Hongkongers seeking information, like-minded friends or simply to vent their spleen are catered to in abundance online. David Wilson compiles a list of the top 20 local websites. Illustration by Steve Yau.
Jun 08, 2008 South China Morning Post
In keeping with the buzz on its streets, Hong Kong has a humming presence on the Web. The city’s digital suburbs have many interesting drawcards – biting satire, an engaging community, investment advice with a twist, even pretty pictures.
Consider the following list of top Hong Kong websites as a public service, saving residents and visitors the hassle of wandering aimlessly around cyberspace. The sites featured below either have high online traffic or content that is engrossing, amusing, daring or that simply makes life easier. Bloggers are heavily represented in this list, thanks partly to volume. Jennifer McLean, a spokeswoman for the blog search engine site Technorati, says the internet hosts 2,000 Hong Kong-tagged English-language blogs.
20. Hong Kong Disneyland (www.hongkongdisneyland.com)
Some detractors call Disneyland “Mauschwitz”, in a nod to the amusement park’s intense aura of order. This site pitches the world’s fifth Disneyland park, which opened in Hong Kong in 2005, as the place where dreams come true in a climate of “infinite fun and non-stop action”. Believers can book their tickets directly through this portal. But beware, the site positively showers the visitor in fairy dust.
19. Mister Bijou (misterbijou.blogspot.com)
Bijou means “jewel” in French. It’s also the name of a gin-based cocktail. The reason for the site’s quaint name must be its quirky content. Mister Bijou is light bedtime reading, or rather, viewing of “a little island in the South China Sea”. This pictorial blog dishes up Hong Kong street-life vignettes, with subjects such as raindrops pinging into puddles.
18. Hong Kong Airport Shuttle (www.hongkongairportshuttle.com)
This no-frills portal may seem an odd choice but some of the best websites are not especially fancy. They just do a vital job well. The shuttle site offers an online reservation service to and from the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.
17. Hong Kong Crawler (www.hongkongcrawler.com)
This search engine and business directory portal yields sharper results than simply tapping the search string “Hong Kong” into a generic engine. To focus on a particular island or zip code, enlist the local-search function. If you want to continue mining the local seam, download the Hong Kong Crawler toolbar or widget for free.
16. Discover Hong Kong (www.discoverhongkong.com)
Official tourism guides often amount to marketing exercises that may prompt the reader to shun featured destinations. In contrast, the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s effort is bright, inviting and innovative. Take the food section, which dishes up information on “tea culture” and the city’s reputation as a “gourmet paradise”.
15. Web Wednesday (www.webwednesday.hk)
More than just a hub for tech talk, Web Wednesday serves as a forum for anyone involved in the online social-networking industry. The site is run by the indefatigable Napoleon Biggs, an internet entrepreneur and sinologist. It blends the geeky with the polemic and includes a video clip on nationalism and how the Chinese and outsiders see the Middle Kingdom.
14. Zorpia (www.zorpia.com)
Zorpia is an alternative to social-networking sites such as Friendster and MySpace, and offers free photo sharing and blogging. Although those services are nothing new, the local slant means you can actually meet the people you ping in the real world and befriend them. Let’s face it, who needs digital “friends” in Alaska anyway?
13. Xanga (www.xanga.com)
A rival of Zorpia, Xanga offers a community in which you can start a free blog, share photos and videos, make friends and debate. Look for engaging user blogs addressing issues ranging from the Sichuan earthquake to whether men and women can be “just friends”.
12. Lamma (www.lamma.com.hk)
This citizen’s forum presents stories and photos from the island’s “intriguing, interesting” inhabitants. The site reminds us there is more to Hong Kong than legions of careerist go-getters. It also explores the antics of pagans, topless sunbathers and all kinds of “ferals”.
11. Glutter (glutter.rsfblog.org)
This site’s name is a fusion of the words “glitter” and “gutter”. But gossip is just one side of the blog. The author, Yan, was enlisted by Reporters Without Borders – a Paris-based non-government organisation advocating press freedom – for his honesty in writing about politics. The content is hard-hitting but the presentation could be sharper.
10. Hongkie Town (laowai.blogspot.com)
This blog will appeal to voyeurs, as it documents the ravings of an expat American in the city. Hongkie Town addresses issues such as dinner with the ex-wife, “unusually bad bar experiences” and corporate drudgery.
9. Batgung (www.batgung.com)
Batgung could use more visual oomph. The blue-and-white generic typeface wears thin. Still, the photos are good and the writing keenly focused. Not to be missed is the “Uniquely Hong Kong” section.
8. Ordinary Gweilo (ordinarygweilo.typepad.com)
Due to the lack of an editor, Ordinary Gweilo’s grammar can be slapdash. Nonetheless, the articles are fearless and make other media columnists look timid.
7. The Underground (www.undergroundhk.com)
Developed in 2004 in response to the lack of live music venues in Hong Kong, the Underground is devoted to the diverse local music scene. It offers gig listings, information about home-grown bands and CD reviews.
6. Big White Guy (www.bigwhiteguy.com)
This site is just as punchy as Glutter but on a street level. One typically controversial post opens with the assertion that most beggars are conmen. The writer, known as Randall, is a Canadian photographer who lives in the New Territories. In his “contact” section, he writes: “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, provided you aren’t weird.” And he is true to his word.
5. aNobii (www.anobii.com)
This Facebook for bookworms has as clean an interface as you will find on the Web. Navigating aNobii is a case of type, click and whoosh! It is a platform for sharing reviews and recommendations and befriending like-minded readers.
4. Hong Kong Outdoors (www.hkoutdoors.com) Describing the city as a “many-splendoured place”, this portal whisks the reader on a tour of heritage trails, waterfall pools and secluded ravines – without degenerating into a brochure. One feature describes Hong Kong Wetland Park as “weird but not wonderful”.
3. Cloudless (cloudless.net/blog)
Proving that websites need not deploy interactive Web 2.0 gimmickry, Cloudless – which was devised by a photographer named Sunny in 1999 – serves up pictur
es of Hong Kong in the form of a visual diary. Alluringly dream-like, some shots depict landscapes dramatised by stark natural light. Others show pets from peculiar perspectives that give the images impact. Still others highlight strange signs.
2. Hemlock’s Diary (www.geocities.com/hkhemlock/papers.html)
Proving you do not need fancy software to write a blog, Hemlock’s Diary is produced on that dinosaur Web platform Geocities. It spreads an expat’s remorselessly provocative views. Nobody is safe from Hemlock’s brand of poison, not even former SCMP columnist and current undersecretary for the environment Kitty Poon Kit. Hemlock claims she sees the same hair stylist used by the punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees.
1. Bullpoo (www.bullpoo.com)
Dubbed “World of Warcraft meets Wall Street”, Bullpoo is an investment advisory site. It enables users to make risk-free simulated investments in an online role-playing game setup. The name sums up the clever concept: it suggests a bull market but it also keys into a Zen saying that warns when you speculate from afar, a prospect may look like gold but prove to be dung upon closer inspection.
Ordinary Gweilo 