Chilaxen at the Oraja

Relaxation and enertainment for a variety of smokers

Story and photos by Matt Kipp

In Plattsburgh, NY, around the corner from Tabu, Monopole, and Pizza Bono is a great spot to just hang out and smoke flavored tobacco out of a hookah pipe.  Recently, I enjoyed the pleasures of the Oraja Lounge with my girlfriend and my roomate. 

The place was clean and had a welcoming atmosphere.  Flowers, crazy faces, rosebuds, and octopi covered the walls while Pink Floyd’s "Welcome to the Machine" ushered me in.

As I walked in I could hear and see of a group of women laughing as they sat around their hookah.

We were approached by the owner; James Catalafamo, who introduced himself and welcomed us to the Lounge.   

He told us to sit wherever we wanted, so we agreed upon some welcoming couches in front of the counter. As I glanced down to find the menu, I noticed the array of items to keep customers busy.  There was the hookah itself, two menus, a deck of cards, dominoes, an ash tray; made cleverly out of a sprite can, a Press Republican newspaper, magazines, and a little green G.I. Joe who was defending us with his Browning machine gun.

While looking over the menu it was hard to decide which tobacco we would smoke.  At first we thought about Tropical Paradise, Sex on the Beach, Afternoon Delight, or Edible Underwear. But when we saw Extacy at the bottom right hand corner of the menu, we knew we had found our flavor.

After we ordered, the group of women, that had been smoking when we walked in, walked over to the counter, paid for their smoke, and left. We were alone in the Lounge and it was just what I needed.  It was Monday night and after being in class all day I needed peace.

When the hookah arrived to our table it was just begging to be smoked and I, melting in my brown leather couch, was happy to oblige.
It was a curious taste that puzzled my taste buds. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but after taking a few deep inhales I was quite fond of this flavor.  We sat back, took off our shoes and enjoyed our smoke.

My girlfriend grabbed the deck of cards off the table and suggested we play a game.  We started to play Asshole, which is usually a drinking game, but we decided to play anyway.  While we played Catalfamo came to our station and asked if we wanted anything to drink.  My roommate ordered a can of Coke and my girlfriend ordered a hot chocolate.
Catalfamo was quick to get us our order and was very personable.  He told us we should come back on the weekend when they have bands and events.  But I assured him that I was having a great time.

A group of about six people walked into the Lounge.  They went to the back room which has two couches and a TV.  Catalfamo tended to them and was busy readying their hookah.

When Catalfamo came back to us my roommate asked him if we could smoke cigarettes in the Lounge.  When he told us we could it was time for a cigarette break.  Ten seconds after we lit up our bogies I was absolutely disgusted by it.  After smoking the hookah my cigarette just tasted disgusting. I ashed it out so I could continue to smoke Extacy.        
As I glanced over to my right I could see a board covered with signatures of people who had enjoyed the Lounge.  I remembered signing that board sometime last semester on my first visit to the Lounge.  Last time I saw the board it was barely half full, now messages left were overlapping each other.

I started to feel lightheaded from smoking and it felt great. We took back out the deck of cards and began to play a new round of Asshole. While playing, the song "Because I Got High" by Afroman began to play.  We looked at each other and broke out into laughter. I didn’t know why but didn’t care, I was relaxed and having a great time.
We continued playing cards until I noticed that the group that had come in after us was leaving.  Time can fly when you’re having fun I guess.

We decided it was time for us to head out until a woman walked in with her little black puppy.  My girlfriend is a sucker for dogs so of course we stayed to play with the puppy, but I didn’t mind.  The puppy’s name was Gozer and it was as hyper as a 4 year old after a Red Bull.  It jumped on the couch where my roommate was sitting.  My roommate started petting it when all of a sudden the dog bit his nipple.  The dog hopped off the couch as we all started laughing.

We decided to call it a night and leave after being there for over an hour and a half.  We walked up to the register and were charged a total of $15 for the coco, Coke and smoke. With many different flavors to choose from each visit can be a different feeling.  The music, art, friendly ambiance, and pleasing flavor allowed the Lounge to be a very enjoyable and relaxing experience.

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