2 Guys, 32 Beers, 14 USD

Well, I would like to tell you a short story about how we got really drunk with beers in Hanoi for less than 14 USD. 

It tastes fresh like freshly squeezed orange juice.

But first let me introduce us to you. We are 2 students from Switzerland who travelled for 2 months through Asia in winter 2017. Our first destination in Vietnam was Saigon and then went north until we ended up in the busy but lovely capital city of Vietnam – Hanoi.

We stayed in an Airbnb near the beautiful old quarter. Like real tourists, we checked what we should do in Hanoi. On several blogs, we read about the Bia Hoi Hanoi which is the cheapest beer on earth with 40 Cent per beer. But the most fascinating fact about the Bia Hoi Hanoi is not only the price but also the circumstance that it is brewed in the morning and sold in the afternoon. We even didn’t know that this is possible. That’s why we decided that we must try this unique beer.

On our second day in the city we visited the famous clothes market called Đồng-Xuân-Market. There we got this funny snapshot.

After we visited this impressive market we walked back home. On our way to the Airbnb we had to cross the old quarter and then in a very busy street we noticed a sign “Bia Hoi Hanoi”. So, we decided spontaneously to get one beer to find out how it tastes and then to go back home because we felt not very well. The place was already really crowded with locals although it was just 4 pm. We sat down on these famous little plastic chairs and ordered 2 Bia Hoi Hanoi. Within less than 1 minute the beers were on our table. We both needed just one sip to get a big fan of this beer.

For sure you can’t compare Bia Hoi Hanoi with a normal beer. The taste is not that strong like the one of a classic beer, it tastes fresh like freshly squeezed orange juice. Already before our glasses were empty we had another 2 beers on our table albeit we didn’t order them. But we had that much fun in this place that we decided to stay and to drink them and it went on like this. With every beer, we got into a better discussion about our trip, politics, and beer. Somewhen in the evening, a Russian couple joined us. We didn’t know them, but we had some pretty interesting discussion about the world and the relationship between Russia and Europe. And because of social media, we still stay in touch till now. 10 pm the place was already more or less empty. Just we and the Russian couple plus the owner and the staff were left. Furthermore, they told us that they ran out of the Bia Hoi Hanoi beer. That’s why we decided to go back home. Then we got the bill and realized that we (just me and my friend) had 32 beers! So, each of us had 16 beers. For all beers together, we paid less than 14 USD. In Switzerland, you pay for one beer roughly 5 USD. After we settled the bill we said goodbye to Russians and walked home. Normally that would be just a 20-minute walk. But we needed more than 2 hours. I’m sure that you can imagine how we walked. After we made it to our beds we slept for the next whole day. It was one of our highlights in Vietnam. I really recommend you to try the Bia Hoi Hanoi its worthy.

Words and photos by Adrian Willi

Drink some beers in Hanoi’s famous beer street!

Ta Hien – Beer Street in Hanoi

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