One
aspect of Vietnam that was a pleasant surprise (especially for Darrin)
is that beer ("bia" in Vietnamese) is plentiful and cheap throughout
the country! The bottled varieties (like Saigon) were a decent deal at
$0.50 to $0.70 cents a bottle, but the real bargain was in the draught
beer, which could be found at beer-only establishments discreetly
marked as "Bia Hoi". A Bia Hoi "pub" is typically a simple garage-like
room with a giant beer keg in the corner, and dozens of tiny child-like
plastic stools (both to be used as seats and tables). The bia is then
served in glasses (around 12 oz.) for 2000 dong, which equates to
around $0.20 cents! At this price, you can understand why the
Vietnamese love their bia.
At
all hours of the day and night, you see crowds (mostly men) sitting on
their tiny stools downing glass after glass of the lager-style bia.
Our
first introduction to Bia Hoi was in Mui Ne, when the guy I was taking
kite surfing lessons from (Mr. Lee) offered to show us the local Bia
Hoi pub. This particular Bia Hoi pub was very local, so it really
helped to have him their to help familiarize us with the process. Our
other Bia Hoi experience was in Hanoi where the pubs were even more
plentiful and a bit more "foreigner friendly". We found one
intersection in particular where there were several Bia Hoi pubs
crammed into each street corner. Locals and foreigners all packed the
pubs, balancing on their tiny stools, drinking their $0.20 bia,
watching the world go by. We spent several afternoons on this corner,
having many (lost count) glasses of bia and were continuously
entertained by the street life in Hanoi. Vietnam is truly a "Land 'o
Beers"!
