Thirsty Thursdays: Seven Totally Tropical Random Bars in Guyana

A few more long awaited Thirsty Thursdays to come on here. First up I’m on the piss in Guyana. It was June 2014 when I crossed the border into Guyana and was ready to celebrate with a Guyanese beer (Banks) as I could now say I had a beer in every country in South America. Guyana has an odd funky vibe to it and these seven bar styles simply have not been found anywhere else on my travels. Quite rare unusual spots that gave us some great travel times backpacking in Guyana where we also visited the magnificent Kaieteur Falls.

1. Hong Kong Restaurant, Bartica
Arrival in the sublime town of Bartica we are taken on a quick tour by Eugene our guide. This place is so unusual, I covered my trip to Bartica before, which is reached by boat. Then out of nowhere, my girlfriend Panny from Hong Kong finds a Hong Kong Restaurant! On all of our travels, this has to be the most random Chinese restaurant we have seen.

It’s mid-day and we are hot and the owner comes down, speaks Cantonese to Panny, tells us he is from Guangzhou and precedes to give us both a free drink. Top man!

2. Sloth Island Resort Bar, Sloth Island
The magical remote eco lodge at Sloth Island remains a travel highlight. Teaming up with Dagron Tours we spent a day out at Sloth Island and loved it. In the early afternoon our guide Ann turned barmaid and was serving me the ice cold beers in the tropical heat, perfect after our lunch time feast.

3. The Hibiscus Bar, Georgetown
Situated directly across the road from our hostel, Rima Guesthouse, the Hibiscus Bar is a safe and friendly place to eat and drink. We were there during the FIFA World Cup and watched some matches in here.

This became our “local” for the week and we also met up with fellow traveller and blogger Daniel of Just Move Travel in here to watch Germany v. Algeria.

4. The Oasis Cafe, Georgetown
For a mid afternoon ice cold milkshake or iced coffee, the Oasis Cafe in Georgetown is the place. Even better it has WiFi so if you want to get online you can.

5. Fat Head’s Bar, Parika
The town of Parika was another really odd place. It’s a riverside town and the only place in Guyana where banks open on a Sunday. We saw the Fat Head’s Bar on arrival and later watched the Greece v. Costa Rica penalty shoot out in here. Costa Rica won of course and the entire bar was supporting them.

I loved the way Fat Head’s bar was by the roadside. It’s so chilled out in Guyana. It’s tropical.

6. German’s Restaurant, Georgetown
To get a sample of Guyanese food is difficult as it’s not specifically that different to other cultures foods, however after a tip off from the Tourist Board, we enjoyed a meal and an odd drink in German’s Restaurant.

7. Palm Court Bar, Georgetown
As the World Cup headed into the knock out stages, we wanted a bar with big screen TVs. It can be quite hard to find on the streets of Georgetown. But this was a friendly, up market place which did the trick. We watched France v. Nigeria in here.

Beers were a bit dearer but it was in a leafy beer garden off the main road and with working TVs.

So that’s our random tropical seven bars in Guyana. We also ate at a breakfast cafe in Corriverton before leaving Guyana as well as eating breakfast in Fogarty’s department store in the downtown area. No doubt if you go backpacking in Guyana you will find some other random places. This is the aspect of travel I love. I hadn’t heard of any of these seven bars (or even Parika, Bartica or Sloth Island) on arrival into Guyana, but yet I won’t forget them now. It’s a big world to be explored!

Here are some videos from these seven bars in Guyana: