Ok, being in November it is a little far off, but considering we are talking Hong Kong Pride, so it pays to get your plane tickets and hotel reservations early to a destination that is 1) expensive, and 2) so damn far away.
When it comes to Pride, much of the Far East is still getting its head around the idea. Pride culture has been off and running for decades in a few places (Japan, Thailand, Taiwan), but others are still a little wet behind the ears, and China qualifies. But Hong Kong is a different animal: A British colony for 100 years before reverting to Chinese control in 1997, it is the most gleefully liberal corner of the Middle Kingdom, and if you want to experience a gay culture unique to its homeland without [a lot of] outside influence, there is no better place to start.
That “start” is on Hong Kong Island, site of the Pride Parade on November 10. Starting in Victoria Park, it marches west along Hennessy Road, and ends at Chater Garden—which is a good thing because that Hong Kong’s gayborhood. Pregame at T:ME Bar (“time”), Zoo Bar (it’s next to the zoo) or Déjà Vu before heading off at clubs Volume BEAT and Propaganda for Asia’s best dance tracks and a little East-meets-West action (they can get kinky; you try being repressed for 5000 years and see how vanilla your fantasies are). Hong Kong is one of the most tightly-packed bundles of humanity on the planet, so be prepared for bars and clubs to be compact and to fill up fast. Land is so expensive that nothing can afford to get too expansive, it’s one of the reasons “HK” has so many skyscrapers; they build up instead of out.
In truth, gay establishments of all sorts speckle the city; there are a few around Victoria Park where the Pride Parade starts (Explode Bar and several saunas, such as the all-nude Action), and north across the Victoria Harbor on the mainland section of the territory (Tony’s Bar, the historic Wally Matt Bar). Some bars have gay nights and parties, like Faggatronic Saturdays at Peel. Confused? Pick up a copy of DS; it is to Hong Kong what Wired is to Miami—and it’s in English!
Go to http://www.hkpride.net/2012for more information (note: it’s almost all in Chinese). Steele Luxury Travel has unbelieve low fares premium class fares on Cathay Pacific from the US to Hong Kong for $3,400 in business class and $4,500 in First Class. Their service is one of the best in the sky! Contact us for more details at [email protected] or call 646-688-2274.
Steele Luxury Travel