Night Out

I have not posted anything recently (not sure anyone's noticed!) because, unfortunately, my laptop is ailing from a virus, supposedly from an Asian website (damn Asian websites!). I am using The Boyfriend's laptop but I have no way of uploading pictures because I did not bring my USB cord and he does not have the little slot for my camera card. So there will be no part II of Cho Ben Thanh until I figure out another solution.

I've had in mind a couple of posts that do not require pictures. However, it does not seem as much fun! But here goes...

Last night, The Boyfriend and I went out for The Gastronomer's and The Astronomer's last weekend in HCMC (Boo-urns!). I thought it would be interesting to list how much such a night out would cost. All prices are for two people.

50,000 dong - Taxi ride
70,000 dong - Dinner of banh xeo and bo la lot (including 2 Saigon bia)
25,000 dong - Taxi ride to ice cream place (split with 2 others)
60,000 dong - Ice cream
120,000 dong - Bowling

Our total tally was 325,000 dong (about $20) for two people which I think is a great deal, considering it included dinner, alcohol, dessert and entertainment! To be clear, I would not call this typical. Dinner for two for us can range between 40,000 dong to 400,000 dong, depending on where we go. While I think it's cheap, I have no delusion that all Vietnamese can afford to go bowling. I'm sure the average Vietnamese person would find this expensive. I just wanted to show that fun can be had for a good price!


The Gastronomer was lovely enough to share this picture with me. It's a large crowd; The Gastronomer and The Astronomer must be popular... They'll be missed!


Here are some sizzling banh xeo. Can you hear all ten go "xeo"?