Hooking up to the hookah/shisha pipe...

Within our well traveled circles, our friends sometimes find themselves in the Middle East. And some friends of ours decided to invest in a Middle Eastern (Egyptian) hookah/shisha pipe while they spent some time in Baghdad. This pipe is basically an upscale bong and is quite popular in the Middle East has gained popularity in some European cafes/bars known as “shisha” bars as well. They sell it for small groups and in some establishments have large ones to be shared by many. Remember the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland who was blowing smoke rings around Alice – that’s what he was doing! 

Anyway, the way this works is that you add water to the pipe (it has a water filtration system), add some sweet smelling tobacco, some hot coal to burn the stuff, pass around some mouthpieces along with a hose that you connect to the pipe/mouthpiece and you are set. Take a hit, the water in the pipe bubbles, and you pass it on.

In my not so distant youth, I smoked the occasional cigarette, but asthma kind of curtailed continued use and I never really gave it another thought. Tonight, I decided to try it mostly because the tobacco really smelled good and when else would I get to experience a hookah without getting dirty looks from other people. It was ok, but again, I had been battling a virus for days and this wasn’t exactly the medication I needed.

While I can’t say I am hooked on hookah, I can see why people do it. In a way, taking that “hit” is taking a breath and for most, it may be the first time you actually focus on breathing. It is also quite enjoyable to share this with friends.

Remember that bottle of Absinthe I purchased in the Czech Republic? I told you I would let you know how that turned out. Well, I chose to take a shot only because my chest was really congested after the shisha and a shot of whiskey sometimes helps – why not 90% proof Absinthe? Should kill anything festering in there! You couldn’t pay me enough to take a significant amount in order to hallucinate. Just the little shot that I had prompted a burning in my chest that only a heart attack can relate to. And, then I felt numb for a while. It is supposed to be diluted a bit with water, but I didn’t bother thinking that the small amount I was going to consume would be fine. WRONG! It did silence my cough temporarily, though.