Yabba Napa Doo!!

You always have to see what the “commotion” is about yourself, to be able to judge what the big deal is about. Well amongst my recent discoveries there was Ayia Napa. Situated at the far eastern end of the south coast of the island of Cyprus, famous for its sandy beaches and its eccentric and wild nightlife, it was my destination about a week ago. Been described as a clubbers “paradise”, and being a hardcore clubber myself, i had to go check it for myself. And what better to do when you have just graduated. It was all set, tickets, visa, luggage, hotel etc. We just had to step foot on the plane and start our 4 days “adventure”. I was accompanied by my best friend with which I’ve been through a lot, so it was just another “stroll in the park” for us.

After arriving there, and experiencing the relatively humid-less weather, the crazy left driving which gives you the impression that the cars on the opposite side are coming right at you, we checked in the hotel. The Napa Plaza was a nice small hotel that had everything you required and was adequately placed at the center of the city. It was 1am already, come on, who’s going to sleep at 1am in Ayia Napa, not us at least. I’m not going to lie to you, we went to the strip club first, yes, the Moulin Rouge that everyone was talking about. Won’t give you the sizzling details, but it was not bad unlike any “Maameltein”. After that we hit the Square, the main clubbing area. The square was our daily night stop. I can tell you this, it’s nothing compared to Gemeyze. it’s more of a Jbeil scenery plus Tijuana craziness plus a more complex and themed infrastructure. Hard to explain.

Apart from the half naked girls walking on the street, the ongoing direct selling of offers and tickets to clubs, and more explicit imagery you wouldn’t see going on in the streets of Beirut, the place rocked! (all of the above rocked as well.) Anyway, the night went on till 5am, until we check in the hotel after having a long conversation with Nikolaos and Costa our night receptionists who were awesome! It eventually became a routine to converse with them at each night check in, exchanging cultures and information about our countries.

The next day came Nissi Beach, the famous topless beach, a large stretch of sand, yes sand and only sand no bottles, trash, or “mazout” unlike our “amazing” Lebanese beaches. And i got to hand it to these women…they love showing of their breast. Other than that, there were a lot of special aquatic activities to engage in. We rented a quad bike which made moving around the area much easier. Let me tell you, driving on the left isn’t a laughing matter, you get used to it, but only after a lot of “shocking near death” therapy. I can’t say it’s cheap over there, but it’s balanced, some things are cheap (a drink for 5€) or a bit pricey (a kitkat for 1.5€). They have a lot of attractions there, from the water theme park, to the basic theme park, from the boat cruises to the themed parties.

One great clubbing hotspot there was the Castle Club, a huge clubbing complex with up to 4 floors of different music themes each. Best part is that you can go there with nothing but your shorts and flip-flops! Which brings me to my next point: Judgment. You are judgment free there, nobody will get involved in your affairs, you are free to do what you want to do, nobody cares! That was a major change of atmosphere coming from Lebanon. One of the big disadvantages is that they lack the generosity Lebanese have, meaning, don’t expect to get a cup of water without paying for it.

There was the Bedrock Inn as well which had one of the most innovative clubbing means, they give you a headphone as you enter, and you tune to your own music! So if you are with a group you can all tune in to the same music and have a party while others around you might be listening to a completely different genre of music! To me that was amazing! And if you are asking yourselves, YES, it is damn easy to meet with girls/guys, after all, that’s why everybody is there for,no? I had a lot of “encounters” of my own, it’s the charm of the place in my opinion, those summer days abroad you’ll always remember. The last night was really hard to accept, i mean i love Lebanon and all, but it is nothing like it! All in all, Ayia Napa is someplace i would definitely go back to, and i encourage all off you party people who just need a week to let it all go, to forget all your worries and stress to take it in consideration for your next trip, after all, it’s just 30minutes away from Beirut.