If you’re like me and tired of the overcrowded night scene at Waikiki, check out Chinatown. Chinatown has become the new hotspot for college students to hangout on a Friday or Saturday night. One of my favorite bar/club is thirtyninehotel located on Hotel Street between Nuuanu Avenue and Bethel Street. It's usually filled with 20-something college students and 30-somethings in business suits enjoying pau hana, so you're sure to meet some interesting characters. Unlike Waikiki Clubs most clubs at Chinatown do not charge a cover fee. Admission here is free but on some nights where they hold special events after 9 p.m. the cover charge is only $5. Thirtyninehotel usually features an artist of the month and displays the work throughout the entire bar, which makes going up the stairs to the bar a lot more enjoyable. Once you reach the top of the stairs, you entire a lounge area where the bar is located. The set up is really relaxed and has more lighting than clubs in Waikiki making it so much easier to see whom you’re talking to. I hate going to clubs and never having a seat except at the bar but thirytninehotel has comfortable couches and chairs scattered around the lounge area. My favorite area of the entire bar/club is their lanai where they have live music. The patio furniture and greenery surrounding doesn’t make you feel like you’re even in Chinatown. The music here is great ranging from what’s heard on the radio to underground artists making this club a lot more refreshing than others. The bar/club offers appetizer plates costing no more than $10, beers costing ranging from $4-$8 and cocktails from $8-$12. I’m not much of a club-goer but thirtyninehotel’s relaxed atmosphere, cheap food and drinks (compared to those in Waikiki) and awesome music keeps coming back. Chinatown has limited parking, but if you go early enough you can park at the lot at the end of Nuuanu Avenue and the parking structures located at various corners of the Chinatown for $5. If you’re not planning to stay after 11 p.m. at Chinatown, the Chinese Cultural Plaza’s parking is only $2 for the evening.

Lourdes Acido—Rainbow Connection Staff