Eighteen Cheap Valentine's Day Ideas
So you’ve finally scored yourself a date, but you’re out of ideas—and money. Here are 18 ideas for great dates that won’t burn through your savings.
1. Have a grassy picnic
Head to a deli: try Il Bel Paese (locations including 85 Caine Rd., Mid-Levels, 2549-8893). Then hit the grass at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun, Tamar Park in Admiralty, or Victoria Peak Garden on Mount Austin Road. Want a second date? Bring a blanket.
2. Walk and talk
Take a stroll through Hong Kong Park. Start on Kennedy Road, wander through the aviary. Look out for the HUGE Victoria Crowned pigeons, which are the largest in the world—up to 75cm long. Then meander through to Admiralty and kiss under the fountain, before drying off over a spot of Star Street people-watching and a glass of something cold and white at Classified (31 Wing Fung St., Wan Chai, 2528-3454).
3. Take a cut-price city tour
You will need: One bottle of acceptable wine. Two paper cups. $4.60. Board a tram to Kennedy Town at the Happy Valley terminus. Sit at the front and ride it all the way. Do not do this at rush hour, or on a Wednesday.
4. Catch a classic flick
Get a dose of Hong Kong cinematic culture with a date at the Film Archive. Tickets are just $40, and you can delve into Hong Kong’s treasured vintage films. On Valentine’s Day, you’ll find screenings of romantic flicks “Girls Are Flowers” (1966) and “Bunny Girl” (1967). The former is a romantic comedy about a naïve young orphan who moves from Macau to Hong Kong, and finds herself inundated with suitors; while the latter, starring Nancy Sit in her first leading role, is a kind of “My Fair Lady” yarn, in which a feisty woman from the mean streets is taken in by the son of a wealthy family, who teaches her to read and write.
50 Lei King Rd., Sai Wan Ho, 2739-2139, www.filmarchive.gov.hk
5. Hot wheels
Hop on the ferry to Mui Wo and rent a city bike from the Friendly Bicycle Shop (Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road, 2984-2278) for $40 per day. Take a gentle pedal up and down Silvermine Bay Beach, before heading to Mui Wo Cooked Food Market for some seaside seafood.
