5 THINGS FOR TEENS TO DO IN HK
We asked 17-year- old LARA MCWILLIAM to run us through some of the fun activities for teenagers in Hong Kong, both within the bustling city itself, and in some of the territory’s far-flung corners.
1 CAMPING
While there are 41 official camping sites in HK, we love heading out to Tai Long Wan for a night’s getaway from the city. One of a string of four of Sai Kung’s best beaches, Tai Long Wan offers a vast sandy paradise for teenagers to spend a night on. Don’t worry about food – neighbouring Ham Tin Beach is a five-minute walk away and has a restaurant, as well as a place to rent tents and buy firewood. They can take a dip in the cleanest waters HK has to offer, before huddling round the campfire. A beach camping escape is never a bad idea!
2 KARAOKE
Whether their go-to karaoke song is “Dancing Queen”, “Mr Brightside” or “Shallow”, there are plenty of HK karaoke rooms where your teen can belt it out with their best mates. Red Mr and Music Box are two stellar companies with rooms located all around HK. They both offer top-notch selections of English songs, along with a modern, groovy ambience – perfect for the party mood. To escape the rain or humidity, singing your fave tunes in a private, air-conditioned room is a top pick all year round. Check out the websites for locations and prices. Red Mr: redmr.com/#/home
Music Box: musicbox-hk.com
3 SURFING, KAYAKING, SUP-ING
For beginners, pros and everyone in between, taking on the HK waters should be high up on every young person’s to-do list. If your teen is keen, Big Wave Bay and Sai Wan are the way to go. At Big Wave Bay, Surfing Hong Kong offers surf lessons and rents out a full range of glass and foam boards, SUPs, wetsuits and lockers. On Sai Wan Beach, rent a board from Surf HK or take one of their beginner-friendly surf lessons. The Sai Wan store also offers SUP rentals and kayak tours, giving everyone an opportunity to explore the beautiful Hong Kong coast.
Surf Hong Kong (Sai Wan): ateamedventures.com/surf-hong-kong
Surfing Hong Kong (Big Wave Bay): surfinghongkong.com
4 ART
Let your teen’s creative juices flow with the multitude of crafty activities HK has to offer. They can get messy at a pottery studio, for instance – many offer hand-building, wheel-throwing, slipcasting and more ways of crafting their very own ceramics. Alternatively, they can paint to their hearts’ content at an art jamming session and unleash raw imagination onto a blank canvas! Your teen is bound to have a blast at any of the below studios – and they’ll return home with a self-made bowl or self-painted canvas.
LUMP Studio: lumpstudio.com.hk
TOUCH Ceramics: touchceramics.com/regular-class Two Parts Studio: twopartstudio.com
Art Jamming: artjamming.com
Platform Art Jamming Studio: platform-artjamming-studio.com
5 PARKS
Hidden amongst the soaring skyscrapers and chaotic roads of HK lie some beautiful parks and trails for teens to explore at will. Whether it’s to get lost in the gorgeous greenery or catch a glimpse of majestic animals (the pink flamingos and blue and yellow macaws at Kowloon Park, for example), they can bring a frisbee or a deck of cards, pack a few snacks and make a day of it with their best pals. Among our favourite parks for a quick and easy city escape are Victoria Peak Garden, Tamar Park, West Kowloon Art Park and Nan Lian Garden.