Hey guys, gonna be heading to Vietnam for a visa run very soon, staying about a week. Would like to know the no nonsense opinion of people here on stuff that you must do/see as i'm heading there with no preparation. Also +1 to previous post as I will probably spend most of that time in HCMC.

Rub n' tug massages at Vien Dong hotel, Dai Nam hotel, and Boss hotel. It's a full spa with steam room, sauna, pool, then a hot stone oil massage with back walking. Then happy ending, Boss does BJ the others HJ. VIP room at Boss is good value, 400k, would recommend.

112 club is like a G club style nightclub, eDM music and PR girls that sit and party with you for a 500k tip. Had an awesome time there with donjuan.

The main touristy bar street, bui vien, isn't that great, it's a mix of khao san road with tourist backpackers, and loi kroh road in CM with ugly, not that appealing bargirls. Many have a more mercenary attitude than Thailand. Lush wasn't that great either, their version of route 66, but not terrible.

Everything is a bit worse than bkk, imo, unless you speak vietnamese like don and are crushing it with all the girls, or living there long term to find a hot girlfriend and just grind poker. The latter is pretty much what everyone is doing in vietnam imo, that's why the thread is a bit dead. Just staying in and doing the coffee bar dating scene and grinding, understandable though as the girls are super hot. Not that easy though if you're only there for a few days, although I managed it Took 3 dates

chill sky lounge is pretty awesome, wouldn't go by yourself though.

how much tip was requested for bj at boss?

I gave 300k tip in standard room, and 500k in vip room, went twice. Neither girl requested a specific amount. That's about normal from what I read.

I don't think you'll like it as just getting a bj in a hot toc will be cheaper, cuts out the cost of the massage / sauna / steam room part

300k + less than 400k for normal room isnt bad at all, something like 500k all in..... under $25 closer to the backpacker area plus you get a massage

wont be a common thing when i am there but probably can give it a shot

More on the hectic/confusing visa extension situation :

http://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=579077

Apparently quite a few people got stamped for a 3 month extension, but were not officially registered. Results : they had to pay hefty fines for overstaying upon leaving at the airport immigration. Hope it will not be my case, but I guess I will soon find out this coming Saturday...

Arrived in Hanoi about a week ago, been walking around Hoan Kiem & Old Quarter eating tons of street food. Crushing the pho, banh mi, and smoothies. I'm not a beer drinker but I guess I should try bia hoi at some point.

Looked for some Columbia clothing, but all the Made In Vietnam shops only seem to sell North Face. Did find one with some Columbia, but only long pants and the sizes were all too large. I had figured it would be the opposite and they'd all be too small, if anything.

It's amazing how cheap alcohol is here. Bottled imports are only like 20-25k, that blows my mind. I do drink cider, so to see bottles of Strongbow at 22k is pretty crazy.

My visa expires on the 29th so I have about 2.5 weeks left. I know I'll fly out on the 28th or 29th from Saigon, but other than that have no plans. Figured I'd check out Ha Long Bay or one of the bays next to it, then head south and maybe stay in a coastal town for a few days, then about a week in Saigon.

Something like:

two more nights in Hanoi
the boat thing for a night in Ha Long Bay or a less busy one next to it
night train down to some coastal town for a few days (15th-19thish)
train down to another coastal town for a few more days (20th-23rdish)
train down to Saigon (24th-29th)

Looks like a bridge between Saigon and Nha Trang got smashed by a barge per seat61, so I'll keep that in mind.

My interests are good Vietnamese food, smoothies, and outdoors stuff. Maybe a little cultural stuff. No interest in museums, temples, etc. Would be nice to pick up a couple of lightweight long sleeve Columbia shirts somewhere as well.

Have been reading mixed reviews on Hoi An, mostly that it's decent but super touristy. Of course, I'm also reading the same thing about Nha Trang and Mui Ne.

I guess right now I'd default to stopping in Da Nang, maybe with a side trip to Hoi An for a couple of days, then probably Nha Trang.

The more I read about Nha Trang on wikitravel, the better it sounds. Looks like diving is very popular there, and I just got certified in Koh Tao, so that sounds pretty good. Nearby waterfalls and hot springs also sound like fun.

Was also kind of interested in checking out the DMZ, but looks like that would require a stop in Hue or Dong Ha, not sure I want to do that given time constraints. I guess I could come down from Hanoi, stop in Hue for 2 days with one day of that a DMZ trip, then hop down to Da Nang and continue as above. Looks like Hue to Da Nang is the most scenic part of the train ride.

Taking the train is mostly to check out the countryside, but I'm open to flying as well. If the train from Nha Trang to Saigon isn't interesting, I may just fly that leg instead.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

Nice long TR man and quite refreshing for this thread

Not sure how much advice I can give you, but here are my 2 cents (or 6 cents or whatever ) :

- I would skip out on Halong Bay. The city itself is mediocre (much nicer beaches elsewhere) and the feedback I got from the boat tours wasn't positive at all (didn't do it myself, but sources have it as a tourist trap with too money grabs along the way...).

- Da nang is definitely a great stop and even if Hoi an is indeed highly touristy, still a nice little town (the lake area is really peaceful). Haven't checked out Hue though I highly suggest this hotel in Da nang which has great staff and is tucked into a quiet street :

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re..._Province.html

- As far as taking the train, I prefer it over flying. This said, I just opted for a Da nang-HCMC flight in 2 days at half the price of the former (36$). Still, trains and the sleeper buses are very comfortable over here (I would take the train hanoi-da nang-nha trang, then sleeper bus to hcmc or dalat or wherever you go from there ).

- I didn't think much of mui ne.

- I enjoyed Nha Trang.

- Dalat is eye candy yet forgettable.

- Vung Tau was quite enjoyable, but gets boring after a while.

That is about it for general info I can provide. I am sure I missed out on ton of little towns that are worth it, you know, along the coast and stuff (but couldn't really go because of wifi connect and gf's work). Anyhow man, hope that helped

When I was in Vietnam I went to Mui Ne and Phu Quoc. Phu Quoc was fantastic, Mui Ne was absolutely awful.

When we arrived at the resort in Mui Ne and checked out the beach it was covered in trash. We demanded our money back and the staff told us "trash on the beach is a natural occurrence, and not something we can control."

k

dub - Sick reply, tyvm. You da real MVP.

BGP - I wonder if I'll hear that about all the fish washing up these days.

If you have time Halong is worth an overnight I think as you're already up there. Don't need to do an overnight boat. Can take the ferry to cat bao island, crash there overnight then take the 1/2-1 day tour boat back to the mainland. You'll see everything the overnight boat sees probably and don't have to worry about sinking at night.
Don't stress yourself to go there because it's not all that but you'll definitely get some nice pics.

Hi All,

Looking to move to Da Nang for 50% study/ 25% holiday 25% poker and have some basic questions.

Best area for expats to live (i dont have to live in a bamboo hut in the jungle) but im not some uppidie perfection chasing westerner either. so something in the middle.

What sort of a budget a month living comfortably should i expect (eating out 5/7 nights a week) My misses is also looking to come with me and she is a nurse.. is there employment oppotunits for her?

In Regards to visas what i can gather is u can get a 3 month VOA then i can extend that 3 times to get a total of a year.

I plan to come for 1 year so that works for me.. how do i go about extending it any contacts would be helpful.

In regard to realestate how do i go about a contract or are they all verbal like most SEA countries?

Culture - Alot of SEA countries view aussies like drunk idiots (we are) is their any stigma attached in vietnam to westerners that i should be wary of when interacting with locals.

I'm also planning a short term holiday to check it all out before i come for an extended period.

What is the best things and parts to see when i come (2 weeks)

i plan to spend about 3 days looking for accom when i am over.

sorry about the wall of text and questions hope to hear from you soon.

Any offers or enquires please e-mail 13j@live.com.au

1. Close to the beach : around A La Carte Hotel or around Holiday Beach Hotel. Downtown : Azura.

2. Hard to answer. It depends on a lot of factors (i you party often or not, shopping, eat western food or not, etc). You can google ''numbeo cost of living da nang'' to get an idea of the cost of living there.

3. & 4. Before it was possible to extend a visa 3 times then a couple of months ago nah not possible anymore, now I don't know I m not living in Vietnam anymore maybe you can again who know the laws are always changing here.. I can give you the number of my agent in Da Nang, send him an sms and ask him what you want to know, his number is 0905718886. You can check too the expat.com vietnam forum if you need more info.

5. All contracts are on paper, signed.

6. No. Just act like a normal person, be polite, smile, etc and you will be fine.

7. My favorite place in Da Nang is the rooftop bar of A La Carte Hotel on the 23th floor, perfect spot to date girls hehe or just to drink a coffee/coconut and enjoy the view. Lady Buddha is nice too, same for The Marble Mountains. You can check on Tripadvisor things to do in Da Nang to have more ideas.

Good luck !

hey guys. anyone mind teaching me how to deposit to poker sites? that would be nice. im in hcm now

halong bay is absolutely stunning. I would go there if I were you. hue has not a lot going on but in terms of war history its an interesting place. you can hire a driver/tour guide to take you about for the day for pretty cheap. mui ne is meh unless your into kite surfing. nha trang is a bit better but still meh. have never been to da nang but know some people there that rave about it. what about sapa? get over night train there, hire a motorbike and drive about the spectacular mountains/rice paddies. you have obviously been to some special beaches given you are mr chopstick so I feel you will be disappointed anywhere coastal you go and I wouldn't be touching sea food these day (for reasons you know). sapa for different scenery, ha long for the views, hue for the history or da nang for a cool laid back city. give us a report on your trip anyway. your other thread is awesome

Locals allow to enter casinos: it's not the first time that a draft decree has been submitted but with the change of government it's now very likely to happen: http://somuchpoker.com/vietnam-to-al...e-on-its-soil/

Anyone can advice on renting a nice 2 bedroom apartment within HCM D1? Budget usd2k per month.

Preferably brand new with security and facilities.

there a saigon expat group on facebook. I see daily advisement of places for rent. A lot of nice place with description

Expats in Ho Chi Minh City EiHCMC

Im the big mouth instigator.

If you going to pay 2kusd for a place, make sure it includes daily morning bj wake up and sexy time turn down.

Thanks for the advice. I will ask my company to include the add on. Probably not going to go down well with my HR director.

rent my place and ill give u a big kickback of that 2k.

business expense rentals... the only thing propping up Vns real estate economy.

Sounds good....

Anywhere to play poker in HCM???

Anyone grinding in Phu Quoc? Curious about internet connection stability and long term rental (6+ months)