WHEN Intertour comes to a close at the end of each day, 5,000 delegates from the travel and hotel industries will, no doubt, head out for some exploratory tours of Hongkong nightspots. With the annual travel exposition being held at the Hongkong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and many delegates checked into the adjacent Grand Hyatt and New World Harbour View hotels, an obvious choice will be to look for entertainment close to these venues. The first place to stop off at the Grand Hyatt is the Champagne Bar for a wind-down drink. Expect to pay about $120 for a glass of house champagne to soothe away stress. For those who intend going on for dinner, the Champagne Bar offers pre-dinner gourmet specialties such as goose liver pate or oysters at $160 for a half dozen. The Champagne Bar opens from 5 pm until 2 am with entertainment from vocalist Joyce Sanmateo. Delegates looking for more excitement will find it in JJs at the Grand Hyatt. This is a popular and, on weekends, crowded haunt for the disco set and fans of jazz band CC Ryders. Downstairs is a large bar area with lounge seating or, around the corner on this level, dancing until 2 am (3 am on Friday and Saturday) in the disco. Upstairs in JJs grab the first empty seat - they go fast - at the usually crowded, and always convivial, bar, or reserve a table to enjoy food and the music of CC Ryders. Dinner is served from 5.30 pm until 10 pm after which time excellent pizzas - you can watch them being made through a little window - are available. The weekday cover charge is $110 after 9 pm or $150 on Fridays and Saturdays. Guests at the Grand Hyatt are admitted free but, be warned, JJs tends to fill up quickly, so arrive early to avoid queues. Flanking the exhibition centre, the New World Harbour View has the Oasis Lounge with its view of the stars. A jazz pianist plays until midnight. On the fourth floor of the Harbour View Hotel building - though not a part of the hotel - is the upmarket Manhattan disco, a place for people-watching and one where you can play spot the celebrity. The cover charge is $140 on weekdays or $180 on Friday and Saturday and includes two drinks. Seven karaoke rooms offer privacy to sing for groups of six to 10 people with a minimum charge of $2,000, which includes drinks to this value. A popular stopping off point, on the other side of Gloucester Road in Wan Chai, is Joe Bananas in Luard Road. It is easily accessible on foot from the Convention Centre. A cover charge, which includes two drinks, is $100 for non-members after 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. There is no cover on other days. Wednesday night is one of the best times to be in ''JBs'', with cocktails at half price and the expatriate crowd ready to party. Dress is casual but collars must be worn. Earlier in the evening it is a popular spot for after work drinks, though most of the regulars tend to stretch happy hour into dawn. JBs is open right through on weekends and offers an eclectic menu with a full breakfast available for those who do not make it back to their hotels. Reasons for not making it back include the numerous ''girlie'' bars along Lockhart Road. It may be a case of ''seen one, seen them all'' but, for light distraction, smiling hostesses and expensive drinks, Lockhart Road is the place. For travel agents who actually want to travel, on the other side of the harbour is Catwalk disco at the New World Hotel. But if disco dancing is not your thing, there are two karaoke lounges on the 19th floor. Alternatively, book one of the 11 private karaoke rooms, which can accommodate from six to 15 people. These cost $1,760 to $3,300, depending on the size. On Fridays and Saturdays, the cost is $1,980 up to $3,630. These prices include free drinks to the cost of the room. A snack menu is also available. Cover charges are for admission to the upmarket Catwalk, karaoke lounges and the live band room on the 18th floor. The cost is $120 or $200 on Fridays and Saturdays and includes two standard drinks. Lan Kwai Fong abounds with bars and discos in a single walking block and about a $13 taxi ride from Wan Chai. Stand and drink in Yeltsinn; drink and watch others get up and sing on stage - anything goes - at Hardy's; enjoy a range of German beers and schnapps at Schnurrbart's; mix with the American-born Chinese set dancing in trendy California's (you can order enormous portions of food there earlier in the night); go upmarket in the dimly lit sanctum of '97 disco; or jostle to the music at crowded Graffiti's. , which has a two-for-one happy hour after midnight on Saturday. There are also plenty of cheap diners and bars in Lan Kwai Fong with snack menus and large windows for those who simply want to mingle with the ''natives'' and watch the world go by.
