Have any of you visited Vietnam?

[Winston]

Mr S has been to Vietnam. Here's what he told me about it and why he recommends it. Apparently it's cheaper to live there than the Philippines!

Mr S:

"Vietnam is just like pi or worse for age differences. Most old westerners go to vietnam to find a wife. When i was there all the foreigners i saw had bars or resteraunts and were 50's or 60's and their wives were in their 20's and hot. Go online and search youll see pics.

I have to go on a visa run by sept so Vietnam is one option cause of the hot girls and its super cheap with the best food in asia in my opinion.

One thing about Vietnamese women is that they are business minded like chinese but not superficial demanding so if you met a good one you could live there let her run some small business while you run yours and have double income. Plus if you lived in a larger city you could still get secret p4p on the side for variety. That's what I should have done which wad my original plan before getting sidetracked in pi. Filipinos aren't business minded. Plus it's safe in vietnam and you can rent a huge modern house for aroound 200 bucks a month. My friend was renting a nice place in danang city that was 3 floors and modern better than my house in the states almost!

Yeah its cheaper than pi, like by half. I already made a post about Vietnam somewhere on rhe forum."

[droid]

It's great news it's even cheaper, i think this is still really an undiscovered treasure. God willing i'll be there soon.

I think news haven't covered their transition to an open economy for some reason. If I'm not mistaken, they're not just a commie farm field anymore. Well, I guess this could be seen as bad, HA-wise.

https://www.google.com/search?rct=j&q=vietnam%20robot
http://telecom-it.net/index.php?ns=News ... population

[smallcheese]

Mr S has been to Vietnam. Here's what he told me about it and why he recommends it. Apparently it's cheaper to live there than the Philippines!

Mr S:

"Vietnam is just like pi or worse for age differences. Most old westerners go to vietnam to find a wife. When i was there all the foreigners i saw had bars or resteraunts and were 50's or 60's and their wives were in their 20's and hot. Go online and search youll see pics.

I have to go on a visa run by sept so Vietnam is one option cause of the hot girls and its super cheap with the best food in asia in my opinion.

One thing about Vietnamese women is that they are business minded like chinese but not superficial demanding so if you met a good one you could live there let her run some small business while you run yours and have double income. Plus if you lived in a larger city you could still get secret p4p on the side for variety. That's what I should have done which wad my original plan before getting sidetracked in pi. Filipinos aren't business minded. Plus it's safe in vietnam and you can rent a huge modern house for aroound 200 bucks a month. My friend was renting a nice place in danang city that was 3 floors and modern better than my house in the states almost!

Yeah its cheaper than pi, like by half. I already made a post about Vietnam somewhere on rhe forum."

I've been to Vietnam a few times. It's changing rapidly as the country becomes more and more integrated into the global economy. Some of the best ROI I've had recently were tied to investments in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh city is much more modern now with many changes just in the last 3 years. What's happening now in Vietnam is very similar to what I saw happening to China in the 1980s when it first started opening to the Western world. That's good and bad. But the rural parts of Vietnam are still very much unchanged.

In another thread here, I've recommended to Winston that if he strikes out finding a wife in China, he should go to Vietnam next. I think he would definitely do very well there.

The biggest issue with women there is the language issue. If you speak mostly English (like me), you'll have a difficult time communicating with women there. But many Vietnamese women speak Mandarin so for Winston, this would not be a problem. Even his basic Mandarin would suffice in terms of communicating with women there.

Even if English is your main language, don't let it stop you from going there to find a woman. One of my best friends is about to bring his Vietnamese fiancé to the U.S. on a K1 visa. He's been visiting her on and off for over 5 years. He's learned some Vietnamese and she's learned some English. But both are on a level more akin to pre-K children. It's amusing to watch them communicate as they often use body language and strange grunts and sounds to get their meaning across. But hey, whatever works! My biggest concern is that he's bringing her to the U.S. where she can easily be corrupted by the Westernized feminist culture there. I've warned him about this already but he's not worried about it that much. Love can blind you to the truth but I'm hoping I will be proven wrong.

I'm very happy for my friend because he's very much like me and also went through a bitter divorce after many years of marriage and 1 daughter in college. His fiancé is 20+ years younger than him. But it's true about the age difference between men and women. It really doesn't seem to matter much there though it's hard for me to tell since I don't live there or speak the language. I think the indifference to age gaps is probably because potential economic improvement through marriage trumps all other concerns, especially in the poor rural areas of Vietnam. My friend is a white American Jew so if he can find a Vietnamese wife half a world away, then there is hope for anyone on this board.

I agree with Mr. S that Vietnamese food is delicious! I love raw beef soup noodles along with the many great tasting appetizers and other main entrees. But if you visit the rural areas there, be careful about the meat that you eat there. Especially if it's on a stick. It's probably rat, mouse or dog. My friend and I never eat meat in the rural areas, though we joke about it all the time.

[Winston]

Thanks for the input smallcheese. I have a few questions.

Do all Vietnamese women speak Chinese fluently? If so why?

Aren't Vietnamese women generally very short? Can you find a taller one? At least 5ft4?

Are Vietnamese women easier to get into bed than Chinese women?

Are Vietnamese women more flirtatious and approachable?

Why do Taiwanese men use expensive agencies to get Vietnamese brides rather than just fly there?

How is Vietnamese food delicious? I've been to Vietnamese restaurants and they seem mediocre. They don't have all the variety that chinese restaurants have.

Is it easy to find vegetarian food there?

How cheap are the hotels there?

A lot of Vietnamese women look like Chinese women. But they seem to smile more and have bigger wider mouths. Lol. They also have a more relaxed easygoing vibe, I've noticed.

[smallcheese]

Thanks for the input smallcheese. I have a few questions.

Do all Vietnamese women speak Chinese fluently? If so why?

Aren't Vietnamese women generally very short? Can you find a taller one? At least 5ft4?

Are Vietnamese women easier to get into bed than Chinese women?

Are Vietnamese women more flirtatious and approachable?

Why do Taiwanese men use expensive agencies to get Vietnamese brides rather than just fly there?

How is Vietnamese food delicious? I've been to Vietnamese restaurants and they seem mediocre. They don't have all the variety that chinese restaurants have.

Is it easy to find vegetarian food there?

How cheap are the hotels there?

A lot of Vietnamese women look like Chinese women. But they seem to smile more and have bigger wider mouths. Lol. They also have a more relaxed easygoing vibe, I've noticed.

All is too broad a generalization. I'd estimate though that 30-50% of Vietnamese women can speak Mandarin, especially in the major cities like Ho Chi Minh City. Those percentages go down a lot when you get into the rural areas but you can still find Chinese speaking women there. It's not just Mandarin but I've found Vietnamese women who speak Cantonese. I think it's because of the proximity to Hong Kong and Macau and the fact that many workers are imported there from Vietnam, and then return later to Vietnam.

Yes in general, they're short though I don't think it's as bad as in the Philippines. I've seen dozens of women from there who are 5'4" or taller. They were in the major cities though.

Hmmm easier to get in bed with? That's hard to say and depends on the man and what she perceives he brings to the table. In general Vietnamese women are conservative, much like Chinese women, but they're not as blatantly materialistic as Chinese women are. But the women in the major cities are becoming more corrupted by outside influences. But if a Vietnamese woman believes that you are serious and not a player, I think the chances of premarital sex are better. At least you don't have to get married first before finding out.

I think Vietnamese women are more flirtatious and approachable if you spoke Vietnamese with them. I couldn't do that but still attracted women solely because they knew I was a foreigner, dressed and acted differently from local men. I think though that since you know Mandarin and you're fearless (great quality to have, BTW), you would do ok with cold approaches. But maybe not as well as how you're doing in China.

I think the Taiwanese men using agencies are looking specifically for wives, much like the Singaporeans. So they are very specific in terms of what they want and are willing to pay for it. Maybe they lack the time and patience to fly there and use the DIY approach.

No Vietnamese restaurants definitely don't have the variety that Chinese restaurants do. But you'd be surprised if you go into the major cities now as their menus are expanding. How food tastes is individual to each person but I liked the food that I've eaten there. And they do offer vegetarian foods, e.g. tofu, leafy vegetables, string beans, etc.

I'm the wrong person to ask about cheap hotels. I like to enjoy myself and sleep comfortably when I travel so I don't skimp as much in that area. Cheap airfare from Hong Kong/Macau and the food there is cheap enough that it compensates for paying for a better hotel. Ctrip and Agoda might be good starting points to get a feel for hotel pricing.

Yes, face wise Vietnamese women are very much like Chinese women. I think the proximity to China is the cause of that. But for some reason, Vietnamese women are often curvier (in the right places) than Chinese woman. Bigger boobs too. Bigger mouths? What's wrong with that?

[Traveler]

I lived in Vietnam for a few years. I don't think Chinese is widely spoken outside of certain areas. District 5 of Ho Chi Minh City is where a lot of the city's ethnic Chinese minority have settled. Chinese is a popular language to study but not nearly as popular as English. Vietnamese is a tonal language with a simple grammar and a ton of words that have been borrowed from Chinese. So you'd definitely have an advantage if you wanted to learn the language and already knew Chinese. Vietnamese used to be written with Chinese characters. Now they use Roman letters. Vietnamese women do tend to be shorter on average but there are lots of exceptions. I thought the food was quite tasty- especially in the south. The Vietnamese food I've had outside of Vietnam has not always been so good if it's not made by Vietnamese chefs. I think Vietnamese girls are generally friendly and approachable but the biggest barrier is the language. I attained an intermediate level of Vietnamese which made a huge difference. Virginity among women before marriage is highly valued in Vietnam so they are not going to be easy to get into bed. A lot of the PUA types complain about their experiences in Vietnam. Standards are different for Vietnamese men. Vietnamese men often pay for it both before and after marriage. According to a certain Vietnamese proverb, only sleeping with your wife is like eating the same dish of food all the time. A decent air-conditioned hotel room could probably be found for $15 a night. I rented an apartment for about $200 a month when I lived there.

[Traveler]

I think this video which compares Korea to Vietnam is pretty informative. She teaches in Korea but has visited Vietnam with her Vietnamese boyfriend.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6YieMJtrlg

[Mr S]

Essentially, everything stated above is correct. The only thing I might shed light on are the cheap hotels. When I went there you could get decent cheap 2 or 3 star hotels for between 15-20 bucks a night. I was looking at one of the hotel cards I kept from last I was there and the hotel I stayed at is still open in Ho Chi Minh. I think I remember staying there for between 14-16 dollars a night. According to this site they are around $21 a night now. It was in a decent part of town and nothing too fancy:

http://www.enjoytravelvietnam.com/Vietn ... minh-Hotel

Here are some others to compare prices and services:
http://www.enjoytravelvietnam.com/Vietn ... otels/37/2

So I guess nowadays its between 15-25 bucks a night for a decent 2-3 star hotel.

Yeah, the girls tend to be short but they have nicer bodies and curves in the right areas, like breasts and ass, unlike Filippinas which tend to have either one or the other, not both, plus they tend to be a little bit chunky whereas Vietnamese women's diets are healthier so they don't have much fat on them or little bellies like Filipinas often do.

When I went there Vietnamese women seem to be more open to trying to talk to foreigners, even if you aren't trying to pick one up. When I was there I'd just walk around and sometimes they would talk to me or ask me something. Many are also trying to practice their English so that's a good way to chat them up to sometimes. As you know I'm not generally flirtatious or open to just randomly talking to people so if they did that with me in Vietnam without trying imagine how easy it would be if you actually put some effort into it.

Internet cafes or small food/coffee stalls/shops were good places to chat up girls, it was weird I'd just sit there and someone would just come up and start talking sometimes. This happened more so in Ho chi Minh, but it did occur to a lesser extent in Hanaoi and Danang as well.

Most of the food there is separated out so if you only want vegetable type stuff that's easy to find. There were little food stalls everywhere and most of the food was good even if I didn't know what it was. Yeah, i'd stay away from the meat, I just read an article now that eating cats is now a big thing now and people cats are disappearing and they are stealing cats from China and moving them over the border illegally. That's one turn off for me is that their culture seems to have no morals in regard to what they consider food, they eat anything that crawls it seems. I'd stick to fish and vegetables and fruits if I was eating there. The other thing I hated there were the little kindergartner stools and chairs they would sit on at these outside food stalls, like literally made for 5 year olds so if your tall then you can barely sit on one, you might as well just sit on the floor in my opinion.

However, I feel if you found a good women there you can rely on her with your life cause she will stick with you through thick and thin. I saw so many dudes that I have no idea how they could attract a younger pretty Vietnamese wife cause in their home countries they would be considered well over the hill, I suppose though that's why they are there! I would say the same kind of Westerners that look for women in the typical SE Asian countries like Thailand and Philippines are also exploring Vietnam, however many of these guys get stuck in whichever SE Asian they visit first so many maybe don't know that Vietnamese women are probably a better find than Thai or Filipinas in GENERAL. I guess like the previous post the main issues are language and cultural barriers. The girls there are smart enough to learn basic English there though so I don't think it's that big a deal even if you meet a girl who can barely speak English at first. I think the good girls are more cautious with sleeping with you unless they know your serious, but there's lot's of P4P there so I don't think it's much of a big deal if you don't mind paying for it while your waiting for your main girl to decide to sleep with you or not.

I know American passport holders have to pay for a visa, not sure if a Taiwanese passport holder has free entry or not.

As I stated in a previous posting, my first plan was to actually live and work in Vietnam, but I got side tracked in the Philippines. It's imperative from my own experiences that one tries to stick to their original travel plans, then after they are fully explored then decide if one wants to change them or not. Looking back in hindsight, I probably would have been better off working in Vietnam. The girls are better looking, smart, motivated, cheaper living expenses and higher quality as well. Oh well, hopefully someone reads this that is still thinking about visiting Asia looking for a woman decides to try Vietnam first before the other SE Asian countries. If Vietnam isn't for them, they can always try Philippines, Thailand or China next as alternative options.

OH yeah, The northern Vietnamese look more Chinese and the Southern Vietnamese look more SE Asian mixed with Chinese. I prefer the Souther look cause they have curvier bodies and wider eyes, I'm not into the Chinese slanty eye look personally when looking for a woman. I like the big doe eye Asian look, which one can only find in certain Asian SE countries and Vietnam is one of them along with the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Maybe Burma too, but I haven't been there to check it out. I don't count Indonesia cause I consider the girls to be completely unattractive looking IMO, no curves whatsoever, total turnoff for me.

Another thing is the food is somewhat okay to eat without worrying about food poisoning, the problem I had there was just loose stools all the time, so one had to clean one's ass thoroughly unless you don't mind skid marks, haha. I don't know I guess one's stomach has to get used to the bacteria there or something. I stayed away from the ice there too, just in case.

I was looking at the visa process and it seems a bit more complicated than when I first went there. IT seems one has to apply for a visa on arrival and each site has different rates, then you have to pay some kind of a 'stamp' fee when you get to the airport. So total cost is between $60-65 dollars for a single entry tourist visa it seems. When I first went there I think it was $25-30.

This site was recommended for booking stuff in Vietnam:
http://www.hotels-in-vietnam.com/

This is a common pick-up joint in Ho Chi Minh if your looking for Vietnamese girls interested in foreigners or pick up girls:

Apocalypse Now
http://www.saigonbarsonline.com/apocalypse-now/

This site has all bar listings I guess for Saigon area:
http://www.saigonbarsonline.com/

[Traveler]

This is a common pick-up joint in Ho Chi Minh if your looking for Vietnamese girls interested in foreigners or pick up girls:

Apocalypse Now
http://www.saigonbarsonline.com/apocalypse-now/

That place brings back memories. I think a lot of the Vietnamese girls at that bar are actually free lancers trying to make some extra cash. A tourist says he paid a Vietnamese girl he met at Apocalypse Now $500 to spend three days with him.
http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/ReadersS ... er8356.htm

This is the girl:

Was she worth it? He got a tour guide and a sleeping companion for three days.

[Traveler]

He also posted a picture of some of the girls he met at one of the hostess bars in Vung Tau:


Vung Tau is about 90 minutes south of Ho Chi Minh City by hydrofoil. At those kind of bars you can buy drinks for a girl and she'll sit and flirt with you. Bars usually close about midnight. If you want you can take the girl back to your hotel room at closing time.

"Nick, a guy I’d worked with earlier in the year, must have recognised me and quickly waved me over to join him at his table. He had a number of cuties gathered around him and at the table's center was the ubiquitous bottle and a bucket of ice.... Nick, like most of the expats who’d settled in Vung Tau, had taken a local lady as his wife. And judging by the manner and attitude of the girls we had with us, it was not hard to see why. Even though these ladies were on the game they seemed strikingly different to the hardened types I’d seen so often in the bars in Thailand. Physically there was a difference as well. Instead of brown skin and tramp stamps, it was unmarked, fair complexions. The girls were attentive and demure, and anticipated our needs without being told. Drinks were never asked for but were gratefully accepted. Yes, they were still hookers, but unlike so many we see along Cowboy and Nana, they didn’t behave like savages from the jungles. With my exertions of the previous four days in Saigon plus the beers I’d consumed beginning to catch up with me I decided to call it a night. Nick suggested I might like to take one of the ladies home with me but I declined. As appealing as it might have been I’ve started shying away from paying bar-fines; these days I prefer the company of freelancers."
http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/ReadersS ... er8356.htm

That's exactly what I remember. The first time I entered a similar bar in Vung Tau I had a hard time believing the girls there were hookers. They seemed so genuinely nice and were not at all pushy or money hungry. One of the girls even offered to meet me the next day and show me around the city.

[droid]

That place brings back memories. I think a lot of the Vietnamese girls at that bar are actually free lancers trying to make some extra cash. A tourist says he paid a Vietnamese girl he met at Apocalypse Now $500 to spend three days with him.
http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/ReadersS ... er8356.htm

Lol, from some of the commments:

"Apocalypse Now was FUN, except for the drunk, fat white girls who push everybody out of the way, just because they don’t get any attention. Only white women behave like this in Asia. Never had a Asian gal push me out of the way".

[Mr S]

I don't know if that chick is worth $500 for three days, maybe a week. I would have negotiated better but I guess it also depends on what the girl thinks of the guy and how desperate she is for money. Back in the day one could go to Thailand or Philippines and just arrange to hang out with the girl for free, just paying for her food and whatnot, but I think those days are pretty much over in those countries. I think the internet and social media has made most pick up girls spoiled and not appreciative of the nice guys that give them attention.

I've never been to Vung Tau, I guess I should put that on my bucket list. Nice GRO's that have attitudes pre-social media and smart phones would be nice to experience again. That's one thing Western guys don't get about working girls in SE Asia, most of them don't act like prostitutes like one meets in other countries and they treat you like they're your GF, even more so if they really like you. That's why so many guys loved bars in Thailand and Philippines back in the day. I think those places now are over commercialized, but maybe Vietnam is still alive kicking the old school ways. Maybe I should plan a VISA run there in Aug or Sept, should be cheap enough overall.

How much is the average going rate for p4p in Vietnam nowadays? GRO bars vs. pick-up taxi girls?

[Mr S]

This is an interesting article:
http://www.ispithotfire.com/2011/09/12/ ... -tuoi-tre/

[Mr S]

Found this website:
http://www.nighthawkjourneys.com/nightl ... ife-guide/

And this:
http://www.offshore.com.vn/#!

It seems many Veteran Aussies have moved on to Vietnam rather than the previous haunts of Thailand and Philippines, I don't blame them.

[xiongmao]

I dated one Vietnamese girl when I was in Thailand, she was very nice but Bangkok had ruined her really. Pity, as her legs were amazing.

Vietnam is pretty high up on my list of possible places to go after my CELTA.

Pluses for me are that the girls are nice and the food is also better than Chinese food. After living in Barcelona for 4 months I expect very high standards of food now.

Minuses are motorbikes and rain. I hope there are less stray dogs than in Thailand as well (although an umbrella was a good weapon).

I think it's pretty easy to get long stay visas, well easier than Thailand or China.

I don't know how easy the language is but the written stuff is pretty easy to learn.

As to the loose stools - I had that a lot in China, but it cleared up when I got to Thailand. I had a cast iron stomach in Thailand, so I guess after time you get used to it.

And those little stools - the Chinese had them as well and I have a bit of a thing about them. I saw some on a FB friend's Vietnamese friend's photos and they felt really insulted that I pointed them out.