Living in Vietnam: AMA

[MichiganMMA1978]

My grandpa fought in the war as well. He made it back but he got cancer and died a year later which really sucked for my poor grandma. I always wondered if it was because of agent orange.

I had another uncle that was a chopper gunner, he died very young of cancer, he even said it was from agent orange before he passed away in the late 80s..

 

[pugilistico]

I was in Vietnam this time last year for a few weeks, Da Nang and Hoi An really stood out, especially Hoi An

Got to agree the food is some of the best in SE Asia, tough to pick between Vietnam and Thailand for me

I spoke in detail to a woman at one of the resorts we were staying in who lives there (as an expat) and she said it’s brutal in the rainy season, ie rain for weeks at a time, so much that they can’t even dry their clothes when they come out of the washing machine because there’s too much moisture in the air

She also said the language is incredibly difficult to learn (although her early teens son had managed it)

I think the extreme heat, rain seasons and humidity makes it a pretty uncomfortable place to live year round

Hoi An is such a pretty place. I love visiting it but I prefer to stay in Da Nang because it has a more vibrant expat community and the beach is right there. The coconut boat tickets sellers are also annoying in Hoi An. When I drive around on my motorbike, I'll have locals tailing me trying to sell me the tour.

Yea the rainy season sucks. Especially bad in Jan and Feb when the temperature also drops and it can get surprisingly chilly and miserable.

The language is also horrible. Despite using roman letters, I can never pronounce menu items correctly so they always don't understand me. The tones are what confuses the most.

It's why a lot of people move around the region. From Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia etc. Go to Japan or Korea if you miss the winter and snow. I've been mostly going back and forth from Thailand and Bali but now Vietnam is in my list of options.

Serious question - how much money would you need to live a "high standard of living" in a place like Vietnam?

I'm only 39, but I've saved up a bit and outright own my house. Every time I get sick of of work I fantasize about saying "fuck it", and retire in South East Asia or Central America. Is a million dollars enough to live the rest of your in relative luxury?

I don't know about the rest of your life but with a million you'd be ridiculously loaded compared to the locals.
Let's see, my friend was paying 500 a month for a pretty damn nice two bed room apartment (which he actually would've paid less for if he stayed long term). My place is cheaper but not as nice but nice enough for me. I spend a bit more than 1000 bucks a month and that's including going out for cigs, drinks, drugs, gym, little trips here and there so spending money on extra accommodation, etc. Unless you're only eating at the most expensive restaurants and going out all the time and getting bottle service at fancy clubs, I don't know how you'd get spend more than 1,500 a month here. Plus I live in the center of the expat area so it's a bit more expensive.

Southeast Asia is way cheaper than Central America. I have friends there now and they say they pay more for a lower standard of living compared to Southeast Asia.

I had another uncle that was a chopper gunner, he died very young of cancer, he even said it was from agent orange before he passed away in the late 80s..

What a war. I occasionally see deformed local people who look old enough to have been alive or born around the time of the war, and I presume it's because of agent orange.

 

[Cole train]

Since thread is up...


Any jungle hiking route recommendations?

not that bullshit "walk 10km to some cool waterfall and take pic for IG" but actual jungle deep jungle shit with mosquitos, dirt sweat and suffering lol

 

[PBAC]

What do you get for $10?

ice cream

 

[PBAC]

did je eet zij bugs?

 

[Uber_Noober]

Are you an assassin?

 

[Flower2dPeople]

ice cream

 

[pugilistico]

Since thread is up...


Any jungle hiking route recommendations?

not that bullshit "walk 10km to some cool waterfall and take pic for IG" but actual jungle deep jungle shit with mosquitos, dirt sweat and suffering lol

I've been to treks like that in Thailand and Laos but not in Vietnam. I did go through a jungle to get a secluded beach a few days ago but it wasn't that far (maybe 4-5km). They exist but I haven't been to one personally. You might want to check out Phong Nga and maybe Sapa. Better yet, go to Taman Negara in Malaysia. It's a protected forest with cave systems, rivers, and endangered species. They do guided treks and if you're lucky you can see asian rhinos and maybe even tigers. I only saw a boar and some monkeys.

 

[GSP_37]

That I have no idea. I never knew that about Thailand either. I haven't gotten lead poisoning so far. The food here is quite high quality since everything is grown locally and in the jungle. It just tastes good so that's all that I care about.

From what I've read, lead accumulates and gives problems with the brain. Where they plant and process chocolate beans in South America(?) also have lead. Long ago on the TV news special they said this area near the main road had a lot of lead in the dirt due to gasoline from cars.

 

[CutStryker]

Ah yes. It's common knowledge that there are gulags full of tourists in Vietnam lol.

That I have no idea. I never knew that about Thailand either. I haven't gotten lead poisoning so far. The food here is quite high quality since everything is grown locally and in the jungle. It just tastes good so that's all that I care about.


Probably because it's cheap, the weather is good, and because there is a "looseness" to the rules in a lot of these places, there's a sense of freedom as well. A lot of hippie types around here. And it's quite safe which is important for a lot of women. I met a lot of cool adventurous young women in these parts.

See how this guy just brushes over the fact that Communist countries are not to be trusted and instead makes a joke. This guy is a straight clown. I hope nothing happens to you, but damn be serious a bit. No be gone!

 

[dije1]

Makes me think of Hermione if she was in Braveheart.

 

[dije1]

@pugilistico

Which of those countries has the most attractive women in your opinion, physically and personality wise?

 

[chardog]

Serious question - how much money would you need to live a "high standard of living" in a place like Vietnam?

I'm only 39, but I've saved up a bit and outright own my house. Every time I get sick of of work I fantasize about saying "fuck it", and retire in South East Asia or Central America. Is a million dollars enough to live the rest of your in relative luxury?

You can live as much as you can afford, the high life or frugal as you like, your choice. Love amongst commoners and it costs very little, use a fan instead of AC, you can probably rent a small place for $500, but i would expect 2K per month to live more comfortably. Expat fancy apartments are around 1K?

 

[pugilistico]

See how this guy just brushes over the fact that Communist countries are not to be trusted and instead makes a joke. This guy is a straight clown. I hope nothing happens to you, but damn be serious a bit. No be gone!

I'm making a joke because it's a ridiculous assertion. Tell me, what exactly would happen to you in Vietnam for you to get trapped? Vietnam isn't China or North Korea. Not all communist countries are the same just like all democratic countries aren't the same. How many cases of people being "trapped" there do you know of? Do you think some black van is going to roll up and take you away to a gulag just because you're an American walking around Saigon? Tourism is a huge industry here so they want people to visit and spend money and get the fuck out without overstaying your visa. Loads of western tourists, a lot of expats who have been living here for years, including those who want to stay longer and would like to be "trapped" but can't because of visas. Burgers joints, starbucks, malls, skyscrappers will sometimes make you forget it's a "communist" country. In reality it's a capitalist/consumerist greed-driven society like any other.

If you ever visited you'd see how wrong your misconceptions are. It's good to travel and challenge your views of the world sometimes.

@pugilistico

Which of those countries has the most attractive women in your opinion, physically and personality wise?

In southeast asia? I assume you mean the locals and I can't comment much on it since I don't go for local girls in most places I am. I only date westeners/other expats. But if I had to comment, I guess Laos had the prettiest girls simply because they seemed to be the most down to earth and natural. I can't speak for their personality because I never talked to them. I find a lot of Asian women (and women in general I guess) to be too concerned with whatever beauty trend is popular at the moment. Vietnamese girls are overall smaller than Thais, generally lighter skinned, and tend to look "cuter." Thais are friendlier imo and I imagine appeal more to a western beauty standard. Indonesians were the least attractive to me but super friendly. There are cultural differences vs the west that makes a big difference in their attractiveness for me personally.

This is all conjecture of course as I'm making wild generalizations. There's a lot of different ethnic groups in this region and even in the same country people can look different depending on where you go.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Vietnam or Thailand is legit my backup plan 12 - 25 years from now if I'm unable to retire in the US. I'm sure it's a lot of people's plan. I really do wonder how both countries will be like 20 years from now.

 

[CutStryker]

I'm making a joke because it's a ridiculous assertion. Tell me, what exactly would happen to you in Vietnam for you to get trapped? Vietnam isn't China or North Korea. Not all communist countries are the same just like all democratic countries aren't the same. How many cases of people being "trapped" there do you know of? Do you think some black van is going to roll up and take you away to a gulag just because you're an American walking around Saigon? Tourism is a huge industry here so they want people to visit and spend money and get the fuck out without overstaying your visa. Loads of western tourists, a lot of expats who have been living here for years, including those who want to stay longer and would like to be "trapped" but can't because of visas. Burgers joints, starbucks, malls, skyscrappers will sometimes make you forget it's a "communist" country. In reality it's a capitalist/consumerist greed-driven society like any other.

If you ever visited you'd see how wrong your misconceptions are. It's good to travel and challenge your views of the world sometimes.


In southeast asia? I assume you mean the locals and I can't comment much on it since I don't go for local girls in most places I am. I only date westeners/other expats. But if I had to comment, I guess Laos had the prettiest girls simply because they seemed to be the most down to earth and natural. I can't speak for their personality because I never talked to them. I find a lot of Asian women (and women in general I guess) to be too concerned with whatever beauty trend is popular at the moment. Vietnamese girls are overall smaller than Thais, generally lighter skinned, and tend to look "cuter." Thais are friendlier imo and I imagine appeal more to a western beauty standard. Indonesians were the least attractive to me but super friendly. There are cultural differences vs the west that makes a big difference in their attractiveness for me personally.

This is all conjecture of course as I'm making wild generalizations. There's a lot of different ethnic groups in this region and even in the same country people can look different depending on where you go.

I agree with you that I haven’t been there and don’t know exactly the status there, however not that a black van is gonna scoop you up, but at any point a Communist country could, I wouldn’t trust them 100%, I mean look at Russia. Americans getting taken hostage for trade. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Again, I’m not there and could be wrong about my assumptions, I’m glad you’re there to tell me these things. So, I admit I’m wrong on levels

 

[CutStryker]

I'm making a joke because it's a ridiculous assertion. Tell me, what exactly would happen to you in Vietnam for you to get trapped? Vietnam isn't China or North Korea. Not all communist countries are the same just like all democratic countries aren't the same. How many cases of people being "trapped" there do you know of? Do you think some black van is going to roll up and take you away to a gulag just because you're an American walking around Saigon? Tourism is a huge industry here so they want people to visit and spend money and get the fuck out without overstaying your visa. Loads of western tourists, a lot of expats who have been living here for years, including those who want to stay longer and would like to be "trapped" but can't because of visas. Burgers joints, starbucks, malls, skyscrappers will sometimes make you forget it's a "communist" country. In reality it's a capitalist/consumerist greed-driven society like any other.

If you ever visited you'd see how wrong your misconceptions are. It's good to travel and challenge your views of the world sometimes.


In southeast asia? I assume you mean the locals and I can't comment much on it since I don't go for local girls in most places I am. I only date westeners/other expats. But if I had to comment, I guess Laos had the prettiest girls simply because they seemed to be the most down to earth and natural. I can't speak for their personality because I never talked to them. I find a lot of Asian women (and women in general I guess) to be too concerned with whatever beauty trend is popular at the moment. Vietnamese girls are overall smaller than Thais, generally lighter skinned, and tend to look "cuter." Thais are friendlier imo and I imagine appeal more to a western beauty standard. Indonesians were the least attractive to me but super friendly. There are cultural differences vs the west that makes a big difference in their attractiveness for me personally.

This is all conjecture of course as I'm making wild generalizations. There's a lot of different ethnic groups in this region and even in the same country people can look different depending on where you go.

Is marijuana legal there?

 

[pugilistico]

I agree with you that I haven’t been there and don’t know exactly the status there, however not that a black van is gonna scoop you up, but at any point a Communist country could, I wouldn’t trust them 100%, I mean look at Russia. Americans getting taken hostage for trade. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Again, I’m not there and could be wrong about my assumptions, I’m glad you’re there to tell me these things. So, I admit I’m wrong on levels

Vietnam isn't Russia. And Russian isn't officially communist. Russians come to Vietnam to escape their government lol. There are more factors than the system of government in play. Progressiveness, freedom, etc are not linear. Especially as a foreign national these things affect you a lot less. Thailand has a monarchy and a military government with little freedom of speech, but they also have the most progressive policies among Asian countries for example. More progressive than democratic countries like Korea or Japan. Vietnam has the communist label but it doesn't "feel" like a communist country. Regular Vietnamese people don't enjoy the same level of representation in government as in democratic countries and they probably don't see the policies they would like enacted, but as a foreign national, this doesn't affect you anyway. Politics aside, when I see regular vietnamese people living their lives, they seem pretty free and happy. They hang out, drink beer, go to the beach with their families, go shopping, watch youtube, etc.

Is marijuana legal there?

No but unless you're causing trouble, they don't seem to bother foreigners when it comes to weed. They'll crack down on other drugs though.

 

[The J0ker]

As it happens, I’m currently in Vietnam as well. My wife was born in Hue so we visit 1-2 times per year. We’re staying 1 month this time, but all in all I’ve probably spent 9-10 months here. Most of it in Hue but also Saigon, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Hoi An. Some observations:

Traffic is indeed crazy. Pretty much everyone has the mentality that they have to get ahead first, which of course means that everyone will get there slower as they block each other. They will not stop for pedestrians at street crossings (just steer around) and it’s not uncommon that they don’t even stop for red lights, just slow down a bit. When I first visited 10 years ago it was almost all mopeds, but now I notice more and more cars which makes the roads even fuller as they take more space. Rare for traffic to move faster than 20-25 kmh inside a city. Public transport is almost nonexistent but Taxis are plentiful and cheap. (20 minute ride is like 2 USD.) In the countryside it’s faster (60-70 kmh) but you have to watch out for kids playing next to the road (they build houses RIGHT next to it) or the occasional cow just standing there chilling.

The nature is beautiful. If you get out to the countryside a bit, you can see some dramatic mountainsides and THICK forests. A climate with lots of sun and lots of rain makes for a vegetation thicker than Ilir Latifi on horseback. Bushes, trees and plants form a wall and you cannot see the ground. Entire mountains just covered in green. Fascinating to look at, and I imagine nigh impossible to traverse. If you like trains I can also recommend the Reunification Express. It’s not very fast but offers some epic scenery.

I love the food, especially if you go to higher grade places with good quality meat, which I suppose popular restaurants in tourist places qualify for. My favorites are probably Bun Bo Hue and Bun Thit Nuong. Also love all the different flavor popcorn they have (sugar and butter, caramel cheese, chili) which contrasts to Sweden where it’s almost always just salt. Getting some fresh corn or dragon fruit from a street market for almost no money at all is also very nice. Cost of food and drinks in general is probably 1/5 of what I pay in Sweden.

Overall, definitelly worth visiting and you can live comfortably for relatively little money, but I recommend you plan so you know where you want to go, what you want to buy and how much it costs. People will try to sell you crap or scam you if you’re a sucker. I avoid this because my wife and her family handle all monetary interactions, but you can also get ahead by buying online when possible and using taxis with Uber like apps where you get the price in advance and so on.

 

[HomeCheese]

Has anyone here traveled to Laos recently? A friend is taking a job in the capital and invited me to visit and I am wondering what it's like. Also how they look at and treat Americans. Thanks to us, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world and Laotians are still dying from unexploded ordinances.

Sorry for getting dark but I'm wondering if y'all got any experience in Laos.