Its OK To Say Hey

What is it about some bars that make them sleazy pick-up joints? And what is it about others that make them really cruisy and fun? Is it merely the crowd present at any given time, the atmosphere at the venue or a mixture of both? Whatever it is, Hotel Chambers does it well on a Friday night. I recently had the opportunity to check it out and I had a great time.

This downstairs lounge bar is a place for the corporate suits to sit back and schmooze during the week but every Friday night around ten, they pump up some Latin beats and it turns into one of the most happening salsa clubs in town. The dance floor is packed with people shaking it for all they’re worth and I can tell you that its gets hot in more ways than one. Unlike some other places I’ve been though, its also really friendly.

Not everyone there actually dances. There are those people who go only to watch or grab a drink or two and just catch up with friends. It occasionally takes a while to get to the bar but its not as if these nothing to look at while you wait. And then there are the dancers. If you’re that way inclined, there is ample opportunity to strut your stuff and burn the floor. You may even make some new friends.

I actually ended up dancing with four or five different guys that night, all of whom I had never met before. They simply asked me if I’d like to dance and then proceeded to throw me round the floor in the best possible way. It wasn’t cheap or sordid and I never felt as though these guys were just trying to crack on to me. Dancing salsa, you tend to grant your partners a little more liberty with your person than you would normally anyway but I never felt uncomfortable. And that was the thing that really struck me about the night.

Too many times you go out and see people that you wish you could talk to. Ok, so you might also want to pick them up but at the very least, you’d like to actually speak to them too. We seem to spend a lot of time worrying however, that we’ll be knocked back or ignored and basically embarrassed. Although I’m as guilty as the next person in this respect for chickening out of approaching people, I don’t think it has to be this way. I think maybe if we all got more practice actually talking to people it might be easier to get to know them.

So now I just have to remember my own advice. Next time I go out and I see someone or make eye contact with them, I should maybe think about saying hello for a change. A smile is the same in any language and it should always be ok to say ‘hey’.