my almost-hooker experience

a smoke-filled bar on a remote street in wan chai. the smoke is so thick i can barely see. the clientele -- a good mix of australians and filipinos, splattered with a few chinese and americans. a good number of "working ladies" whisper into the ears of the foreign men, alluring them to pay for some cheap fun. i see phil and quickly run towards him for fear of being mistaken as a filipino hooker.

wan chai is a neighborhood in hong kong expanding from central, a cluster of international financial giants, to causeway bay, the tourist destination for value and luxury shops. in the heart of wan chai is victoria harbor, where the british and us navy docked in the post-WWII era. since. the streets by the harbor became the first foreigner hangout spots, but quickly became hong kong's famous red-light district. nowadays, despite the rampant prostitution business, there are still a few down-to-earth bars with live bands (a drastic contrast to Lan Kwai Fung's pretentious and exclusive clubs), still frequented by foreigners, mainly australian and british expats.

on this particular night, a filipino band is performing a series of songs from the 80s and 90s, mainly catering to the british and australian crowd. avril lavigne, green day, blink 182. the bar is packed and the crowd is jumping and dancing to the music. it barely feels like hong kong.