Off Topic Posts - Whats on your mind?

Interesting stat.
Of the 13 new members to have joined the expat.com VN forum over the past day and a half, 11 are VN citizens. - @Aidan in HCMC

10 are probably spammers selling tourist stuff or  pushing terrific housing opportunities.

Interesting stat.
Of the 13 new members to have joined the expat.com VN forum over the past day and a half, 11 are VN citizens. - @Aidan in HCMC

...or 1 VN citizen with high-tech bots?

@Aidan in HCMC

I had an old teacher many years ago. She used to say; statistics are just like bikinis. They show a lot, but hide the essentials.

Happy weekend! (Hope the joke is not too frisky, but it is Friday after all)

Payoff for the hours my wife attends to our simple garden

Well, I know it's time to get some new duds to wear. Most of my shorts are dog chewed, t-shirts are cat scratched, and except for 3 pairs of jeans the knees are out of them. And don't get me started on the tattered underwear.

My GF says I look like someone who's been shipwrecked. I say it's part of my casual-castaway collection. Yeah, it's gotten that bad😶   Trouble is, it's hard to find a clothing store in Phu Quoc with decent quality clothes. I've tried online shopping, with very disappointing results. Looks like there'll soon be a trip to Saigon.

Well, I know it's time to get some new duds to wear. Most of my shorts are dog chewed, t-shirts are cat scratched, and except for 3 pairs of jeans the knees are out of them. And don't get me started on the tattered underwear.
My GF says I look like someone who's been shipwrecked. I say it's part of my casual-castaway collection. Yeah, it's gotten that bad😶 Trouble is, it's hard to find a clothing store in Phu Quoc with decent quality clothes. I've tried online shopping, with very disappointing results. Looks like there'll soon be a trip to Saigon. - @Aidan in HCMC

Saigon's definitely a great choice, but so is Đà Nẵng.

Come on up here and I'll take you to my favorite tailors in Hội An, plus an excellent and affordable men's tailor near my house here at Đà Nẵng Bay

Well, I know it's time to get some new duds to wear. Most of my shorts are dog chewed, t-shirts are cat scratched, and except for 3 pairs of jeans the knees are out of them. And don't get me started on the tattered underwear.
My GF says I look like someone who's been shipwrecked. I say it's part of my casual-castaway collection. Yeah, it's gotten that bad😶 Trouble is, it's hard to find a clothing store in Phu Quoc with decent quality clothes. I've tried online shopping, with very disappointing results. Looks like there'll soon be a trip to Saigon. - @Aidan in HCMC

Saigon's definitely a great choice, but so is Đà Nẵng.
Come on up here and I'll take you to my favorite tailors in Hội An, plus an excellent and affordable men's tailor near my house here at Đà Nẵng Bay - @OceanBeach92107

Thanks for the offer, OB, but it really doesn't have to be of that high a quality. Off-the-rack clothing fits me very well, so if I can get to any of the bigger outlets I'm good. Stores like H&M, The Gap, Levi's, or even Marks and Spencer would be fine.

That said, next time I'm in Da Nang it'd be great to meet up with you! I'd be very interested in visiting some of your favourite food joints, sharing strong VN coffee and conversation. My GF has some friends in Da Nang, and we've been threatening to visit, so it's definitely in the cards.

I say it's part of my casual-castaway collection. - @Aidan in HCMC

Why do I think that would make a great trade name?

It's as good as GROT

When ordering breakfast at hotel you can get one egg and toast for $2.50. If you buy two eggs and toast it will cost $3.50.
What the hell is wrong with the second egg! - @Guest2023

I'm reading and loving lot's of these and hearing George Carlin saying them in my head😆

fotoforensics.com is a free online service which determines whether an image is real or CGI.

Frustrating.

@Aidan in HCMC

Here in HCMC, I went to Uniqlo. They had nothing, not one thing, that I could fit into.

I went to H&M and they had clothes that I could get into AND clothing that was a size or two bigger than what I wear. This is a new development compared to what I could get in 2017 which is the last time I lived here for any length of time.

Pierre Cardin had stuff I could wear, too, for a price!

Yay.

Are you one of the last?

@Aidan in HCMC

Minimum?

@OceanBeach92107

Showing ya age OB 🤣. Yeah my take also, same generation.

Just been cutting firewood for a friend here in Perth and I can't see anything which points me to making a mistake in my decision to finally move to Viet Nam. Cultural shock I can't see happening and a huge thank you to the Forum and the many people I have had interactions with. Markinnam

@MarkinNam, Good luck with the move!

I was living in California, USA from August 2022 - April 2025 and visited Vietnam twice during that time. Before that, I was living up near Seattle, Washington, in the Puget Sound area (since 2017, when I left Vietnam after working here two full years). I was working for the last four years there until June of 2022 -- earning a paycheck.

When living in California, officially retired, I struggled to save even $200 - $300 a month.

I calculated that by living in Vietnam I could save $1,400 USD a month. Now that I've been here since late April, I have come to see that the figure is more like $1,800 and I don't really pinch any pennies here, either.

I love Vietnam. The food especially is so fresh and delicious!

The challenges for expats are: 1) residency permits, visas, etc.; 2) banking and money management, transfers, etc.; and 3) health care expenses. And the older you get, the more the insurance companies want in premiums to insure you.

My plan is to save money like crazy (success!) and use the savings for future health care needs and some travel.

I went to the doc last Thursday. I got a thorough exam and a report on the exam; a chest x-ray and a report on that; and a prescription for some pills to take for 5 days. The cost for all was $143 USD.

A few days later, I went to a dentist, had my teeth cleaned by a competent woman who told me her name was Yoko and that she was Japanese. She also ground off a sharp point on one of my teeth that had apparently chipped (!) without me noticing it; my tongue sure noticed that sharp bit. That bill was 500K VND or less than $20 USD! I just about fell out of my chair at that. Six months ago, in California I paid a couple dollars short of $400 for a dental cleaning, x-rays, and an exam by the dentist, whose Mercedes convertible was parked just outside the office . . . 🤪

He's obviously a good boy.

Just misunderstood...

@OceanBeach92107

"He number one son."

(that's what my GF calls my dog, Cu)

When ordering breakfast at hotel you can get one egg and toast for $2.50. If you buy two eggs and toast it will cost $3.50.
What the hell is wrong with the second egg! - @Guest2023

Nothing's wrong with the second egg. The toast costs $1.50. Each egg costs $1.00.

$1.00 + 1.50 = $2.50

$2.00 + 1.50 = $3.50

😜

Keeping with the egg theme...

Bought 2 cartons of chicken eggs this morning at a local supermarket here in Phu Quoc.

Surprised to see the egg count. Is this now commonly see elsewhere by other members?

Staying on the egg theme...
Bought 2 cartons of chicken eggs this morning at a local supermarket here in Phu Quoc.
Surprised to see the egg count. Is this now commonly see elsewhere by other members?

- @Aidan in HCMC

Was that at King Kong?

I have yet to see that here in Đà Nẵng, but we buy our eggs from the fresh market, usually not getting any packaging at all.

But you're right; the pricing is for 10 eggs, not a dozen

@OceanBeach92107

Yes, King Kong Mkt.

On top of that, they were in a refrigerated display!

Here in GoVap (hcmc) they can be found in a dozen carton if you look around but the average is still 10 eggs to a carton. And, although I’ve never bothered to, I suspect if you broke it down the price per egg is higher for the cartons with a dozen eggs.

    A Man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly.      Specialization is for insects.

Robert A. Heinlein

Now I know why I didn't see too many bats in Thai Nguyen.

This article says similar has been seen in Vietnam, including in the South. Yikes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/worl … =url-share

Officer rescues a trapped dog and gets a hug (Link to video, 9gag.com)

(gets, and gives)

Here's a little test about knowledge of Vietnam customs as well as a bit of humor when Vietnamese is translated into English:

A Vietnamese man posts a video of a lot of Vietnamese people wearing their finest wardrobes at a nice looking place for a group event.

Some people are simply standing outside while some of the children are playing games and kickball in the streets, even though they are also wearing traditional Vietnamese fancy clothes.

The caption on the video translates into English as:

"In the hearts of many people, singing and waiting for vegetables"

What do you think is going on and how might you change the translation, and why?

@OceanBeach92107

Can you give us the caption in VN?

I'm thinking no way it's "Trong lòng nhiều người, họ vừa hát vừa chờ đợi rau củ."

..."In the hearts of many people, singing and waiting for vegetables"

"People's greatest desire, is joy and a fruitful life"(?)

What do you think is going on...

Sounds like a Tet celebration, or a wedding.

...and how might you change the translation, and why? - @OceanBeach92107

Why? Because it's nonsensical in English😊

@OceanBeach92107
Can you give us the caption in VN?
I'm thinking no way it's "Trong lòng nhiều người, họ vừa hát vừa chờ đợi rau củ." - @Aidan in HCMC

It is in fact a Vietnamese video posted by a Vietnamese person who normally posts in Tiếng Việt which can then be translated into English automatically on Facebook. But in this instance, the caption is actually inside the video in English. I don't know if that was done by the original content creator or someone later who took the video and added the caption and reposted it. But what I am writing is exactly what I'm seeing (and would probably translate back to what you have written)

...

"In the hearts of many people, singing and waiting for vegetables"

What do you think is going on and how might you change the translation, and why? - @OceanBeach92107
People's greatest desire, is joy and a fruitful life? - @Aidan in HCMC

There you have either inadvertently or knowingly translated much more closely to the truth of the situation

I won't drag this on too much.

The time is just before the marriage ceremony begins, when everyone is awaiting the Arrival of the groom carrying the trays full of gifts.

The essential tray that is presented by him contains the traditional five fruits (traditional in number not necessarily in specific types of fruit).

So The translation of what should have been "fruits" into "vegetables" Is something that happens quite often when a word isn't used completely in context.

For instance, when I write to someone that my wife is very grateful for the gift we were given, and I take the Vietnamese results and reverse translated to double check, The word wife is often translated as husband.

Only when I write specifically that "My wife NGA is very grateful" will the word wife be correctly translated, because Nga is only a feminine name.

So I believe that if the person had originally written that the people were waiting for the groom to arrive with trays of fruits, then the correct translation would have been given.

I'm guessing that the caption was written by a Vietnamese person who wasn't able to double check the translation

@OceanBeach92107

I've completed a Masters Program in Google Dich, and hope to move on to PhD level soon😎

@OceanBeach92107

A wedding and waiting for the couple

@MarkinNam

Not the couple. The bride is already there.

Waiting for the groom and his attendant(s) to arrive, carrying the traditional trays of gifts, one of which is the traditional five fruit tray

Crazy Canuck liked his new look, I guess..

"A famous wager was in 1996 when he agreed to receive breast implants and keep them for one year in return for US$100,000 (US$200,000 in 2024). The year passed and he won the bet but he became accustomed to the breasts and did not choose to have them removed."

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