Havana Next Year, Baby/The Final Night (Hong Kong) [by Aaron]

The night began when we left the group and rode on a doubledecker tram. It was two HK$, or about a quarter. We took it until we found the stop we wanted to be at, somewhere off the map. On the tram, we discussed that we wanted to find some Latin music, and it became our quest. We had to use the bathroom, so we walked into a random 5 star hotel. They showed us where they were and we then went to the hotel bar, the Admiralty Club. It was navy-themed. There was a band of four performing Lady Gaga songs and jazz standards. Interesting combination. I had a beer called Diamond Black, which was basically cranberry soda. It was gross. Remind me to never get it again. I shared Tom’s Tetley, (beer, not tea), which was mild and aromatic, with a full head and an amber color.

After the band set, we asked the band if they knew where we could find Latin music. An older member thought for a minute and revealed to us that the Havana Club would be good, but we might have to request Latin songs. He gave us the name and area, Tsim Sha Tsui, in English; we got the Chinese from the hotel reception. They were really nice to us, it was really weird. We realized we were getting closer to our goal, and took a taxi to the Star Ferry. The ferry was also HK$2, and offered a spectacular view of the bay at night. It was the lights; it wouldn’t have been anything during the day. When we touched down, we began walking in Kowloon. We had a map from the hotel reception revealing the exact location of the club. We went into another 5 star hotel and got directions for the fastest way to the club, a 15 minute walk. We enjoyed the night of Hong Kong as we walked to Knutsford Terrace. Tom and I sat down to rest our worn legs. We were on the brink of sleep, but we kept our quest in mind and continued.
We walked up many stairs, asked for directions again, and walked into a small building with an elevator: the Havana Club at last. We were directed to a very comfortable couch and the band began a song by Eric Clapton. We were mildly confused, as we sipped our Cuba libres and listened to songs such as “band on the Run,” “Imagine,” and bad 80s tunes. On the suggestions card, Tom wrote “Porque hay no musica Cubana?”, meaning “Why don’t you have any Cuban music?” Tom requested one Latin song using the request card we were given. We ordered San Miguels and Havana cigars (Habana Punch cigars). We enjoyed our request promptly and the set finished, leaving a dj playing mediocre Latin music. We toasted to the success of our quest and to our ancestors, some of which manufactured cigars. We spoke of how Cuba will probably be open to Americans soon and hoped we can do the same thing in Havana. We toasted again, to “Havana next year, baby!” We walked around for a little bit after we leave, and eventually just taxied home. The taxi only cost HK$50 to get us from island to island. We high-fived to the end of our China trip.