The entire premise of the film Lost in Translation is based on jetlag: the haze it puts you under and the hard-to-break cycle of insomnia by night followed by crushing sleepiness during the day. But don’t feel imprisoned in a hotel bar like the movie characters. Get out, enjoy the rare quietness of Hong Kong and pass the time with these activities, available any time of the night or day.

SAMPAN RIDES

For a midnight adventure around Hong Kong's rocky shores, fishing boats and sparkling skyline, hail a sampan from the Aberdeen waterfront. Be prepared to haggle – a boat seating eight should cost less than $100 for a 40-minute excursion. Sampan operators ply their trade throughout the night and can take you on a tour of the Aberdeen typhoon shelter or further out. For many visitors, a night-time sea journey in a tiny boat is the highlight of their trip to Hong Kong.

BEACHES AND PARKS

Hong Kong’s beaches are generally safe and no one is going to stop you from lazing on the empty sands under the night sky. Most small parks throughout the city don’t close either, and starting around 6am, elderly people arrive to get their morning exercise, which might be a leisurely stroll or group tai chi sessions, sometimes with swords. Sit back and be mesmerised by the slow movements or join in.

KARAOKE BARS

It’s a favourite local pastime, belting pop songs and playing drinking games with friends in individual rooms charged by the hour. Songs are mostly in Cantonese and Mandarin, with a sprinkling of Japanese, Korean and English tunes. Karaoke establishments are open throughout the night, and they serve notoriously mediocre food and drinks. Although not quite 24 hours, CEO Neway (2-8 Sugar Street, Causeway Bay) stays open until 5.45am and is a more upmarket place for “K”, as the locals say. Each room has its own bathroom, Wii gaming console and a wide song selection.

HOTEL FACILITIES

Your hotel might be the most convenient and comfortable solution to late-night boredom. If your hotel has a gym, check if it’s open 24 hours. Getting some cardio is never a bad idea, and it might help you fall asleep. Fitness centres are open around the clock at the InterContinental Hotel, the Langham Hotel and JW Marriott, to name a few. But of course, you’ll have to be a guest of the hotel to use its gym. Some hotel lounges are also open all day and all night; otherwise, consider ordering a late night snack from room service.

LATE NIGHT FOOD

If you'd rather eat out, 7-Eleven and Circle K stores are open night and day, as are several supermarkets, such as Causeway Bay’s Wellcome Superstore (25-29 Great George Street), and a Park ‘N’ Shop supermarket in Tsim Sha Tsui (8-10 Hankow Road). Nearly 100 McDonald’s branches never close their doors, or try these 24-hour restaurants and bars:

Tsui Wah
(15-19 Wellington Street, Central. Tel: 2525 6338)

Practically a Hong Kong institution, Tsui Wah is the automatic go-to for late-night munchies. The three-storey Central branch, just off Lan Kwai Fong, is packed with office workers during weekday lunch hours. But from dusk to dawn, the restaurant mostly receives hungry night birds leaving the nearby bars and clubs. The café serves a mishmash of western-influenced Chinese food with quick service and cramped seating. Perhaps because it is one of the few places offering decent food 24/7, celebrities are frequently sighted as they too clearly have nowhere better to go to satisfy those late-night cravings.

Flying Pan
(9 Old Bailey Street, Central. Tel: 2140 6333)

This casual eatery’s surroundings, reminiscent of an American diner with tiled tables, booth seating and bar stools, is conducive to lazy brunches with the Sunday paper. But Flying Pan’s all-day breakfast is literally served around the clock, along with pots of coffee to keep you up all night. The menu doesn’t stray far from western-style breakfast choices of eggs Benedict (a whopping 10 variations), omelettes, French toast, waffles, pancakes and cereal.

Insomnia
(38-44 D’Aguilar Street, Central. Tel: 2525 0957)

As its name implies, this bar caters to the sleepless. Resident cover bands play into the wee hours while customers squeeze on to the dance floor. Although just shy of 24-hour service, this Lan Kwai Fong bar outdoes its neighbours by keeping the party alive until 6am and reopening at 8am after a short cleanup, with breakfast ready for the hung-over. Lunch and dinner pub grub such as fish and chips, steaks and bangers, beans and mash are offered later.

The Bridge
(93-107 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai. Tel: 2865 5586)

Second only to Lan Kwai Fong, the bar scene in Wan Chai is similarly chaotic. The Bridge is one place you will find open if you are on the hunt for a drink at 4am. Both the bar and the kitchen operate 24 hours a day, so you can nosh on pizza and chicken wings as well as enjoy beers, cocktails and dancing through a jetlagged night.