An important part of nightlife in Vietnam is Karaoke. Invented by Japanese business to promote sales of video desks, Karaoke was quickly adapted to Vietnam's renovation process. Today Karaoke bars can be seen in every corner, from big cities to rural commune centers.
Karaoke bars have varieties of technology, from expensive CAVS systems to a simple video desk with a couple of microphones. However, as many men go to Karaoke not for singing the attraction of a bar is in the team of girls who serve their guests. Like in nightclubs elsewhere in Asia, make-up and dress may change a rural girl to a sexy bar attendant. Songs are available in Vietnamese and English. Some Karaoke bars keep Chinese disks too.
The cost of singing ranges from 50 thousand dongs to 15 US$/hour, depending on the facility and equipment. A lady companion is free of charge as her cost can not be seen anywhere in the bill. She lives on tips and the commission from drinks and food a customer consumes. Tips in turn depend on how much customers utilize the right of sitting alone with a young girl in a dark room.
Foods and drinks are the tools that Karaoke bar owners use to earn money. At least half of bars utilize a very simple cheating process. At the beginning a boy brings a box of beer or other drinks and a tray full of food and snacks. During the singing session, while a customer concentrate on singing or touching the body of the girl, she is concentrating on opening beer, soft drink cans, food and snack packages. At the billing time, the customer realizes that a huge amount of food and drinks has been touched and the price for each items boosts from 5 to 10 times of the market's price. The bill then goes far above the cash in one's pocket. Nevertheless, girls always ask for tips.
In order to avoid price cheating, customer should choose Karaoke bars in hotels where the price per hour is high but the attendant is not offering too much food and drinks. Other option is to be firm at the very beging: 1. ask the bar owners to remove all the food and drinks except what you have ordered; 2. ask for the price of every item before consuming it; 3. whatch that girls do not throw food away or pour beer into waste basket 4. leave immediately if all the above measures fail.
Karaoke bars are also places to seek for hookers. However, because of recent strong police monitoring, most Karaoke girls do not offer sex directrly. Many girls prefer to go with frequent customers after "working hours" to cheap guest houses or mini hotels. It is a general opinion that Karaoke girls stand somewhere in the upper everage of prostitutes, higher than street hookers but lower than dance girls.
May 2000