After traveling the whole world we learned a precious lesson: Always seek for advice from locals. Trust me, they  know better and you will have a greater time. It’s a completely different experience when you allow yourself to dive into the local culture and go beyond the tourist attractions.

With this in mind, we interviewed Maverick to give us smart travel advice and share the essentials gay travelers need to know by delivering  to our readers a comprehensive and dynamic Hong Kong gay guide. He has lived there since 2014 working as a Marketing Specialist. Maverick is passionate about travel and experiencing new cultures and shared with us his favorite spots in the city.

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Follow @mavericktimes travels on Instagram .

We summarized the things we consider the most important for a traveler and asked Maverick to share with us his advice from a local gay guy perspective.

Here is what he has to say about Hong Kong:

WHERE TO STAY

The best area to stay in Hong Kong is Sheung Wan in my opinion, for gay or straight equally. It is the part of the city with a colorful mix of old buildings and shiny skyscrapers, street markets and hipster cafe’s, dried seafood street and gay bars. I also live here and everything I need is in walking distance – the weekend brunch, clubs for the weekend or the ferry piers for an island getaway.

WHERE TO PARTY

Hong Kong’s gay scene has evolved in the years I spent here and got a bit more diverse. However, it is not big! There is not really a gay club, rather some bars with small dancefloor. Recently Petticoat Lane is the place to be, with drag shows almost every night of the week and a free-vodka Wednesgay event. Other places that have been around for years are FLM, Zoo and Wink. Bing Bing in Causeway bay is a bit out of Central, and popular with local crowds. I haven’t discovered local bars on the Kowloon Side of Hong Kong yet! My favorite bar is J. Borowski with amazing (and pricey) custom made drinks.

Hong Kong is quite gay friendly in terms of “nobody really cares” so I showed PDA with my boyfriend in straight clubs like Dragon-i or Cassio without being bothered. In the daytime you see a lot of gay men, often couples, strolling around PMQ and the nearby cafes.  

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Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps.

GAY EVENTS IN HONG KONG

Hong Kong has two gay events a year – the pride in November and Pink Dot in September as I remember. Whereas  pride is important as a political statement, it has nothing to do with other cities’ counterpart – there is not trucks, no music, no party. It is a march through the city with speeches and some local celebrity support. Pink Dot, however, is a bigger event, usually in West Kowloon Cultural District, with tens of thousands of participants of all genders, ages and backgrounds. Everbody wears pink, there is music and food and games, and a drone will take a pic of the giant pink dot from above. It is fun and positive!

Hong Kong is probably one of the safest cities in the world. I never had any problem, people leave their phones on the table etc. Although people are quite traditional here being gay is still a taboo in families, nobody bothers if you hold hands with your partner on the streets. People only mind their own business.

WHEN GO TO HONG KONG

Personally I love October to December here. The temperature is moderate, the weather quite dry with more sunny days. January – March is springtime with cool, very moist and humid weather! Sometimes you won’t see the skyline and humidity feels uncomfortable. May-September is considered summer with temperatures never below 28 degrees day and night, high humidity and sometimes squally showers and typhoons. If you can’t take heat – definitely come in winter.

WHAT TO EAT 

Hong Kong is the home of Dim Sum! These little steamed or deep fried snacks are served in bamboo baskets and accompanied with tea, and are the brunch for locals. Also must try is the life seafood, everywhere near the ocean, like in Saikung or Lei Yue Mun. Hong Kong is international – you find any cuisine here! I love Japanese and Thai food as well. Brunch with Avocado-Benedict  is all around Central, Soho and Sheung Wan up to Sai Ying Pun. There is a big expat community!

WHERE TO SHOP

I like to shop in sale season when you can make good bargains of all brands and designers. Harvey Nichols or Lane Crawford are two addresses. But if you wanna explore local street style, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok are the places to go with local tiny shopping malls with even smaller shops. For electronics and gadgets head to Sham Shui Po, and there is even a sex toy street market on Temple Street. You find antiques and some knick knack and souvenirs on Hollywood Road and Cat Street.
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The shops blend in the busy landscape of Hong Kong.

THINGS TO DO

Must see is the Peak, the Big Buddha in Lantau and the Skyline! Just take the Starr Ferry across the harbour and see the Skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island after it is dark. For me the most spectacular city view in the world, still! Also love to go hiking in Hong Kong – plenty of scenic and easily accessible hike to peaks, jungles and beaches! Chi Lin Nunnery is my favorite temple place.
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Hong Kong is a dream destination for photographers, around every corner you’ll find something that catches your attention eyes.
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Maverick loves to hike. This mountain hike is in the Yuen Long area / Hong Kong.

DAY TRIP FROM HONG KONG

Go to Macau! The high speed ferry takes you there in one hour and it is quite different than Hong Kong – Portuguese heritage, old ruins and casinos that make Vegas look small!  Also worth checking out the big younger brother Shenzhen across the border, foreigners need a China visa for the visit, which can be obtained at the border in most cases.

Share with us in the comments below any additional information or travel tips about Hong Kong. We would love to hear from you. 🙂

3 Comments

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    Great article! We are looking forward to visit Hong Kong this year! 😊

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