5/5 b j w. 6 years ago on Google
This
is
a
landmark,
trailblazing
establishment
in
Hanoi
and
the
name
says
it
all,
while
not
really
saying
anything
at
all
;-).
It
has
long
been
named
in
(formerly)
obscure
guides
to
places
where
like-
minded
men
could
meet
each
other.
Remember
that
this
was
before
the
internet
came
into
wide
spread
use.
And
that
was
years
before
the
internet
became
first
available
at
all
in
the
People's
Republic
of
Vietnam,
and
eventually
fairly
uncensored.
SO,
while
the
GC
as
it
is
affectionately
called
by
most
people
who
visit
it
regularly
has
been
a
beacon
of
hospitality
for
gays
for
at
least
25
years
in
a
communist
country
that
at
times
has
not
permitted
open
displays
or
exercise
of
homosexual
affection
or
conduct,
it
has
changed
a
lot
over
the
years.
One
thing
that
has
pretty
much
remained
the
same
as
it
has
changed
over
the
years
is
a
warm
and
welcoming
attitude
by
the
staff
to
the
wide
variety
of
foreigners
who
find
their
way
to
its
door
on
a
wonderful
crooked
street
in
a
beautiful
section
of
the
old
French
Quarter.
I
started
visiting
in
the
early
1990s,
when
things
were
pretty
Underground,
and
while
it
was
sometimes
fairly
crowded,
the
activity
inside
the
place
was
very
muted
and
cautious.
As
I
recall
the
bar
closing
time
was
something
like
1
a.m.
but
one
night
a
drunken
military
colonel
came
in
with
a
couple
of
attaches
in
tow
at
11
p.m.
and
in
a
very
drunken
and
sloppy
way
announced
that
it
was
last
call,
and
all
drinks
had
to
be
finished
in
15
minutes.
Everyone
was
quite
confused
by
this
as
the
patrons
were
in
from
out
of
town
and
from
all
over
the
world
and
wanted
to
enjoy
their
complete
evening
out.
Me
and
my
traveling
companion
were
only
half
drunk
and
wanted
to
get
the
job
finished.
We
were
drinking
cheap
high
end
liqueurs,
and
I
ordered
two
more
the
minute
the
drunk
Colonel
and
his
Entourage
walked
out
the
door.
To
my
surprise
and
horror
the
colonel
did
come
back
in
about
15
minutes
just
as
I
was
raising
the
second
of
those
drinks
to
my
lips
and
looked
directly
at
me.
He
instructed
the
owner
to
pick
up
all
drinks
and
close
the
bar
and
I
thought
for
sure
I
was
on
my
way
to
a
Vietnamese
prison
or
something.
As
we
wandered
through
the
French
Quarter
back
to
our
hotel
we
noticed
that
he
had
shut
down
all
of
the
bars
in
the
old
quarter
for
whatever
reason.
Since
that
time
I've
had
the
occasion
to
visit
more
than
a
half-dozen
times
and
both
Hanoi
in
general
and
the
Golden
Cock
in
particular
have
become
much
more
open
and
accepting
of
gay
life.
GC
for
the
past
10
years
has
basically
been
a
flat
out
gay
bar
and
is
often
times
quite
busy,
and
on
weekends
can
be
packed.
I
have
learned
to
never
hesitate
to
ask
to
join
someone
sitting
at
a
table
as
they
are
often
not
waiting
for
anyone
else
and
it
is
easy
to
make
conversation
with
most
people
there.
About
those
cheap
high-end
liqueurs,
their
prices
for
things
like
Drambuie,
Benedictine,
B&B,
and
those
type
things
are
ridiculously
Low
by
Western
and
European
standards
and
it's
kind
of
fun
to
go
on
binge
drinking
with
shots
or
mixed
drinks
using
those
expensive
ingredients.
The
local
beers
of
course
are
quite
Strong's
and
quite
cheap.
There
is
not
much
available
here
in
the
way
of
food,
but
there
are
so
many
restaurant
and
other
Foods
available
nearby
in
the
French
Quarter
that
it
doesn't
really
matter.
One
of
my
favorites
habits
was
to
turn
right
out
the
door
and
a
block-and-a-half
down
was
a
wonderful
French
bakery
that
stayed
open
until
11
p.m.
or
midnight
and
I
could
grab
a
couple
of
wonderful
sweets,
one
for
a
midnight
snack
and
one
to
have
with
my
morning
coffee.
Golden
cock
bar
is
a
wonderful
institution
and
I
recommend
that
any
gay
people
or
gay
friendly
people
who
are
visiting
Hanoi
drop
into
its
doors
to
say
hello
to
fellow
Travelers.
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