International Beer Day

Welcome all you thirsty souls to another rant that will end up with somebody among you not remembering tomorrow how they got home tonight (quite a long salutation, but this is Dubai where if its not the largest, biggest, longest, thickest or largest again, it just does not matter)

Yes its another Wednesday and the enthusiasm of many is certainly running high with the thought that they will be getting high this evening. We will get to that in a short while and get all the details out as to which watering hole we will be pursuing. But for now lets make a small announcement. I, the Beerman solemnly pledge not to vomit any more words in your inbox (*conditions apply...exception to the rule are Shetty, Aria ke Daddy, Dunga and all ex girlfriends). From now on all my thoughts, announcements and proposals will be posted on my blog that I have started. Tried to call it DABOW (Discover a Bar On Wednesday). Had a good ring to it, like dubao (pronounced du-bow which in hindi means to sink, da-bow in Hindi means to pressurise...well i thought it worked very well and aptly, but someone has already taken that name on the blog site and i couldn't be bothered looking elsewhere). So instead I have to call it Discover a Bar and the link to the site is http://dicoverabar.blogspot.com/. You'll can feel free to jump on board and post comments or just be a fan...I wont mind...

A bit on the weather, dusty and suffocating out here in Dubai. I myself am suffering from the flu (which my dad attributes to the constant mention of beer), but rest assured I will be there to provide all the wholesome entertainment you guys need (could make a career out of this)

Well went ahead and posted the last two mails up there. Will get the pics up soon from last week. I already have a follower as well. So am very proud of my good start. Well the follower is keeping himself abreast of things and has done some research and found out that tonight is International Beer Day ( I know...I couldn't believe it myself, and its cool because the objective is very much similar to mine). For more on International Beer Day, you can start by looking the article up at this Indian tabloid paper. Here is the link http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/aug/050809-Beer-Day-Bangalore-news-Indian-pub-unnoticed.htm . SO this is all the more reason that we all come together and celebrate our first known International Beer Day (I am assuming that none of you guys knew).

Too many links in this post today...

Anyways now its time to take a trip down memory lane and go back to last Wednesday and speak a little about the star of the evening...Dwight. Now after the bombardment of all those long two mails, I sort of got like maybe three replies. One was Shetty, who seemed pretty inebriated (you may have to look the word up on wikipedia) even in his mail. then there was Sangeet, who sort of trying to be revolutionary, coins in a few strong words (the whole idea of mayo being made by egg hasn't gone down too well with him), and leaves the country on holiday. And finally there was my sis who wrote in from the States wishing she could have been there on these Wednesday nights. But that's not to say that people haven't come up to me and asked to be put off the mailing list or simply asking if Dwight is "single" (Just to let all you wonderful ladies out there know...I am SINGLE), or confusing Dwight to be my alter ego. For the record, Dwight is not me and I am not Dwight and Dwight exists. Some of you have seen him in pics, some haven't. As mentioned earlier the pictures will be up soon. It is work in progress. But I like the way people have come back. The response has been good, and people are, like I mentioned, just curious to know where next.

I guess its time to address that question now as to where we gonna meet tonight. Well Timeout Dubai sent me a flyer the other day promoting the Manhattan in Mankhool, close to Bur Dubai, opposite Manazel building where part of the Emirates staff stay (The elongated address is for those who may not have their geography right, or may just not own a GPS yet...). Now am not too sure what the offers are because the link on the flyer just took me nowhere nor did the flyer itself mention anything ( I hope they were not thinking that the view of teh Manazel building was an offer we couldn't refuse). So while I kind of put my team to find out what the offers are, here is the other team coming back with a little bit of history on the Manhattan ( yes it has History...)

Well the hotel which is kinda centrally situated used to be called the Meena Plaza hotel. Never really been there (but yeah I do hang around that other building that houses the trolley dollys) but what I have heard from many, is that it used to be a sleaze joint. So to sort of shake up the image, the smart thing to do was to change the name. Anyways, the reviews on the net of the place (as per the old name) is not too promising. There are complaints of broken toilet seats, unfriendly staff and most likely than not of female escorts, who loved to just hang around the place. Going through that flyer again, this is what I got, (as per the new name and hopefully managemnet) there is a l(o)unge bar called the High Mile Club (old habits die hard, wonder if a change in the name will change the sort of clientele), then there is Murphy's sports bar, the picture of which seems devoid of anybody or any activity, they have an Indian night club and a south Indian night club (am guessing the people here are from God's own country, hence the differentiation).

My search on these bars or any sort of review has been futile I must say. I can't seem to find any posting of these joints on Timeout or anywhere on the net. But what I do know is that most of these bars did exist under the same name before Meena Plaza became Manhattan (I have a source who gives me all the info on such places).

I feel like putting on my detective hat on and going to see what these places are all about. So what say boys and girls are we up for some adventure in Dubai and for some beerstorming tonight. Dwight's gonna be there too for all those who would want to be clicked with him. If things don't work out there we can always make a beeline to the nearest tried, tasted and tested watering hole in the vicinity. Worse comes to worse we may just catch a view of the bus that picks and drops the Emirates staff as we walk away from the Manhattan.

If people are not comfortable with this arrangement and would like to be seen elsewhere with Dwight, please do forward me your suggestions and I will gladly look into it. Don't forget to view the blog and become a follower. Try replying on the blog so that it looks like there is some sort of activity there...

Till we meet people...Happy International Beer Day...

Cheers

The Beerman