June 16th, 2004 | The lowdown by Christie Dang

Make that without ice, thanks

I was warned before I came. “Most importantly, do not drink the water unless it has been boiled, and be wary of ice,” my guidebook said. But thinking that I was the exception to the rule, I went out to a café with some new friends and ordered a “café sua da” (iced coffee). The café was in a prominent tourist location so I thought that surely I’d be fine.

Wrong.

I spent the next two days bed-ridden with multiple visits to the infamous Mr. John.

First and foremost, do not drink the ice. The irrigation system in Vietnam is poor and does not compare to the states. Water is often contaminated and contains bacteria foreign to our immune system. Also, water is frozen into huge blocks to make ice. In order to break the ice small enough to serve in a glass, people use all sorts of tools ranging from saws to hammers which are not necessarily clean. So combine these reasons and you get a cold but unsatisfying drink.

Ask for your drinks “uop lanh” (refrigerated) if you want a cold drink and just in case, make sure to say “khong co da” (without ice) to save yourself the trouble later.