is the viettel underwater cable got a shark bite in it again? remember itt everyone recommending it. Got mobicel SIM and works a million times better, although it still bounces between HSPA, HSPA+, and 3g will flicker in a couple times a day

Da nang doesn't seem that great so far, went to hoi an today and its got a really cool vibe. I feel super lost here and not that it should - but doesn't seem to cater to english tourists at all. Some really cool places to ride a moto around as well with amazing views from mountaintops. Gonna check out hue and stick around the area for another couple days if nothing stands out for me, then see if I like Nha Trang any better. Anybody around want to grab some beers?

can anyone give an update on the visa situation here?

Hoi An sounds like the ****, im in TL... hows the water there?

I got 3 month visa super easy. Still hear a lot of different stuff about visa extensions. Rules on this changed June 1st iirc. Worst case is it costs more money to extend now.

Hoi an the city isn't on the beach, but a fairly murky set of rivers. Some beaches within 10 mins tho, and yea water is clear enough, although a bit choppy. I see snorkelling tours around so prob decent visability if that's what ur looking for.

Better hotel deals, more western food/english menus, wayyy more western tourists, seems like more nightlife, cheaper moto rentals in Hoi an compared to Da nang, although this is all just first impressions and maybe I'm in the wrong area - by the beach and not in the city. I'm switching to Hoi An today anyways.

It will change again soon and not in a good way. If you are holding a tourist visa, you will only be able to extend 1 month at a time. No idea on pricing for that 1 month or how many times you may extend but I assume it wont be many and it prob cost too much as you extend more than to just do a border run and get 3 months.

FYI: The Ho Tram Strip will be once more playing host to an international poker event this summer, as the Vietnam Poker Cup has been scheduled to take place between August 21st – 23rd .

http://somuchpoker.com/vietnam-poker-cup-announced/

^^ lol if I'm reading that correctly and the tournament does not accept vietnamese players.

Any recs on apartment that does weekly rentals in Nha Trang? Want something a bit nice with kitchen as gf will be with me. Googling Nha Trang apartment seems to come up with plenty of options, just wondering if any are recommended

Hi DonJuan,

I am Vietnamese/American. I am going to HCM City in August and planning to play online in Vietnam for 6 months. Can I use my old account with FTP or I have to create a new in vn. Any suggestion where should I stay in HCM City? or any information I should do before I create an account in vn? Thank DonJuan.

so many mixed reviews on vietnam for me. I completely understand why some people fall in love with this country and others never want to return. Sometimes when I ask for something people will just grunt, look pissed off, and point for me to go the other direction. Ask for a metered taxi and within 10 minutes it says $35+ (rigged meter obv). Other times people randomly invite me to sit with them at dinner and pay for my meal, or walk up to me and just ask if they can chat and learn about where I come from and they want nothing in return. Very intriguing place.

Also internet seems to be reliable after a lot of grunt work and hours upon hours spent figuring things out, but still sometimes I'll buy 'unlimited 1 month 3g' and 2 days later after only playing poker and checking email it just stops working and I have to reload.

Seems like a great country to settle down, get all the little things figured out, and get a solid group of locals that helps you out and looks after you.

...just my thoughts after 3 weeks here. ~3 more to go for me

Where u moving after?

VN in 5 more years time will be great imo. It will basically have anything we will ever need.

As for ATM0912 question, You will need to get your old account updated. Creating a new account would be against the TOS. You will need some utility bill in your name which is difficult to get. A rental agreement works though. Also need a bank obviously. PS required you to have access to a hard line [ used my landlords number]as in non cell phone number. I would assume that FTP would be the same but I dont know.

I'm thinking of visiting, whats the internet connection like there, and how cheap is it to live in general

Vietnam has like the bottom 10 rankings when it comes to internet in the world. You wont be able to do **** let alone play poker when money is on the line.

VN can be cheap or expensive as you want it. To live a comfortable life here though youll need around 2000 usd a month

Hey sorry been busy. yeah in you can use your old FTP. but I think if you want to play online poker you need Stars account since it dead on FTP. In Saigon it best to stay around Dist. 1 http://wikitravel.org/en/Ho_Chi_Minh_City . You probably need a bank if you want to easier withdraw from Stars. I think the rules of getting a bank account is different from 4 years ago when I made one. Now I think with HSBC here you need document where your money comes from and also your resident paper. It a little bit harder since most hotel doesn't offer that and also most locals are lazy or it a hassle to get it for you. A way to get around that is to exchange stars for cash with other poker players. I would say come and stay using Airnbn and ask a host to help you out and get use to the city.

hello

i am planning on moving to Vietnam i dont know much about Vietnam so hope you can answer my questions

1. what is the best location to stay if i want to stay near the beach?
2. how much will apartments cost me there? 50m2+
3. is VISA easy to do?i am planning to stay there 2-3 months to play online
4. is it worth go to the beach in August/Sep/Oct or is it rainy season there like in Thailand?

1. Nha trang has the most tourist in term of beach area http://wikitravel.org/en/Nha_Trang. I like mui ne too it cheaper version http://wikitravel.org/en/Mui_Ne. Lately there been less and less tourist due to local people sucking at promoting so you going to find good value for places to stay probably.

2.Beach area are going to be cheaper than saigon and by looking at some of the posts on facebook on da nang expat price you can find good places for like 300-500 usd for like whole furnish apartment or house with 2 room.

3.depend on what countries you coming from you can get free visa entries and decided if you want to stay. http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/...omy-46201.html .

4.Same as thailand for those months.

If you had to choose between Hoi An or Nha Trang to live for 3-6 months, which would it be and why?

Personally I am looking for a place to rent for ~$300 a month. Close to a clean beach ( I plan on getting a moped so distance not much of a concern), would love to be able to snorkel from the beach. Something more relaxed and laid back but still with a decent amount of cafe's and pubs.

Should I be worried with flooding in either of these places? Or hurricanes etc?

I am leaning towards Hoi An right now, but haven't made my mind up.

Also what are supermarkets like in these kind of towns? I will probably be eating out most of the time but stuff like breakfast and occasional lunch/dinner at home is fine with me especially when I am grinding. Will I be able to find similar Western food or will breakfast stuff etc be Vietnamese stuff.

Any input?

yeah da nang storm season are pretty bad. nha trang is a bit better. you will be fine looking for western food/breakfast at those two place. Talking about da nang remind me of this book. http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Rising...qid=1436739686 . If i remember correctly there a small section about the real estate in Da nang how the locals thought the places is perfect to set up a bunch of property market for investment. But then they realize foreigner don't enjoy the stormy season which can be terrible for two months a year and it bad investment after all. Anyway the book is perfect if you want to learn how modern Vietnam works and how it was set up that way.

Thanks, greatly appreciated.

I appreciate it DonJuan. I am looking to relax, so I want to live somewhere where things go at a slower pace. No hookers in bars etc, just normal people for the most part. I know a lot of tourists are in those places but which place would be ideal for me, based on these criteria.

-No hookers
-Slow pace
-Still nice bars/cafe's and some nightlife
-Clean beach
-Cheap modern apartment
-Quiet and nice chill place

I would say between nha trang and mui ne. Mui ne are going to be cheaper and more quiet. But nha trang probably better nightlife.

been enjoying nha trang a ton, favorite city by far. Anybody run into any problems like this - I've played a couple thousand tournaments on stars since I've been here, at least 1000 of which being the same type of SNG ($15 hyper turbo, nothing special) in question below. Noticed I couldn't reg so I shot stars an email and this was the response:

Thank you for your email.

We have checked your account and noticed that you were logged-in using a Vietnamese IP address. Unfortunately we confirm that players located in Vietnam are not allowed to play this tournament.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

http://gyazo.com/885b2bbedfeb685e95bc1723ed5af19c

before PS didnt allow 2 viet ip to enter the same sng but it seems they stopped doing that a while ago.

Wonder what this new thing is about. Was it 15 dollar 9 man hyper? Is there any other?

I went and tried. I was able to register.

Oh wow, PS got rid of 6 man hypers......

Hi everyone,

Just got here to HCMC and want to grind small stake on PS. Can I deposit into PS by Neteller? Would anyone in HCMC like to transfer me $500 Stars for cash. I would appreciated very much? We can meet for a beer or lunch to make the transfer.

Thanks very much.

I always like reading your stories bro, are you planning on writing something up for your SEA trips? How the woman treating you? Also where have you been in Vietnam and could you share some stories/ trip reports...lol

For the people interested in playing live.

All details about the Vietnam Poker Cup (august 21 -23rd) - Buy in / Structures/ Player Room rate http://somuchpoker.com/event-guide-vietnam-poker-cup/