Have any of you visited Vietnam?

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droid
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by droid »

xiongmao wrote: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.
Hahah please write 'seats' or something for the seating stools, you scared me there for a bit Lol.
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pete98146
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by pete98146 »

I've been but for only 3 days. I do however have a lot of Vietnamese clients so I have decent understanding of them. IMHO, they are very pretty. Their diet is one of the healthiest in the world and they tend to be on the slender side. The Vietnamese do have a lot of Chinese blood so they tend to have the same personality in that they are very serious, smart, dedicated and hard working. I'd almost call them the anti Filipinos.

Some of the negative traits would be their limited language and they have a tendency to marry their own. I know many white guy/Asian lady relationships and I can't think of a single one of my friends that is dating/married to a Vietnamese lady. Not saying it can't be done but I don't think your average Vietnamese lady is overly gaga for the western man. It's similar to Mexican women. They really seem to prefer their own and don't date much outside of their circle.
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xiongmao
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by xiongmao »

Vietnam is now my #1 choice of destination after I finish my CELTA. I'm not sure what the work situation is, but to be honest my first job's just going to have to be a work for peanuts while I get experience one anyway.

One thing to be careful of - corruption. There are a lot of Vietnamese scammers on dating sites, but you can avoid these by actually living there.

I think the food will be good, as I can fall back on those french baguette things which are also a staple in Barcelona. I might even lose weight.

The climate can be tough, I expect it will be pretty similar to Guangzhou.

Plus if I'm there then I could possibly make a sidewards move back to Thailand or even to Myanmar. Myanmar ladies are... intriguing.
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Post by Ghost »

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Last edited by Ghost on February 24th, 2020, 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mr S
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by Mr S »

xiongmao wrote:Vietnam is now my #1 choice of destination after I finish my CELTA. I'm not sure what the work situation is, but to be honest my first job's just going to have to be a work for peanuts while I get experience one anyway.

One thing to be careful of - corruption. There are a lot of Vietnamese scammers on dating sites, but you can avoid these by actually living there.

I think the food will be good, as I can fall back on those french baguette things which are also a staple in Barcelona. I might even lose weight.

The climate can be tough, I expect it will be pretty similar to Guangzhou.

Plus if I'm there then I could possibly make a sidewards move back to Thailand or even to Myanmar. Myanmar ladies are... intriguing.
I know an English language school that hires foreigners and newbies as long as they have a degree and CELTA or TEFL and pays halfway decent so you can live fairly well, however it's in Danang, not Hanoi or Saigon so it's a bit smaller city wise but it's the third largest I think and near the beach. It's pretty chill there and not too stressful, cheap living but decent quality.

PM me if you're interested in the contact details, I've sent a couple guys there before and they got hired.

BTW, jobs start around 15 bucks give or take so I don't think you need to worry about money it's more about how many hrs you'll get which would enable you to live halfway decently. There's always private lessons too to supplement income so I don't think you have much to worry about, it's more about the visa process getting a work permit me thinks...

Here is a site that specializes in Vietnam/Cambodia Language school info, but doesn't seem to have been updated in a few years. There's also dave's ESL cafe too to look for open jobs but the best ones are the ones you find when you go there and look around on foot usually. Plus they will make you a better offer usually too.

http://www.mekongesl.com/home/
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WorldTraveler
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by WorldTraveler »

pete98146 wrote:
Some of the negative traits would be their limited language and they have a tendency to marry their own. I know many white guy/Asian lady relationships and I can't think of a single one of my friends that is dating/married to a Vietnamese lady. Not saying it can't be done but I don't think your average Vietnamese lady is overly gaga for the western man. It's similar to Mexican women. They really seem to prefer their own and don't date much outside of their circle.
Several of my friends that have spent extended amounts of time there thought the women were not interested in Western men. It's better than Korea though.
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xiongmao
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by xiongmao »

Cool, thanks man!

I'm sure I'll go to Vietnam at some point. But the CELTA is taking over my life right now.

Going back to the UK to earn some easy money is also appealing... make hay while the sun is shining. Teaching is hard work, as I'm finding out...
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Mr S
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

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I think dating and whether women are interested in you has to do with the energy one gives off and your demeanor. Like I've stated before for some reason SE Asians really find me attractive,(even the gays) but NE Asian women didn't really seem to care for me so it's all just personal experiences. I haven't had any issues with women in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Philippines. I did have issues in Indonesia and Korea. I did get laid in Japan, but I had to put a lot of effort into it and not sure if it was worth my time or not. I didn't even try in India as I knew that was pretty much pointless. Trying to get laid in the Middle East is pointless unless you pay for it. Mexico is right place at the right time from my experience. America is all about finding vulnerable women and manipulating them to turn it against them, more psychological games.

Whether women are into you or not is all relative to the individual and whether they jive with the culture or not. For some reason the Buddhist SE Asian countries like my demeanor and I don't have to even try hard to get them. So everyone just has to try on their own and see what happens. IF it doesn't work out move on to the next country.
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MatureDJ
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by MatureDJ »

I'm sorry, but as an anglophone white man, I wouldn't be able to help myself from thinking, "hey GI, me so HORNY, love you long time. boom boom" anytime I would look at a Viet woman.
QatarDan
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by QatarDan »

Just got back from a trip there - If anyone does go to HCMC ping me a message as I hired a guy there who showed me around for 2 days - no rip offs, took me up to the Mekong delta and loads of other things and only wanted me to pay him what I thought it was worth - I would highly recommend him.
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WorldTraveler
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by WorldTraveler »

Mr S,
When were you in Vietnam? Two of my friends went there and not like it as much as Phil or Thai. I would love to find some place besides Phil and Thai which are both deteriorating very quickly. There is a lot more money coming in and the girls are becoming spoiled.
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Yohan
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by Yohan »

WorldTraveler wrote: I would love to find some place besides Phil and Thai...
You might consider to check out Cambodia, which is quite different from Thailand. Different language, different behavior of people, different food, small population and Cambodia also offers easily so-called business-visa for 1 year.

To enter Cambodia is easy too, just bring your passport, one picture and USD 20,- to any border point, coming from Thailand, you might consider to enter by land-route.
You get 1 month tourist visa on arrival and just check it out. Cambodia is very convenient for money exchange, as ATMs will work with USD and all people will accept USD to a fair exchange rate.
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WorldTraveler
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by WorldTraveler »

Yohan wrote:
WorldTraveler wrote: I would love to find some place besides Phil and Thai...
You might consider to check out Cambodia, which is quite different from Thailand. Different language, different behavior of people, different food, small population and Cambodia also offers easily so-called business-visa for 1 year.

To enter Cambodia is easy too, just bring your passport, one picture and USD 20,- to any border point, coming from Thailand, you might consider to enter by land-route.
You get 1 month tourist visa on arrival and just check it out. Cambodia is very convenient for money exchange, as ATMs will work with USD and all people will accept USD to a fair exchange rate.
Yohan, how much time have you spent in Cambodia and where? How easy is it to get visa extensions? What is the price for a visa?

I was in Siem Reip 8 years ago for 3 days but has been my only experience in Cambodia. It is top on my list. I feel Thailand and Philippines are getting too many tourist and the girls are getting spoiled. I believe most pretty girls have sponsors they met over the internet. Hopefully it will be better in some other countries.

Mr S. I like all the reasons you give for liking Vietnam. Most Thai and Filipina girls like me. I'm a fun guy with a lot of energy so I don't have problems. Thais love to party even more than Pinays. So how do you think I'd do in Vietnam? When were you there last? :D
QatarDan
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

Post by QatarDan »

I was there a week ago. I got lots of interest from ladies in terms of asking through my Vietnamese friends how old I was, was I married, how long was I staying etc but these were nice girls who would be looking for marriage. I'm not against that but the fact I couldn't speak a word of vietnamese and them not a word of English would be difficult.
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Yohan
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Re: Have any of you visited Vietnam?

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WorldTraveler wrote: Yohan, how much time have you spent in Cambodia and where? How easy is it to get visa extensions? What is the price for a visa?
I am visiting Cambodia frequently since about 10 years.
I was travelling around in most parts of Cambodia, but I stay only a short time as I have my own rooms in Pattaya/Thailand.
Last time I stayed in Battambang for about 1 week.

There is a Vietnamese consulate in Battambang, if you consider to continue to Vietnam.

It seems from all what I have seen, Cambodia visa is really easy on arrival, just pay USD 20,- and bring a picture and passport.
Extensions up to 1 year so-called business visa is easy, no idea how much it costs.

Cambodia is often used as an option to wait it out if your Thailand visa is near to expire. It's easy to cross the borders to Cambodia from Pattaya, daily various bus, minibus, taxi etc. connections to Poipet, Pailin and also along the coast via Trat.

Ideal for a little sightseeing/roundtrip.

It is also possible to enter Cambodia from Laos and not only from Thailand, but you need a Cambodian visa in advance, it is one of the border points which do not issue visa on arrival.
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