back in Thailand

Memories of Thailand came flooding back Saturday night. The reminiscing wasn't prompted by a travel discussion, a photo or a similar landscape. The memories were prompted by a bar.
Specifically, Dr Dremo's in Arlington. The lower level of the bar is a dive (although the crowd turns it into a trendy dive) built in the style of Southeast Asia.
I'm sure this isn't on purpose. But the wall-less, roofed area on a concrete slab sets the scene just right. The colored lights and crazy-quilt decorating scheme continues the trend. And the plastic patio-furniture tables and chairs set up on the concrete, sitting in the humid air under weakly turning ceiling fans, perfectly captured the ambiance of just about every Southeast Asia bar, or restaurant, we entered.
Of course, the details shattered the illusion. There was a wide variety of beer, and it all cost considerably more than 80 cents a bottle. It didn't even come in the preferred Asian 600ml bottle, but in plastic keg cups. And once we walked upstairs, the bar transformed into a multi-level pool hall.


Image from Flickr user Furcafe