Where to drink in Samoa
I went to Amanaki with my social butterfly buddy in Samoa. My mate SK is one you can be sure is ready for a few whenever. So off we went to Amanaki and my re-introduction to Apia nightlife began.(As per popular request by ONE reader here's a take on the watering holes in Apia) Amanaki has any drink you want and the service is very good. After a couple of drinks there we went on to Y-Not. As it was a Tuesday it was a quiet evening. Again efficient service and nice atmosphere. The music and bar pretty much closed at around 10.30pm. The law require bars to turn the music off at 10pm and close business at midnight. We ran into other old mates at Y-Not who said to come along to a new club called Tausala in Vaitele so SK and I thought why not as the night was young.
Well Tausala is a dump to put it bluntly. The building was like an abandoned warehouse with a bar near the entrance and toilets that an outhouse would have been a better option. The only positive outcome of that outing was that we caught up with some classmates having a stag night but the stag was knocked out in the car outside by this point. It was nice to see these guys again after a very long time. Needless to say I wouldn't be caught sober at this watering hole for sure. It was a rougher version of Apia-RSA if there is such a thing! Having said that they serve beer, spirits and were open way past nidnight.
Later on, that week we met up for drinks at Amanaki again. This is the most popular after-work hangout at the moment. We went to V-Bar afterwards and wow that was something else. They have two bars: an open and a closed off one with Air Conditioning. Needless to say the A/C bar was far more busy than the other one. What struck me though was that everyone was so young and I felt quite 'mature' in this setting. It was ok but one had to be shit-faced to fit in with the crowd as it was buy one get one free night. They have Fiesta on Fridays where you pay 30 tala from 5-6.30pm and drink as much as you like of included beverages(spirits). One Friday I joined some friends one evening after fiesta to find once again I was the odd one out as everyone was in their happy place by 8pm. It's a marvel and what a great idea for the bar to make money.
We went to Tropicana at midnight as V-Bar closed at 12 and someone said Tropicana being away from any residential homes carries on a while longer. Tropicana is what it is, a fun local bar but there was a fundraising social there that night by a netball team and a lot of them were from SCOPA so caught up with a lot of people I knew. The toilets were utterly disgusting but I guess drunks don't really care where they urinate at this point. We nevertheless had so much fun as they called sivas for different members of the fundraising committee and everyone was in a happy party mood.
One busy day my thirsty sister and I went into Eden's Edge in Togafu'afu'a to have a couple of drinks and sit out the hot afternoon. After a few vailimas and a game of pool with the friendly waiters we continued on to the wedding rehearsal for little sister's wedding. This is a nice relaxing, quiet place to enjoy your drink nevermind the village volleyball going on over the fence!
I must say Samoa nightlife is still the same but I find there is a higher danger factor involved now. Apparently an airline crew were robbed and beaten up after a night out in front of V-Bar. My friend's phone was snatched from him as he was texting in his parked car with the window open. Another bar goer's handbag was snatched from her as she was walking back to her car. On my last night out with my sister we went to V-Bar. It was so rowdy in the first bar that I felt unsafe. There was a queue to get into the A/C section and we didn't want to go there. We ordered drinks then went to the front porch to sit. We could see the other porch off the A/C room filled with people well into their partying. We realised we could smell dope and saw that another group next to us were openly passing around a joint! Only in Samoa?!
Truthfully I was now a little bit worried about our safety when we had to leave. There were a lot of youngsters that hang out on the street in groups and 3 years ago I wouldn't pat an eyelid but now I wasn't sure. I was grateful to the V-Bar door security that accompanied us to our car that night.
Well Tausala is a dump to put it bluntly. The building was like an abandoned warehouse with a bar near the entrance and toilets that an outhouse would have been a better option. The only positive outcome of that outing was that we caught up with some classmates having a stag night but the stag was knocked out in the car outside by this point. It was nice to see these guys again after a very long time. Needless to say I wouldn't be caught sober at this watering hole for sure. It was a rougher version of Apia-RSA if there is such a thing! Having said that they serve beer, spirits and were open way past nidnight.
Later on, that week we met up for drinks at Amanaki again. This is the most popular after-work hangout at the moment. We went to V-Bar afterwards and wow that was something else. They have two bars: an open and a closed off one with Air Conditioning. Needless to say the A/C bar was far more busy than the other one. What struck me though was that everyone was so young and I felt quite 'mature' in this setting. It was ok but one had to be shit-faced to fit in with the crowd as it was buy one get one free night. They have Fiesta on Fridays where you pay 30 tala from 5-6.30pm and drink as much as you like of included beverages(spirits). One Friday I joined some friends one evening after fiesta to find once again I was the odd one out as everyone was in their happy place by 8pm. It's a marvel and what a great idea for the bar to make money.
We went to Tropicana at midnight as V-Bar closed at 12 and someone said Tropicana being away from any residential homes carries on a while longer. Tropicana is what it is, a fun local bar but there was a fundraising social there that night by a netball team and a lot of them were from SCOPA so caught up with a lot of people I knew. The toilets were utterly disgusting but I guess drunks don't really care where they urinate at this point. We nevertheless had so much fun as they called sivas for different members of the fundraising committee and everyone was in a happy party mood.
One busy day my thirsty sister and I went into Eden's Edge in Togafu'afu'a to have a couple of drinks and sit out the hot afternoon. After a few vailimas and a game of pool with the friendly waiters we continued on to the wedding rehearsal for little sister's wedding. This is a nice relaxing, quiet place to enjoy your drink nevermind the village volleyball going on over the fence!
I must say Samoa nightlife is still the same but I find there is a higher danger factor involved now. Apparently an airline crew were robbed and beaten up after a night out in front of V-Bar. My friend's phone was snatched from him as he was texting in his parked car with the window open. Another bar goer's handbag was snatched from her as she was walking back to her car. On my last night out with my sister we went to V-Bar. It was so rowdy in the first bar that I felt unsafe. There was a queue to get into the A/C section and we didn't want to go there. We ordered drinks then went to the front porch to sit. We could see the other porch off the A/C room filled with people well into their partying. We realised we could smell dope and saw that another group next to us were openly passing around a joint! Only in Samoa?!
Truthfully I was now a little bit worried about our safety when we had to leave. There were a lot of youngsters that hang out on the street in groups and 3 years ago I wouldn't pat an eyelid but now I wasn't sure. I was grateful to the V-Bar door security that accompanied us to our car that night.
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