Drinking with the Thuongs

You've just finished your dinner and are having one last beer before going to bed, after a long day of trekking through the Vietnam rainforests, when you are invited to join the local villagers for a drink. Apparently the youngest member of the family is one month old today, which is a traditional family celebration.

There are about 30 family members there, seated at 3 tables, roughly split as (i) elder gents (ii) younger gents and (iii) the loopy women. There is only one other English speaker there, and a couple of French speakers, of which you have a small amount of knowledge. All other communication is done with hand gestures and facial expressions.

You start at table 1 and are given a shot glass full of rice wine. You are told that this is fairly weak, at only about 35% abv. You clink glasses with everyone else at the table and you all knock back the drink in one. Seconds later your glass is full again, and you repeat the process again. The first drink was for health, the second for family, the third for friendship etc.

After about 15 minutes you move onto table 2. This is much like table 1 except that the toasts are to more abstract things like somebody's haircut, or to rice wine itself. By now, many people are sporting wide grins. A short while later you move onto table 3. The women are vicious. If you spill a drop while clinking glasses or don't quite knock back the whole drink in one, they make you drink another glass as a forfeit. But you soon gain their respect by accepting their forfeits manfully, and they label you as "Mister Number One Man".

You go back to table one where the baby's grandfather is looking rather merry, yet somehow retains his dignity. A couple of rounds later and it's clear that, after just an hour, the drinking frenzy is winding down. Some people have scampered off to the toilet; others have gone to bed; one is giggling uncontrollably in the corner. A hard-core few remain at table 2 but they are now drinking at a more sensible rate and discussing Vietnamese politics.

What you've just taken part in is the most bizarre drinking session of your life. Extraordinary!