Clubs, Pubs & Places of ill
repute.
Pubs come in 2 basic types, the
small English style Neighbourhood Pub (although some are sports oriented) and
the large beer halls. The latter are often also strip joints. The
odd thing about Vancouver is that you are not considered a
pervert, if you frequent these. The girls take absolutely
everything off, by the way. Some are becoming quite upscale, such
as the Cecil at the north end of the Granville bridge. Some of
them also have ladies nights with male strippers (isn't that
disgusting?). Apparently, they get very rowdy. You can usually
spot these, by the large male crowd hanging around outside,
hoping to get lucky when they all come out. By the way, if you are American, note that Canadian beer has a
higher alcohol content than American. The drinking driving limit
in BC is 0.08% blood alcohol and penalties are severe. The
micro-brewery pub scene has not yet taken off in Vancouver, as it
has in Seattle. Legal drinking age in Vancouver is 19 years old.
You will likely be asked for ID if you are around that age. Legal
drinking age varies by Province in Canada.
As of January 1st, 2000, new legislation
prohibited smoking in any restaurant, bar, pub or any other
public building for that matter. It was later defeated in court,
but there are still heavy restrictions on smoking, and several
bars found their business increased when there were no smokers,
and have kept the rule. Even the ones that restrict smokers often
have heated outdoor areas where they can smoke. The exceptions are the two cafes
listed below (pot cafes).
Being the ripe old age of 53, I'm no longer
into the Club scene, but I hear it has become quite active over
the last few years. There are some links below. For those of you
into the more fringe stuff, such as cross dressing, I have also
provided a link to a website that would probably interest you
(non porn). Clubs range from Rave, Techno, etc. to Jazz and
Country Clubs.
Karaoke Bars are best avoided,
especially those located in the East End. They are often hangouts
for Asian gangs and there have been some ugly incidents.
There is also a new web site that seems to
cater to the party scene in Vancouver (VancouverParty.com). Not
quite sure which direction it is headed in, but a link is in the
Misc. table near the page bottom.
Tune in, Turn on & Drop Out:
There are two Marijuana Cafes in Vancouver that I know of, almost right next
to each other. The "New Amsterdam"
is at 301 West Hastings and "Blunt Brothers"
is at 317 West Hastings. This is the area where Gastown merges into Skid Row.
These are the only establishments of their type in North America. Are they
legal? No. Do the police turn a blind eye to them? Yes. Occasionally, I have
heard the police pay them a visit and it's amusing watching all the Americans in
there, scatter in 4 directions. I have never visited either establishment,
despite the fact I'm an old pothead from the 60's (I don't do it anymore, and I
didn't inhale when I did).
