Last year, while trekking 4,000 metres above sea level in Nepal, travel writer and restaurateur Fred Lam was on a call negotiating the lease for a tong lau in Hong Kong’s Cheung Sha Wan neighbourhood.
“My girlfriend passed by the building and saw a tiny A4 paper that said ‘for rent’ ... She said it was the tong lau of her dreams,” the 45-year-old recalled. “When she told me the price, I realised maybe this could actually work.”
This was not Lam’s first attempt at turning his love for travel into a tangible space.
During the pandemic, he and his partner opened Lonely Paisley – a cosy culture hub and restaurant with globally inspired dishes. But the space was cramped, and Lam had long dreamed of opening a travel-themed bookshop.
Last December, that dream became Thirsty: a five-storey building where each floor tells a different story. The ground-floor Turkish-style cafe, I’m Thirsty, flows into the second-floor bookshop, Thirsty for the Unknown. Upstairs, a multipurpose space, loft and rooftop host events gathering Hongkongers around the theme of travel.
From February to April, the space held up to 20 events each month: discussions on travel, book club gatherings, film screenings, community running groups and more.
“My idea of a perfect bookstore is quite old-school. It’s a place where people and books can find each other,” Lam said. “I hope this place can be a gathering point ... for people to connect, both intellectually and emotionally.”
Thirsty for the unknown
The owner explained that the name “Thirsty” represented a longing for knowledge, experience and action. Lam manages the bookshop, while his partner runs the cafe.
“Many people who love reading and travelling – whether they’re backpackers or book lovers – dream of opening a cafe, a bar, a hostel or a bookstore. I was lucky,” Lam said. “In this one building, I got to fulfil three of those wishes.”
“My ideal is for this place to be somewhere couples can hang out for a few hours, see an exhibition [and] have a coffee. I want it to be a one-stop spot.”
While running a bookshop in Hong Kong is a risky venture with almost no financial reward, Lam believes in its deeper value: a bookstore gives a space its soul.
“Books give a sense of life ... It’s about substance. If someone wants to learn, they can actually find real knowledge here,” he said.
“Honestly, I don’t have high expectations for book sales. If the bookstore can just earn enough to pay our staff, I’ll already be satisfied.”
Bookstore helps locals quench their thirst for knowledge about Hong Kong
While the shop owner admitted they had not yet broken even, one big advantage they have is space.
Lam hopes that revenue from renting out the event space and the cafe can help cover other costs. He shared about an event where a school library club brought 30 students for a book talk, and each student was given money to buy a book.
Shelves in Thirsty for the Unknown include books on travel philosophy, travel writing and guidebooks.
They also stock titles involving travel-related interests, such as hiking, running, cycling, food, architecture, art and museums. Another section focuses on helping people explore and understand Hong Kong’s history, geography and culture. There is also a spiritual section with books about religion and mindfulness.
One corner of the shop features hand-picked souvenirs, such as Turkish jewellery and Nepalese incense.
“We can’t stock every book,” he said. “But my hope is that people walk in and feel the curation is thoughtful. If someone loves to travel, they’ll find books that suit their interests, maybe even discover something unexpected.”
The meaning of travel
Over three decades of travel, Lam has visited over 100 countries. In 1996, after finishing Form Five, Lam left Hong Kong alone for the first time to spend a year travelling in Australia.
“Looking back, travel to me meant being like a sponge,” he said. “I was thrown into a completely unfamiliar world and just absorbed everything. I was totally clueless – just soaking it all in.”
Over time, he embraced the life of a backpacker, going on long journeys and experimenting with different ways of travelling, such as volunteering, cycling, hiking and writing.
After spending two years travelling the world while writing, he returned to Hong Kong and launched a travel agency to guide others on their journeys abroad.
“To me, the meaning of travel is always evolving. It’s a constantly shifting mode of life,” he said.
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Lam is now working on a book chronicling his three decades on the road.
“I’m planning to write a book this year because next year marks 30 years since I began my journey,” he said.
But ever since opening Thirsty, he has cut back on his tours abroad and is channelling the spirit of exploration into his local initiatives.
One project includes organising walking tours in Hong Kong, including one that explores deaths and crimes in Cheung Sha Wan.
He is also focused on developing Thirsty as a way to expand his definition of what it means to travel.
“This place brings me a lot of satisfaction,” Lam said. “If it can become the only travel-themed bookstore in Hong Kong and a unique space, that would be incredibly fulfilling ... It’s all part of the journey.”
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Stop and think: What is the purpose of each floor in Thirsty, and why has this venture fulfilled Lam’s wishes?
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Why this story matters: As many Hong Kong shops struggle to stay open amid a tough economy, Fred Lam’s work with Thirsty shows the importance of dedication and creativity to build meaningful spaces that bring people together.
