Valentine’s Day can get pretty stale if you follow the tradition of chocolates and a set course meal, year after year. Whether you’re celebrating with a particular significant other or having a get-together with single friends, these alternate celebrations will let you take it up a notch in 2019.
1. Get into the great outdoors
For the adventurous ones, disconnect to reconnect by kayaking around one of the most beautiful parts of Hong Kong – the inner islands of Shelter Bay from Sai Kung beach. You’ll paddle 10 kilometres, snorkel over coral reefs, cruise through mangroves and then head to a deserted beach to relax. This tour will set you up with a double kayak for your adventure, a picnic lunch and snacks during the day as well as an experienced guide to show you the way. They’ll even help you take happy snaps so you can capture the memories. Get paddling!
Sea Kayak Hong Kong
2. Vino Valentine
Host a private wine tasting session in the comfort of your own home with a professional French sommelier. The sommelier will test your knowledge with wine games while you sip on sparkling wine. The piece de resistance is the tasting itself – and if you pay close enough attention, you might even be able to use your newly acquired knowledge to impress at your next dinner party.
Spoilt Experience Gifts
3. Get cultural
Why not soak up some history with your love? Head to the Hong Kong Maritime Museum to marvel at silver tableware and painted porcelain at The Dragon and the Eagle: American Traders in China, A century of trade from 1784 to 1900 exhibition. Or explore beautiful woodcarvings at the Hong Kong Museum of History’s Gilded Glory: Chaozhou Woodcarving exhibition. And don’t miss the Bruce Lee: Kung Fu Art Life exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum!
Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
4. Zen out
If you are looking for mindfulness, a gong bath is the perfect way to spend your V Day. Head to Wong Chuk Hang to set your intention for your relationship or for yourself before being bathed in the hypnotic sounds of meditation gongs. The gongs are said to move a positive life force through your body, rebalance your energy and leave you feeling rejuvenated and healed. Don’t believe it? Give it a go; the worst that can happen is you’ll walk out feeling like you’ve had the best nap of your life.
Red Doors Studio
5. Foodie love
If it’s a foodie fete you’re after, skip the packed restaurants and go for the intimacy of a private kitchen. Some of Hong Kong’s best kept culinary secrets can be found in home kitchens across the city. Head to the Plate Culture website or download the app to search for a private or semi-private dining experience by cuisine, date or district. From Polish cuisine to Malaysian, wow your Valentine or your crew with a trip to a far flung kitchen for a dining experience like no other.
Plate Culture
6. Movie buffs unite
Buck the trend of romance films and head to the Hong Kong Arts Centre instead to watch a documentary and learn about what makes us go crazy for love. In Sleepless in New York of The Tectonics of Humanity - Christian Frei Documentary Film Retrospective, “real stories of soul-crushing lovesickness are explored by an anthropologist, and we ride the exciting rollercoaster of frensied nights of nightmares and yearnings.” Just add popcorn!
Hong Kong Arts Centre
7. Mirror, mirror
Want to know what the future holds? Head to the Temple Street Night Market to visit a fortune teller and find out what lies ahead…if you dare. The fortune tellers at the market use various methods to figure out your future, including a look at your hands, ears, feet and Chinese astrology. And if things don’t go the way you planned, all is not lost. You’re close to some of the best egg waffles in town – and that’s got to be a good consolation for any misfortune.
Temple Street Night Market, Jordan MTR Station Exit A