Hong Kong - Tin Hau: A Haven for Cafe Lovers

Artisan Cafes in abundant along Electric Road

Run on 16 Aug 2015

Every year, I travels to Hong Kong to catch up with some of my good friends, enjoy the good food, do some outlet shopping and most importantly find new places to explore and run in Hong Kong. During the past few trips, I have always stayed around food haven of Hong Kong, Mong Kok (旺角）. This time round, due to my busy schedule developing the new Wongamania edition, Bad Bear did most of the leg work in planning the trip. He chose an extremely nice boutique hotel Victoria Somerset Hotel at Tin Hau (天后) which is nearby to Causeway Bay. Tin Hau is a residential estate with a good mix of commercial and residential buildings. One interesting tidbit which we heard from our Hong Kong friends is that the area is well known to be haunted, especially the residential areas. Personally, I think that this is a pretty nice area, much like Tiong Bahru in Singapore with quite a number of chillax cafes, pubs, eateries and desert shop all around the area. This place comes alive during weekend evenings when the residents hang around their favorite watering hole and chit chat till late night.

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Mong Kok, Hong Kong - Cherry Street Park: The Green Lung of Mong Kok (800m)

View of MongKok from the bridge leading to the Cherry Street Park

After our short stay at Shenzhen, we traveled to Hong Kong, the land of good food and good shopping (Golden Week Sale! Yeah!)

This time round, Bad Bear is determined to run! And thus, the negotiation starts again...

Me," Bro, you should have concluded by now that it is futile to run in the evening, given the amount of night activities that we squeeze in. Let's try for morning again! I shall compromise at 730am instead of the usual 7am."

Bad Bear, "Okie, how about 930am?"

Me, "That's crazy because you are going to be run over by cars at the Mong Kok area if we start our run so late. Besides, the sun will be up and hot!"

Bad Bear, "Let's do 9am than. Besides, is there anywhere to run in Hong Kong? I am not going to take a train just for a run."

Me, "How about 8am? Knowing that you are a noob when it comes to street running, I have discovered a small park behind our hotel. Should be suitable for you too."

Bad Bear, "Let's do 830am! Sorry lah! I am a Gym Runner. You sure the air is safe to breathe here? I heard that it is pretty polluted."

Me, "815am. My final offer!"

With the time set after a lengthy negotiation. We are set for the run... at last.

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Hong Kong, Mong Kok, Victoria Harbour, Avenue of Stars, Hung Hom FerryPier - From Bustling Streets to Scenic Promenades

Hong Kong. One of the most crowded cities in the world. Full of people, narrow streets, street junctions and hilly slopes. With pollution creeping back in and a hot humid summer, I would say that this could be one of the more unpleasant spot to run in the world. Oh boy, I was mistaken. There were parts, where the running is horrible, but once you hit the sweet spot, you will be rewarded with breathtaking views of the Hong Kong cityscape.

Workers setting up the Ladies' Market in the
morning. They have to tear it down and build
it back up everyday. Curious...

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