There are two important measures of a good bar when you’re travelling. They’re not the only measures, but they’re important. Apart from the obvious stuff, a bar I want to be in when I’m on the road should be the kind of place where you can meet locals or other travellers. And they need to be kinds of people you want to meet (and who’ll be happy enough to talk to you). You don’t want to regret having initiated a conversation - or end up with someone who you can’t escape. It’s always a risk of course. I generally have pretty good luck striking up random conversations though. And I’ve had some amazing nights over the years teaming up with strangers for a night out. I hope those I’ve met with take the same view……. Last Saturday, it happened again. I met two American travellers, Mike and Susan, who were busy filling out postcards while sipping beers in Saigon’s Pasteur St craft beer house (sorry to mention this place again - I’m not on their payroll and I do go to other places). It’s so nice to see people still sending postcards - though it’s decades since I’ve sent one. And now I understand the kinds of people who are supporting the army of young postcard sellers across Vietnam. Susan told me that apart from sending the usual travel updates, she also had a fictional tale evolving via postcards to some close friends. She’d invented a couple who were travelling together and facing the usual pressures couples face on the road. The friends were lapping it up. Cool. It all reminded me of the wonderful days of sending letters home from exotic places - and that long lost idea of isolation from your comfort zone. It's hard to imagine that quite recently, international phone calls were prohibitively expensive and other means of immediate communication didn't exist. As recently as the early 90s when you travelled, you had no expectation of telling anyone back home of your exploits for months. There was no email or internet, less Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I love all that tech. But there was something exhilarating about being off the radar completely. And being isolated. Travellers now have virtually no say in the matter. You can’t miss world news even if you want to. And very few would choose to travel without using email, Facebook or messaging apps. One obvious downside from all that is that without that sense of isolation, travellers are presumably less inclined to reach out to others. The sense of distance from home is blunted by the ubiquitous technology. Distance and isolation created space for a fuller appreciation of new people and places. In the early 90s, Vietnam and Cambodia were even more off the radar than most places. Saigon phone numbers only had six digits. And there were only a small number of international phone circuits into the countries. The chat with Mike and Susan was brief but interesting - covering everything from Donald Trump to rents in San Francisco to design and tech. A rounded session. May the random bar conversation, and the postcard - live on.
