Lunch with the Taxi Drivers

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The day after I arrived in Vietnam, I got in touch with my friend Nam. He is a taxi driver who I met on my first visit and with whom I have stayed in contact. He is very friendly and outgoing. A good personality to be a taxi driver.

Nam’s shift usually starts in the afternoon and he works through the evening. After talking to Nam he suggested we get together for lunch the next day, before he began his shift. I agreed and said I would meet him at his apartment the next afternoon.

I arrived at the apartment at 13:00. Nam and his wife were there. Like many Vietnamese they had almost no furniture. We sat on the floor. In a few minutes our friend, Ten Dollar, popped in. Ten Dollar parked motorbikes at the apartment complex. He was quite a character. We all sat around catching up while we downed a few iced beers.

Then we headed over to a nearby restaurant. We were taken to a small room upstairs. Thankfully, there was no karaoke machine in it. We sat around the table and were soon joined by several other men I did not know. It turned out they were all Nam’s colleagues. They were his fellow taxi drivers. At some point Thanh showed up and joined us.

There were cases of beer on the floor and buckets of ice. I had several before the food began to be served. There must have been 20 different dishes which we all shared. Most of it was very good, though I could have passed on the raw pork and onions.

After a couple of hours and many beers the party broke up. The taxi drivers, including Nam, went to work. I walked back to my guest house wondering if I should every hire a taxi after lunch time.

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