Living Like a Vietnamese Rock Star

The band at Envy Club and Lounge performs a cover of Lady GaGa’s “Paparazzi”

By our second night in Da Lat, we had run out of evening activities.

Atop the Vietnamese highlands, the resort town known as the City of Eternal Spring and “Le Petit Paris” has much to offer for travellers. The cool weather offers a respite from the heat of the coast, and the European influence can be seen in architecture and cuisine alike. It is a fine place to spend time in cafes or take part in outdoor activities, such as kayaking or canyoning.

What Da Lat is not, however, is a bustling night spot. Beloved had decided to call it an early night by 9 pm on Saturday, and I was left at loose ends. Cafes were already starting to close their doors, and even the house band at the Ngoc Lan Hotel had ended their show for the evening.

The only spot to show some promise was the nearby Envy Club and Lounge, which was radiating an indescribable amount of light and sound, like a Vietnamese lighthouse against boredom.

As soon as I stepped inside, I was living like a Vietnamese rock star.

The club was packed with sound and lighting equipment, and filled with chic, comfortable couches and chairs. Da Lat’s movers and shakers sat around the side of the club, consuming endless waves of Heineken, cavorting with their entourages and hobnobbing with members of the band. I’ve seen my share of house bands before, and Envy’s was very good. I counted as many as five singers, and they played a mixture of Vietnamese, English and French songs.

I pulled out a cigar that I’d been saving for a special occasion. The server rushed over, and I resigned myself to what inevitably happened when I tried to smoke a cigar; they would look at me like I had just set fire to an orphanage, and tell me I was not allowed to practice my filthy habit in their establishment. Not this time, though. She rushed over so that she could light my cigar for me.

The prices at Envy are extravagant, but only by Vietnamese standards. (“How dare they charge $3 for a glass of 12 year old whisky!”) They offer bottle service for those who truly want to live like a rock star, and the fabulously rich can buy a bottle of Hennessy Richard for a mere 55,000,000 Dong (approximately USD$2,800). The price is matched by the service, and the staff will be by on a regular basis to top up your beer and add more ice, as needed.

Envy was clearly the place to bring a date you wanted to impress, and the club provided ample fodder for those travellers who indulge in flagrant people-watching. (There is no more fascinating cultural activity to witness than the process of Wooing, of which there was an abundance.)

I had a good time in Da Lat. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the temperate climate, the restaurants and the cafe lifestyle. But, for me, Envy was the highlight: a chance to enjoy great music, live the high life, and take the pulse of the new Vietnam.