So, we have been out in villages, we have eaten local food with families, and even had massages. But it was not until the night on the boat that we had the true Vietnamese nightlife experience. Yes, I am talking about karaoke. Now, The Le had mentioned earlier in the week about karaoke, but I had not really paid attention to the importance of this. Looking back, there have been quite a few karaoke bars in each city – Funny Karaoke, VIP Karaoke, Karaoke Club 86 to name a few. The captain announced after dinner that it was time for the evening’s entertainment – karaoke all night long. He and his crew started off karaoke with an American song and then a Vietnamese song, then the Aussie couple took over followed by the French Canadians with a Backstreet Boys song. The captain then came to us four to really get the party going, and enthusiastically kept us up at the mike and sang along with us to Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Backstreet Boys (Kit), and Britney Spears. Don’t worry though – neither of us are quitting our day job, and since Leann has this recorded, neither one of us can ever run for public office. It was all topped off by a rather uncoordinated but enthusiastic version of “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror picture show.
You may be thinking that this was just our boat, with a captain who happens to love karaoke, but No! I escaped went to the upper deck sometime between Backstreet Boys and another traditional Vietnamese song. The bay was lit up by s small city of boats….and I could hear karaoke from several other ships. Our editor friend from Edinburgh mentioned the next day her friend had warned her about the entertainment. And even as I write this, we have passed by 32 karaoke bars.
They say, “When in Rome, do as Romans do”, but when in Vietnam, one must sing karaoke!