Route 666

[Bình Châu, 2/8/25]

In 2017, I paused in Bình Châu (pop 15,500) on my way from La Gi to Saigon. Traveling with others, I was rushed, so could only take one photo, of a caged monkey. Returning to Bình Châu eight days ago, I forgot I had been there. If you can remember every town you’ve visited, you haven’t been anywhere. If you can count all the bars you’ve sat in, you should go back to drinking skim milk. Of course, I’m only riffing on that sharpest operator, Don King. “If you can count your money, you ain’t got none.”

Yesterday, I took a bus to Bình Châu for a much closer look. Entering Coffee 555, I was greeted by the young barista, “You’re late today, uncle!” That’s good customer service. He had seen me just once. On the wall of 555 was a basic mural of Paris with its Eiffel Tower. Up the road in Đất Đỏ is Merci Coffee.

Đất Đỏ is best known for a 1947 incident where a 14-year-old Võ Thị Sáu tossed a hand grenade at French soldiers. How many she killed or injured is unclear. She definitely hurt more Vietnamese bystanders. At Wikipedia, the English and Vietnamese versions differ, but that’s not a reliable source for any historical incident. Having booted out the French, Vietnamese give their businesses French names or decorate them with Eiffel Towers. In tiny Ea Kly, I saw that Parisian icon on a truck. In Saigon, there’s an upscale restaurant called Indochine and a bar named Apocalypse Now. I don’t think there’s a Dachau Cafeteria in Tel Aviv.