So, you’re all ready to explore the city, guidebook in hand, and the heavens open. Your poncho and any other waterproof items are tucked up safely inside your rucksack back at your hotel. Cursing yourself for being stupid enough to start getting used to the dry sunny heat during monsoon season, what are your options?? Go and find a bar or restaurant and start drinking, of course! This is what we did on our first full day in Saigon. We’d already had one change of clothes for the day after getting down and dirty in the Cu Chi tunnels and now it looked as if our inappropriate attire was going to get drenched in a wet t-shirt competition stylee. Nevertheless, we set off undeterred and soaked to the skin in order to find an eatery we had seen recommended in the guidebook and wanted to try out.
After 15 minutes of walking around in the rain and looking extremely lost and dumbfounded, we decided to call off the search for this so-called “haven in the city” and instead settled upon the first decent-looking restaurant we came across. We were hungry, we were drenched, and we needed refreshment. And there were fairy lights and a dry canopy to sit under. How could we resist such a place?! It turned out to be the best decision we had ever made. The food was delicious – cooked yourself on a small barbeque grill in front of you – and we had made it just in time for Happy Hour! Bliss…
The next four hours (all still Happy Hour, I might add – God, I love this country!) were the best four hours we spent on the trip. We ate, we laughed, we drunk beer, we amused the locals and the waiting staff with our crazy antics and even crazier dance moves. And all this while looking like a bunch of drowned rats. I can honestly say that this was one of the best afternoons I have ever spent. And it was where I made some of my best friends on the Vietnam trip; people I hope to stay in touch with for many years to come. The moral of the story is this: sometimes getting lost is the best thing you can do in a foreign country. Stray from the guidebook once in a while and you may just stumble across one of the best opportunities of your life. And Tiger beer for 40p for four hours straight.
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