Mot, Hai, Ba...Yo!

Beer, cuttlefish, chili sauce, peanuts, and Lonely Planet

One new thing I've learned in Viet Nam this time is how to count....to three, that is. This post's title is a common Vietnamese toast - "One, two, three...Yo! ('Yo' is apparently one of those universal language words). As you might have guessed, I'm going to tell you about a time you might want to use such a toast, namely bia hoi.

Now, in defining the term, one can talk about bia hoi, the actual stuff in your glass, or bia hoi, the experience. Literally translated, bia hoi means 'fresh beer'. This is light, Czech-style pilsner draught, completely unaged, transferred to a keg that day, and likely brewed within the last couple of weeks. The taste is light, not particularly hoppy, but can be a bit yeasty, depending upon the batch. A batch runs between 2% and 4% alcohol, and if you pay more than 7,000 dong (about 35 cents) a glass, you're paying too much. Kegs of bia hoi are delivered daily to restaurants and other establishments which appear to exist only to sell bia hoi.

Delivering the bia hoi

Typical 'Bia Hoi Corner' scene

And that's when the experience comes into the definition. You can find bia hoi the substance in other places in Viet Nam (although seemingly only in the northern half of the country), but the true bia hoi experience is found in Ha Noi's Old Quarter. Here's what you do: in the evening, approach an establishment bearing a sign advertising bia hoi (ensure that it is, in fact, serving bia hoi and not Heineken. No offence to Heineken, but I didn't travel a bazillion miles to the other side of the world to consume something I could pick up at a liquor store 3 blocks away. Incidentally, Heineken tends to appear on Vietnamese menus as 'Bia Ken', which amused Ken greatly).

Anyway. The seating for bia hoi is on the sidewalk, possibly even on the street. And by seating, I mean Rubbermaid stools for both chairs and tables (the places offering fancy name-brand draught

Yes, that is a helmet with a bun/ponytail hole

may feature plastic mini lawnchairs for seating). Indicate to the proprietor/ess how many glasses of beer you'd like and how many more stools may be necessary. When the glasses of beer come out on the plastic tray, pay and enjoy. Chat with your friends and other people sitting in the same area. When more people come and more stools come out, shove over and become more friendly with your companions. Talk to people from other parts of the world, and compare travel stories. Watch the motorbike parking jigsaw puzzle. Be offered and refuse (or not) snacks of doughnuts, peanuts, spring rolls, coconut rolls, and traditional char-grilled dried cuttlefish. Order another round. Observe the astonishing variety of what the well-dressed young person wears out on a Friday night. If the police come, pick up your glass and stool and stand on the sidewalk (not technically allowed in the street). Once they've gone, resume normal activity.

That's a police truck - they came, said things over a loudspeaker,sat there for awhile.
Everyone seemed to ignore them.

Watch people come and go. Go back to your hotel; come back again other nights and never see the same thing twice.

Study of beer glasses with fan

Our hotel was around the corner from one of the main bia hoi centres in the Old Quarter; a location on each of four quarters, and other places down the blocks. We met people from England who worked in Vietnam (along with a puppy named Bia), other travellers, and a couple of young Vietnamese people who wanted to practise their English. We listened to a live band down the block, tried out the cuttlefish (not bad with chili sauce), and observed the life thrumming through the Old Quarter night.