Cheap Beer

I'm sending this from our freezing cold room in the north vietnamese highlands. The room has no heat and we can see our own breath. Today Jes and I did some trekking through the mountains with a local H'mong women who brought us to her home for dinner...very interesting very cool, but more on this later.

We have traveled the length of Vietnam; from bustling Saigon to the highland boarder town of Sapa, a stones throw from China. At this point I think its safe to say I've discovered the cheapest beer in Vietnam and possibly the world. What I'm talking about here is bottled beer distributed to paying customers inside bars and restaurants. The word restaurant being used in the most liberal sense, most Vietnamese "restaurants" can be carried by one person on a moto bike, putting the stove, and dishes between the legs and stacking the mini chairs and tables on the back using rope. ( I've seen it done just didn't have the camera with). They'll purchase the rest of the food once they've set up from a local market or have it delivered.

Now some places sell cups of beer from a keg that tastes more like water then beer. It's called fresh beer. I'm throwing that type of operation out the window as it is impossible to keep the actual amount and quality consistent. In Hoi An the going price for a glass of fresh beer was between 3000 and 5000 Dong, in general the lower the price the lower to the ground your chair is. $1 = 21,000 dong. So between 14 and 23 cents. I don't think it is fair to include fresh beer into this discussion mainly because I have a sneaking suspicion that the owners mix large amounts of water with said beer. It would take 8 glasses to even feel you'd consumed alcohol, and by that time you'd be full and going to the bathroom every other one.

So the winner is.........Huda beer brewed in Hue, Vietnam. The spiritual capital of Vietnam wasn't that great of a city but it now has the distinction of housing the cheapest bottled beer in the country. 8000 dong or 38 cents.

Also, keep in mind a few things. The prices included are "tourist" prices and may be had for cheaper if local. Mainly this dual price system applies to street venders and markets but can include restaurants. Also, as with any country the prices can be cheaper if quantity is bought from street venders or stores.

Proof above

Also note the price of Heineken under $1.00