Central coastal Vietnam’s bars rated No. 2 in the world
Editor’s Note: Stivi Cooke is based in central Vietnam and has an intimate knowledge of it following six years of living there.
According to a recently published article in We know better than you magazine, the coastal bars of central Vietnam have been hailed for their unprecedented quality, opulence and bargain basement prices. You see, we in the center don’t have the vomitorium – the modern meaning of a bar where people drink until they vomit and then do it all over again. That’s what we call ‘binge drinking’. No, indeedy... we of the center have refinement, class, elegance and a touch of eccentricity to our nocturnal and frequent diurnal consumption of alcohol.
The recent spate of newspaper articles deriding the vomitoria of the far-flung north and wet, damp south have notably excluded and ignored our central coastal sophistication – a touch of jealousy perhaps? Vomitoria, by the way, used to mean ‘exit’ or the lobby of a rich Roman’s villa in ancient times.
For sure, the gaudy, tacky, icky bars of other places can never hold a candle to the sheer preponderance and pervasiveness of our industrious and extraordinarily diverse watering holes.
We have eschewed the rathskellers of the north and south, as infrequent as these basement bars are, in favor of the much beloved and heavily frequented boîtes of late night imbibing accompanied by music and frivolity.
We can boast of the watering holes in far-flung Phong Nha Park, the legendary Phong Nha farmstay being one establishment with the rustic charm and otherworldly heartiness of Aussie hospitality. Along the way south through Hue, there’s the quality lodging of the Hue Backpacker’s, where socializing while guzzling is considered good manners.
Against the twinkling evening lights and belching flames of a bridge Dragon with obvious signs of ingestion problems, Da Nang can sneer at the sheer veneer of those southern grog holes in Ho Chi Minh City. We have the stunning views of the Red Sky bar, The Top rooftop bar at À La Carte and SOHO sweeping across the city and the river. Our esteemed Waterfront restaurant and bar also enlivens the local drinking fraternity with water views making owners in other cities livid with jealousy.
Even our downmarket cantinas display more engrossing, captivating and enthralling merrymaking than either the tired and jaded northern bars or the brash, ecky bars of the south. You can sample the intoxicants of Dimples bar, Lido or the locally popular Lau Chau restaurant while gazing at the passing traffic entertainment and Vietnamese beauties strolling like Parisians along Da Nang beach’s promenade.
Along the way to Hoi An a remarkable bar run by one of the most interesting men in central Vietnam awaits you. Hoa’s place is that often sought-after but rarely found establishment of real relaxation, genial company, wild tales and of course, cold libation. Highly recommended.
Now we all know of the taprooms servicing the tourists in Hoi An and I have to admit they are quite ‘meh’, a mixture of over-pricing and dysfunctional interior design, however gems of alehouses can be found in this quaint yet hustling town. Dive Bar, 3 Dragons sports bar and Phatties Bar at An Bang beach each offer amusement and alcohol without recall to the need for patrons to drink themselves into a vomitable state, thus enabling everyone to chit-chat to their hearts content while quietly informing the bartender of their needs.
So to sum up – you, the proprietors of the north and south, lift your game, I say! Banish these inglorious vomitoria! Bring back refinement and finesse, away with the binge drinking and return to Vietnam’s real drinking lore – the days of friendliness and rice whisky, ‘bia hoi’ (cheap fresh beer) and good company.
Besides... vomitoria are only a trend, right? And no, I have no idea which bars are No.1 in the world.
~News courtesy of Tuoi Tre~
Editor’s Note: Stivi Cooke is based in central Vietnam and has an intimate knowledge of it following six years of living there.
According to a recently published article in We know better than you magazine, the coastal bars of central Vietnam have been hailed for their unprecedented quality, opulence and bargain basement prices. You see, we in the center don’t have the vomitorium – the modern meaning of a bar where people drink until they vomit and then do it all over again. That’s what we call ‘binge drinking’. No, indeedy... we of the center have refinement, class, elegance and a touch of eccentricity to our nocturnal and frequent diurnal consumption of alcohol.
The recent spate of newspaper articles deriding the vomitoria of the far-flung north and wet, damp south have notably excluded and ignored our central coastal sophistication – a touch of jealousy perhaps? Vomitoria, by the way, used to mean ‘exit’ or the lobby of a rich Roman’s villa in ancient times.
For sure, the gaudy, tacky, icky bars of other places can never hold a candle to the sheer preponderance and pervasiveness of our industrious and extraordinarily diverse watering holes.
We have eschewed the rathskellers of the north and south, as infrequent as these basement bars are, in favor of the much beloved and heavily frequented boîtes of late night imbibing accompanied by music and frivolity.
We can boast of the watering holes in far-flung Phong Nha Park, the legendary Phong Nha farmstay being one establishment with the rustic charm and otherworldly heartiness of Aussie hospitality. Along the way south through Hue, there’s the quality lodging of the Hue Backpacker’s, where socializing while guzzling is considered good manners.
Against the twinkling evening lights and belching flames of a bridge Dragon with obvious signs of ingestion problems, Da Nang can sneer at the sheer veneer of those southern grog holes in Ho Chi Minh City. We have the stunning views of the Red Sky bar, The Top rooftop bar at À La Carte and SOHO sweeping across the city and the river. Our esteemed Waterfront restaurant and bar also enlivens the local drinking fraternity with water views making owners in other cities livid with jealousy.
Even our downmarket cantinas display more engrossing, captivating and enthralling merrymaking than either the tired and jaded northern bars or the brash, ecky bars of the south. You can sample the intoxicants of Dimples bar, Lido or the locally popular Lau Chau restaurant while gazing at the passing traffic entertainment and Vietnamese beauties strolling like Parisians along Da Nang beach’s promenade.
Along the way to Hoi An a remarkable bar run by one of the most interesting men in central Vietnam awaits you. Hoa’s place is that often sought-after but rarely found establishment of real relaxation, genial company, wild tales and of course, cold libation. Highly recommended.
Now we all know of the taprooms servicing the tourists in Hoi An and I have to admit they are quite ‘meh’, a mixture of over-pricing and dysfunctional interior design, however gems of alehouses can be found in this quaint yet hustling town. Dive Bar, 3 Dragons sports bar and Phatties Bar at An Bang beach each offer amusement and alcohol without recall to the need for patrons to drink themselves into a vomitable state, thus enabling everyone to chit-chat to their hearts content while quietly informing the bartender of their needs.
So to sum up – you, the proprietors of the north and south, lift your game, I say! Banish these inglorious vomitoria! Bring back refinement and finesse, away with the binge drinking and return to Vietnam’s real drinking lore – the days of friendliness and rice whisky, ‘bia hoi’ (cheap fresh beer) and good company.
Besides... vomitoria are only a trend, right? And no, I have no idea which bars are No.1 in the world.
~News courtesy of Tuoi Tre~
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