A note about this and
future lists to follow in Vacations From Home; it is limited to our personal
experiences. I’m sure we’ve missed a few, I mean how many Lost Weekends can
there be?
Feel free to contact us
at VFH Central if you know of a place we don’t mention where we can wet our
whistle if we ever return. And, we’ll buy you a drink if we see you there.
Becoming a lawyer was
never an option for me, because I could never pass the bar, although, not
passing the bar is a noble aspiration for a writer, and as a world traveler the
heavenly portals of a watering hole have led to many great experiences and more
than a couple of hangovers.
It’s all positive
drinking though because stepping into a bar in a foreign land only adds to the
experience of a different culture. Sometimes it’s an area with plenty of honky
tonks or pubs where the collective experience can be fun, if not overwhelming.
Sometimes it’s an intimate quiet find that leaves one giggling with delight
over the discovery.
It’s all good and as
Team VFH has decided to compile a list of bars we’ve known over the years, I’m
surprised that our livers are intact, but our minds are filled with glorious
memories.
ONE or TWO, FOR THE
ROAD
Going through our
history of alcohol-induced exploring expeditions and innumerable pub crawls has
been daunting because there’s a whole bunch of them. So, rather than casting a
wide net, we have to focus! In this edition of THE POWER OF POSITIVE DRINKING,
we will tell you about the Moveable Feasts of Southeast Asia, in particular,
Vietnam. Several cities in Vietnam have dedicated areas to partying, sort of a
“red light” district for carousing.
DRINKING BINGO
Before we begin, here’s
a bingo game for those of you reading this blog while relaxing on your Barco Lounger.
Take a sip of your
favorite alcoholic beverage whenever I write the word “Vietnam.”
Take another sip if I
mention a city you are interested in visiting in Vietnam.
Chug your drink if I
mention a place or establishment that you have also visited.
Most importantly, if
after reading this blog entry you are inspired to visit these particular places
AND you see me sitting there, you MUST buy me a drink.
MOVEABLE FEASTS IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA
VIETNAM (sip)
“Mot, Hai, Ba, YO!“
Everywhere you go in
Vietnam where there is drinking, you will undoubtably hear the raucous drinking
toast “Mot, Hai, Ba, YO!“ (1-2-3, Cheers) and you know you’re in the right
place.
HANOI
Ta Hien Street aka Beer
Street
Located in the Old
Quarter Ta Hien or Beer Street is crowded, chaotic and every storefront is
offering Bai Hoi a light crisp low alcohol beer, from 3-4%, that is brewed
daily and costs between 7,000 VDN to 10,000 VDN (pennies). Perfect drinking for
hot nights and a great place to experience local and international cultures as
all the world seemingly descends on Beer Street.
Located in Hanoi’s Old Quarter
this narrow railway line passes inches away from homes and cafes and it has
become a tourist attraction that is both unsettling and exhilarating. Throughout
the day trains travel north or south along a set schedule, passing inches from
the establishments. People flock here to experience trains passing by too close
for comfort, get souvenirs and drinks. If you visit, make sure you place your
beer bottle cap on the track to have it flattened for a free souvenir.
Train Street Hanoi
HUE
Night Walking Street
bar on the Night Walking Street Hue
The Tet Offensive raged
through the streets of Hue and places like the Citadel still show signs of the
war, but across the Perfume River the lively Chu Van An Street brims with bars
and restaurants. Sectioned off from vehicular traffic on the weekend evenings the
Night Walking Street aka Hue Western Street, it’s hard to imagine you’re
in a Communist country. Music blares out from many places and you have your
pick of places to eat and drink.
Any visit to Vietnam
should include a visit to this ancient city that is an UNESCO world heritage
site. It is beautiful and heavily touristed with a very lively night scene.
After taking a lantern release boat ride along the Thu Bon River
grab a drink at any number of nightclubs in the area. Make sure you grab a Banh
Mi Phuong after a night of carousing. Tell them Anthony Bourdain sent you. Banh
Mi Phuong was his favorite.
Menus in this very
touristed beachfront town are listed in Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese
and eventually English. Nha Trang is an extremely popular tourist destination
for Russians and their families and at one time the Soviet, Russian and Chinese
navies maintained a fleet there. High rises overlook a beautiful beach and if
you happen to get there here are two places you must visit. Both are on the
beach.
Na Trang
Louisiane Brewhouse
& Restaurant
A very western-style
craft brew house right on the beach. It seemed out of place at first, only
because it was unexpected in Vietnam, but heck, this wasn’t the Vietnam we
learned about while growing up. (That was a double sip sentence.)
We didn’t find an area
of this cosmopolitan city that is similar to the dedicated areas in Hanoi or
Hue, but here are a couple of places for well-made martinis and/or craft beer.
Continental Hotel Saigon
Continental Hotel
Historic hotel journalists
frequented during the war and where Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American and
where Hunter S. Thompson stayed while documenting the final days of the Vietnam
War. A must stop while in Saigon…oops HCMC.
Overlooking the Opera house
and the Continental Hotel across the square their 2-for-1 happy hour martinis and
the views of the rapidly expanding city scape makes for a pleasant stop.
The craft beer scene
thriving in Saigon, surprisingly, perhaps driven by all the ex-patriots who
have settled here. We were able to get
to one, Pasteur Street Brewing. Sadly, we missed getting to the Heart of Darkness
brewery… so many bars, so little time. But, that’s what pub crawls in foreign
lands are like, a journey into the unknown.
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