Hello! Can you believe it’s August? By the time August comes round, it also marks the point where I’m ready to be done with summer. (For those who don’t live in Hong Kong, summers here ranges from late May to September/October.) I’m just not much of a summer person. To me, any season is better than summer, but my favourite is spring! Anyway, while I spend my days waiting for fall/winter, now seemed like a good time to share a little exploring I did back in the spring in PoHo, a neighbourhood in Sheung Wan that is constantly referred to as the “hipster” side of Hong Kong.

I’m not a fan of using the word “hipster”, because these days, it seems like everything is conveniently categorised as “hipster” to the point where I’m starting to wonder what it even means anymore. With that said, PoHo is not a neighbourhood I’m familiar with, so I claim no expertise on its “hipster” status.

Personally, I enjoyed wandering around PoHo. It was artsy, scattered with a mix of (expensive) cafes, little boutiques and overall, it had its own quiet charm. If you’re looking for something a little different to explore in Hong Kong, PoHo might be what you’re looking for.

My wandering started around here, near the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, which is that building on the right in the photo above. While taking some pictures, my sister and I spotted this guy walking five adorable dogs.. and then later finding out that this was WE5, a photography project where the owner of the dogs takes them for a walk around the PoHo area daily and invites people to take a photo with his friendly dogs! (You can check them out here: Facebook / Instagram)

A WE5 photoshoot in action! Look how everyone is obsessing over the dogs! ;)

I didn’t try any cafes or eateries in the neighbourhood but I definitely did spot quite a few of them while strolling around. Most of them were on the pricier side though. However, the neighbourhood has a relaxed and quiet vibe, so the cafes in PoHo might be a good place to spend a quiet afternoon.

Speaking of cafes, there was this extremely popular one called Teakha with people sitting inside, outside and even spilling out onto the street area beside the cafe! An earlier picture above with people sitting around on grass patches was snapped outside Teakha.

My sister and I actually spotted this view of Teakha and it’s customers from above first, before wandering down to take a look. Here’s a quick video I couldn’t help but capture on my phone because there was even someone singing on that day. It was such a warm and breezy spring day and I thought that entire scene just captured the vibe of spring which I like so much. :)

I mentioned earlier that I found PoHo artsy. Part of the reason I explored PoHo was because my sister wanted to check out some street art from HKwalls that was in the neighbourhood. Before we even got to see the street art, we spotted two people sitting on the stairs next to the Museum of Medical Sciences with a sketchpad, sketching the street view in front of them! (Doesn’t sound much like Hong Kong does it?) It was quite interesting for me to notice that because it’s just something that I so rarely see in Hong Kong.

For more street art in PoHo, you can check out my sister’s post here! (P.S. I am not good at directions, but you can also check out my sister’s post for her suggested route of getting to PoHo!)

We also spotted a couple taking wedding pictures with the street art which is such a fun and creative idea!

I think PoHo isn’t totally suited for my personal taste, but I can imagine that this may be a lovely neighbourhood to hang out in for its artsy and creative vibe and its quiet, slower paced charm. It’s a neighbourhood with fresher air, less people and less cars, a great getaway or a peaceful side of Hong Kong worth exploring!