The Seven Men You Meet in Hong Kong
By Meredith McBride
Let’s face it: Long working hours, extended holidays, chronic over-eating and Hong Kong’s social scene tend to put ”real dating” on the backburner. Fortunately for us single women, the men of Hong Kong are as plentiful and varied as our choice of weekend activities, but even so, there are types. Many of us single women in Hong Kong have had run-ins with at least one of the following:
1. The Banker
Mr. Mid-Levels wears a suit to work every day and parties like he’s 18 on the weekends (at least the ones when he’s not working until 2am). He enjoys being around other well-suited friends and is often busy “taking out clients.” When he does have time after work to go home and change, will he? No, of course not.
2. The Adorable Nerd
You meet him through some sort of meetup group or through friends. He spends a bit too much time playing on his phone and gets drunk off one sake shot.
3. The English teacher
Preferably from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, this guy is spending a few years “finding himself”—which is to say, partying and traveling. He lost his passport in Vietnam, and accidentally made out with a lady boy at a club in Bangkok. But it was all in good fun.
4. The “British” Hongkonger
A colonial holdover, these western guys were born in Hong Kong yet they do their best to remind you that they are, in fact, British. This is best achieved through an almost unintelligible accent and over-use of British slang.
5. The guy you meet in Dusk Till Dawn
You’re not 100 percent sure what he does for work, but Dusk Till Dawn Guy seems to enjoy a high enough salary to chronically over-consume beers at Dusk Till. He has a crew of equally rowdy friends, many of whom can be found trawling Lockhart Road on Wednesdays (Ladies Night) or buying rounds of syringe shots at Stormies.
6. The Drunk LKF Asian
A couple of drinks after that Asian glow kicks in, these guys call it a night. Or head to Levels.
7. The guy who doesn’t really know what he’s doing with his life so moved to Hong Kong to meet Asian girls
He might be our friend, our coworker, or our neighbor. He lurks just a little too long in the break room and likes to spend his free time doing yoga or studying Chinese. He has previously lived in Japan, Korea or Shanghai. He possibly has a local girlfriend who commands a good portion of his time and paycheck. You’re not sure if he’s 38 or 23.
Honorable mentions: The Study Abroad, The Discovery Bay Dude, The MTR lurker.
Meredith McBride graduated from the University of Nevada with Bachelor’s Degrees in Finance and Asian Studies. She now interns at the Asian Human Rights Commission, teaches English and spends her free time over-consuming dim sum.
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