General Info

[TomSf]

I wanted to add for anyone going to Vietnam. Do research on your debit card before you get to Vietnam. What I mean by that is when I used my debit card. All withdraws were pulled out of my savings out. The machine did not give me the option where the withdraw would come from. Lucky, I had enough in my savings not to notice. But, I do wonder if I did not have a savings account. Would the ATM then withdraw from my check or not work at all. I guess I may never know. But for travel it might not be a bad idea to have some money in both accounts. I don't know if anyone else had this experience. But, I am guessing different banks and cards are different.

Also, if you can bring a lot of Dong with you instead of depending on ATMs. I recommend this. Because, of the BS limit of withdraws ect.

[Tox20]

I'm looking for something close to the tourist attractions and girl friendly. Am I better of getting an airbnb or staying at a hotel? Here are some guest friendly hotels that I found. Which area and hotel would you select?

http://www.guestfriendlyhotel.com/gu...chi-minh-city/

[Uncle Volodya]

Dear Colleagues,

I had a wonderful recent trip to Vietnam. The country is truly lovely, the people nice, and the history and culture fascinating. I just love the vibe of the place.

I did 3 days in HCM, followed by a 3 day trip to Hoi Ahn, and then back in HCM for 3 more days. The only downside was the hot weather. May May not be the best time to visit if you can't take the heat.

As far as hobby activities go I was actually visiting two lovely FLs that I had met while they were working in Shanghai (Manhattan) and Singapore (Impanema). I hooked up with the first one the first two nights I was there (she had to wait for her mom to fall asleep an the snuck out to meet me. Made me feel like a teenager LOL). After she left for Singapore (where she works and studies) I hooked up with the next girl and we went to Hoi Ahn together and spent a few more days in Singapore. This worked out great. Both girls were happy to see me and treated me like a Boy Friend that had come a long way to visit them. The sex was great and both were very affectionate and loving with me. I plan to meet both girls again and to follow the same strategy the next time I meet a winner in these bars in Singapore or Shanghai.

As I heard that many of the hotels are not girl friendly I booked a place on AirBnB. It worked out pretty well, though it was not the lap of luxury. It was in an old building, but great location right next door to the Vincom. My girl told me that in the future 3 or 4 star hotels are generally OK and do allow girls. Next time I will have her pick out a place for me or look for a nicer place on AirBnB in a new building like the Vincom center. We stayed at a normal hotel in Hoi Ahn. I told the friendly staff there that my companion was my wife and we had a fun time playing out that charade in that lovely and romantic little town.

As I was occupied with the girls I did not have all that much of a chance to check out the scene. I was able to get out my last night, as my Shanghai girl had already departed to Singapore for work. I tried Apocalypse Now, as it was close to where I was staying and had gotten some good reviews form ChelseaBill. I was not overly impressed with the quality on offer there. I'd compare it to the quality you'd find at a 2nd tier place in Shanghai such as Judy's -- nowhere near what you'd find ant Manhattan.

Maybe I had gotten spoiled by my VN beauties, but there really wasn't anyone I wanted to take home. One kind of cute girls was all over me and offered $150 for LT (coming down form an initial offer of $200). She was cute and I probably would have normally been all over her, I was pretty shagged out by then. My two girls are real lookers and I would have only taken a girl that was a real stunner that night. After you've been eating Fillet Mignon a plain old hamburger just does not hold all that much appeal. Hehe. I was actually more interested in getting home to watch the series finale of Mad Men than in the Apo girls.

I loved HCM and Vietnam in general. The food is great and the people are truly lovely. And like I said above that place has a really cool vibe to it. I'd love to spend more time there. One area I was a little disappointed was with the girls on the street. Don't get me wrong they are cute for sure! But not on the same level as the VN girls I have met in bars in Singapore or SH. I was expecting to see lots of stunners in the street or in the malls and that was not the case. You will see much hotter girls out and about in Bangkok or Singapore.

I've heard from others that VN is not the best mongering destination. But I do plan future trips. Most likely I will try to mix it up with my regular girls (and maybe one or tow more I'll meet in SH or Singapore) but this time leaving a bit more time to explore the scene. I thin FLs may be on offer at some of the clubs. I went out clubbing one night with my girl and her friends and saw some unattached hotties at Lush that I think may have been working the game. But as I was with my girl I did not have a chance to get any more info.

Stay horny my friends.

Uncle V.

[Firebird]

My normal travels takes me quite frequently into China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. I do know the places to visit to find freelancers. Manhattan in Shanghai, Wanchai area in HK, Beach CLub in KL. Etc.

First time in April I will be going to Vietnam. Specifically HCM City. For few days. I have made many, many extensive searches in the various forums for HCM to find clubs or places where to find FL's or places nearby my hotel where to get a good massage. But each time came up empty handed. By the way, I plan to stay in the Intercontinental Asiana on corner of Hai Ba Trung and LE Duan.

Do any of the locals know of any places nearby to the Intercontinental (or with a taxi ride) to find talent? I generally like to take the girl for overnight pleasure. Not sure it is allowed in the Vietnam 5-star hotels.

I really would appreciate some one pointing in the right direction.

Many thanks for your help. Stay safe.

[FunMan13]

AT,

WOW, you really shook me up with your post. I travel to many third-world countries around the world and never thought of this. My favorite drink is rum & coke as beer tends to bloat me. Rum is probably the easiest liquor to fake as it has no taste or flavor. One could substitute it with rubbing alcohol!

I will stick to beer from now on unless I know the bar. Thank buddy.

Funman13.

The guy in the room above me died three nights ago, but they only found him yesterday. He was only 33 years old. They say he drank too much. He was found on the floor. The guy was huge, I can't imagine any amount of alcohol could cause sudden death unless it was the fake stuff, and then maybe. This is not the first time I've heard about young people dying after a night out drinking with no other explanation.

So I want to remind everyone to watch out for the fake booze. Specifically Jack Daniels and Smirnoff and home made vietnamese stuff. There is a lot of fake Jack Daniels in Saigon. Almost all the girlie bars serve it, and a lot of the PNL cafes like Hung Vy also serve the fake Jack Daniels. Smirnoff too is also fake at a lot of places. You can spot the Jack Daniels by checking for the production code printed on the bottle behind the front label. The Smirnoff is more difficult but usually it will not have a proper closure. If your drinking in girlie bars or sidewalk cafes stick to beer. If you want to drink, then go to expat places and sport bars. If you want a bottle in your room stick to franchise places like Circle K or CoOp Mart. Don't buy liquor from Vietnamese shops, beer is ok.

The fake stuff can kill you, its seriously toxic and can cause organ failure that leads to death.

Maybe this guy just had a heart attack, he was rather large and unfit, but still. Everyone, including his girlfriend keeps blaming the booze. So be careful and enjoy your time here.

[LuvAsianTang]

Its also illegal to drive a motorbike without a helmet, drive on the wrong side of the road, and drive without a left side mirror and drive with more than 2 people and drive without a license, sell fake goods, and above all P4 P activities of all kind are illegal, also offering and taking bribes are illegal, but do the police do anything?? No.

And they sure as hell aren't going to enforce this hotel rule either.

It seems that you can get out of just about anything with a 200 k dong note in vietnam, short of murder, that would probably be 2 million LOL. But then can you blame the poor cops? Their job is so hard having to stand for 30 minutes a day on some street writing tickets and after drinking a 6 pack of beer all day playing cards too. Life must suck as a police man in vietnam. (satire )

Just my 2000 dong, LAT.

[AmericanThief]

The guy in the room above me died three nights ago, but they only found him yesterday. He was only 33 years old. They say he drank too much. He was found on the floor. The guy was huge, I can't imagine any amount of alcohol could cause sudden death unless it was the fake stuff, and then maybe. This is not the first time I've heard about young people dying after a night out drinking with no other explanation.

So I want to remind everyone to watch out for the fake booze. Specifically Jack Daniels and Smirnoff and home made vietnamese stuff. There is a lot of fake Jack Daniels in Saigon. Almost all the girlie bars serve it, and a lot of the PNL cafes like Hung Vy also serve the fake Jack Daniels. Smirnoff too is also fake at a lot of places. You can spot the Jack Daniels by checking for the production code printed on the bottle behind the front label. The Smirnoff is more difficult but usually it will not have a proper closure. If your drinking in girlie bars or sidewalk cafes stick to beer. If you want to drink, then go to expat places and sport bars. If you want a bottle in your room stick to franchise places like Circle K or CoOp Mart. Don't buy liquor from Vietnamese shops, beer is ok.

The fake stuff can kill you, its seriously toxic and can cause organ failure that leads to death.

Maybe this guy just had a heart attack, he was rather large and unfit, but still. Everyone, including his girlfriend keeps blaming the booze. So be careful and enjoy your time here.

[AmericanThief]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to hcmc, and I've started to rtff. While I'm still rtff, I want to post a question. While it's illegal in VN to be found in a hotel room with a VNese lady, and the hotel staff is suppose to report you to the police blah blah blah, would renting an airbnb apartment mitigate that problem -- because no hotel staff therefore no hotel staff to report you to the police?

Spaceman.

Its also illegal to drive a motorbike without a helmet, drive on the wrong side of the road, and drive without a left side mirror and drive with more than 2 people and drive without a license, sell fake goods, and above all P4 P activities of all kind are illegal, also offering and taking bribes are illegal, but do the police do anything?? No.

And they sure as hell aren't going to enforce this hotel rule either.

[AlLostInSpace13]

No, don't rent an airbnb for that reason. You can easily bring a Vietnamese back to your room anytime of day for a 2 star or 3 star hotel and you can even bring one to a 4 or 5 star if before 10:00 pm. BTW if the hotel thinks you are doing something wrong by bringing a lady to the wrong hotel at the wrong time. E. g. At midnight to a 5 star hotel, then they will just tell you so. I can't see why they would want to call the police or report you to the police unless you didn't comply with what they told you. The people are very commercial and they don't want the police in their hotel any more than you do.

I got it now. I started way too far in the past when I did my RTFF hehehe, so far back that bringing a girl to a hotel was taboo!

As I read on, I began to see sign of life! .

Spaceman.

[SteelBaton]

No, don't rent an airbnb for that reason. You can easily bring a Vietnamese back to your room anytime of day for a 2 star or 3 star hotel and you can even bring one to a 4 or 5 star if before 10:00 pm. BTW if the hotel thinks you are doing something wrong by bringing a lady to the wrong hotel at the wrong time. E. g. At midnight to a 5 star hotel, then they will just tell you so. I can't see why they would want to call the police or report you to the police unless you didn't comply with what they told you. The people are very commercial and they don't want the police in their hotel any more than you do.

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to hcmc, and I've started to rtff. While I'm still rtff, I want to post a question. While it's illegal in VN to be found in a hotel room with a VNese lady, and the hotel staff is suppose to report you to the police blah blah blah, would renting an airbnb apartment mitigate that problem -- because no hotel staff therefore no hotel staff to report you to the police?

Spaceman.

[Sean EZ]

Hi Sean,
As for the motor bike, the $5 is for bribes. Very few westerners have a license so the cops tend to pull you over. The will ask for a lot more than that. It gets into a game of how long you can be bothered to stand there arguing to how much you give them..

Thanks for advice. I'll rent one in Nha Trang then.

In terms of nightlife, is Ho Chi Ming a happening on weekends type of place or parties to be found all week?

[TomSf]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to hcmc, and I've started to rtff. While I'm still rtff, I want to post a question. While it's illegal in VN to be found in a hotel room with a VNese lady, and the hotel staff is suppose to report you to the police blah blah blah, would renting an airbnb apartment mitigate that problem -- because no hotel staff therefore no hotel staff to report you to the police?

Spaceman.

I think renting an apartment is too much work. There are short time hotels everywhere. All these places know what's up. You just cut a deal with hotel and leave when you want. I would bring a viet translator with you because you always want to assume they can't speak english.

[Geneva Guy]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to hcmc, and I've started to rtff. While I'm still rtff, I want to post a question. While it's illegal in VN to be found in a hotel room with a VNese lady, and the hotel staff is suppose to report you to the police blah blah blah, would renting an airbnb apartment mitigate that problem -- because no hotel staff therefore no hotel staff to report you to the police?

Spaceman

Hmmm. Spaceman.

I have stayed in Hanoi (3-4 star hotel) and Haiphong (5 star hotel) with a VN GF with no problems. In fact she joined me for breakfast every morning, etc. All they have to provide is their I'd (as do I everywhere in VN) to the hotel front desk. As you know, there are lots of rules on the books. But sometimes they aren't enforced. And I suspect this is one of those.

GG

[AlLostInSpace13]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to hcmc, and I've started to rtff. While I'm still rtff, I want to post a question. While it's illegal in VN to be found in a hotel room with a VNese lady, and the hotel staff is suppose to report you to the police blah blah blah, would renting an airbnb apartment mitigate that problem -- because no hotel staff therefore no hotel staff to report you to the police?

Spaceman.

[AmericanThief]

So can I use my AAA International Drivers License to ride a motorbike legally in HCMC? Should I leave a 50 k note inside for the cop (like Indonesia)? Thanks.

Funman13.

Yes your AAA IDL is good here. Officer bribes are 200 k but they will ask for $100. Officers rarely speak english so they don't pull over foreigners as much. All this talk of bribes and motorbikes is getting carried away.