Friday 5 February 2010

Going Gin in Hồ Chí Minh

As you will know, one of our number has been travelling the globe at some not inconsiderable distance – presumably you’ve read my co-Lady’s post about Cuba so you ought to have gathered that this is the one about Vietnam.

As I travelled the length and breadth of Vietnam with my current beau (soaking up the sun in Saigon, having a high time in Hanoi… ok ok, here endeth the awful alliteration) it became apparent to me that we had seen only Gordon’s throughout Vietnam. It might even have been the super strength version that they’re allowed outside this country in the big wide world… the one with red and yellow branding… yeah.


As fabulous as Gordon’s is, it was with some significant relief that we arrived in Hồ Chí Minh and went for a little cocktail at the Sheraton Hotel. Of the eight restaurants, drinking holes and lounges at the Sheraton we opted for the rooftop bar where we drank several delightful Bombay Sapphire’s with tonic, and lime, I was pleased to note. As we looked out over the twinkling lights of Hồ Chí Minh there really was nothing more a Lady could ask for... Apart from another round.


Onwards, from Hồ Chí Minh to the tropical island of Phu Quoc where dined on the beach every night and slept in a delightfully simple wooden hut (amidst the quite frankly terrifying noises of the jungle I hasten to add) – and this is where the splendid game of gin rummy was discovered. If you haven’t opened your mind to this brilliantly named game already you must down tools immediately and follow these instructions to learn it. I discovered that I have a natural penchant for the game, and when there’s gin involved… well, I don’t even need to elaborate. Several rounds in things were getting a bit messy, at which point my handsome companion (yes, still the same one) called me obstreperous (someone can’t handle their gin) and I proceeded to ‘go gin’ – the point at when a player achieves the best possible outcome of the game – a bonus of 25 points. But then, us ladies always win when we 'go gin'.

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