I'm back in Vietnam!

[kangarunner]

It's great to be back in Asia after almost a 2 year hiatus.

Had some Pho Bo a few days ago.

My girl took me to get some Hủ tiếu yesterday....

[kangarunner]

@Winston Head on over here! Come see me brother!

[kangarunner]

I saw this on Reddit and it hit my heart close. There still are loving people in this world.

[kangarunner]

I just signed a 6 month contract on an apartment here in HCMC. I'll be posting here about my life with my girlfriend. Mainly for @publicduende.

[yick]

He's not going to care why should he?

But yes, post about your life there, I would like to read about it.

[publicduende]

I just signed a 6 month contract on an apartment here in HCMC. I'll be posting here about my life with my girlfriend. Mainly for @publicduende.

Good for you you're in HCMC, I loved it. You don't have to post for me but I, for one, would be interested in reading your insights during your time there.

Good luck!

[Seeker]

I hope you'll be much happier in Vietnam than you were in America. I checked out some of your first posts a while ago, you much better off in Vietnam then in America you became quite a hostile, angry person. I'd also appreciate you sharing your experiences in Vietnam.

[kangarunner]

Mate, Got me a $2 lunch yesterday! Rice, chicken, egg, and soup!

My apartment is right next to a gym. It's super easy to get around here in HCMC. Tons of cheap street food.

[josephty2]

I hope you'll be much happier in Vietnam than you were in America. I checked out some of your first posts a while ago, you much better off in Vietnam then in America you became quite a hostile, angry person. I'd also appreciate you sharing your experiences in Vietnam.

He likes a challenge. Even gamers in America are basically the old Steve Jobs hippies types. Idk about other groups (conspiracy theorists, new age, trans, etc), I would imagine they would have certain paintings to require long hair for entrance.

Though there are rare exceptions, it may be easier to be abroad.

[kangarunner]

Lots of cheap, fresh food here in Vietnam. I don't cook. I usually just get local street food. This morning I got 4 fried eggs for less than a dollar. Right now I'm getting chicken on the street for dinner.

[publicduende]

I saw this on Reddit and it hit my heart close. There still are loving people in this world.

I only spent one week in HCMC and I was positively impressed. As a city it's not as wealthy as Manila, perhaps not even as rich as Cebu. Yet, like our Indian friend, I couldn't help noticing how streets are clean, people are well dressed and behave nicely with each other. Perhaps living under a strict Communist regime might explain that extra measure of discipline, yet this doesn't explain why mainland Chinese are a lot more unruly and individualistic: they spit their saliva and chewing gums on every public floor available, they let their kids squat and pee or poo anywhere on the street, like (in fact worse) than pet dogs.

Vietnamese exude class, maybe a class that was the French legacy. I heard something similar from Cambodians, also coming from a French colonial legacy. Filipinos can be classy, too, but also arrogant and self-referential. Vietnamese, for what I saw, can express pride and dignity while staying humble and low profile. Of course I am sure there are plenty of rich kids, between Hanoi and HCMC, who don't incarnate those values. Yet, I like to think, this is only a minority.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

I saw this on Reddit and it hit my heart close. There still are loving people in this world.

I only spent one week in HCMC and I was positively impressed. As a city it's not as wealthy as Manila, perhaps not even as rich as Cebu. Yet, like our Indian friend, I couldn't help noticing how streets are clean, people are well dressed and behave nicely with each other. Perhaps living under a strict Communist regime might explain that extra measure of discipline, yet this doesn't explain why mainland Chinese are a lot more unruly and individualistic: they spit their saliva and chewing gums on every public floor available, they let their kids squat and pee or poo anywhere on the street, like (in fact worse) than pet dogs.

Vietnamese exude class, maybe a class that was the French legacy. I heard something similar from Cambodians, also coming from a French colonial legacy. Filipinos can be classy, too, but also arrogant and self-referential. Vietnamese, for what I saw, can express pride and dignity while staying humble and low profile. Of course I am sure there are plenty of rich kids, between Hanoi and HCMC, who don't incarnate those values. Yet, I like to think, this is only a minority.

The Viets in the U.S seems classy, lowkey, and hard working people. But they are not that talkative or receptive towards strangers..
I would love to visit Vietnam someday. The food looks fantastic, everything is way cheaper than the U.S and people seems nice.
Too bad I don't speak their language.. I don't know if they speak a bit of English over there.

[publicduende]

The Viets in the U.S seems classy, lowkey, and hard working people. But they are not that talkative or receptive towards strangers..
I would love to visit Vietnam someday. The food looks fantastic, everything is way cheaper than the U.S and people seems nice.
Too bad I don't speak their language.. I don't know if they speak a bit of English over there.

The Vietnamese are reserved people. They are not that friendly, at least until you get to know them well. I used to think very well of the apparent ease with which Filipinos talk to you and want to be your friends. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the humble, nuanced, polite approach of the Vietnamese or even the Thai, and de-preciate the boastful, sticky, over the top and often purely functional (ie. they want something from you) friendliness of the Pinoy.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

The Viets in the U.S seems classy, lowkey, and hard working people. But they are not that talkative or receptive towards strangers..
I would love to visit Vietnam someday. The food looks fantastic, everything is way cheaper than the U.S and people seems nice.
Too bad I don't speak their language.. I don't know if they speak a bit of English over there.

The Vietnamese are reserved people. They are not that friendly, at least until you get to know them well. I used to think very well of the apparent ease with which Filipinos talk to you and want to be your friends. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the humble, nuanced, polite approach of the Vietnamese or even the Thai, and de-preciate the boastful, sticky, over the top and often purely functional (ie. they want something from you) friendliness of the Pinoy.

I don't mind the Filipino friendliness. Filipinos are alright with me as they are bit like the Spanish people in the U.S, but their food is terrible. All greasy, slimy junk. The Koreans are also cold and reserved people until you know them. The difference is Koreans are also more outwardly aggressive, and ill mannered at least compared to Vietnamese people.

[publicduende]

I don't mind the Filipino friendliness. Filipinos are alright with me as they are bit like the Spanish people in the U.S, but their food is terrible. All greasy, slimy junk. The Koreans are also cold and reserved people until you know them. The difference is Koreans are also more outwardly aggressive, and ill mannered at least compared to Vietnamese people.

@Natural_Born_Cynic, the legendary "Filipino friendliness" is a bit of a caricature of the American friendliness, as seen in countless comedies. It's a more outspoken, over the top, warmer and stickier version of the way American are, or, better, pretend to be your friends. Filipinos might come at you all smiles and hugs, ask you personal questions, nodding and smiling whatever you say.

They embrace you in their chitchat, they promise you to invite you to meet their families, or even do business with them. If they have travelled to or around the place you come from, they start waxing lyrical about whatever (stereotypically) good or beautiful there is in that country. Sometimes they only speak based on second-hand information, most "standard" Filipinos will have never even taken a flight in their lives.

Most attention-starved people of the West easily fall into this honey pot. Reality is, they see you, the foreigner, as a person potentially much more well-off than them. They want, or at least try to build what looks like a nice rapport as soon as possible (hence the flamboyant approach) and of course ask for your phone number or social media contact, which one would happily give away, especially if just landed in the country.

Depending on the level of bronze faced-ness and need/desperation, in 99% of the cases, they will call you back or message you on social media to meet for a beer, or invite you for a dinner at their place. How can one say no? Just landed in the Philippines, already made friends...the legend is true, after all.

After that one friendly encounter, often without even that friendly encounter, here comes the open-heart-surgery conversation about whatever is going on with their families. The stories are always taller, stickier and more tragic than they need to be. There's always an unpayable loan contracted in time of extreme need, an elderly relative in intensive care or an up-and-coming, life-saving medical event, or a son/daughter who show lots of potential but cannot go to school because of missing tuition money.

Of course all the stories end up with the promise that "it's just a loan, I will give you back the money as soon as I can". Now, this is the single biggest cultural difference between us Westerners and the Filipino. To a Filipino, words mean nothing. A promise means nothing more than the pockets of hot air that moved from them to you, as they uttered it. A "loan" means not only it's not a loan..it means they have the right to feel uneasy, insulted, even, if the payer of the loan ever mentions that loan a month, 6 months or 6 years down the line. A "loan" means "I have shown you a little bit of attention, now just give me money, white face, and maybe I'll see you again".

The litmus test of all of the above is that those Filipinos who are financially independent and don't need to throw honey pellets to foreigners, will treat you with the same distance, indifference, if not open prejudice, as anyone in the West. A fellow Italian, Brit, Australian or Chinese will at least display a modicum of politeness, if unsolicitedly approached. Some of the upper class Filipinos have the arrogance to actively shoo a foreigner away like it belongs to a dirty underclass or pariah. Trying is believing.

This is the only reality here in the Philippines. I have been living here since 2015 and played the game, both to my advantage and detriment, until it was anthropologically or sexually interesting to do so. Once I arrived in Manila and got married with the best person I could find, my social circle has had the diameter of a pin prick. I keep distant from anyone who, I know, will be back to me bowl in hand. And that's, unfortunately, 99% of the locals I could meet in my daily life.