The Shadow Bar, Saigon

This bar was JP’s “favorite bar in Saigon” and it was filled with his “favorite girls in Saigon”. When we arrived, we met about 7 girls at the bar. They were all very nice and so helpful in teaching us Vietnamese. We also met Nú, JP’s girlfriend who lives in Paris. She was very charming and intelligent but I had a problem getting over the fact that she looked 12-years-old. Because it was National Day, the owner gave us a round of free drinks – in this case, JP’s suggestion of Aquavit. Everyone in the bar, including our new friend Sonny from South Africa, drank a shot followed by many Tiger beer chasers. The girls encouraged us to join them for an evening of dancing at the Rainforest Discotheque. This was a big, loud dance club that was pumping electronica out of incredibly large speakers. They even had a “brotha” mixing hip-hop tunes through the beats. The funniest part of the night was when they stopped the music to raffle off home appliances like washing machines and big screen TVs. It was hysterical – like a wacky game show. Lucy and I participated in the Vietnamese rave until past midnight at which time we meandered a few hundred feet back to our posh hotel for a good night’s sleep.