Shortly before midnight on Chinese New Year Eve, I found myself standing in the epicenter of the annual Lunar New Year Fair in Victoria Park.

Despite the cold, damp weather, the yearly celebration was unbelievably packed. The large scale event, which takes place over the days leading up to Chinese New Year, draws several hundred thousand people who inch their way through aisles browsing New Year related merchandise.

At one point, with many of the aisles at a complete standstill, people continued to converge from every side. As the crowd piled up around me, I wiggled my arm free and was able to shoot a quick (and shaky) 360 degree video to capture the insane sea of people. (more…)

We celebrate the first post of 2012 with a look back in time. The South China Athletic Association’s bowling center used to be a hotspot of Hong Kong nightlife in the 1970′s and 80′s. Preserved on rows of lockers buried deep inside the building is unique evidence of the passions and interests of its former denizens. We’re talking about a fascinating collection of stickers that spans four decades! (more…)

Construction started over a year ago on two grand archways at the beginning and end of the Temple Street night market in Jordan. Passing by recently, the finished product seems more at home at a Taipei night market than in Hong Kong’s urban landscape.

While it may make the popular street market more photogenic for tourists, it actually stands out because Hong Kong doesn’t typically go in for ostentatious ‘oriental’ design.

In fact, after a brief walk around our cosmopolitan city, foreigners have been known to ask bewilderedly, “Where’s Chinatown?” (more…)

Every year well over a hundred thousand people cram into Victoria Park for the Chinese New Year fair that packs several football fields of space.

Throngs of festive revelers slowly press their way through long rows of booths, browsing and interacting with hawkers. The lively atmosphere is a unique Hong Kong experience as sellers shout and carry on, attempting to draw attention to their merchandise.

The items on sale include plants and flowers meant to bring good luck in the new year, as well as merchandise that corresponds to the coming year of the Chinese zodiac.

But other non-traditional categories also exist and are particularly popular. (more…)

A few weekends ago, I was walking towards Lan Kwai Fong, when I spotted something odd. In front of me, driving by slowly, was a massive truck with banners on all four sides.

The signs were advertising an upcoming event at a nearby club. The bouncers standing outside remarked that it had been driving through the neighborhood all night. Is this an effective form of advertising? (more…)

People in Hong Kong have been talking about typhoon Megi all week long. Much to the disappointment of the general working population, Megi’s now not scheduled to arrive until Saturday night, mostly bypassing Hong Kong.

What use is a typhoon, if it doesn’t get you a day off of work? People here are plenty disappointed! (more…)

You don’t need to click on the red bubbles, the other videos are all below!

Redbull held their first Flugtag event in Hong Kong in West Kowloon on Sunday, October 10th, 2010. Despite bad weather, well over 10,000 people attended – a stunning amount given that this is the very first event of this kind in the city.

Who knew that watching people jump off a six-meter ramp and crash into the harbor is cross-cultural entertainment? But there’s more to the event than the amazing faceplants. (more…)

Ten years ago Hong Kong was buzzing with optimism about the Internet. PCCW made headlines for purchasing the domain name cyberworks.com for $1,000,000 U.S. dollars, and dot com hysteria quickly spread to other local businesses.

The hunger to appear up-to-date and part of the next big thing gave birth to some truly ridiculous names for Hong Kong companies. Pretty soon every advertisement featured a name with the prefix ‘e-something’, ‘i-something’ or with the word ‘cyber’ awkwardly appended. The only trouble was that most people had no clue what the Internet was useful for, or how to make a business from it.

As dot com fever reached its peak, even Central’s nightlife was affected. Often you heard people asking “Are you going to the launch party tonight?” There was even a building on Wellington Street legally rechristened ‘Dot Com House’ during those days.

It was in this frenzied environment that I first I met Casey Lau, the gregarious organizer of the upcoming StartupsHK event on August 7th. Even back then, Casey stood out as one of the few people who fathomed the power and usefulness of the Internet. (more…)

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s World Cup fever again in Hong Kong. The city’s nightclubs offer no escape, in fact, many of them have chosen to cater to fans, instead of offering a respite. As many of the games air live at 2:30 am, top clubs such as Dragon-i, Volar, Roxie, and Tazmania Ballroom have all been partially transformed into sports bars. (more…)

Models – check; DJ – check; dancers – check; Predator – WTF?

One of the small pleasures of attending events in Hong Kong are those moments when you spot something unintentionally ironic, humorously inappropriate, or totally absurd.

The intended atmosphere of the event is suddenly pierced by something random that just doesn’t fit, or is simply inexplicable.

I was reminded of this phenomenon recently while attending a hair show. (more…)