Bar culture is different all around the world, but every nation seems to have its own version
of the local watering hole.
Here in the United States, bars are ubiquitous with night life, and can range from seedy,
local dives, to high-end cocktail lounges where power meetings take place.
In the movies, bars are where fights happen, people hook up, and shady business goes down-
but what is it really like to go to a bar all alone?
Once more we're turning this important scientific question to your favorite- and our least,
but slowly increasing in importance- writer, as we challenge him to go to three different
bars all alone.
Day 1: Ok, so this is definitely a different type of challenge.
I read and re-read my email, even asked for a confirmation, and yep, it seems I'm just
supposed to go to a bar all alone and record my evening.
I was expecting a twist, because let's face it, there's always a twist, but everything
seems normal.
I don't have to go dressed as a woman, I don't have to go wearing my pants on my head and
my shirt on my legs, and I don't have to go and drink the strongest liquor in the world
and see what happens- all perfectly plausible things one should expect whenever The Infographics
show presents them with a new challenge to undertake.
Instead, I just have to go to three different bars and record my observations and experiences,
and I have to go all alone of course.
I've never really been a 'bar guy', and I don't drink much in my regular life.
The one exception is when me, the girlfriend, and our mutual friends do a night out in Korea
Town here in Los Angeles and do our best to drink all the Soju currently stocked at every
karaoke bar we come across.
If you've never drank Soju before, it's basically rice liquor that's sort of like vodka but
incredibly smooth.
It's so smooth that it's easy to over drink, so if you ever get invited to a korean bar
and are offered Soju, drink it with caution- trust me, I'm speaking from years of experience
here.
Anyways, this challenge will be interesting I suppose, because I've never really gone
to a bar alone, and I definitely didn't go when I was single looking to hook up, so in
a way I don't really know what bar culture is all about.
Guess it'll be a learning experience for both you, the dear audience, and me.
The rules are simple, I have to be at each bar by 8 pm and stay until 2 am when they
close, because Los Angeles is a city of party poopers and bars close early here.
Six hours, with all my drinks covered by The Infographics Show's tab, I'm suspicious but
this sounds kind of easy?
See you guys tomorrow morning, I'll be hitting up my first bar tonight and writing my notes
in the AM.
Bar 1: So this first bar turned out to be a kind of run down local dive bar on the fringes
of Los Angeles.
The interior was pretty unremarkable except for the head of a giant boar stuffed and hung
on the wall, which was kind of cool.
There was a jukebox- yes, a real, live jukebox- two pool tables, and a bunch of tables to
sit on as well as the bar itself.
No booths though, and it looked like the floor was only swept once every three months.
Hygiene here was clearly not a priority, and I don't even want to talk about the biohazard
zone that the bathroom was.
I guess this is the kind of place that you picture criminal figures congregating in and
doing shady business, or where fights break out and people get smashed over the head with
beer bottles.
To be honest, I was picturing my evening turning out a bit like Road House, one of Patrick
Swayze's greatest films.
By the way, let's take a time out here to say that if you've never seen Road House,
you need to seriously rethink your life priorities.
Anyways, my night was relatively uneventful, and sadly there were no Road House-esque style
brawls that broke out.
One of the bartenders, an Australian girl by the name of Lucy, was friendly enough-
but not in the fake, flirty friendly that she was with all the regular customers.
I guess being a new face made her curious about who I was and what I was doing there,
and it makes sense she turns on the charm for the old-timers who she can pump for fat
tips.
Let's take another brief timeout and have a serious word with the guys in the audience
now: waitresses and bartenders get paid to be nice to you.
Just thought you should know that, because judging by how many times guys try to hit
on these girls, it's clear somebody's not getting clued in here.
About the only notable occurrence of the night was a very old man whom in retrospect, I'm
guessing was suffering from some mild and undiagnosed mental illness.
He was very suspicious about who I was and what I was doing there, and kept questioning
me.
I told him I was a writer working on a piece about bars in Los Angeles, and he kept eyeballing
me the whole night like I was a secret CIA agent.
Lucy told me he's a regular and he's always like that with new people.
Everybody else though was pretty chill, and mostly just kept to themselves or their small
groups.
People stayed a long time though, nursing drinks and either sitting alone watching the
tv, listening to music, or talking to a friend.
Most of the crowd, save for Lucy and I, were older, and it was interesting to see that
very few of them messed on their phones.
People my age seem to never get off their phones, and yet I hardly saw a single person
texting or checking their phone for more than a minute or two.
Just a bunch of people living in the moment- though that moment was pretty much doing nothing.
First night turned out pretty uneventful, and you know what, local dive bars may seem
seedy and have a bad reputation, but chill little spots like this can be kind of a nice
place to unwind.
Bar 2: If night one was uneventful, that's only because life was saving the excitement
for night two.
This second bar turned out to be a upscale, popular spot in downtown Los Angeles on top
of one of the skyscrapers.
The view was incredible, and so were the drink prices so I'm glad that Infographics was picking
up the tab- though I'm not sure how they're going to react to my expense report...
I'm not kidding when I say the drinks were expensive.
This was in every way a complete opposite of the previous night's bar, and instead of
looking worn down, old, and kind of... well, sad, this place was sleek, clean, and ultra-modern.
To get to it you first had to go through the lobby of the building and take an elevator
up past a burly bouncer checking Ids.
I noticed he was doing more than checking Ids though, he was checking people as well.
I've seen this before- I've hit up a few clubs with the girlfriend and our friends before
and these guys are supposed to make sure that a good ratio of men and women both fill the
place up.
Can't have too many men or too many women, a nice ratio is important to encourage people
to keep coming back.
Typically single guys are dead-on-arrival at these places though, so I was surprised
when I got past the bouncer and got allowed up, made me wonder if Infographics had something
to do with this, and just how far does their influence really go?!
At the top of the building the view was incredible, I could see LA spread out in all directions
like a giant carpet made of light.
The bar had an interior section and and outdoor patio, so I decided I'd spend half the night
indoors and the other half outdoors At the main bar there were three bartenders because
the place was so busy, and I ordered a gin and tonic and immediately got offered a selection
of gins that made my head spin.
I didn't even know there were that many companies that made gin.
I randomly named a brand and got my G&T, and then sat back alone to watch and observe.
The place was full of pretty upscale people, who were almost all... well, very good looking.
Not gonna lie, it made me feel a little bit better that I got past the bouncer downstairs
after realizing that.
Most of all though, people looked like they had money, and with $24 drinks I guess they
would need to in order to chill up here.
It wasn't long, maybe twenty minutes or so, before a very beautiful girl approached me
and sat down next to me.
She ordered herself a drink and then began to make small talk.
It took me a moment, but then it hit me like a mac truck- this girl was a prostitute, or
in these parts, better known as an escort.
I knew it right away because years and years ago I used to work security on the Vegas strip,
and I got to know everything about how these women operate, even had to arrest a few myself
for getting violent.
This time though I was the John, and the experience was immediately surreal.
I decided to play dumb and kind of go with it, this after all was part of the challenge,
right?
Because I know how escorts operate, I knew she would try to clinch the deal as fast as
possible- for these women time is money- but I knew that first she would observe me to
see if I was even worth the trouble, and to make sure I wasn't law enforcement.
We talked for a few minutes and she asked me a lot about myself, which is of course,
part of the game- when they ask Johns about themselves it makes them feel special and
important.
Then she asked if I wasn't going to offer to buy her a drink, to which I said no, because
I don't buy women's attention with drinks.
She was shocked for a moment, and then kind of laughed.
I had meant it as code, to warn her that I wasn't going to pay for her services, but
also it's true- even when I was single the few times I did go to bars or clubs I refused
to buy women drinks unless I had brought that person with me.
We talked some more, and a surprising thing happened- she figured out I wasn't going to
pay for her time, and that I was there for something else entirely.
I spilled the beans about my job and we talked for a half hour, swapping stories.
There's a lot of stereotypes about these kind of women, but turns out that they can be quite
normal and friendly even.
We said goodbye after a while, because she did have a job to do after all, but I kept
catching her eye as she hunted for potential Johns and we'd both laugh.
That would've been a great way to end the evening, an interesting experience with a
bit of a heartwarming ending.
But of course, these challenge episodes are never that simple, are they?
I feel like The Infographics Show has a deal with a devil somewhere, and this devil manipulates
fate to put me in terrible and awkward positions every chance it can for the sake of entertainment.
So at around midnight I decided to try the outdoors, and immediately went back inside,
because it turns out that when you're thousands of feet up in the air and it's late at night,
it's damn cold outside.
I went back to the bar and not long after I got back, another woman approached me.
This one however, was wearing a wedding ring, which immediately set off a new set of alarm
bells.
She asked if I'd like to buy her a drink, and of course I refused again, though this
new woman didn't think it was as funny as the girl earlier.
Then I pointed out her wedding ring and asked if her husband would like to buy her that
drink.
She smiled at this and looked over her shoulder, then pointed out her husband sitting on the
opposite end of the lounge by himself.
It turns out that there's a whole secret night life culture in places like this, where single
men go to bars and sit alone- and while typically they may be there to score a working girl,
other guys are there to signal their interest, and availability in something else entirely.
To make a very long story short, this woman was there to score one of these guys, and
The Infographics Show is a family friendly show so I'm just going to say that her husband
enjoys seeing his wife being very friendly with other men.
I naturally declined, and spent the rest of my night wishing the clock would move faster,
though an hour later- it happened again.
Ok.
Now I get it, this is why Infographics picked this bar.
Well played.
Bar 3: I can't write much about Bar 3, because my night did not last very long at all.
If Bar 2 was kind of crazy, Bar 3 was completely off the rails insane.
This time I was off to the outskirts of Beverly Hills, and immediately I knew the night was
going to be... interesting.
Turns out Bar 3 was a very popular drag bar, and let me be clear about this: there is a
difference between a gay bar and a drag bar.
Yes, drag bars feature men who dress up like very outlandish and over-the-top women, and
while some are gay, not all are.
Also, women dress in drag as well at these places, some are straight, some are not.
Drag bars are a chaotic, insane, extremely high-energy, and kind of weirdly wonderful
places full of every different type of person you can think of.
Immediately I got snatched up by a group of queens who spotted me from a mile away- probably
because I was dressed very normal in a place where most people had at least thirty minutes
worth of hair and makeup work.
I got pummeled with questions until I spilled the beans about why I was there, because apparently
I was sticking out like a sore thumb.
They promised to take me under their wing, and you know what- I had an absolute blast.
Bar 1 was kind of relaxing and low key, Bar 2 was... weird and kind of uncomfortable,
but Bar 3, which was outlandish, insane, and completely over-the-top in every possible
way, was the funnest night out I've had in years.
The place featured a runway which encouraged anyone dressed up in drag to hop up and strut
their stuff, and this in turn would lead to them challenging others to beat their strut,
until the evening turned into a fashion show where all the clothes and makeup looked like
Willy Wonka had thrown an LSD-themed party.
I even got thrown up there myself, despite being in normal clothes, which in this place
pretty much made me the weirdo, and you know what- I strut my stuff and I had a blast.
Then suddenly my night was over, because the next thing I remember is being helped to the
front door by two of my new drag queen friends, who handed me over to my very bewildered girlfriend.
I'm pretty sure I only bought one round of drinks, because the whole night everybody
kept buying everybody else drinks, and they did not stop.
I think I drank enough Lemon Drops and Jello shots to kill a small horse, because shortly
after getting home I puked a rainbow into the bathtub.
Let me tell you, if you think frat guys or soccer hooligans are hardcore drinkers- you're
wrong, because these queens will drink you under the table and still be sober enough
to put on the most amazing impromptu fashion show you've ever seen.
Also, I can't stress this enough, these were some of the nicest and most generous people
I've ever hung out with.
There it is, challenge complete.
Three bars in three nights, and I gotta tell you, I kind of had a blast with this one.
I plan on going back to Bar 3 sometime, because I honestly had a lot of fun, but I couldn't
make it a regular thing- mostly because I don't want to die of alcohol poisoning.
Got another amazing challenge idea for our guinea pig to explore?
Let us know on our website, and as usual if you enjoyed this video check out one of our
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