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[QUOTE=Sudsoz]This sounds like Bar29 [/QUOTE]
I think he means Hai Ba Trung, not Dong Khoi, though even there we know there aren't bars like that on both sides. The description is too vague, no way to know which bar he actually means. Not that it matters. For what that guy is describing, go to Hai Ba Trung. A few such bars there with pool tables, but they're all on the same side of the street.
Hey what does this mean:
Em noi em da ra khoi 29 roi.
or:
Em ra ngoai roi.
[QUOTE=Wendella]I think he means Hai Ba Trung, not Dong Khoi, though even there we know there aren't bars like that on both sides. The description is too vague, no way to know which bar he actually means. Not that it matters. For what that guy is describing, go to Hai Ba Trung. A few such bars there with pool tables, but they're all on the same side of the street.
Hey what does this mean:
Em noi em da ra khoi 29 roi.
or:
Em ra ngoai roi.[/QUOTE]
Hey what does this mean:
Em noi em da ra khoi 29 roi. mean: "I said, I already out of 29"
or:
Em ra ngoai roi. mean: "I already went out"
But if a third person says to you chance "I" to "she"
[QUOTE=Viet1]Hey. Sorry but what is a hot toc? And are there any good places in dist 1 or do you have to travel out to another dist?
And is the following OK prices?. 20 USD bar fine, 20 USD for hotel and 100 USD for girl not to mention taxi and drinks for 5 USD? What do you all think?
That was dist 1 from a bar between Opera House and Markets.[/QUOTE]
Bar fines were unheard of in Saigon until a year ago and you should try to negotiate out of it. And $100 for the gal is way over the top. For anything but the gals from Club Royale or Catwalk you should be able to cover girl and bar for $60.
Please be more precise about a bar between the Opera and the Markets. What street?
I'm planning a trip to the area in November. My current stops are Thailand and Cambodia. Vietnam sounds expensive. Is it a worthy stop for me? The food seems to be awesome, but good food alone doesn't cut it. I will be monitoring this discussion for the coming months, but so far my impression is that VN is more expensive than the rest.
Btw, can someone suggest a good value-for-$ close-to-the-action girl-friendly hotel? Or is VN similar to Malaysia where everything is undergound?
[QUOTE=Sudsoz]Bar fines were unheard of in Saigon until a year ago and you should try to negotiate out of it. And $100 for the gal is way over the top. For anything but the gals from Club Royale or Catwalk you should be able to cover girl and bar for $60.
Please be more precise about a bar between the Opera and the Markets. What street?[/QUOTE]Since I have to always stay at the Sheraton Hotel (A condition that my work insists upon) and because I work with some poms and Aussies that live and work in HCMC they have directed me to places around the Sheraton. They took me up the street that runs in front of the Sheraton which could be Hai Ba Trung (as mentioned by Wendella). I found plenty of bars, great looking girls and I was very well looked after but as I said it was too expensive (150 USD in total with hotel) but I must admit I did very little price bargining.
The other placed I picked up was after 10:30pm I found girls in the grass strip/park that is in the middle of the road that sits in front of the opera house. When I went to cross the road they just walked up to me and offered me the full treatment for 60 USD and 20 USD for the st hotel which was within 5 minutes walk. The only thing was she was older looking but she could speak English.
I found it is not hard to find a place but to find a good reliable place that I can drop into each time I go (3 times a year) is more difficult. OK so I am fussy, I want good price, hot girl, and in Dist 1
Thanks for your advice guys as I am going back again in June
Sorry for not being more precise with street names but I sort of work my way around by landmarks and when not doing business I walk from Sheraton (or say saigon river) down to Markets and then down to New World Hotel and backpacker area and that's pretty well my area as I stay at the Sheraton. I do intend to learn them now as I found out that I will be travelling there with work for a few years now. But I have found that after say 10pm or 10: 30pm when I walk around the night markets I constantly get hit upon by everyone wanting to get me a girl but my trust is low when they have to drive me to some place and I guess I have been keeping to bars and massage parlors because I can walk in and if no good then just walk back out again. But I always have a fear of being set up when I get some girl in the street walk up to me slip a st hotel card in my hand and say 60 USD. I guess I am trying to find a couple of good clean places that I can just drop into for a visit and then from there to a st hotel with the girl.
Although I did get such a buzz when I picked up off the street.
But hey, I promise to learn those damn street names if its the last thing I do!
[QUOTE=Don1010ho]Hey what does this mean:
Em noi em da ra khoi 29 roi. mean: "I said, I already out of 29"
or:
Em ra ngoai roi. mean: "I already went out"
But if a third person says to you chance "I" to "she"[/QUOTE]
Just to clarify, would it mean that she temporarily left, as in for the evening, or has stopped working there, if 29 was the name of the bar she worked in? Or is it hard to tell which?
[QUOTE=Sudsoz]Bar fines were unheard of in Saigon until a year ago and you should try to negotiate out of it. And $100 for the gal is way over the top. For anything but the gals from Club Royale or Catwalk you should be able to cover girl and bar for $60.
Please be more precise about a bar between the Opera and the Markets. What street?[/QUOTE]
What he's calling 'barfine' might be the number of drinks the bar asks you to pay for before taking a girl out. I remember getting hit with that one in 2003, and I think even in 2001. I agree $100 is too much. They usually try to get $50 or so for ST (to the girl), and ask you to pay for about 6 drinks or so for the bar, right? Too lazy to figure out what that adds up to. ;-)
[QUOTE=Wendella]What he's calling 'barfine' might be the number of drinks the bar asks you to pay for before taking a girl out. I remember getting hit with that one in 2003, and I think even in 2001. I agree $100 is too much. They usually try to get $50 or so for ST (to the girl), and ask you to pay for about 6 drinks or so for the bar, right? Too lazy to figure out what that adds up to. ;-)[/QUOTE]
In 2006 the HBT bars were all accepting $60 all up with no limitations on drinks. I think the minimumdrinks/bar fine was started by Smiley Bar at the end of 2006 and then adopted by the one on the corner of MTB and the others followed.
NY Saigon Bar on Dong Do does not seem to do it but I have had a standard deal with the mama there so maybe I am not aware of it.
[QUOTE=Viet1]Hi,
Like you I am often in HCMC on business but for only a short time so this is what I do.
I walk up Dong Khoi Street which is the street that runs in front of the Sheraton Hotel. Head up the street towardsSaigon River. As you go up the street you will find a few bars on either side of the road with plenty of ladies to choose from. I usually end up in the bar that sits around the first corner on the right. I know some people have said that they feel that it is too. Well to the point but that's what I like about it. You will get captured on the footpath and pulled into the bar. It is small and dark with 1 pool table. The girls wear virtually nothing. I usually pick one, get a beer and before I am half way through they start trying to fix a price for a trip to a st hotel. The bar will ask for a 20US fine, the hotel for 20 US and the girl. Well that's up to you but they are more expensive than the streets but a lot safer. They are clean, not bad looking and slick. I find it a good stand by if you are in a hurry and don't feel like trawling the streets looking for something cheaper. Try it. I think it will fit with your limited time in HCMC.
Cheers[/QUOTE]
To get to this street did you go right or left on leaving the Sheraton?
[QUOTE=Viet1]Sorry for not being more precise with street names but I sort of work my way around by landmarks and when not doing business I walk from Sheraton (or say saigon river) down to Markets and then down to New World Hotel and backpacker area and that's pretty well my area as I stay at the Sheraton. I do intend to learn them now as I found out that I will be travelling there with work for a few years now. But I have found that after say 10pm or 10: 30pm when I walk around the night markets I constantly get hit upon by everyone wanting to get me a girl but my trust is low when they have to drive me to some place and I guess I have been keeping to bars and massage parlors because I can walk in and if no good then just walk back out again. But I always have a fear of being set up when I get some girl in the street walk up to me slip a st hotel card in my hand and say 60 USD. I guess I am trying to find a couple of good clean places that I can just drop into for a visit and then from there to a st hotel with the girl.
Although I did get such a buzz when I picked up off the street.
But hey, I promise to learn those damn street names if its the last thing I do![/QUOTE]
When you say the Markets do you mean the Ben Thanh market and the streets behind there extending up to the park?
I have been taken by locals to nice restaurants there but never explored the area for gals or bars. Would like to know more about whats there.
I have trouble getting out of the Hai Bai Trung, Dong Khoi and Le than Ton areas.
[QUOTE=AlLostInSpace13]I'm planning a trip to the area in November. My current stops are Thailand and Cambodia. Vietnam sounds expensive. Is it a worthy stop for me? The food seems to be awesome, but good food alone doesn't cut it. I will be monitoring this discussion for the coming months, but so far my impression is that VN is more expensive than the rest.
Btw, can someone suggest a good value-for-$ close-to-the-action girl-friendly hotel? Or is VN similar to Malaysia where everything is undergound?[/QUOTE]
Hi,
In my experience, none of the countries in SEA are "alike." It's like a box of chocolates, to coin a phrase. There is nothing like Thailand for selection and availability. If you're looking for cheap (and I don't mean bad, I've had some of my best GFEs in Camb) then Cambodia is best. VN seems somewhere in the middle.
The scene is more "underground" which, truly, is a polite fiction. But there are some annoyances. Virtually all of the "name" hotels either outright forbid bringing girls in, or insist your "guests" leave by 10:00pm.
It seemed to me, from my visit, that the best thing to do would be to get a regular room for a night or two, than ask the girls in the bar which of the nearby mini-hotels are GF. Then, relocate. You'll save a pile of money, and the rooms really aren't bad. Sort of the Asian equivalent of Motel 6, if you're an American.
The food is far, far better than in Cambodia. I think Thai is better in some respects, but not others. If you eat off the street carts you'll save tons of dough (just like LOS) and have some fascinating culinary experiences. Eating with locals is always a hoot.
As far as pricing, it compares favorably with LOS if you shop around a bit. I see some guys are forking over $100 to the girl, plus hotel and taxi. That seems really high. All the HBT bars seem to have their own variations, but they're all pretty similar, at least the ones I visited. At 91, $100 covers the bar, the taxi to and from, and the hotel. One time, it even covered my beer. At NY Saigon, $60 covered the bar and the girl (it's a 50-50 split), the hotel/taxi/drinks are extra. (BTW, DO NOT let the hotel try to screw you. It's $20, not a Dong more). Thien Loc seemed to have the best selection of girls, but the owner is rapacious, and insists the girls constantly hustle drinks, which is a MAJOR annoyance. $100 covers the bar/girl/hotel. I forgot if it covers the taxi, but I think so. BTW, the bar fine here is $20 and you can take the girl all day if you want.
As I couldn't do LT, all these prices reflect ST, which is supposed to be 2 hours. The girl's price may go up a bit for LT. But the net effect is the girls seem to clear $30 - $40 for ST. The remainder goes to hotel/taxi/door touts/kickbacks to the bar owner.
To compare LOS pricing, I have never given a girl more than 2000B LT. I don't think I've ever given more than 1000B ST, but we'll say 1500B. So, at current exchange rates, that equates to about $67, and $50, respectively. This is at the top of the pay scale, as far as I'm concerned. So, the ladies of VN are less expensive. If you have to pay for ST hotels in LOS, then VN is probably, overall, a bit cheaper. If you don't, then LOS is more of a bargain, but only just. This does not factor in such things as the higher airfare to VN, or the cost of a VN visa.
So, IMHO, VN is a great destination, not only for the people or the food, but for the ladies. But, nothing is like Thailand. If you're looking for Bangkok, go to Bangkok. But if you're looking for a more upscale Myanmar, VN fits the bill.
PP
[QUOTE=Sudsoz]When you say the Markets do you mean the Ben Thanh market and the streets behind there extending up to the park?
I have been taken by locals to nice restaurants there but never explored the area for gals or bars. Would like to know more about whats there.
I have trouble getting out of the Hai Bai Trung, Dong Khoi and Le than Ton areas.To get to this street did you go right or left on leaving the Sheraton?[/QUOTE]Thanks Sudsoz for your comments. To answer your first question, I turned left when leaving the front of the Sheraton (heading towards Saigon river).
Your second question, Yes it was the Ben Thanh markets and at night they have the night markets around the outside of that building and it has a lot of activity that goes till late. Yes there is action around there and as a guy walking by myself I often get approached by a girl that slips a st hotel card into my hand (usually with 5 minutes walk) and tries to set a price (usually 50 USD). I have been told that there is a lot more around there but you have to find it. I got a foot massage in a little place there (I picked it because it had a heap of youg girls sitting waiting for customers). Great massage but I saw guys coming in and going out the back. Then at the end of my massage the girl asked if I wanted any extras. Because I had to get a plane back and had no time left I said no thanks maybe next time.
So yes I think it has some action which I will check out in June and report back.
[QUOTE=Sudsoz]In 2006 the HBT bars were all accepting $60 all up with no limitations on drinks. I think the minimumdrinks/bar fine was started by Smiley Bar at the end of 2006 and then adopted by the one on the corner of MTB and the others followed.
NY Saigon Bar on Dong Do does not seem to do it but I have had a standard deal with the mama there so maybe I am not aware of it.[/QUOTE]
I remember getting it back in 2003 when I first got here, and in years since then. Always at 91, 49, 51 and the other bar on that block that has closed, and also at that bar that was on Thi Sach up near Le Thanh Ton that closed a long time ago now. And at one of the ones that used to be up past the KFC on HBT. 91 is relatively new, can't remember when it opened exactly -- 2004? 2005? Maybe it's one of these things they have always tried to get away with but would soften on after bargaining -- I'm not a hard bargainer. And maybe what's changed is the willingness to soften on it. Or maybe I look like the kind of guy to ask for the extra drinks fine from. ;-) (Hey, maybe it's all because of me!)
It'd be easy to check out, just go back to reports from those days and see. But I know I at least got asked for that in most bars, starting in 2003.
Then again, it's probably not worth researching. They charge it now. That's what matters.
Phordphan's summary is pretty much complete except for some comment about the gals.
In Thailand (and I speak only of Bangkok and Pattaya) the gals in the bars all seem to be very commercial and it seems hard to get through to the real girl.
In Saigon even in the HBT bars one can find gals who are freshly up from the Mekong and totally uncommercial. They just do what the mama says but in private they can be real gems.
I have never come across a normal Thai girl who was up for a 'freeby' relationship whereas in Saigon they abound. Waitresses, shop assistants and others are all wanting to improve their english and spend some time in the company of more money than they will ever normally see.
I even met a hot looking street vendor with guide books. I told her I did not want any books and she says 'well what do you want?' . I said 'you' and she went all shy but packed up her books and came with me with no discussion of a price.
There is a similar tale to be told of Manila and Jakarta although some of the shopping malls in Jakarta have gals trolling for johns.