Christmas Eve @ Lan Kwai Fong

In the ritzy business district that is Central, the L-shaped D'Aguilar and Lan Kwai Fong Streets make 90-degree angles to form the core of the nightlife hub in HK known as Lan Kwai Fong. And, as with all hip, happening places worldwide, the area has expanded since its inception, the opening of the first international restaurant by German-Canadian businessman, Allen Zeman, in the early 1980's. The famous LKF rectangle is now cradled by nearby Wyndham, Wing Wah, Wo On and Wellington Streets.

A hotspot renown for clubbing, drinking, and international cuisine, the streets of LKF on Christmas Eve saw such perfectly engineered crowd control that it seemed as though visitors had silently colluded with police to model a crowd control drill. With one-way only sidewalks, extensive barricades, and a strong police presence, one could only cross the street by walking all the way downhill only to walk up the opposite side. Inconvenient, but scenic - and no doubt an efficient solution in response to the trampling of approximately twenty New Years Eve revelers in the early 1990's.

Regularly frequented by expatriates & international students, this particular Christmas Eve, the super steep, sometimes cobblestone streets of LKF were teeming with revelers, deterred by neither the steep sloping streets, nor the massive crowds that had some patrons of local pubs and bars spilling into the streets. A special note for the ladies: Opt for low heels, unless you practice walking downhill in 4-inch heels while tipsy daily. (And I'm only being a little sarcastic here...I actually know someone who performs this balancing act superbly.)

And if you think the streets crowded, just wait until you get inside a club. We stopped in at Paparazzi, located on the fourth floor of the Onfem Tower (29 Wyndham St.), where you'll find the bar set aflame at regular intervals, and sweaty bodies packed at the rectangular bar, at the tables, on the dance floor, as well as in the open VIP area - in short, every square inch of a club on a middle floor of a building! While the music was good, the dance floor left something to be desired (i.e. personal space). The most refreshing thing about Paparazzi was leaving the club for fresh air & searching for some late night dining, another trademark of LKF.

The LFK area is home to a variety of international cuisines to please every palate, including Russian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Lebanese, French, Italian, and even Australian. And, in the true spirit of tourists, we opted for an authentic Chinese meal alfresco at the top of the hill, and took a walking tour through the crowded streets of Lan Kwai Fong before returning to the peacefulness of Whampoa Garden.