St Patrick’s Day in Bangkok

One thing I haven’t really mentioned is that I was having a bit of a rough time over the past few weeks. I was in Saigon, staying in hostels, touring the city during the day, and hitting the local watering holes at night. Which is a good time, but it wasn’t sitting well with me. I think one of the problems is that I’ve been feeling a little homesick. If I didn’t have other commitments in Southeast Asia over the next few months, I would have considered heading home for a break. I don’t know what a vacation from your vacation is called, but it’s what I needed.

On St Patrick’s day, I flew from Saigon to Bangkok and checked into a 5 star hotel that was renting for about $85/ night. While it was over what I wanted to spend on my lodging, it was exponentially better than the $14/night private room I had in my hostel in Saigon. The nice room with great AC, a bathroom where you can flush the toilet paper (instead of throwing it in the trash can), and a television that had a few English channels quickly lifted my spirits, and I found myself feeling better pretty quickly. After refreshing and relaxing for a bit, I headed out of the hotel to find something to eat. I made it about 2 blocks before I found an Irish bar, all set up for St Patrick’s Day. There were a few people on the patio, so I figured I’d pop in for a quick Guinness before I moved on.

But when I entered, it was just like being back in DC. Wall-to-wall native English speakers, wearing green shirts and holiday hats, drinking green beer and Guinness, listening to a live Irish guitarist who was playing What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor as I walked in. I grabbed a spot at the bar and made small talk with a couple of Canadians nearby, one of whom filled me in on the reason why all local beer in Thailand sucks (the short version is that the Chang brewery owns all of the big labels and uses their influence to make it difficult for competition to enter the market). They even had a Thai midget in a leprechaun suit. I wanted to get his picture, but I couldn’t do it without being too obvious.

One thing you have to appreciate about Irish bars; they’re consistent. Wherever you are in the world, you can walk into an Irish pub and you can easily forget what country you’re in. The bartender might be foreign, the currency may look like monopoly money, but a Guinness is a Guinness, and Irish folk music is fun to listen to anywhere. So if you find yourself on the road and missing a bit of home, head to the nearest Irish pub. It’s not quite the same as having dinner with your friends or sleeping in your own bed, but it might just be what you need for a quick mental reset before you dive back into your travel adventures.