Remote Year

Hanoi Travel

That One Time I Got Drunk in Hanoi

That One Time I Got Drunk in Hanoi 1024 765 Keir Alexa

Hanoi Travel

BACKPACKER / NIGHTLIFE IN HANOI

 

I hear my alarm clock go off… 6am.  You know what that means. – time to hit the snooze bar!  Yeah, that only lasts about, what, 10 minutes?  So it goes off again.  Didn’t you get the message the first time, alarm clock?!  I hit the snooze again.  So me and my alarm clock do this special dance for what was probably a couple hours until I finally won and turned it off.

All I wanted to do was go back to sleep for another 2 to 24 hours.

But I have to wake up.  As soon as I do though, I immediately feel my head pounding and my mouth is dry as the Burning Man desert. I look around my room and see empty food containers and clothes every where. My best friend Shaun is passed out next to me. I look at my phone and see 10 missed calls from the driver who decided to come 30 mins early to pick us up to go on our luxury cruise to Halong Bay with Paradise Cruises.

I wake Shaun up and we scramble like fighter pilots.  I throw random things in my suitcase, vaguely hoping they’ll actually come in handy on a cruise.  I’m barely able to process words thanks to an otherworldly hangover from a night of debauchery. And lots of eating, apparently.  But for now, we need to get to Halong Bay where we’ll cruise the seas for two days.

But this blog’s not about the cruise.  It’s about the hangover and the acquisition of said hangover.

During my trip to Asia, I’ve been laying pretty low from a party perspective because I wanted to take a break from partying.  Okay, not really, but I didn’t want to look like the “Ugly American Lush who comes 12,000 miles to take advantage of cheap alcoholic drinks.”  But the booze out here is really cheap!  And I’m on vacation, so don’t judge!  And I’m with my best friend.  All this adds up to one night of insanity. Or two.  And Hanoi has a reputation as a popular place for backpackers who like to party (or those who pretend to be backpackers).

It all begins with an all you can eat sushi buffet, which kinda sounded yuck since I’m a bit of a sushi snob (Nobu or nothing).  But “sushi” means “sake” – even at a sushi buffet. And nothing is better than hot sake.

Shaun and I meet up with a big group from Remote Year. We start ordering sake and one thing leads to another. We end up at a private room at a Karaoke club that is all tricked out. We order a bottle of vodka and pound some beers. I rarely drink beer. And I even rarelier mix it with vodka.  That’s the kind of night it’s turning into.  The kind of night where I say things like “rarelier.”Nightlife Hanoi Vietnam
We are singing, dancing to all of my favorite 90’s songs and then we decide to head to Old Quarter. Ironically we end up at a bar called Hangover, and the place is completely empty. I hear a balloon tank go off and see a lonely stripper pole in the back. Shaun and I b-line to the bar and grab ourselves a vodka soda.

The music was good house music.. but no one is there so we start to leave. One of the workers says, “Don’t leave now. Just wait until after 11pm.  That’s when everyone shows up.”  “Who’s everyone?” I ask.  He laughs and says, “All the drunken backpackers.”

He was right.  At about 11:15pm, a group of about 40 people come bulldozing in, most already completely shit faced wearing flip flops and t-shirts.

My friend Shaun and I grab a giant balloon and do what the natives do – inhale… whaaapp whaaap whaaaap.   Apparently, this is a big thing in Hanoi.  The balloon tank is quickly a popular target for the horde of backpackers.

One guy takes his hit, then instantly falls on the floor.  As people rush to help him, he quickly pops back up and goes to hit on some uninterested girls.

Backpackers are getting lit, and the music is bumping. House and Hip Hop. Two of my favorites.

The place felt like a college party with people going completely insane. One girl was sitting on a table thrusting the air – while quite possibly being blacked out. The guys loved it.

Shaun and I continue to do one balloon hits while dancing our asses off, making friends with anyone who dances next to us.Nightlife Hanoi Vietnam Travel

I see one girl inhale a balloon for one minute straight. I yell at her to stop.  She looks at me, piercing through my soul, and then face plants on the ground. One of the natives helps her up, looks at me with no emotion and says. “Happens all the time.”

As the club lights turn on, everyone exits the club, yelling ready to keep partying.  Shaun and I walk down the street looking for food.  I see a restaurant that looks like a storage unit with one of those huge doors that rolls up.  It’s halfway down. All I can see are feet and legs moving. I duck down and see that there is a full illegal bar going on. We duck under and enter – and see a lot of the same people from the Hangover! One of the security guys recognizes me, summons me to the poor, and without speaking a lick of English, pours me a whiskey shot.  The international language of cheap alcohol.

At this point, I’m way too hungry to keep partying and our Paradise Cruises driver is arriving in four hours. We end up going to a café called Xofa. It was packed with people sleeping so we get it to go.  At least, I think we do because we ended up with a lot of Xofa containers in our room the next morning.  Which reminds me – I gotta go catch a cruise!

If you read the Nightlife section of this blog post from The Partying Traveler you can see what the clubs look like on the outside in the Old Quarter and read more about the crazy shenanigans that go on in Hanoi.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CRAZY NIGHT OUT IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORY – PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!! 

Why I Joined Remote Year

Why I Joined Remote Year 3413 2730 Keir Alexa

WHY I JOINED REMOTE YEAR

Break ups are world changing. Everyone knows this, but no one can fully comprehend until they’ve experienced one. I jumped into a relationship at 19 which lasted six years. My early adulthood formed surrounded by this person and our way of life together. For those of you that have read my blog before, you know I’ve focused on luxury travel, but it’s been a reallllly long time since I posted last. 2017 was a year to regroup, recharge and remember who I am. It’s time for something new.

HOW DID I HEAR ABOUT REMOTE YEAR

Right after my breakup, ads started popping up for Remote Year. Spend a year abroad working remotely with a group of adventurous professionals! The program exists in twenty five cities and five continents. I was intrigued.

Travel and escape sounded very appealing. Any new experience excited me. I was dying to leave Los Angeles.

Still, a year away from family and friends would be difficult, especially considering my emotional state at the time. I was accepted into the program, but I pushed the idea aside. I needed to heal my broken heart.

Until now.

Remote Year added a four-month program located in Asia. I was sold. Not only have I always dreamed of living in Asia, but I felt ready to move forward and on to somewhere new. I was no longer trying to run from something, but towards something.

“What are you running away from?” Everyone in the Remote Year program keeps joking with each other.

Myself and 34 others from all walks of life are traveling together — professionals spanning from early twenties to late forties. We are running towards the world together, excited to broaden our horizons, our perspectives, and find fun and friendship along our journey.

My journey now is within.

A few months ago I saw a natural doctor, Dr. Sadeghi who told me my current journey is within. His words struck me and I’ve held on to them.

Since I was 19 I have been privileged enough to travel the world in luxury. I lived a fancy lifestyle filled with drivers and security, house keepers and beautiful destinations, gorgeous hotels. But an emptiness often accompanies all the things. I watched others chasing the next big thing, the next party, running to nothing and no real satisfaction or happiness. They keep chasing something they will never find. They explore and travel without, but not within.

It is so easy to slip into routine. The same people, the same restaurants, the same travel locations. The world is enormous. There are 7 billion people out there! There is so much value in taking solo adventures to the places you’ve never even imagined. Explore the unknown! A long time ago I made a promise to myself to live out of my comfort zone. So here I go!!!!

Living in Asia for four months is the complete opposite of what I have previously written about, but whenever I have traveled to third world countries, I’ve always grown and learned so much.

Recently I told a friend I’d be blogging on my Remote Year. He asked me, “Why would you blog when there are so many bloggers, it is so hard to become successful in that space.”

I say, so what? If you go into any industry already comparing yourself to others, what’s the point? The work must come from a place of love and belief. Once again, it’s all about the journey!! You can’t obsess with the end result.

I’ve loved writing since I was in high school. It’s just another way to explore your own thoughts, tell stories and hope that maybe someone else will find value in your experience. Writing is sharing and learning from each other. I want to share with my family, my friends, and I want to share with you.

I’m writing and meditating every morning now.  I’ve made a vow to myself to limit my social media time. Remain in the real world and not get sucked back into the fake.

It’s invigorating.

My upcoming posts are definitely going to be more on the raw and authentic side. Talking about breakups, vulnerability, change, etc.

Stay tuned for more stories and more videos of my Eat Pray Love adventures, and I encourage you to do the same. Explore and live and jump out of your comfort zone. Comment below if you’ve ever wanted to escape your daily life and travel the world. Where would you go??

I can’t wait to share this adventure with you!!!

Xoxo,

Keir

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