I am not much of a drinker in that I don't really drink a lot every time that I drink. I am a big drinker in that I will go to the pub for a few drinks more days than not. It is very rare that I get drunk or do things like have shots... but I will do that every now and then.
Recently, a pub that I have been going to for years asked me to pay my tab. I run a tab there until they ask me to pay it because it is just a lot easier for me to pay it later than it is for me to interrupt the normally quite busy bartenders to tally up a bill that is normally just 1-3 drinks.
They asked me to pay yesterday though and I did so immediately.
This bill started on the 7th of September and reached all the way to yesterday. I don't expect people to know what 7 million VND is but the total bill for me is just below $300.
I think back to what it would cost me to go out drinking at this sort of pub in my home country or other countries that I have been to and it would be outrageously higher than this for just a fraction of what I had. I recall one time being at a bar in Houston, Texas that was reasonably nice. I was trying to "hang with the big dogs" and by the end of this one night session my personal part of the bill was over $200. I didn't even have anything particularly special either, that is just how much of a ripoff alcohol is in the west.
I do not know how it is that Vietnam is able to remain so cheap but this particular bar could definitely charge more than they do but perhaps it is specifically because they don't charge more than they do that they are always busy.
160 beers seems like a lot I suppose, but lets consider the fact that this is over more than 120 days. When you look at it that way, this is not a ridiculous amount of beverages.
Like I said, I drink frequently, but I do not drink a lot.
I love that this is possible here in Vietnam but it is a double-edged sword. Alcohol is so cheap and accessible 24 hours a day that it leads to the downfall of certain people that I know. When I go into the bar that this bill comes from there are about a dozen people that can be counted on to be in there every single day almost all day. I say hi to these people but I also kind of feel bad for them that this seems to be the only thing that they ever do.
Also, there are people that I know that are definitely alcoholics and while I suppose it is saving them money, this sort of country is the wrong place for them to be. They always turn up with new scrapes from falling down either walking or worse, from riding a motorbike, and there are other people that regularly turn up with fresh wounds from fights.
I am a very peaceful drinker and always have been, I also have self-control and will only drink excessively if there is some sort of really special occasion.
I didn't mean for this post to turn into a lecture though: Live how you want to live I say. The point is that booze is exceptionally cheap here. I thought it would be the cheapest in the world but according to most of the research that I have seen online it is not.
I suppose this doesn't disappoint me very much because out of all the countries that are on this list, there are only 2 that I would really consider living in. This one, and Colombia. However, I hear (and am probably wrong about) that Colombia can be quite dangerous and this is another aspect of Vietnam that is just mind-blowingly awesome: I never, EVER, feel as though I am in any danger here. There simply isn't a lot of crime and the crime that does exist is normally petty theft such as things getting stolen that were left outside your house.
I've been here for years and I have never so much as heard of anyone being a victim to armed robbery, which is quite common in my home country.
So lift a pint to Vietnam I suppose. This is just one more reason why living here is pretty damn awesome!