Memories from Minsk.

One could never be sure whether this really was a genuine bar or not. It could be described as an area with an open space layout, a rather random collection of old wooden furniture, weeds growing out of the floor and the smell of a different kind of weed often permeating through the air whenever you walked past the place. It technically had a bar area where staff could serve drinks from, but one could often never be sure that anybody was ever actually working there.

For some people that travel across South East Asia, chilling out and relaxing at such a location may have fulfilled a fantasy or two of detaching themselves from the reality of the capitalist world. This bar did not seem to care for marketing, service standards, openly displaying drink promotions or even opening according to a consistent daily schedule.

Despite being jam-packed on the occasional night, it was often difficult to understand how such a venue could survive. It lacked wifi, it lacked cleanliness, it even lacked a real sign on the front door. In lacking all of these things, it somehow how possessed a unique character; which could be described as a crack den and a nuclear bomb going twos up on a bastard.

As Vietnam’s economy grows at breakneck speed, one could easily predict that for venues such as Minsk bar, their days will be increasingly numbered. It could be expected that with increased financial clout and ambition that an appetite for something classier and more sophisticated will consume all in its path; increased rent prices and other costs may eventually lead to many lower class venues struggling to survive. Gentrification may be a slow and inevitable process, but there will no doubt be a desire to force a shift from low priced backpacking hostels to luxury resorts attracting well-heeled guests that will bring more money into the local economy.

Judging by the pictures, it appears that the infamous Minsk bar has now departed and suddenly left us. One can only speculate about the exact reasons for its disappearance, but can probably fully understand why it wasn’t going to last forever. We may welcome future progress and accept what may come as a result, but some of us will probably miss this place, regardless of whether something better can come along and replace it.