaos is not easy, especially for the first time traveller. But once you get into the swing of gay Hong Kong, why you might never want to leave.

Hong Kong is a territory made up of 4 main sections. They are Hong Kong Island, Kowloon peninsular, and New Territories and the outer islands (including the biggest one Landau where the Chap Lap Kwok Airport is located). However as a gay traveller, you only have to focus on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon peninsular, since most of the action is centralised in these two areas.

Hong Kong Area:
It is no surprise that most of the rich and famous prefer the island instead of Kowloon. There are currently about 12 saunas, 2 dance clubs, 3 bookshops, and 10 bars in business to serve the gay community. Within the parameters of the island, most of the action is focused in Central and Causeway bay, where one local gay boy describe the scene outside Sogo department store as almost similar to San Francisco's world famous Castro Street! Although some may disagree on the intensity, but it's undeniably hot as a cruising area. Check it out for yourself and see.

Anyone who had been to Causeway Bay talks about its diverse selections of restaurants, trendy shops and nice bars and saunas. There were 3 famous Karaoke Bars located near the Causeway Bay MTR Station. They were Why Not, Babylon and Grey Area. At the height their popularity drew in most of the movers and shakers of the local gay community and also entertainment idols including Leon Lai, Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung. Sadly the glorious era has passed, although people can still go to Babylon (where the scene started) to sing their hearts out and remember the good old days. A major factor in the demise of karaoke bars is the emergence of rave parties. Anyone coming to Hong Kong before should check the information to see if there is anything going on during your stay. The weekend ones are especially fun (although a word of warning on drugs!).

Apart from Karaoke Bars, The sauna in the Wanchai Area and Causeway Bay are among the best in the territory in terms of comfort, d�cor and accessibility. One of the oldest is Gameboy, once the largest and most comfortable sauna in Hong Kong. It mostly caters to a foreign clientele interested in an East meets West special. One of the place's most interesting attractions is the Saturday Nude Night Special where, like Japanese saunas, everybody appears in the nude for a gay old time! If bodybuilders and cute young boys are what you are looking for, We Club Sauna might be your cup of tea. The place boasts a large reading room and a restaurant (trying a little too hard to be like Babylon in Bangkok, hmm?), it is an excellent place to spent a late afternoon (after shopping and before dinner). The cover is a bit pricey compared with other saunas, but they've recently tied up with Rome Club (another sauna in Kowloon) to provide special offers to people visiting both places.

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The heart of gay Hong Kong is located at Central, which is also the centre for Business; Finance and quality wining and dining! The famous Lan Kwai Fong and nearby Soho (the best restaurants are in Stuanton Street) provide cuisine from France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan and of course Asia Fusion. It is no surprise to find that most of the gay bars and dance clubs are located in this area.

So how does a typical night go for the locals? First, after getting off work on Friday, your average gay professional will most likely go to Club 1997 (a usually heterosexual dance club on usual days) for happy hour (good place for those who like the yuppie type). Dinner, which follows, is usually in one of the many excellent eateries that abound in nearby Lan Kwai Fong or further in Soho.

After dinner, it's zip home to slip into something a little more clubby. After the transformation, most will head up to bars like Zip or Rice (good places to meet foreigners) or relax in a comfortable atmosphere in a cosy hideout like Alternatives (situated in Wellington Street), where friends can gossip and bitch to their hearts' content before going to the dance clubs. Serious dancing and cruising begins at Works (the old propaganda address, where a younger set gathers because of the relatively cheap entry fee) and spreads to Propaganda (which ironically is very near the Central Police Station!) where the entry fee (including one drink) can go as high as $ 200 on holidays. People want to save money can get in line before 10:30 PM to qualify for the early bird special, which can save you up to $80 at the cost of being too early for the party. The glam set usually comes here; with celebrities making occasional appearances. However the place can be quite deserted if there is a rave party going on that same night, so do be sure to stay clued to the night's events! After dancing, most people head to a restaurant called Chui Wah for a bite to eat. So popular is this place as a pit stop before or after the club, it's practically become the "party after the party" place.

The last area of interest for action goers is Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan. Tsim Sha Tsui is famous for its high priced hotels and excellent shopping malls (The Peninsular, The Regent and Shangri-La are a few examples). There are quite a few saunas (Apart from Rome Club, there are also others (Bobson, Galaxy (for the older and the rough & ready crowd) and Jungle) all within walking distance from the old Hyatt Hotel where there is a convenient MTR entrance. As for Bars, the selections are more limited than the more glamorous Hong Kong side, but the old historical Waltzing Mathilda has split into two bars (renamed Wally Matt) each with a different theme. One of them retained the old rough theme and attracts an older crowd, while the other has slicker d�cor and caters for a much younger audience.

The areas around New Territories and the outer islands hold little attraction unless you like outdoorsy life. For the sunlovers, however, be sure to hit the cruisy Middle Bay beach (near Repulse Bay) for some sand, sun and sizzling action on hot summer weekend.

Gay Hong Kong is a culture and life unto it's own. Flashy, funny, but always simply fabulous!