Down an unassuming alleyway off of a side street in Tianjin’s Nankai district, resides a true gem. This gem goes by the name of Indie Bar, a favorite spot among expats and university students alike. Last month, I posted about my top three Tianjin to-dos… this place deserves the #1 spot. It’s #1, and that’s why it has the honor of an entire blog post.
Indie Bar is run by Jesse and Rain, the warmest couple you’ll ever meet. Jesse is a Canadian transplant, and Rain is a Tianjin local. Indie serves from a full bar (the only place in China I’ve found that can serve a proper whiskey ginger), and whips up some Western favorites, from pizza to pancakes, all at reasonable fares.
My first visit, I went to Indie with a co-worker. My co-worker had been there before, and we still got lost along the way… consider the journey to find this place as your “initiation” into Indie Bar, as everyone gets lost trying to find this place for the first, second… sometimes even third time. It doesn’t help that there’s no sign on the outside that you can see from the street. Upon entering my first visit, all of the patrons were in the middle of some cowboy-wild west card game. Nobody was off to the side by themselves, awkwardly lingering. And two seconds after we got drinks, we were asked to pull up chairs and join in on the game. It was nice to feel so welcome, and unlike the “newbie” that I was in Tianjin.
Indie has such a relaxed atmosphere. It’s nice to go there and recognize familiar faces and unwind after an especially busy day of teaching. I frequent the bar on Mondays for movie night, and Wednesdays for trivia, but any day of the week (except for Thursdays, as they’re closed) you’ll find something going on: live music, a bar-wide game of charades, or you can take your pick from their mini library and curl up with a book or relive childhood and challenge your friends to a good ole game of Monopoly. They had a killer Halloween party, and friends I made through Indie hosted wonderful Thanksgiving parties.
Indie Bar just celebrated its two year anniversary in September, and I foresee it celebrating many more to come (although possibly in another location). It’s more than just a bar. It’s a community. Before I started going here, I felt like a stranger in Tianjin. But through Indie, I’ve met some really terrific people who are expats like myself, going through the same bouts of missing home, struggling with the language barrier, and trying to find themselves in this great, big, and scary world.
The struggle to find this bar is worth it. Easier said than done when you look at getting lost as part of the adventure. I didn’t expect to find a place so welcoming, and so wonderful in Tianjin. But places like this do exist thousands of miles from home. Don’t be afraid to get out and discover them. I’m so into Indie (as is anyone and everyone who stops by this bar), and I promise you would be too.
It’s wild to think that I only have a little over a month left of teaching before I spend the next couple of months traveling a bit through different areas of China, other parts of Asia and Europe… but more on those plans later. I just feel like six months in China is nothing. To some people, yes. I can understand that six months can feel like six years. But not to me. There’s a part of me that wishes I had only just arrived. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Happy late Thanksgiving, y’all! Hope you ate lots and lots. Cheers.
Love from Tianjin ♥
JACKIEXPLORES 