Amazingly it has been almost 8 hours since I was last at The DMZ Bar Hue, and slightly less since my own iteration of the place closed down in Yangshuo. Despite this though the place has lost little of its charm and remains the go to place in Hue.
And why is this? Because The DMZ Bar Hue pretty much invented the nightlife and hippy backpacker vibe that is now synonymous with the city.
What the Hue?
We won’t go too much into a Hue Guide, as I still need to write that, but Hue is a really important Vietnamese City. This is because from the early 1800’s to 1948, or so it was the capital of Vietnam, the French colony of Assam, as well as the royal capital of the ruling dynasty.
This all ended when the communists first kicked the royal family to touch, before they regained some power in what would become the Republic of Vietnam.
Nowadays it houses some very important mausoleums, as well as the former Imperial City, which has similarities with both the Forbidden City of Beijing, as well as Sihanouk’s royal palace in Phnom Penh.
And with so many tourist attractions this means that many people of course visit here, which now means Hue also has a great nightlife scene, which is where The DMZ Bar comes into things.
What the DMZ Bar Hue?
Aside from all the royal stiff, Hue is also quite close to the former bridge of no return, the Viet Cong Tunnels, and old demilitarized zone. And if the term DMZ rings some bells, that is because there are still many in the world. Most noticeably the DMZ in North Korea.
It is for this reason that when this bar was formed in 1994 it called itself The DMZ Bar, or as I keep saying, DMZ Bar Hue. It was opened when Vietnam first began to allow unvetted tourism and just as it was moving away from communism as part of “Do Moi”. Since then it has gone through many changes, but as one of the oldest bars has managed to keep ahead of the pace and remain ever so popular.
Partying and eating at The DMZ Bar Hue
Currently the bar is on multiple floors and includes a hostel in other building, a restaurant and for what is pretty much a pumping thumping nightclub. One the last night I was there on this trip it was playing early 90’s Manchester club music from the Stone Roses.
Drinks wise the bar is very much going along the trendy backpacker vibe offering “buckets” for around $6-8 dollars depending on if you have local, or foreign vodka. Of course I went local, with Vietnamese vodka being pretty good, one assumes because of their association with the USSR.
Said bucket in fact came in a kettle and helped my #FantaQuest quest by being served with Fanta…….
The food here is also fairly top drawer as a great offering of western food, as well as fusion slightly less dangerous Vietnamese dishes. I personally went with stir-fried beef, spicy squid and spring rolls, and a few other bits. The western menu was pretty well stocked, as well as well priced, with even a steak being around the ten bucks mark.
I also behaved like an absolute tourist by getting a DMZ Bar Hue t-shirt, if nothing else for old times sake.
So, what is my DMZ Bar obsession?
Quite simply because back in the day I opened a bar in Yangshuo, China called The DMZ Bar. This was of course related to the DMZ in North Korea, but it set me on a DMZ Bar quest.
This led me to Walking Street on Fields Avenue, as well as to the aforementioned “The DMZ Bar Hue”, which alas and as things stand is that last man standing…….