A friend is hosting a party here, so after my black tie event, I dropped down to Cargo and brought some friends.. here we go!

Saturdays @ Cargo Bar
Assessment Time: 02:00AM – 04:00AM
Opening Hours: Open during the day – 04:00AM
Lockout: Unknown. Probably 03:00AM
Address: 52-60 The Promendade, King Street Wharf, Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.cargobar.com.au
Promoter Website: Self Promoted
Occurrence: Every Friday and Saturdays
Dress Code / Door Policy: Dress code is enforced. Too casual and you won’t be let in. At minimum collared shirt and no sneakers. You can get away with casual shoes if the rest of your outfit looks good. I was wearing a tuxedo. M was wearing one too. The girls accompanying us wore heels and dresses. All of us are Asian.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free all night.
Guestlist: None really needed, but if you are given the ‘guestlist’ reason for not entering, then you have sadly failed to pass the entry criteria.
Inside: Walk in the rear of the bar. The area is half dancefloor at this time, and half outdoor seating area of tables and chairs. There are some tables inside, but only standing room. Some lounges in the middle along the walls, and a bar to span the entire length on the far side of the entrance. DJ booth right up at the front with accompanying percussion drummers. Upstairs is usually reserved for a private function and not open to the general public.
Cloak Room: None.
Bar Prices / Line: Didn’t drink tonight.
DJs: Resident DJs, with percussions. Percussions being bongo drums most of the time.
Music Style: Mostly house music with occasional pop and rnb mashup. The percussionist adds a bit of that live feeling to the music, even though there is no live singer. It definitely makes for danceable music for the general music listener.
Crowd: Primarily a white crowd. Ages vary between early 20’s and late 30’s here. A mix of backpackers and locals. There are a minority represented by Asians and Europeans.
Entertainment: No extra entertainment besides percussionist.
Atmosphere: At the time we entered at 2AM things were going pretty well here in the dancefloor. Outside, it was still busy. Around 3AM the outside area was getting pretty dead, but inside was still kicking dance-wise. From then on it gradually went less and less busy. The darkness of the whole place kept the mood going. Some areas of the floor were a bit sticky from spilled alcohol though.

Timeline
How my genes almost got me into a fight
Standing there in my tux and sunnies. A man approaches me:
Man: “I like your glasses”
James: “Thanks!”
Man: “What’s your background? I’m from Beirut”
James: “I’m Vietnamese/Chinese”
Man: “Nah, You’re Korean, right?”
James: “Nah, I’m not”
Man: “Nah, you’re definitely Korean. I have been to Korea.”
James: “haha. Nah, I am Vietnamese”
Man: “Nah, you’re Korean! ” 어떻게 지내? ”
James: “Huh?? No, I’m not Korean”
Man: “Don’t lie to me. YOU ARE KOREAN”
James: “No, I’m not Korean” 
Man: “Don’t sh*t me. I know a Korean when I see one. I’m not stupid! “어떻게 지내?!!!!!!!!”
James: “What? No, not Korean. You’re wrong.”
Man: “You say you are not Korean. You think I am stupid?? YOU THINK I AM STUPID?!? Just stay away from me, Korean! I don’t want to talk to you. I’m not stupid! F*ck off!!”

Wow…………. ! This guy is big time serious hellbent on proving to me that I am Korean. Are you kidding me? This guy has LIVED IN KOREA for crying out loud! Not once in my entire recollection of playing the “guess what nationality I am” game has anybody ever guessed that I was Korean… KOREAN. Seriously. It’s a well known stereotype that Koreans have narrower eyes than other Asian nationalities. I have pretty round eyes for an Asian.  I felt like Iraq, the innocent country with no weapons of mass destruction, before I got invaded by G. W. Bush. Luckily tonight there was no invasion, and I just walked away.

The Proof
Well, I am here to prove to you that I don’t even look REMOTELY KOREAN! So I Google Image searched for “Sexy Korean Guy” and found this picture of a Sexy Korean Guy.

from korea

Now here is a picture of me in a dark club setting recently at Haymarket Hotel with a blog reader, who is actually Korean. Compare me to aforementioned Sexy Korean Guy.

Rendezvous with blog reader Kevin

At Haymarket Hotel a few weeks ago with blog reader Kevin

Do you see any similarities? DO YOU?? I don’t either! Me and Sexy Korean Guys do not look the same at all. Therefore it is plain to see that I am not a Sexy Korean Guy. Most important is that I am not Korean bit. I have no shred of Korean in me. I despise Korean BBQ. I hate Soju on its own and rely on drinking it diluted with lemonade. I love Bimbibap though. That’s besides the point – I am simply not Korean. So to the blind wanker from Lebanon who thinks I am Korean, I would forgive you if you had never been to Korea, but you actually HAVE been to Korea, and you can actually speak Korean! You, sir, are a douchebag.

People like our dancing
We dance, and there are flashes around. I point my camera and spot an Asian couple sitting down, taking photos of us dancing. They think we are awesome, and I drag them up to dance. They’re here for a birthday. Fun times and we dance with their rowdy group. Their men hit on our girls, while we have nobody to hit on in return. Now that’s not really fair.

In the second half of the night as we dance like aborigines, another couple take photos of us. They love our dancing, but are unwilling to dance with us. They are happy to take photos and then upload it to facebook the next day instead. Nooo worries.

Keep your friends close..
Me and the girl are dancing hands held. Suddenly out of nowhere, a guy jumps in, holds my hand and holds the girls hand. It’s now three of us dancing, and I’m holding a guys hand. Awkward. I looked up to see who it was – you would not believe who was holding my hand – It’s the man from Beirut again! All joking aside, this was no joke. I am currently holding the hand of someone who almost got into a fight with me. This was now really freaking awkward. Like when a mother walks in on you masturbating, but worse.

I thought this guy told me to ‘f*ck off’ earlier? His intentions are revealed when he started Korean to the girl. This Korean thing must be his pick up line. Well, actually, the girl was Korean (LOL) so they had a little chit chat and then to make things worse, another drunk dude from another group joined in, and held my other hand. YES, another dude, caught up in my awesomeness, decided to hold my hand. I was now holding hands with two grown men. I could feel the fun being sapped out of me. It’s such a strange feeling and I felt really embarrassed. Please get me out of here’. Finally the song ended and I dragged the girl away to another spot at the bar. Totally over it.

Arrivederci
Left at closing time. The outside closed about an hour-30 minutes before close, before lights are slowly dimmed back up until 4:00AM

Recommendation
A nice place to have drinks by the harbour and for a dance. A general safe bet for a mixed group of people who aren’t into too much of the clubbing scene, but also want a place to drink and socialise amongst somewhat friendly company.

Saturdays @ Cargo Bar – 6.0/10

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4 Responses to Saturdays @ Cargo Bar Sydney: 16th October 2010

  1. matt says:

    Did one of your friends happen to be wearing white pants that night? Fucking awesome dancer

    I got approached by the Beirut guy too, but I just told him to fuck off and walked away

  2. Fangirl. says:

    Aw. I’m not an asian expert but I have Vietnamese friends and Korean friends, and I can see a slight different in skin tone and features. You definitely look Vietnamese. ^____^
    And heh heh. That sexy korean is Top. I lub him…

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