I do it for the reads. Lots of stupid info on there.

Also a major expense for you will be using xe om/taxi for everything if your not going to rent a moped. It be like min one way 1 usd which will add up a lot if you go out and about a lot. If you go mongering in the main area there wont be a prob as the place is loaded with many busineses but the local joints will need traveling in between. Taxi prices you wouldnt want to pay unless its really short distances and its shady as ****. Even the 2 reliable taxi companies has finally got hit or miss. Still way better than any other taxi though.

Get to understand the bus system.

I've been in Asia and Vietnam for almost six months now.

You're number one helper to avoid what dlje2 is talking about is to have a phone with gps on it. I've only had 1 taxi driver in 3 months try to rip me off (stick with Mai Linh or Vinasun in vn). When he did I wrote down his number and my Vietnamese friends made sure his supervisors gave him hell when he got home. What I did was to sign up with mobifone (get their sim card), and by texting to 999, the characters 'DK_MIU' for 40k/VND (2 USD) you will get one month of unlimited 3g internet. I can't guarantee it for grinding at poker but it will always keep your gps up and running.

I stayed at a hotel in Saigon for 2 months that had 30Mbps down, 20Mbps up and 30-40ms ping that was $18 a night. About 4 blocks off of backpacker row. Then I moved to one that was slightly slower internet at $12.50 a night (250k vnd) in Dist 10, right next to 3 and about 5 mins to dist 1. Now I have a place that is $200 a month, including electric that is about 5 minutes to dist.

My #1 favorite thing about these places, after staying in swanky, $50+ a night places, is that they have no windows. If you're partying all night long, the last thing you want is to be woken up by the sun blasting in to your eyes. Not only do you get a cheap room by having no windows, but you also don't have to deal with with external factors keeping you from sleeping all day. And, when you're in a hot/tropical climate, it's very optimal to sleep or stay in all day and go out at night.

The other big way they try to rip you off that I have seen.. Is they pad your bill at the restaurants, they do it to everyone, including the VN. I go out with my vn gf and family every night of the week and approximately half the time they overcharge for a dish or they say you ordered 2 of the dish. Their isn't really any way around this, other then being single and ordering one dish for yourself (or having a vn with you that can check the entire bill and make sure everything is correct). If you're going to go the route of the glutton with friends and family and order a dozen dishes and 3 cases of beer at dinner, there is a good chance they will try to double-triple charge you on at least one of the dishes.

Cheers!

Could you please post the names of those 2 hotels you mentioned?( pm if you wish ) I ve been looking at agoda for 2 days now but cant make a decision just on a couple of photos

The $18 a night was Nguyen Thahn at 19B Bùi Thị Xuân. If you stay here, or anywhere I recommend below you definitely want a ride home at night. It's not like the backpacker row, you want to stay cautious and avoid being a a target to potential pickpocketers and petty criminals if you're flashing your Iphone or staggering drunk home.

I stayed at 15 Bùi Thị Xuân for 1 week as well, they had a free breakfast and it was $20 a night.

The $12.50 a night was a bit far away from things but still nice, and the cost difference usually covered taxi fair (about 50k.. 2.50 usd.. from backpacker row). It was Ngoc Duc Hotel at 781-A11 Lê Hồng Phong.

I tried number 1 and 3 for bringing my gf home and they wanted her ID, nothing more. These aren't fancy places, number 1-2 would clean your place every day if you wanted. #3 cleaned my place every few days, usually when I asked (via google translate). The Le Hong Phong place was definitely off the beaten path, not many late night restaurants nearby. The places on Bui Thi Xuan you can eat and drink at 17 Bui Thi Xuan (A Buu Lounge) 24 hours a day .. little bit of a premium though, about 30k for a saigon and 35k for a tiger, and they speak no English at all so just say what beer you want or point at the menu and chill out at the bar .

I also stayed for a few days at Min Chau, because they had a kitchen, they're on Hẻm 611 Điện Biên Phủ. The thing I didn't like was the owners would go to sleep early and if you came home at midnight you had to knock on the door to wake them up and let you in .. and usually you had to knock quite loudly... :|

Please remember, I don't mind simple (these places might not be the greatest). I've had places they only cleaned once a week and I didn't care. All the places are somewhat small as well.... I just love the life in Asia and want to keep it going.

Generally speaking, in vn, just pay a day or two on Agoda, and if you like it, talk to the front desk and secure the Agoda premium free rate. I think you will find you save at least a few dollars every day if you stay for a while.

Another generally speaking, the reason they ask for the gf or gf-for-the-nights ID is because some tourists come home drunk as sh*t and they have a bunch of stuff stolen by the bad girl. None of the places I mentioned have safes, but none of the cleaners stole anything either... I don't go for the gf-4-the-night so I've been good so far.

Tomorrow (actually late today.. 3-15 at 8pm) is Saigon Barhopping event, I plan to attend if anyone wants to meet a noob to the 2+2 forums.

One other thing, I don't know why no one mentions vietnam.craigslist.com. They don't have the cheapest apartments possible, but if you want to spend $350+ you will definitely find a decent serviced apartment from one of the agents that advertises there.

I recommend hotel-ing it for a while, until you know where you want to stay, before signing a long lease. Proximity can make an enormous difference in how much you spend on taxi-fares. Also, if you are like me, even if the place seems cool during the day.. go visit it again at 10-11pm and see what the night-life is like nearby. I tend to go for the places that have late night restaurants and lots of security guards in close proximity to where I stay.

Also, make sure you test the internet, if you're planning to use it much. My current place it's not so great, but I don't rely on it as much as some of the users here do.

Thank you for the advise. Much appreciated.

If all goes right i should be in vn end of april and i am buying beers

hello guys,

I just setup a home game poker in D-5 HCMC, its wonderful if you guys come and join me ^__^

Here my mail: kurei.hyskoa@gmail.com (in case you guys want find out more details)

You should give us some more information, games played? stakes? buy in? rake structure?(or hourly fee?) setup? safety?

FYI:

blinds: 10.000/20.000 (VND)

buy-in: Min 50BB

rake: 3%

I setup game every night, and yes, the game is safe ^__^

Stars told me I could only withdraw in Euros to Vietnam (this was shortly after black friday - it could possibly have changed by now). Wiring Euros to a USD or VND account is also possible, but you risk getting dinged anytime you exchange currency.

I bank with HSBC and they charge no fee for bank wires from Stars (or outgoing wires to foreign banks either). Also, I think you can wire out as much as you want from a Euro account as long as it never left that account. If you take it out and put it back in, then you are limited to something around 8000USD on the amount you can wire out.

I recommend HSBC over ANZ. I tried about 6 times to wire money from Stars to ANZ without success and went through a huge hassle. HSBC has been great. I've never heard of anyone having any trouble there.

This is interesting as I'm planning a month long trip next month for me and my thai gf. I don't want to have to stay in ****holes to avoid trouble - any idea how big a problem this law is likely to be?

Also if anyone has any tips on must see cities and places I'd love to hear it - read online that the central coast has really nice weather in April so considering spend a bulk of time there... good or bad idea? Thanks!

I'm 95% certain this wouldn't be enforced if both the guy and the girl are foreigners (although I can't guarantee that). People don't travel with their marriage certificate. If they happen to ask (which I don't think they will), just say you are married.

Even if you checked in with a Vietnamese girl (in the day time), I kind of doubt they would enforce this. I think they mainly want to keep the working girls out as a high percentage of the ones that vacationing expats would pick up in Pham Ngu Lao and Apocolypse are thieves.

There are plenty of nice smaller hotels. Probably none of which enforce this.

Thanks for the input, cheers.

Is it dangerous to travel airport->hotel late at night in HCM City? The Manila->HCM City flight arrives at midnight and then I have to go through visa processing.

Jeff W - It's fine...just avoid the scam taxis. The two good taxi services are Vinasun or Malinh. At the arrivals level on the bottom level turn left and walk to the end and that's where the good taxis are.

Pro Tip- I like to walk up to the departures section and go to the Vinasun taxi stand on the right. I usually don't have to deal with as much of a wait for a taxi.

Hope this helps.

This is true. If the girl speaks not Vietnamese, they will allow her in but require like a dollar or two surcharge...

What is the best beach to go to in Vietnam that won't be too touristy and is somewhat easy (less then 6 hrs) to get to from HCM or Hanoi?

Mui Ne is a pretty good choice. Takes about 4 hours to get there from HCM. Decent beach.

Closest beach is Vung Tau. Less than an hour on a speed boat down the river. Not really a great beach (pretty polluted and oil rigs mar the view), but good for a quick getaway out of HCM.

Flights to Phu Quoc or Nha Trang are quite cheap and have better beaches. Nha Trang is very touristy though. I've not been to Phu Quoc myself, but the photos look quite nice.

Damn, I forgot what a complete nightmare it is to find a place in SEA. All the ****** agents online want 1 year lease for their overpriced offerings if it's anything like PI.

I was hoping for a short hotel stay because I want to get an account set up at Moneybookers(no Moneybookers/Neteller in PI) and since I'm US citizen they probably frown on a hotel address.

Thanks!

Jeff, How long are you staying? I know plenty of decent apartments that do short term leases.

Also the New world game is over. They finally had the game cranking everyday starting at 3 everyday and going until whenever. They were likely raking 1500-3000 a night at 3% uncapped.

Well, they put a sign up that as of april 1st they are changing it to 5% uncapped.

The game hasn't went since and has a zero% chance of starting without the regs.

Typical shortsighted Vietnam thinking.

I will be staying at 3 months+.

So so standard everywhere from Mexico to PI to etc. No long term business sense.

No ****ing way _um. OMG

SOmetimes I miss Saigon and most of the time I don't...

Also _um should know since hes in the biz for living spaces.

Thinking about grabbing a serviced apartment in Hanoi for a month - anyone know of a good one near good food in an area with decent internet? Budget up to 1k for a nice place in a good location.

if you want to play live poker, contact me: chicken_joe888@yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saigon...28483693868649
blind 10 000/ 20 000VND (1USD=21 000 VND)in Ho Chi Minh city district 5

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/24...-city-1319560/

Gonna check out Ho Chi Minh for a week or so- can anyone recommend a hotel with grindable internet in a decent location in the 20-50$ a night range? Extra bonus points if the room comes with a monitor I can hook my laptop up to.

Also, what's the weather like? I see stormy cloud icons when looking up the weather online, but can't tell if it's the rain all day variety or short bursts which quickly give way to nice days.