What does lemon tea and a cock ring have in common? Well, both are now readily available in vending machines in Hong Kong. Along with a whole host of gadgets and sexual wellness products, Cheung Kong Center’s CKC18 supermarket now includes a vending machine that is part of Watson’s attempt at lifting the taboo of sexual pleasure. With 50 products on hand, you’ve got the choice of Smile Makers vibrators, which take form in the men of your fantasies, a selection of lubes and even items for the aftermath – a pregnancy test.
It takes the embarrassment you might feel out of snagging some condoms under the watchful eye of the 711 teller, however as Time Out reported on their visit: “The machine remained unused on the occasions when we visited Cheung Kong Center may indicate that even if people are open to buying sex toys, they still shy away from making the transaction in the open, where they risk bumping into friends or colleagues.”
Similar machines have become staples across countries like Japan and America, but Hong Kong still lags behind when it comes to embracing the carnal side of human nature – that being said the 18+ adult only carnival was hosted at the Central Harbourfront earlier this year, but not without drawing criticisms. As Hong Kong battles to be less prudish, we can only wonder if sexual indulgence will continue to rear its head or be banished back to the back rooms of Wanchai.