What Made You Get Into Hookahs?

[HookahTheDude]

Figured this would be a fun or interesting topic. What made you start or get into hookah smoking? Mine might be a bit long, but I'm long-winded anyway.

For me, it was a surprise to everyone, including myself, that I ended up enjoying it so much. I've never liked smoke or being around smoke, from cigarettes (especially) to smoke from burning wood. My mom was a smoker so I kind of grew up against the idea anyway knowing the consequences and what might happen to my mom because of it. Sure as hell here I am being a hypocrite, but I know the differences in shisha and cigarettes which is a large reason why I allowed myself to continue smoking hookahs.

Myself and a few friends were out late one night, around 1:00 AM or so, in a local family-owned style 24-hour diner just relaxing and hanging out. My friend had mentioned to me a couple weeks prior to this hang out that he had went to the hookah cafe maybe a week before he told me about it and that he wanted me to try it out with him, but at that time I declined heavily simply because of the idea of smoking. However I was incredibly bored sitting in the diner doing nothing practically, and randomly I said to my friend that we should go to that hookah cafe he told me about. He was all over the idea and we left the diner ASAP, we even left his girlfriend behind because she wasn't 18 yet (LOL). Unfortunately though we didn't get there in time because he got lost more than once.

Next week rolled around and I get a call while I'm in the shower from the same friend begging me to go. I wasn't really up for it since last week was more of a random, spur-of-the-moment thing for me because I was bored. However I was (easily) pursuaded by the fact that he was bringing two girls with him, so I agreed. He picks me up later, I'm a bit disappointed with the women but I opt to make the best of my evening with the idea that I only live once, I might as well try it.

We get there, and I instantly fall in love with the atmosphere. Lots of laid back people around the same age as me, a "different" crowd from my friends. Because both my friend and myself are easily twisted around the finger of females (atleast that's how it felt, looking back on it), we ordered a mint/cappuccino mix. Simply put, I hated it. (After reading a few topics and seeing mint is pretty strong, I can understand now why I hated it) It was simply too strong for me, and quite frankly tasted like shit. Still, I sat back and smoked for a little bit, never choked once so I was proud of myself anyway.

About a week later after that though, the same friend and I went back by ourselves because he said it was a lot better when we weren't smoking what tasted like coffee and listerine. We got cherry and grape mix, and I loved it. I love cherries, love cherry coke, love everything about cherry. The cherry and grape mix was amazing. The next weekend, we went back with another friend who never tried it. Decided to go with what we knew we liked, got another cherry and grape, this time with Red Bull in the base. It was unbelievably good, and was the first time I got a buzz from it. We ended up ordering two that night.

The real reason behind myself enjoying hookahs now though, was probably that night. That night we were playing doubles in pool against some other guys and all of a sudden right as one of those guys broke, this crazy Arabian techno music started playing. Really felt like it was a movie to be honest, and for whatever reason that just made me realize how much I enjoyed hookahs and weird Arabian techno.



So, how was your first hookah experience? Or what made you enjoy hookahs so much?

[Allia22]

Dude, that sounds awesome

My first experience... Well, I've been ranting about ACen a lot on the forums, and indeed last year's ACen was where I was introduced to hookahs. I admit, before smoking one that I'd associated them with drugs. I was walking with my friend from the convention to our hotel room and noticed this haze around the front doors of the hotel, and this fruity smell. We wander over, and found hookahs! I'm freaking out (girl from town of 350 people, mind you) and dragging my friend over, we were greeted warmly and passed the hose. Met a guy with long hair and leather pants that looked GOOD in eyeliner, chatted him up for a while, got coals spilled on my Victoria's Secret fishnets because some idiot tipped one of the hookahs over, but had a great time all in all.

Fast forward 6 months to Reactor, another anime convention in Chicago. I was walking around, enjoying the video game music the Spooney Bards were playing, and picked up that smell again. I look down to my left and there were The Hookah Guys! I ran up 4 flights of stairs to my parents' hotel room, grabbed them and hauled them down to smoke with us. Later that night I hung out with the Hookah Guys some more, smoked til around 3 AM, had... adventures with one Guy, 2 months later had more adventures where I insisted the Guy bring the hookah *cough*, and after that I said "Screw it, I'm getting my own hookah!" So here I am Thanks Hookah Guys (especially Psychon! )

[HookahTheDude]

Huh, maybe I should go to an anime convention. Have always wanted to but none of my buddies are into anime or games, and don't really feel like going by myself haha.

[Guest]

First month of school college we were still meeting everybody. A guy brings out a hookah and another guy brings out his sitar and we all just go sit on the middle of the quad just smoking and relaxing. A LOT of people stopped by and at one point had like 30 people sharing a hose. (I know pretty dirty) but still really fun broke the ice.

[newsman]

I was in Cairo in 2000 shooting a documentary. One night we went to a place in Old Cairo called el Fishawi where we had double apple and mint tea. It was like stepping back in time a hundred years, and became a nightly excursion for us. Needless to say, I left Egypt with a hookah carefully packed in my suitcase and a whole bunch of Nakhla double apple along side. The whole set up (including tobacco) cost me about $10 US, by the way.

[armour]

Went to a hookah cafe when I was 15 with some school mates and tried it for the first time. Nothing too exciting about my story lol

[kornkitten42]

hahaha- my fiance and i went to a local cafe called the Sahara a couple of years ago. We only went there because i was craving some arabic food and they were the closest spot. So we stopped in ordered and we saw people smoking these huge hookahs. well my fiance is AVIDLY against smoking so he wouldn't let me get on to go with my dinner. I was sad as i had never seen hookahs in public and was never allowed to smoke one because my parents said i wasn't old enough (family is syrian)

Fast forward about 2 days, we tell my friend we went there and she freaked out on us because she didn't like that restraunt and BEGS us to go to the Kasbah with her. So we end up going. She orders a hookah and i ask jb(fiance) if i can smoke it, and he said yes so i did. Then i raved about it for like 20 min and then jb smoked it and then like a month later he bought me my own and since then we've smoked it every night!

not a very eventful story but it's mine.

[web250]

Wasn't there a thread like this a few days ago?

I went to a friend of a friends house, got hooked.

[rez]

born persian

[cafesaden]

dude thats sick. your hookah lounge has pool tables and red bull in the base? word

[Oggie505]

when i was in my military academy for college we went to gibraltar and I took a ferry from there to Africa, and I tried hookah in a bar there and loved it since

[bgirl]

i moved to germany a couple of years ago and there are a lot of turkish people there and a lot of hookah bars...before moving i was really against any kind of smoking but i was hanging out with my friends who were smoking and i decided to try it and i basically got hooked

[GordonMac]

I was visiting my friends in Washington State (where i used to live) in the summer. It was a little party and some friends were gathered around this strange device and it was making some weird bubling noise. There was a sweet smell in the air and I thought it was something that should not be smoked (if you catch my drift... I cant say the word or i'll be booted from the site). Anyways my friends said "you want to hit this?" I said no man I don't do that" then my friend said "dude its only shisha"
I thought "shisha" just another name hahahahahhah. My friend knew what I was thinking then told me that it was not illegal and not as bad for you as any other smoke. I then did it and liked it. Not until along time later, I randomly decided to buy a hookah.

I will bring it to college with me in the fall and I know it will be a babe magnet. Great way to meet cool people as well.

[HookahTheDude]

dude thats sick. your hookah lounge has pool tables and red bull in the base? word

Yeah, there's one pool table, a huge ass big screen TV, jukebox, and an entire wall of booth seats. Near the entrance is like a living room type set up that is also smoked in. Can pick a lot of different drinks to put in the base too, from Red Bull to tea to soda.

By the way if anyone wants an amazing flavor combination, iced peach tea in the base and Al Amir mixed fruit is very, very good and it smells wonderful.

[JonJonello]

I've barely been smoking shisha since November, my friend brought his over one day while i was at anothers friend house and i tried it and loved it, it was some mint flavor and it was awesome, i ended up buying my own the very next day at a local smoke shop, sadly it broke like 2 weeks lateer when my friend tripped and grabed the hookah by the hose sending it smashing to the ground, and i havnt been his friend since.....just joshing but he still hasnt payed me back that fagget lol

ya so some advice dont set ur hookah on anything, mine was barely ona 1 foot high coffee table and it still broke Edited March 11, 2007 by JonJonello

[HarryTheHookaMaster]

For me, I got hooked while working in Iraq as a Combat Firefighter last year. I was walking by our smoking gazebo one night and 2 of my brothers were enjoying the Hooka... You know what I was thinking!...they taught me the Wisdom of the Glass God. The next day, my crew and I did a fire inspection of a "Haji shop" on base and I parted with $20.00 US for my first Hooka. Due to the fact that you cannot ship a Hooka that was used, I had to leave it behind when I came home . I ordered my current 28 inch soking partner when I was still stationed overseas so I could smoke while I was home on R&R. I love smoking the Hooka because its so relaxing. I got most of the guys on my crew hooked as well!
When I came home, I shipped 3 Hookas (new,clean) home as well as a shitload of supplies, I had no idea that there were so many people in this country who enjoy the Hooka like I do! I gave my cousin a Hooka, now he enjoys it as well...

Not very exciting....but my story...
Harry