singing the nightlife culture karaoke

Weekends in Sydney means for many of my generation partying, clubbing, going out, pub-hopping, drunken drivers with their car stereo full blast, startling the older people waiting for their bus. In the absence of political activity, people tend to find escapist entertainment, in an attempt to shatter the monotony of their everyday lives. On the one hand, it is a way to relax from the exhaustion and alienation brought about by the week's work.

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Segue into memory: I find that kind of culture more expressive in places like Malate, Makati, Timog, Ortigas or Libis. Don't forget the feral nightlives in Olongapo, Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and the somewhat more diluted nightlife of Iloilo, to name some. And the more or less pub culture of Bangued, Leyte, Tabuk (Kalinga), Cotabato and other more provincial cities.
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More conscientious people only have themselves to blame if they see this as a 'decadent' culture, because of lack of effectiveness, and perhaps effort, in helping to catalyze an alternative culture with more awareness and solidarity.
But really, I think Sydney's nightlife is more fun. Especially if you see the different cultures more or less shedding their inhibitions (in its many connotations). So you have Irish, English ('Poms'), Kiwis (New Zealanders), Asians (sorry, too many to mention), Southern Europeans, Indians, Bangladeshi, etc., doing their thing. Of course there are places the Irish, for example, would preferably go to, like a dance pub at the corner of George St. (main Central Business District street), and the Chinese have their own, like karaoke bars and dance places in and around Chinatown.

Mentionable dance bars in King's Cross include Empire and Bourbon - taking note of my limited experience. Of course, King's Cross is notorious for its strip clubs and the really underside section of the night.

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Went with *****(sorry, trying to keep friends in personal life out of public virtualia) and her god-sister to their territorial domain, Chinatown. It's really one of the places I usually sneak to when I go to the city. Chinatown (really only a big street and surrounding buildings) is located near the CBD, beside Marketplace and at the back is Darling Harbour. On either side of the main street are various shops and restaurants that are nearly always full. One can glimpse here a bit of Chinese culture, and one gets treated sometimes to Chinese music as well (the Chinese lyre?), accompanying your walk for two blocks. If you want cheap eats, look for the underground diners. Sometimes it's really crucial to have Chinese friends, especially when ordering at restaurants, as their menus are more often than not written in Chinese. Of course you have the lugaw, siopao, siomai (dumplings), but you find they call them other terms, as one should naturally expect. I reckon there'd also be differences relating to one's being Cantonese or Mandarin. In the same area, you also have different cuisines, which is what I like about Sydney (don't know much about the rest of the country; Melbourne would probably be as much cosmopolitan). So you have food from assorted places. Yum on your lips, tongue, throat and stomach, you can choose from Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian and others. Aussie ("Fish and Chips"), Greek, Italian, Lebanese, you tend to see more in the suburbs. Right now my favourite is Thai food (red curry, Tom Yam). What a gastronomic delight!