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online pros living in Vietnam thread online pros living in Vietnam thread

11-15-2012 , 09:38 AM
First 24 hours in Ho Chi Minh, really liking this place so far. I would def consider living here for a change instead of Thailand.

Today I just grabbed a motorbike taxi and told him to take me wherever, he made a cool little tour for me and spoke amazing english. He definately was better read than I am. I felt kinda stupid when he started talking about his favourite German authors, and he could speak Japanese because he lived in Toyko for a few years. My taxi driver from the airport claimed he could speak russian so maybe they were just bull****ting to make themselves look better, IDK.

Went to the War Museum, Reunification Palace, China Town markets, a Chinese Temple, a Vietnamese Temple, Notre Dame Basilica

I'm pretty sure he overcharged for 500k for the day, it was a great day so Im not going to complain too much. What is the going rate for mototaxi? Say per hour?

Anyone close to the backpacker area in District 1 wanna meet up just message me. I think Im gonna try find the Thai Embassy tommorow and if I have time go see the tunnels(apparently like 1-1.5 hours out of town?).

Photos from today. I notice people on the street REALLY dont like their photos being taken. Different to Thai where they just smile away at you.















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11-15-2012 , 10:55 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by billygstar
u literally have no shame eh
what good has having shame ever done anyone?


im not exactly sure which part of my comments you are talking about (or it likely is just a broad spectrum thing) but if i were a working girl i would prefer it if the guy would just approach me the way i do and get right to the point instead of getting hit on like a normal chick for 30 minutes wondering if an offer of $$$ is ever gonna come
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11-15-2012 , 11:49 AM
I recommend the food tour from this company. Expensive for what it is but its def fun.

Would recommend it for all VN visitors for things to do in VN.

http://xotours.vn/
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11-16-2012 , 05:37 AM
I am not sure how you guys manage to spend only 500$/month for good furnished apt downtown + good food. It sounds completely impossible to me. I routinely spend over 2k$/month here in hcmc and more than 500$ on food alone.
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11-16-2012 , 06:13 AM
sick pics
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11-16-2012 , 01:29 PM
I always been budget minded in terms of value if I was making bank or not. When I first landed here I spent 1500 first month and each month it dropped lower for 4 months. After that, it quickly went down fast. To me, the cost for a majority of the things here are not worth it.

2000/month is easily normal if you want it to be. Any more than that is just wasteful to me. All I can say is that, when I was spending less in Saigon, I had no lost in quality other than the establishment location or how the place looked. An example is a massage. I go to a place where I can get a suburb massage/happy ending with a nice looking girl and the ticket price is 120k while she is happy with a 150k tip, no complaints and call her number multiple times. The place is nice. No idea where you go but I assume it would cost more than me. The same comparison would probably go for other things such as food, entertainment, etc.

I like places Scott and Binh's because the food is great and the price is reasonable. I only eat at such places sparingly and eat mostly from the many great vietnamese resturants/stalls throughout the city paying local prices. I also wait and order on special days/time special deals from restaurants I eat at like buy one get one free pizza.

Take a look at eatingsaigon. The guy knows what he is talking about. When the website first came out, I knew 7 of the places he mentioned in his top 20. I have no idea what you think of viet food but Im vietnamese so I always ate such foods and enjoy it. When you ever driving and see a crowded local restaurant, make a mental note to try it sometime. Its crowded for a reason. The locals know good/cheap food.

I don't live in a major city anymore and my last plane trip here was filled with spices and cooking ingredients so now I cook most of my food since there are no non local foods where I am now. That plus no rent to pay and limited cheap entertainment, I spend 200-300 a month now. =) Of course quality went way down in terms of entertainment but viet food is fine and live in a lovely home I had built.

I have no idea what you do but your comment that it is impossible doesnt work with me. My last place in Saigon, I paid 2 million a month. Wont look anything like your place but it was new, decent quality furniture and spacious enough for my needs located in Phu Nhaun.

Everything can be cheaper here and even better if you know where to go. A prime example is my furniture. I got a bed, big closet, dresser, desk, dinner table with 4 chairs and a table/storage thingy all for 10 million. All modern and suburb. How? I went on the internet, found pictures of what I wanted and specified the dimension and had it built by a carpenter. Of course I had to wait 6 weeks but so worth it. Way better than the viet crap or totally expensive expat furniture out there.

Just my long 2 cents

Last edited by djle2; 11-16-2012 at 01:42 PM.
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11-16-2012 , 07:19 PM
got pictures of that place dj?
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11-17-2012 , 01:59 AM
This was a yr ago and cant find the few pix I had taken inside. It was roughly a 12'x9' bedroom with a small bed with a hanging rack for clothes and a small tv on a tiny tv stand. The other room which was also 12' x 9' had a one burner stove, smallish fridge, small bathroom and a small dinner table. It was the top floor of a house where they wernt allowed to use the whole top floor due to weight constrictions because it was a last minute add on they decided to build.

That caused it to also have a 12x 12 patio which was awesome. Separate entrance. Its really a very simple place but Im a simple person. Oh it had no a/c and space to park only one bike. The internet was terrible so I had to hooked up my own.
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11-17-2012 , 11:59 AM
Getting sick of touts, scammers and pickpockets, someone recommend me an area of HoCHiMinh to stay for a few days that is less dense with these things than wherever I am now. Thanks
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11-18-2012 , 01:57 AM
Get out of the backpackers area and D1. Anywhere else and you should be fine... Hell you'll be fine getting out of the backpackers area and staying in other parts of D1.
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11-18-2012 , 02:02 AM
hmm thats nice djle2 $400 a month, obv I wont be building a house there . I think im just going to come over for 2-3 weeks and see how i find it, then head back to thailand. prob be over late January, wanted to go Hanoi but i think HMC is gonna be a better option.
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11-18-2012 , 07:34 AM
is my understanding of the visas correct?

you get 3 months on first entry but if you stay in HCM you can extend for 3 months two more times?


after that do you have to leave the country and if so for how long?


i THINK thats what was said but am not 100% sure
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11-18-2012 , 08:00 AM
i done 1 month initial then 2 x 3 month extensions and 2 x 1 month extensions on top so thats 9 months total so your method of 3x3x3 is probably true. after 9 months you can leave, go to sinoukville get a visa on the day and return/repeat.
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11-18-2012 , 08:03 AM
and yeh to avoid touts etc get out of backpackers area. the cigarette, weed and everything under the sun sellers only go to bars where people sit on the street to drink and dont enter the bars
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11-18-2012 , 10:10 AM
I can extend my 1 month visa I got stamped at the airport for for 9 months total? Someone remind me why the f I am going back to Thailand?

Pretty sure the girls here are way cuter than the Thai girls as well
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11-18-2012 , 12:28 PM
After your initial visa, you can 2x90 days and 2 x 30 days more before having to do a border run. SO you can reach 10.5 months at a time. This is currently, the ****ers change things up often enough.

They said they will be raising visa cost to so who know what else they will do/change.

Mjwhit. Scroosko already answered your question.

I would have to agree girls here are better than Thailand
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11-19-2012 , 01:26 AM
i wanted to move to nam for a few months, but i have kind of sussed out bkk now and can live there for around $1000~ usd a month, i guess the first 1-2months of my time in hanoi ill be spending more then that right?
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11-19-2012 , 02:21 AM
PE - If your going to Hanoi, you will be prone to rip offs way more than Saigon. They are way more aggressive about it too and get confrontational right away.

Either way it is always best to ask for prices first.

Mileage vary

Last edited by djle2; 11-19-2012 at 02:29 AM.
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11-22-2012 , 07:21 AM
So tilted right now.

Walked around for an hour putting my card into about 10 different ATMs, all had max withdrawals of around 3mill. I need 18-20mill.

WTF is this place. I skipped a few ATMs because they were in really dodgy places or were easily skimmable, but guessing the chances of my card being skimmed in the next 12 hours as around 50/50.

How do you get cash here? I had to go to like 3 different cash exchange places in BKK before I came here as well, cleaned all three of them out and got a total of like $200.
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11-22-2012 , 08:01 AM
you can take 5 million from the hsbc atms
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11-22-2012 , 08:13 AM
Can I take my card out, put it back in and take another 5mill, or is it a daily limit? I want 17mill tommorow.
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11-22-2012 , 10:11 AM
i think your 24 hour limit is determined by what the country of your bank account allows you to take out. my uk current account only lets me get 250 quid a day and that was the equivalent in dong i was allowed to take out which is more than 5 million but only around 8 million
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11-22-2012 , 10:25 AM
$6k USD/day ATM withdraw limits on my card

So basicly I can do it with multiple attempts but im just gonna get look like an idiot standing in front of an ATM for 15 min taking my card out and putting it back in, and getting swamped with the 6 different withdrawal fees. Marvelous.

Think Im just gonna go back to Thai and spend my money there. So much awesome greymarket camera gear around here in Ho Chi Minh though it seems like a crime to not buy anything
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11-22-2012 , 11:10 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjwhit

So basicly I can do it with multiple attempts but im just gonna get look like an idiot standing in front of an ATM for 15 min taking my card out and putting it back in, and getting swamped with the 6 different withdrawal fees. Marvelous.
lol i saw a guy doing this in PI, he almost literally filled up a briefcase one withdrawal at a time
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11-22-2012 , 01:51 PM
I have never done a border run yet but finally have to. I read in some instances that to enter Cambodia you have to pay a fee[not for visa/stamp etc but to leave or enter the border]. Not sure if it was on the Vietnamese side or Cambodia side. Is this some scam? As the research I have done do not mention fees at all.

This is to Phnom Penh. What can I expect to pay besides the 10 dollar bus ride from HCMC to Phnom Penh?

Thanks for any input.
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