A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 February 2006 March 2006 May 2006

 
In my neighborhood there are two decidedly odd restaurants: Bia Hoi, and Hard Rock Cafe Saigon. Bia Hoi primarily features large unmarked plastic bottles of home-brewed beer from morning to night. No matter what time of day it is, the place is packed with men knocking back brewskis in ice-filled glasses. Bia Hoi apparently means Beer with Ice, but I think of this place as Beer in Bulk. Unfortunately, it may be a long time before I get to try Bia Hoi, as I have never once seen a woman customer in there. Maybe if I get good and drunk before going into Bia Hoi I could manage it with more aplomb.

I can give a more comprehensive description of the Hard Rock Cafe Saigon, as I went to dinner there tonight in the interest of research. Like so many other items in Vietnam (shoes, books, clothes, old masters) it is a blatant ripoff of the official name-brand, and has absolutely no link to the other Hard Rock Cafes, as pitiful and bankrupt as they are. Normally I would avoid this place like the plague, but it said right on the sign outside "Welcome the Hall frame of Rock", and who could resist such an invitation?

Apart from the classic motorcycle up front (which bears a plaque commemorating the life and death of James Dean), the sizable merchandise counter display, and the perfectly recreated logo, there was very little to remind one of the official Hard Rock Cafe. Above my table was a black and white photograph, thoughtfully labeled, of Phil Spector, along with a poster of Motley Crue circa 1987. Other bands represented in posters and photos included Oasis, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, and many classic Hair Bands such as Poison, Kiss, and Guns and Roses, not to mention the impressively coiffed Jon Bon Jovi who appeared to be watching me eat.

Above the bar, the only actual musical element, a flimsy-looking electric guitar (ownership not attributed to any actual celebrity), was flanked by black and white photos of those legendary Hard Rockers Smokey Robinson and Ray Charles. Inexplicably, and for all I know this is true of all the Hard Rock Cafes, most of the other decor was automotive and/or motorcycle related. Hanging from walls, posts, and the bar itself were licence plates, wheels, steering columns, bike chains, and many other unidentifiable (to me) rusty mechanical parts.

Finally, the back alcove featured a pool table and a three-wall mural of what looked to be an old west frontier town, but with motorcycles in front of the saloon. I have no idea what to make of that, but it did give the thing an American flavor.

Now that I've visited the Hard Rock Cafe Saigon for the purpose of writing this post, I need never set foot in there again, which will hopefully mean that I will never again hear the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys back to back for the remainder of my stay here. I hope you people appreciate how I sacrifice myself for you.

© 2002 Katy Warren

posted by Katy at 5:16 AM