McCauley Culkin in Home Alone Hong Kong

The plan for this trip was to follow around RGP for all his meetings and see what adventures we could get into during down time. The plan for today is to hit Seoul, Korea for a whirlwind thirty-six hours. A big fan of Kimchi, I am real excited to be on the way to the mecca of Asian BBQ. Unfortunately it is not to be. The airfare clocks in at over $1G CDN and I’m out. That’s what happens when booking the day before and RGP is not a man into drawing up a firm schedule and booking flights in advance. Home alone like McCauley Culkin, I am faced with the decision of one more day in Shenzhen on the solo tip, or a quick Ferry across the water back to Hong Kong. Shenzhen can wait until another day. HK here I come…
RGP and I part ways at the Ferry and jump on separate ships. He’s off to the HK airport and Seoul. I’m off to Central and a quick taxi ride to the Cosmo Hotel in Wan Chai AKA Wan Chizzle. There is work to be done. This trip can’t be all shits and giggles. Hop on the laptop and send a stack of emails, then nap. Gio knocks on the door shortly before 9 pm and we’re off to Causeway Bay for a quick dinner at our fave spot. The city is flowing with people, vendors, and a slice of nightlife rarely seen in North America. Maybe, just maybe, NYC can rival HK for its nightlife. Toronto is relative calm in comparison. Following dinner we walk through CB and I marvel at all its livity. A man can definitely live here, no doubt. Did I mention one of Toronto’s finest, Baby Yu is spinning at M1nt in Lan Kwai Fong? We hit the room around 10.30 pm, too early for Yu’s set and opt to walk up the street to a wonderful lounge spot owned by a large UK man. The vibe and beats are real nice and the place seems to pop as we head out the door back to M1nt for Baby Yu. A members only club with various chapters and locations in Big Willie locales, no budget appears to be spared in its construction. From the fingerprint entry process to its shark tank M1NT is serious stuff, and so is the price fro drinks at close to $15 a glass and I’m not talking HKD. Gio marvels at what could be done if a proper Promoter ran the venue as we sit and slowly sip our glasses of JD and ginger. Local fave DJ Darryl is warming up the crowd, but honestly, it appears the main draw here is the clubs deep pocket members who host an array of ex-pat models and a bountiful group of beautiful locals. Peace scribe That Guy is the man responsible for booking and flying Baby Yu over to Asia for a series of dates. It’s HK on Thursday, Shanghai on Friday and Singapore on Saturday for the duo. A born hustler, That Guy is on to something. He has booked and flown numerous Toronto talents over the seas to Asia, including a great man who enjoys eating at McDonald’s every day and goes by the name Frank Nitty. Jr. Flow is up next with his club tour on schedule for early November. Set with the bar management, That Guy blesses Gio and I with a few rounds and we’re feeling real nice in no time. Yuta is in fine form, although a little light on the reggae but that’s to be expected in HK. Paul touches base with Gio and meets up with us inside for a drink. Off to Pool bar/lounge Racks. Outside is madness. There is a new Asian club soft opening in the same building on the third floor. We bypass and head up to the sixth for a drink. We bump into a few VanCity now HK people who know the DIPT crew and watch them get crunk. A former Mississauga resident shows off his prototype shoe design, who is currently working on a custom for KanYe. Gio is low on energy and opts to head home for a night of sleep. Paul and I head across the street and up the stairs to Sugar. Paul’s confidence level at 200% and well linked in the scene, we pass the long queue outside and drop inside pure shoulder-to-shoulder madness. Two quick Corona and we’re grooving to the sounds of DJ Darryl who makes the place go off proper dropping all the right Hip-Hop and R&B club bangers. Pure Asian, save Paul and I, this is the best club experience of the trip, by far. An hour and a few more rounds of Corona later, we head out the door into a taxi and pour out onto beloved Wan Chizzle. Fenwick’s or Neptune II is the question. We swallow a quick slice to soak up the liquor and walk down the stairs into Neptune II. Immediately a few friends saddle in and we catch up. They even inquire on the whereabouts of RGP. No energy to get live it’s time to head back to the Hotel to catch up on some sleep. On schedule tomorrow is a flight to Shanghai…