Things you love about Vietnam

Gday Jim,     There's actually a thread on this already.   

But Yogi likes the climate .  Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province has arguably the best climate in SE Asia.
The wet season is Bugger all, I only need the AC for about 5 mths of the year, and then only when I need it. Most of the time it's just fans.

It depends where your located, but I'm a beach person and like a lot of physical activity , so Nha Trang has everything I require in that area.

The foods healthy, it's a vibrant and busy place, I rarely have a boring day.   Some of the annoying stuff actually adds to the life experience here.  Depends how you look at it.   

I've enjoyed things a lot more since I've moved away from the tourist area a few years ago.  Best thing I ever did. I don't see foreigners unless I go looking for them.

There are a lot of blokes here that live in the tourist area of town.  They've hardly moved any more than 200 metres from where they got off the bus.   They hang out together,  take a piss together, eat together and live within yelling distance of each other.      It's amusing , they all wear the I love Vietnam Tshirts but eat toasted ham & cheese sandwiches for brekky at the same foreign owned cafe every day, they drink at the same foreign owned bars nearly ALL f&ckin day and then eat at the local Pizza joint at night.

Next day, do the same thing all over again.    Don't be one of "those guys."

It's a good life here, get some variety into it, I learn something new about these people nearly every day.

Great to hear!!!!! So excited to visit may take a minute for me to have the crust to move there

Agree with the bear, keep away from the expat enclaves. If you really want to experience VN, live in a hem(alley/lane) and get to know the locals. I hardly ever go to expat bars or restaurants, that doesn't mean to say I dislike all expats,but many are just piss heads and have never moved out of the area they live.

Doing any type of paperwork with the government is a pain in the arse,the traffic is terrible and service not overly good. After awhile you do get used to it but it can be frustrating. The locals in general are very friendly and warm, be prepared to be asked to sit down for something to eat or drink by total strangers as you walk down the street.

That's so exciting! From the videos and films I've seen it appears to be a high energy environment!

Yogi if it's not too much trouble...I wonder what yogis typical day might look like in vn? From morning till bedtime? I hope I'm not being a pest but I find the vn expat life fascinating!!!!

jimcantrell65 wrote:

That's so exciting! From the videos and films I've seen it appears to be a high energy environment!

d


High energy can be associated with high volume of noise, if you like things quiet then VN is not the place to be residing. The locals don't worry too much about noise, the neighbours singing karaoke at 2am loud enough to wake the dead, nobody complains for the fear of retaliation.

My lady friend lives in bao loc..

Apparently it's much quieter there!!??

Ok, well it wont be so high energy there.

jimmy, as bad as the quality may be, it's about the food for me.

I like the cold, so the heat gets to me. life can be chaotic at times because there's no real order, but that's what freedom is about right?

jimcantrell65 wrote:

My lady friend lives in bao loc..

Apparently it's much quieter there!!??

Bao Loc eh?

My wife comes from Bao Loc. It's a pleasant country town in the central highlands with red earth, tumbling rivers, blue skies and forest covered mountains.

The road runs through coffee and tea plantations to get there from Saigon. It used to take 7 hours or so to drive as the road was bloody awfull, but the road is much improved now.

The bus fare from Saigon to Bao Loc is about 200,000 dong or around 10 USD.

The weather there is hot but not as humid as Saigon.

Yes she is a school teacher. They have a holiday today.,the hung Kings I believe?

Its the whole package for me, the warmth of the people and the weather and amazing food

Sounds great Mikey thanks for sharing!

Your welcome Jim. There is one restaurant in District 1 in HCMC that I just 'drool' over, it is a fusion between Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine.
Also I have never eaten Shrimp anywhere as good as in Vietnam, dunking big chunks of shrimp in the little salt/pepper spice dish. And then there are the oysters..................

This morning dawned with bright sunshine as normal but then clouded over. I sat outside sipping ginger coffee that my wife made for me.

Mid morning I was joined by a neighbour from over the road, then by his wife's brother, a senior army officer and his son a doctor. We sat and chatted.

The ladies joined us and shortly after that there were 8 or 9 people sipping coffee and jasmine tea.

The conversation got around to the Hung kings and my feeling that it was somewhat incongruous for a communist country to be celebrating the lives of royalty.

The consensus was that it was normal - a part of Vietnams history.

I contrasted that with my experience of Poland in the early 60's. A general discussion ensued.

Later on I mentioned that being married to a Vietnamese lady was far removed from being married to an English woman and again a discussion ensued where I was advised that I had married a well educated lady from a "good family", so could expect a very good marriage but this came with a warning that if I should step out if line and take a mistress, there might be dire consequences.

It was a fascinating morning, with one guy, a wealthy businessman telling me that he wanted both of his Children to marry foreigners.

I was then invited to go with them for a few beers and a glass or two of wine, but declined as I am currently on a health and fitness regime.

All told, a very interesting morning.