Vietnam: The people, what are they like?

[kingwilly]

I done a 6 month gig in Ho Chi Min and found the people to be really well educated, spoke good english, very articulate and willing to learn. A refreshing break and after dealing with the Thais for soo long. The city is beautiful, the bread and coffee amazing and the few bars I drank in offered great fun.

Quite different to Hanoi though.

There's not a decent bar in the city. No pubs either. A cafe isn't a bar, even if they sell booze. It's a cafe.

Bollocks

I was there for a week and that was long enough.

so you'd be an expert then, would ya?

[blackgang]

When were you in Ha Noi?

Never been in Hanoi, wasn't welcome when I was there, but did tour RSVN extensively and found it thrilling.
Had clapp 11 times and I think that was a requirement for a resident visa.
I lived in Tui Hoa and worked out of there.
Spent the TeT offensive of 68 in a whore house in Qui Nhon.

[EmperorTud]

^ I thought so. Ha Noi is still full of VC wearing pith helmets. A week there was enough for me.

so you'd be an expert then, would ya?

Nope, but there's still not a decent pub in the city.

Loads of cafes which should appeal if you refuse to shower for weeks on end, chain smoke Gaulois and read poetry and philosophy out loud at parties.

[Rural Surin]

I done a 6 month gig in Ho Chi Min and found the people to be really well educated, spoke good english, very articulate and willing to learn. A refreshing break and after dealing with the Thais for soo long. The city is beautiful, the bread and coffee amazing and the few bars I drank in offered great fun.

Quite different to Hanoi though.

There's not a decent bar in the city. No pubs either. A cafe isn't a bar, even if they sell booze. It's a cafe.

Bollocks

I was there for a week and that was long enough.

so you'd be an expert then, would ya?

Everyone's an expert here.

[kingwilly]

Everyone's an expert here.

3 years living there plus a few additional trips lately, probably gives me slightly more idea than ET's one week.

Loads of cafes which should appeal if you refuse to shower for weeks on end, chain smoke Gaulois and read poetry and philosophy out loud at parties.

plenty of well heeled expats go to some of the places also, I am not talking about hippie tourist cafes mate.

[Rural Surin]

I trust we're not judging Viet Nam by Tuddy's standards.....

[terry57]

They are very good at parting you from your money, considerably more inventive than the Thai in this regard.

For example, don't fall for the 'your hotel has closed' or 'your hotel is full' trick, which is quite likely the first one you will encounter after landing. Hanoi is worse than Saigon for this.

Ive traveled Vietnam 3 times, first time 1992. Ive found them to be devious little bastards that will scam you at the drop of a hat and look you in the eye whilst doing it.

Foking Thais are amateurs up against the general run of the mill Vietnamese, they can jam there foking country up there arse as they wont see me there again.

Ask most backpackers and you'll get the same response, Sabang is spot on with his observations.

[terry57]

Never seen any of the scams mentioned on the internet about hotels and taxis.

You must have been lucky. I've witnessed it first hand. Was in a taxi from the airport to my pre-booked hotel and the driver pulled over at another hotel where a tout told me my hotel was full and I was staying here instead. I refused to exit the taxi and the tout became more and more agitated and aggressive before the driver eventually took me to the original agreed upon destination.

This scam is a national institution and many people have been caught including myself. Its a foking disgrace that the authorities continue to let these throttlers run this scam as the unsuspecting traveler will get caught every time. The locals make a killing out of it and intimidate travelers mercilessly.

Welcome to Vietnam.

[Rural Surin]

Having some fun there KW. I was born and raised there. First 17 years of my life......and a few more in adulthood.

[Thai Pom]

I think a lot depends on who you are dealing with!! Working with government agencies is a real treat!!! Once a Red Always a Red IMO

[Chong Boy]

I read so much on line about these scams and was expecting this to be a nightmare job but it was a new country for me (my 30th now) so I accepted it.
I was advised which taxi to take from the airport so I guess that was the best start to coming here.

[terry57]

^

This taxi scam is a real problem, I'm a well seasoned traveler and one must be fairly good to pull one over on me.

I did my home work before i hit Vietnam as i always do and new about this scam, i thought no problem just front up to the official taxi counter and buy a legit taxi pass into town. Peace of piss no probs.

Sure enough the wanker taxi driver tried to pull it on and had his goons waiting at the hotel for problem tourists like me who might have a clue on what the go is. There was 4 of us so just told him to fok off and we went our own way.

Got hit again in Sapa by a 14 year old girl in mummies restaurant that tried to rob us blind strait to our faces. Quite amazing that was.

Got hit again around the lake side in Hanoi, i mean fok me, it turned into a running joke mate.

3 trips later i've travelled the complete country and cant see any reason to go back, Hoi Ann was brilliant though i must admit also Sapa being the stunning place it is.

Vietnam could have a bright future in tourism but the majority of people i know have all said the same thing.

Yer it was ok except for the rip offs, dont think i'll be back.

[EmperorTud]

3 years living there plus a few additional trips lately, probably gives me slightly more idea than ET's one week.

Yet this is the level of your expertise proffered on this thread...

Bollocks

Who said I only spent one week in Viet Nam anyway?

I spent a week in Ha Noi and that was enough.

Like I said, North and South for all intents and purposes are two different countries entirely.

plenty of well heeled expats go to some of the places also, I am not talking about hippie tourist cafes mate.

Nor am I.

My comments were about French cafe culture but that went straight over your head obviously.

[blackgang]

I spent a week in Ha Noi and that was enough.

The way you write it, we would think that you have spent decades in HA NOI. 555

We can tell that you are not just an ordinary tourist..

[Mr Pot]

I spent 4 weeks only in Vietnam, got completly shitfaced everyday - great time, you don't even notice how shit a country can be when your drunk as it's all good fun.

Never got to Hanoi as my buddy left me in Nha Trang and flew back to Bangkok because the drinking was out of hand and he was being faithful to his bird in Bangers (said he was fed up at looking at all the hotties and not getting any) - I stayed there on my own and had a fantastic time drinking with the locals and I've kept some fond memories.

Would love to go back

[The Zapster]

I spent 4 weeks only in Vietnam, got completly shitfaced everyday - great time, you don't even notice how shit a country can be when your drunk as it's all good fun.

I also just got completely shitfaced in my 4 weeks in Vietnam, although did manage to train it from Hanoi to Saigon.

Got to say I completely agree with EmperorTud on Hanoi. The bars were crap, though the beer was cheep.

The people are more indifferent to westerners than Thais - they seem less interested in us, more business like and industrious. They just get on with it. I liked them, but they can annoy the pants off you when trying to flog you things, and rip offs are routine - I had the 'hotel full' trick when I arrived, and was stuck in a hovel instead.

The women are supremely fit, although far less obliging than Thais. There are a few whores around, but normal girls are really quite conservative.

All in all I didn't really take to vietnam, not least because of the traffic, which is simply ridiculous. I remember watching a blind man cross the street, thinking this is the very definition of bravery. I'm not sure why the concept of pedestrianisation hasn't caught on in much of asia. Failing that, the odd traffic light or bridge wouldn't go amiss. There's always a frigging moped up your jacksey - very annoying.

[Camel Toe]

I'm not an easy one to be scammed unless they soot me in the back and have their way with my corps. But the sight and feel and smell of being mobbed by touts turns my stomach.

So what I'll probably do is room on campus and stay there online as I do in Thailand, go out sparsely till I learn the who's and what's.

The girls being conservative doesn't bother me. Any girl I could ever take seriously in Thailand was one of the same. More hoz = more touts. I believe most VNers are in Cambodia these days.

The traffic, scams and thieves couldn't be any worse than Mexico City, I survived that. Matter of fact if they gave PhDs in heavy traffic street dancing I'd be candidate for an honourary.

[The Zapster]

I'm not an easy one to be scammed unless they soot me in the back and have their way with my corps. But the sight and feel and smell of being mobbed by touts turns my stomach.

So what I'll probably do is room on campus and stay there online as I do in Thailand, go out sparsely till I learn the who's and what's.

The girls being conservative doesn't bother me. Any girl I could ever take seriously in Thailand was one of the same. More hoz = more touts. I believe most VNers are in Cambodia these days.

The traffic, scams and thieves couldn't be any worse than Mexico City, I survived that. Matter of fact if they gave PhDs in heavy traffic street dancing I'd be candidate for an honourary.

I'd go see it first!

[spiff]

So is Vietnam the new TEFL haven?

What's the score on visas and work permits?

[terry57]

The traffic, scams and thieves couldn't be any worse than Mexico City, I survived that.

You will have no security problems as violent attacks on tourists are virtually non existent but they specialize in separating the punter from his money by devious means.

Its more the day to day dealing with the scams but once you get a handle on that you will be OK but dealing with the traffic in Hanoi is just foking insane and must be experienced to realize such.

Theres quite a lot to see and do in Vietnam for the backpacker, just do your research on every scam known to man and you'll be OK, forewarned is forearmed.

I'm just pissed off because the little bastards took me a few times but if I went back I reckon I'd have em.

I found the north more interesting than the south give Sapa a crack, very nice up there, try not to go in high season as muppets everywhere these days.

[Rural Surin]

So is Vietnam the new TEFL haven?

What's the score on visas and work permits?

I believe they have opened up substantially in this area. The professional TEFL Asian network of Western teachers has found Vietnam, seems more to be short-timers {1 year} than not - better chance it's the 'newness' and exoticness from the same old Thailand, Japan, and China. They wouldn't hang around for the lower-than-average saleries, that's for sure!

[EmperorTud]

They were even running a scam at Ha Noi airport when I was there, which was being perpetrated by uniformed officials. They were charging a departure tax of 150,000VD cash to departing passengers before allowing them to pass through to the departure gate even though the departure tax had been incorporated into the ticket since Nov 2006.
Only Western Caucasian passengers were made to pay the tax, all Asians went through unhindered.

[phuketbound]

I agree with the scams. It isn't Mexico, but what happens is if you book a tour through a travel agent or guesthouse, they will tell you a price, but they won't tell you that there are hidden costs. Don't take the price for granted. Find out if there are extra costs for things on the tour. You can easily get ripped that way.

The traffic is horrendous. Walk out, and let them swerve around you. I spent a month in Vietnam touring around. 2 weeks in Hanoi. It is a very touristy place, with so many scams. Buyer beware.

Get up to Sapa which is stunning, as is Danang/Hanoi area.

[blackgang]

Been a long time since I was there, But any scams that were tried on me was by uniformed officals.
The people were very nice and I got on well with all of them, but of coarse you had to accept the fact that they would snatch the watch off of your arm at any time or pick your pockets and there were ways to get around that if you tried and there was never any threat of violence to you at any time, only sneak thievery.
I had a couple of watches that went south and I did lose a jeep, but what the hell, I had stolen it from the USAF just a couple of weeks before so no great loss.
And I made a fortune dealing on the black market and most people in the town I lived in had been to my house dealing or knew me from what others had said.
I liked it as well as anywhere I have ever been, but things were different then so no telling what I would think now, but the people do not change much over time.