It looks like an ordinary restaurant. But if you look closely, youโll see ladies and a male customer having a fun conversationโฆ
Basic information
[Place] Vientiane, Laos
[Category] Han Noi (Dating bar)
[Shop's Name] Unknown - Mapใ*Approximate location
[Stay time] about 60 minutes
[Price] beer: 30,000 LAK (Lao Kip) (about 1.5 USD)
*If you want to take a lady out, it costs 900,000 LAK (about 42 USD).
[Ladies who drank with] 2 Lao ladies (early 20s)
[Satisfaction/Evaluation]
Overall satisfaction: โ
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โโ
This time, we only drank with the ladies at the bar. I couldnโt communicate well and it wasnโt particularly fun, but the price was so cheap that I wasnโt dissatisfied.
Details
I heard there was a take-out bar called โHan Noiโ in Vientiane, Laos. Itโs mostly located in the suburbs of Vientiane, and apparently they operate quietly, changing locations frequently, perhaps out of fear of being caught. I was meeting a friend who happened to be in Vientiane, and he said heโd discovered Han Noi on a previous visit to Vientiane, so we decided to take a taxi to the bar to see if it was still open.
Steps to entering the bar
When we arrived at the location, which was truly a suburban area with only a few scattered buildings, we found a few restaurants that were open. As we looked around the buildings, I came across a restaurant with a distinctly different atmosphere (young Laotian ladies sitting next to middle-aged Asian men). This must be the Han Noi weโve been talking about.
โBehind these bushes was Han Noi, quietly open for business...
During the stay
We went into the restaurant and ordered beer. My friend and I toasted and started drinking, but it seemed like ladies wouldnโt just come to us, so we beckoned to free ladies who wasnโt with another customer and sat next to us.
The two ladies who accompanied us said they were 24 years old. Perhaps it was the way they applied their makeup, but Iโm afraid they both looked older than 24. They didnโt speak Japanese or English, so I used Google Translate, and the other member communicated in Thai. (Apparently, many young people in Laos can speak Thai.)
When we asked about the pricing system, we were told that you only pay for the drinks you order in Han Noi (thereโs probably no concept of ladiesโ drinks, and the ladies drank the beers we ordered with them), but if you want to take them out, itโll cost 900,000 LAK (approximately 42 USD).
We drank together for a while, then left without taking any ladies out. We paid 30,000 LAK (approx. 1.5 USD) for the beer and left the bar.
โ Laotians seem to like toasting, as we did so several times while drinking.
To the next restaurant
After leaving the restaurant, we took a quick look at the restaurant next door, and there were two or three ladies there too. We decided to go in on a whim, and it turned out to be Han Noi as well. This place really just looked like a regular restaurant, and we had just passed it by. We also popped in for a bit, but the system here was basically the same, and they said the takeaway fee was 800,000 LAK (approximately 37 USD). (We had one beer here too and left immediately.)
Neither Japanese nor English was spoken here, so you might need some skill to have fun drinking in the restaurant. My friend who went with me spoke Thai, so he had a great time chatting with the ladies. Also, a group of Chinese tourists in the back were having a great time playing a game; the men spoke Chinese and the ladies spoke Lao, and I was impressed by their excellent communication skills.