Ho Chi Minh City - General Info

[QUOTE=Columpuss]The debate isn't about touring VN in general but about mongering. I agree with you that VN over all offers a complete package but it is no way like Thailand and the PIs in the other department. Most of the posts here pertains to putting great efforts in looking for a place to get a BJ where in the PIs, I can go to a bar to get a drink and BJ is offered on the side, in the back room, without me sweating about it.[/QUOTE]Yep the debate is about mongering, whereas it is all about the definition of mongering. If mongering means looking for girls (good or less good quality) for money without hassle. Lots of ease, no headaches, pifalls and all straight ahead. Yes Phil and Thai are much straighter and looking for that kind of mongering (shopping) VN will definitely not make the race. If mongering is considered as a "kind" of sport, adventure, exploration with a bit of a pioneer spirit in it. Forget about Phil and Thai come to Vietnam. Just my humble of looking at it, and I guess in a way also reflected in the forums.

Happy hunting

No you are not really out of line. You had good intentions just wrong method of delivery. No need to patronize or criticize someone for asking a simple question. I thought the purpose of this forum was to share information? I guess I'm wrong to think that.

[QUOTE=Alwayshard45]It's not difficult to look up what you have posted in the past. Click on your name and there's a drop-down that says "Find more reports by *Member Name*". With your (at the time) 6 posts, it wasn't difficult. I also did give him the answer in the previous post, but I would rather show him all the great features of the forum, in hopes soon he will be a contributing member. Rather than ask a question, get an answer, and never come back until he needs more help. Also explain that he was in the wrong section as he could have possibly already read 30+ pages but couldn't find what he was looking for because of that reason.

Am I out of line here guys? Maybe I'm missing something or wrong here. Just let me know and I'll zip the lips. haha.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Bigtt]Thanks for the insights guys! Since this will be my first trip, I'll focus on Pattaya and AC.
...
Raverboy: Is there a rave-isque scene in Pattaya or AC?[/QUOTE]

No, not at all. In Asia, Raves are fast becoming a thing of the past now. Even the Full Moon Party in Thailand is more a publicity gimmick really, than anything else.

You might be able to find a semblance of a 'scene' in Phuket, Thailand, but it only tries to be like Ibiza while ending up being a pale comparison.

Anyway, this discussion should be on another forum, not this one. ;)

[QUOTE=Raverboy]No, not at all. In Asia, Raves are fast becoming a thing of the past now. Even the Full Moon Party in Thailand is more a publicity gimmick really, than anything else.
[/QUOTE]

Nha Trang has a summer solstice rave at the Sailing club. This is separate from their regular full-moon parties, which are not all that exciting. Its a pretty big party and lots of fun. I was there this past year and there was lots of entertainment, ladies all around for fun and different party "flavors" etc.

Any idea why the rave scene is dying out?

[quote=bigtt]
will save vietnam for next year. i really want to tour the country with a motorcycle.[/quote]

yeah it's a favorite tourist pasttime here, being run over by trucks on the highway, speed-hooked drivers swerving across any lane they like -- oncoming traffic, no problem, as long as it's not another truck they surely won't get hurt. driving on highways sucks here -- the trucks and buses just have no sense of responsibility, drive like lunatics. death rate is huge here, mainly of motorbike drivers being squashed. i guess if you enjoy that kind of survival adventure you might like it.

For the overall experience, I like Vietnam better. Bangkok is very chaotic and the city does not have much charm. By contrast, both Saigon and Hanoi are very charming and interesting architecturally. For food and culture, I prefer Vietnam. The women in VN are also beautful.

As far as mongering goes, Thailand is the clear winner. Both Thai and VN women are very attractive, but the Thai women are better lovers. It's also much easier to meet women and conduct a sexual liaison in Thailand. The better hotels in VN will not let you bring a guest in to stay all night. Consequently, you have to go to a short-time hotel to have sex, so you have to pay an additional fee, then go back to your hotel after it is over. It's definitely a hassle. In Thailand, you can go to your hotel or have sex right on the premises of the massage parlor.

You can meet some nice VN women on the street or in a cafe, but it's not as easy as in Thailand. Also, Thailand has some great massage parlors, bars and clubs, where it's very easy to meet women. They also want to meet you. VN has some meeting places, but it's more hit and miss.

It seems to me that more Thai girls speak English than VN girls. I speak basic Vietnamese, so I don't have trouble communicating on a basic level, but if you're an English-only speaker, it's easier to communicate in Bangkok.

I've had some great sessions in Vietnam and some great sessions in Thailand, so you can find great women that will take care of you in both places. The odds, though, are much better in Thailand. If you're a single guy in Bangkok, people expect you to meet women and have sex with them and go around the town with them. In Vietnam, the government frowns on liaisons between western men and VN women. This makes it more difficult. Of course, there are a lot of mixed couples all over Saigon and Hanoi, but it's a much more comfortable atmosphere in Thailand.

[QUOTE=Alwayshard45]Nha Trang has a summer solstice rave at the Sailing club. This is separate from their regular full-moon parties, which are not all that exciting. Its a pretty big party and lots of fun. I was there this past year and there was lots of entertainment, ladies all around for fun and different party "flavors" etc.

Any idea why the rave scene is dying out?[/QUOTE]

I suppose you could call a beach party at the Sailing Club a 'rave' if you want, but I wouldnt...

My first rave (as I would call it) was in 1994, Black+Blue, Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec Canada. Organized by 514 Productions with the biker gangs' backing of course. There were approx. 12,000 participants.

Another rave that I attended worthy of mention was in a plot of woods in the Quebec Laurentians about 2 hrs drive north of Montreal, around about 2002. Bring-your-own-tent, bring-your-own-booze. The party lasted an entire weekend, Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

[QUOTE=Johndao][QUOTE=Raverboy]
7) UVK St. between D2 and its termination at DBP interchange has a xe-om or 2 doing the rounds with a couple of girls riding pilion. With the number of ca phe oms on this street, I guess you could call this a xe-om-pimp / *****house-on-wheels. I love this country - If you're too shy to go to the ca phe om, the ca phe om can come to you. :D
[/QUOTE]Right, Ung Van Khiem St has a number of Cafe Om type places and at night has moto pimps. I have only been in the area 2x, once in the day and once at night. They used to ride those young girls around the Minh Khai, Xo Viet Nge Tinh Bridge area but they seem to have been banned from the area now. Also, used to be a gaggle of them on bicycles on the NW side of the bridge, also long gone.
JD[/QUOTE]

Sorry, Raver is describing this street as being in District 2? I thought that street was only in Binh Thanh district? The one that's famous for all the cafe oms, no? There used to be a spot where moto-girls would be available down by Van Thanh market, nearby that UVK street -- but it's not active any more.

But the reason I'm posting: are we talking about the same place? Did Raver mean to mention the one in BT that I'm thinking of, or is there really some other UVK in D2?

Oh wait, it just hit me: there's a STREET called D2 Street. That must be what he meant. Ugh.

[QUOTE=Bigtt]Next month I'll be spending a month in SEA. So far, I have a ticket into Manila, and a ticket out from Bangkok. Any recommendations on how to split my time, or places to drop in between?[/QUOTE]

Best way (in terms of value) to travel around that area is to use Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. Cebu has the following routes: Clark-BKK, Manila-BKK, Saigon-Manila. Air Asia has: Clark-KL, KL-BKK, KL-Siem Reap, KL-Phnom Penh, KL-BKK, BKK-Phnom Penh, BKK-Saigon. You can use these routes to pick and choose your destinations.

It depends if you want just pure mongering or if you want to do tourist stuff.

I would do the following:
Fly in Manila and go straight to Angeles; pure mongering scene.
Fly from Clark to KL; the health spa brothel scene in the hotels is nice; go see the towers.
Fly from KL to Siem Reap; see Ankor Wat.
Take the cheap bus to Phnom Penh; good mongering scene; not as good as before, but still good; go see the killing fields, S-21, and palace.
I would avoid Vietnam and fly directly to Bangkok, but if you want to do Vietnam, you can take the 7.5 hour $12 bus to Saigon.
From either Phnom Penh or Saigon, you can fly into Bangkok.
From BKK airport, I would take a taxi or bus to Pattaya.
From Pattaya, take a taxi to the airport. It will be 800 baht plus toll, and it takes 1.5 hours; never any traffic going to the airport. You can also take the bus which will be cheaper.

You also have the option to do Puerto Galera and/or Subic in the Philippines.
You can skip KL, and fly into BKK or Saigon from the Philippines.
So many options.

[QUOTE=Columpuss; 1094877]Pattaya is Manchester United and Angeles city is Chelsea.

HCM is local high school team.

Not a good place to monger, even Cambodia is better. [/QUOTE]Got to admit when I read this LOL, guess you only understand it if you know your football (soccer).

Hi gang, new in town. I'm not a prolific monger but do like to take some time out now and then. I'm looking forward to explore and find my feet here should be fun with the help and info on here.

[QUOTE=Jon Does;1101187]. I'm looking forward to explore and find my feet here should be fun with the help and info on here.[/QUOTE]Jon,

Welcome. I'm a very recent arrival myself, but after a mere two weeks, I must say the city is filled with many surprises. Opportunities seem to pop up everywhere. I find the openness and curiosity of "foreigners" (outside of district one, that is) very refreshing and seems to bode well for meeting women.

I moved here from Bangkok and find Saigon much more ripe with chances for meeting girls.

JD when and where is the Christmas party?

[QUOTE=blowmeup;58698]I'm Vietnamese chinese. I was originally born in the Chinese community in Ho Chi Minh city. I can still speak 75% Vietnamese.[/QUOTE]Hi there Blowmeup,

I am half viet, brought up in Australia. I speak Chinese but very very little viet. I've always wondered about the make up of canto speaking people in HCM, I've asked here before and didn't really get sound responses. Also I would like to know about areas in HCM where it would be easier for a canto to monger? Is there any racism there? And how much can I get around speaking only english and cantonese?

Any help would be appreciated!

VN girl beautiful, better than Thai girls? Oh well. I bet you never tried the photo section of both threads and they don't show the best.

Cough, let's continue.

If for hotels you meant Sheraton, well true. Just a little number of hotels don't allow friends at all. ID at worst, fix it.

Tell them she's your gf from 3 years, a short chit chat lying, it's done. You come with a new one, well, old was an idiot, seems so hard to find a good gf today haha.

True, you can meet a lot of girls, hanging around, they just don't give a fuck of you, except if you want to spend 60-100$ for fuck and go back to your damned western country soon. We are tagged as motherfuckers here for fuck all of them, serious man don't exists at all, if foreigner. They thinks like this, useless hope is different.

They don't want to meet you, they wants $, wake up.

Great sessions in VN? Take care of you? LOL.

Ye there are mixed couples, ever tried to hear what locals say about her when she's walking with you? You have no idea what a nightmare she has to deal with. No, not a government problem, Thailand is the same.

It's you, don't understand thai and hear them when they talk bad about her every meter.

Try a long time relationship with a VN girl, if and then she will deal with it. And tell me then, if I'm wrong.

Let's try to be realistic, please. Who read your post will think it's an awesome heaven, here, for find fun.

Fun is for expats, who can deal long, long time and patience. Far miles, from what everyone will find, either after 3-4 months. Don't you agree?

Are you sure you speak a good basic vietnamese? Seems you never ask openly with a local girl, about western-VN relationship, trust me. .

[QUOTE=Polyorchid; 1101488]Jon,

Welcome. I'm a very recent arrival myself, but after a mere two weeks, I must say the city is filled with many surprises. Opportunities seem to pop up everywhere. I find the openness and curiosity of "foreigners" (outside of district one, that is) very refreshing and seems to bode well for meeting women.

I moved here from Bangkok and find Saigon much more ripe with chances for meeting girls. [/QUOTE]Surprise? Opportunities? Ye? Meet women? Write us more, please, we are so curious of a two week experience, so good.

I'm still waiting an expat barely trying to give a spit of tip of real good places about vietnam (me included).