Carry on, checked bags, shipping before/after. How did you do it?

38,000 lbs in a 40 ft container thru the port in Saigon.  Customs thought they'd died and went to heaven when they saw the manifest. They were heartbroken when they found out they couldn't tax me a dime. They did get 4mil VND out of my agent for processing the shipment.

Rick

Jimpdxusa wrote:

Hello,

I didn't see this in prior posts so I thought I would ask.

I am curious about how you made the transition to carve out your new life in Vietnam.  I will spare asking the reasons as we all have our own.  However what is common is you all actually did it.  Well done I might add!

When it came time to step on that plane, what did you take?  No a specific packing list mind you, but when it came start your new life, did you do it with a carry on and two checked bags and that is all?  Did you ship some belongings before you left or had someone ship items once you were settled?

I am curious about when you transitioned to your new expat life, how much stuff did you take and how?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

I've asked admin to move your post from
Vietnam > Da Nang > Moving
To
Vietnam > Moving
since there's nothing specific to Đà Nẵng in the info you seek and you'll get more views of your post that way.

One way to find pertinent answers when searching here is to open up the sub forum that best applies to your question.

In your case, viewing the posts at expat.com/forum/219-17-removal-vietnam.html might be helpful.

My experience was based on two key decisions:

1. Did I want to settle in one spot or be free to relocate monthly, ad lib?

2. What personal "stuff" was absolutely necessary to bring along?

For business and personal reasons, I thought (before the move) that I'd definitely need the flexibility to relocate whenever I deemed it necessary to do so.

I also sold (house, automobile, etc) or gave away or trashed virtually everything I had, after doing a lot of soul searching about which "things" were REALLY important to me and which could easily and affordably be replaced once I arrived here.

Had I been making the move 30 years ago, I would have felt attached to certain books and music recordings.

Thankfully now, all of my favorite books are on Kindle and Google Books, and my entire music collection is stored in .mp3 format on my phone's micro SD card and on my Google Drive.

So I managed to pack all my necessary clothing and footwear (plus some not so necessary) into two of the big-sized American Tourister suitcases as checked baggage, plus a small tote for medications and supplements and my CPAP breathing machine and a backpack that contained my laptop and other electronics/wires, all as carry on luggage.

Airlines do not count a medication bag--especially one containing insulin--or a "medical device" against your carry on limits.

I also had a lot of Frequent Flyer miles saved up on Delta, so I booked a business class trip from San Diego to Hà Nội, which allowed me the two checked bags.

The flight legs from Seattle to Incheon, Korea and from Incheon to Hà Nội were both in First Class, fully flat reclining seat, so it wasn't necessary to pay the first class rates to get the legroom my fat old legs need.

Ciambella has posted more than once that a great way to bring more than your luggage limit is to pay the fee for extra accompanied "baggage", even if the extra stuff is packed in shipping boxes.

If you wait until you arrive here and then you attempt to ship something to yourself it will almost certainly be more expensive and you're going to run into problems with Customs that you won't have with accompanied baggage.

Since I've been here I've been pretty happy with my decision.

When I fly on Vietnam Airlines I get one checked bag and I pay ₫275,000 VNĐ for an additional bag.

Here is a quick way to check dollar to đồng exchange rates: in Google, search for:

1 USD to VND

or

1 VND to USD

Do that and you'll know how much I pay for that extra large suitcase whenever I move.

Here's hoping that you have a successful move and that you got a lot more feedback from other people to help you do it the best way for your unique situation.

I brought a backpack full of clothes, a small carry-on bag with my computer in it and I had a small box of different items sent by a third-party.

I would never send personal items again by a third-party. It took me nearly five hours and 13 signatures to clear just one box of personal items from the centre near the airport in Saigon. Hopefully they have improved their out-of-date system by now.

Are there any other forums folks can learn about moving to Vietnam besides Expat.com?

Try Google "moving to Vietnam" or specific cities and there are many resources there.

Thank you Gary.

Perfect appreciate it.

colinoscapee wrote:

I brought a backpack full of clothes, a small carry-on bag with my computer in it and I had a small box of different items sent by a third-party.

I would never send personal items again by a third-party. It took me nearly five hours and 13 signatures to clear just one box of personal items from the centre near the airport in Saigon. Hopefully they have improved their out-of-date system by now.

Nice story Bud.  I won't be doing anything that extravagant.  Sounds like a couple of suitcases, a carry-on and a personal bag might be the way to go.  Thanks.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

Are there any other forums folks can learn about moving to Vietnam besides Expat.com?

Yes

I made 10 trips in the course of a year and a half when I started out just visiting for work which turned into visiting the office while living here. I was able to bring a bit more but now that we are packed to come back to the US the three of us have two Vietnamese Suitcases packed for each of us. That is a cardboard box 21" cube to meet the maximum 62"  combined lxwxh limit for luggage.  Using a box gains you several pounds of baggage capacity that isn't wasted on the suitcase weight itself.  I really didn't bring much that I couldn't do without but I knew my visit was going to be a 12-18 month stint until their immigration visas would be approved.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

When it came time to step on that plane, what did you take?  No a specific packing list mind you, but when it came start your new life, did you do it with a carry on and two checked bags and that is all?  Did you ship some belongings before you left or had someone ship items once you were settled?

I am curious about when you transitioned to your new expat life, how much stuff did you take and how?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

A long time ago, I worked with a long-term expat ("old hand") at a university in Bangkok who had a bunch of mottos/aphorisms about life. The only one that stuck with me was:

Less is More

Since then two checked bags and a carry-on have been enough for me when moving from country to country. Unless you have special medical needs, most likely you'll find that everything you really need is already at your destination.

Great helpful info thank you.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I made 10 trips in the course of a year and a half when I started out just visiting for work which turned into visiting the office while living here. I was able to bring a bit more but now that we are packed to come back to the US the three of us have two Vietnamese Suitcases packed for each of us. That is a cardboard box 21" cube to meet the maximum 62"  combined lxwxh limit for luggage.  Using a box gains you several pounds of baggage capacity that isn't wasted on the suitcase weight itself.  I really didn't bring much that I couldn't do without but I knew my visit was going to be a 12-18 month stint until their immigration visas would be approved.

Perfect.  Seems like the rout I should go.  Thank you.

johnross23 wrote:

A long time ago, I worked with a long-term expat ("old hand") at a university in Bangkok who had a bunch of mottos/aphorisms about life. The only one that stuck with me was:

Less is More

Since then two checked bags and a carry-on have been enough for me when moving from country to country. Unless you have special medical needs, most likely you'll find that everything you really need is already at your destination.

A couple more items mainly because I hate typing on the phone and I'm home now.

Since mine was a temporary move I still have my house and all of my "stuff" so I really didn't "move".  I think I would have a really hard time with that.  I have accumulated a lot in my years.  I divested, some by choice and by court order (divorce) a lot of stuff.  It pained me more to decide what to keep and what to let go in my shop more than what was in the house.  I basically took my clothes from the house but consolidating a 40x60 and a 30 x 60 workshops into a three car garage necessitated a lot of culling of things that I hung onto "just in case".

For things to bring, get 6 months worth of any prescriptions to start.  I found that simple things like Tums antacids are available as a terrible equivalent or the real thing for double the price on Shoppee.  Same with simple Ibuprofen.  So cheap to buy generics from Walmart in a couple of 500 count bottles than deal with getting them in 10 pack strips at the pharmacy here.

I use an electric razor but if you use blades bring a hefty cache of your favorites.  We have had threads before and some people have had luck finding them here and some haven't.

You are going to get dinged hard if you decide to bring fishing equipment as it will cost you another $200+ for another bag and probably $300-400 more if it's more than 4' long.  If it's important you should get a hard case and pack several rods and suck up the bill.

I found some cheap three piece heavy casting rods that were under 3' long disasembled in the soft case and just bought three of those and brought some of my Daiwa Lunas for ocean reels.  I actually spent less than the $200 bag charge on the rods and was able to get them into a suitcase.  I left them here with my brother in law when I come back to visit.  Reels are being packed home with me. He's staying in our house so again we didn't have to divest ourselves of everything that we couldn't carry.  We just dumped it off on him last week.

Stein really good advice. 

Yeah I am divesting a house, shop, lots of hunting/camping gear, two boats, about $10k in fishing gear as I compete in tuna tournaments up & down the west coast.  Selling the fishing gear is going to make me cry.  I will bring some of the fishing gear though.  Couple of Diawa Lexia reels, a Stella casting reels. Not sure about the Diawa Tanacom electric reels or custom rods I had built.  Some fly fishing gear might make it too.  I do have a locking hard case for rods so might fill to it's max and either checked as extra or have it shipped.  Dunno.

Bloodydecks.com which is a community I belong to have talked about the emerging and under developed fishing in Thailand and southern Vietnam.  Couple of guys I know have had some success with that so I just need to give it a whirl.

Meds is great advice too.  Not sure what I would do after six months but that gives lots of time to source alternative channels.  If/when I make trip(s) home I can sock up again although without domestic insurance they will sting

I have read to get your electronics here before you leave.  I want to take up photography so a camera & gear, a good video drone, new tablet and laptop will likely be bought. 

My favorite 100 year old cast iron skillet that has been in the family a few generations might make it too. Or pass it on to another family member.  I love to cook and have tons of that stuff too.

Going to be some very hard decisions to be made for sure.

The firehose is tasting great 😁

Budman1 wrote:

38,000 lbs in a 40 ft container thru the port in Saigon.  Customs thought they'd died and went to heaven when they saw the manifest. They were heartbroken when they found out they couldn't tax me a dime. They did get 4mil VND out of my agent for processing the shipment.

Rick

Really? I was told by many to forget the container idea as it will all get stuck at the dock and/or the import tax will be higher than what it's worth. What sort of things did you get though and how did you make it so successful? I would love to fill one up with my music equipment, tools, vehicle and cloths.

Jim, sorry to divert your post since I see you are more than happy with some good advice and a light load.

Mike, no worries at all.  If I can bring a few more things without getting taxed to the point it's not worth it or stuck in customs  I am all for it learning.

MikeTVN wrote:

Budman1 wrote:

38,000 lbs in a 40 ft container thru the port in Saigon.  Customs thought they'd died and went to heaven when they saw the manifest. They were heartbroken when they found out they couldn't tax me a dime. They did get 4mil VND out of my agent for processing the shipment.

Rick

Really? I was told by many to forget the container idea as it will all get stuck at the dock and/or the import tax will be higher than what it's worth. What sort of things did you get though and how did you make it so successful? I would love to fill one up with my music equipment, tools, vehicle and cloths.

Jim, sorry to divert your post since I see you are more than happy with some good advice and a light load.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

Stein really good advice. 

Yeah I am divesting a house, shop, lots of hunting/camping gear, two boats, about $10k in fishing gear as I compete in tuna tournaments up & down the west coast.  Selling the fishing gear is going to make me cry.  I will bring some of the fishing gear though.  Couple of Diawa Lexia reels, a Stella casting reels. Not sure about the Diawa Tanacom electric reels or custom rods I had built.  Some fly fishing gear might make it too.  I do have a locking hard case for rods so might fill to it's max and either checked as extra or have it shipped.  Dunno.

Gah, I just couldn't do that.  It took me too long to amass that.  I did cut down from 7 cars and trucks to 3, sold my trout boat with the lake house on the White River in Arkansas but kept 2 boats.  Everything tool-wise kept from the shop but lost a lot of car parts and misc. that I might need "someday".  Kept all guns and fishing equipment.  I just couldn't walk away from a whole life.

After going through your possessions and eliminating what you don't need, pack as much as you think you can afford to pay for as excess baggage, and then leave anything else behind. 

Also check excess baggage rates and maximum weight allowances before selecting your airline.  I chose to move to Vietnam on Philippine Airlines because they had a higher maximum weight per unit (from Honolulu only.)  There may be something similar out there still.  It's the combination of the ticket price and the excess baggage fees that counts.

That's worth the price of admission right there.  Excellent advice.

THIGV wrote:

It's the combination of the ticket price and the excess baggage fees that counts.

How much of your belongings should you take with you would depend on how long you plan to stay. 

If the stay is for a few years, there's no need to take more than the 100 lbs of free checked bag allowance.  Take only what you truly need, and only the things that cost a lot more in VN than in your home country.

If the stay is at least 10 years, then I suggest that you pack 100 lbs of everything you need in the two checked bags, plus the paid extra bags (use U-Haul boxes) if applicable.  Leave the rest with a family member with the promise that you'll reclaim them within two years.

After you've settled here for good (happy with the city, happy with the apartment, happy with the shops, happy with the daily routine), then ask yourself what you truly need and what you miss but don't need.  Take a trip back to your home country, taking only an overnight bag with you.  RT tickets to the US and Europe can be found for $500, and you can bring back another 100 lbs of the things you cannot live without in your free checked bags (again, use boxes).  The ticket cost is still less expensive than shipping fee.

The free 200 lbs should be sufficient for everything you need. (Ask yourself: Do I truly need my tools?  How often will I use them as I live in an apartment where the landlords fix everything? If the tools are for an hobby, do I have the room to work on my hobby in the limited space of a one-bedroom apartment?) 

If 200 lbs are not enough, paying for an extra box each time (the initial trip and the visiting trip) at the rate of $100 for 50 lbs would still be worth it.

Ciambella more excellent advice.  Thank you.  Especially the part about making sure that I like it and get fully settled.  Makes total sense to do it in various trips when I go back & forth.  USA visa run is on tap I suppose.

Only things I really need are a laptop, iPad, camera, video drone (I plan on taking up photography in this next chapter), meds, a few kitchen items and clothe/shoes of corse.  Fishing stuff is important too.  I have a rod tube that can hold a few salt rods and a fly rod. Seems like that can be checked as oversized for a bit more.  Just need to make sure all the connections will allow it.

As others have mentioned I like the box idea vs suitcase.

Lots of good info here for others that will have the same questions coming behind me and use the search feature. Thanks for the positive contributions folks.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

Only things I really need are a laptop, iPad, camera, video drone (I plan on taking up photography in this next chapter), meds, a few kitchen items and clothe/shoes of corse.

If you're gonna take up photography, I suggest that you buy a tripod in the States instead of waiting until you get here.  Tripods are not available in multitude of choices here; the prices are much higher; there are very few premium brands, and there are even fewer carbon fiber ones.

Adorama and B&H (both in NYC with huge online stores) are the best camera stores in the US.  Great prices, excellent selections, impeccable customer service, and totally trustworthy.

On my last two visits to Saigon before moving here, I packed suitcases with things I wanted to move and left the bags with a friend.  I think my total was 7 big bags and 4 backpacks.  I gave everything else away -- my car was on its last legs and I junked it.  There are things I wish I had kept, but not too many.

When I move back to the US this year or next, most of the stuff I bought here will go to the friend who stored my bags, including my moto.  I expect to have only 3-4 suitcases and a couple of backpacks to take back to the US in two trips

When I moved here, I took a couple of large suitcases with essentials and had the rest shipped (after clearing out an awful lot of junk first).

It worked pretty well for me, although I had an agent to take help care of customs clearance.

One issue was that my shipment could not clear customs until I had arrived myself, which meant it was not possible to ship everything in advance and I had to wait about a month for the shipment to arrive.

The other problem was that in order to get customs clearance for the shipment, I needed a landing card from the airport. I arrived during covid when the airport was partially shut down and no customs officials were available to give the right landing card. I ended up having to pay the agent an administrative fee to get to obtain the landing card. It kind of felt like manufactured red tape to make me pay more (as much as I love living here, that is not entirely unusual).

matthanoi wrote:

When I moved here, I took a couple of large suitcases with essentials and had the rest shipped (after clearing out an awful lot of junk first).

It worked pretty well for me, although I had an agent to take help care of customs clearance.

One issue was that my shipment could not clear customs until I had arrived myself, which meant it was not possible to ship everything in advance and I had to wait about a month for the shipment to arrive.

The other problem was that in order to get customs clearance for the shipment, I needed a landing card from the airport. I arrived during covid when the airport was partially shut down and no customs officials were available to give the right landing card. I ended up having to pay the agent an administrative fee to get to obtain the landing card. It kind of felt like manufactured red tape to make me pay more (as much as I love living here, that is not entirely unusual).

Landing cards went out years ago. You were scammed by customs agents using anything they can to get a buck.

colinoscapee wrote:

Landing cards went out years ago. You were scammed by customs agents using anything they can to get a buck.

Yep.  IIRC, 2010 was the last time landing card was used in VN. More than a decade ago. I wonder whether immigration or custom agents just happened to find an old card and decided to use it on him, or they've always kept a few just for an opportunity like this.

Matthanoi -- In all the countries I've been to (almost 70 at last count), when landing cards were still in use, they're given to passengers by the flight attendant, not from anyone inside the airport.  The fact that the flight attendant didn't give you anything to fill out should've given you an idea that it was not needed.

Lighter is better, dont forget most things here are cheaper. I managed with a couple of big suitcases and a soft sports bag.

Just need to be realistic what things you can get here and things that will be import only

Ciambella wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Landing cards went out years ago. You were scammed by customs agents using anything they can to get a buck.

Yep.  IIRC, 2010 was the last time landing card was used in VN. More than a decade ago. I wonder whether immigration or custom agents just happened to find an old card and decided to use it on him, or they've always kept a few just for an opportunity like this.

Matthanoi -- In all the countries I've been to (almost 70 at last count), when landing cards were still in use, they're given to passengers by the flight attendant, not from anyone inside the airport.  The fact that the flight attendant didn't give you anything to fill out should've given you an idea that it was not needed.

Oh, don't worry, I was pretty sure they were setting me up for a scam the moment they mentioned landing cards. Unfortunately, at the time I didn't have any many options - it was the start of lock-down and I was living in Singapore, my visa and lease there had run out and I needed to get to Vietnam for my new job.

I only mentioned this to highlight the fact that if anyone is thinking of shipping to Vietnam, customs will almost certainly be complex and expensive. As everyone else has said, packing light and using checked baggage is the best way.

Hi Rick,

Not familiar with the tax laws here. Why couldn't they charge any taxes? Are there no duties on personal items?

thanks,
Jodocus

I didn't plan on being an expat when I came to Vietnam 14 months ago on a 2-month vacation, but I always pack what I consider to be necessaries:  A computer, more than one smartphone (one for communications and another as a backup or for use as a GPS when I'm driving a motorbike in previously uncharted territory), daily packs of vitamins & medicines (enough for the vacation plus 2 weeks in case of plan changes - which didn't anticipate that the Pandemic would keep me here), 3 full lightweight outfits (for me - 3 tank tops, 3 vests, 3 pairs of zip-down pants that can zip down to shorts, 1 lightweight jacket (for Vietnam - it can get cold in Sapa and Dalat in certain months, and a jacket provides sun protection on a motorbike), a few pairs of sandals, a week's worth of underwear, some socks (they will be handy returning to the U.S. on a cold night - but turned out to be excess in Vietnam), a bathroom/toilet/first aid bag (including shampoo, conditioner, band aids, loperamide, caffeine, tweezers, small bottle of cologne, a few small tubes of skin cream, tweezers, nail clipper, etc.), a kitchen bag containing things including a large plastic cup, a fork and spoon, some decent scissors,  4 Dollar Tree super-thin and flexible plastic plates, 3 Dollar Tree microwavable thin and light square bowls, a folding sharp knife, etc., my Philipps Sonicare and my Panasonic Oral Irrigator, a few sets of spare Lithium Ion AA and AAA batteries (unavailable in Vietnam stores, but purchasable online from Lazada - Vietnam's Amazon), and a few other things. 

Turns out, Vietnam has almost anything available that can be brought from the US.  The pandemic resulted in my renting an apartment, and after shopping in stores for the conveniences that I am accustomed to, including supermarkets like Co-op Mart, Big C, Lotte Mart and Mega Mart, I discovered that Vietnam has developed online shopping far beyond what we have in the U.S., frequently linking to Facebook Messenger, and I bought furniture suitable for people taller than Vietnamese, a Toaster Oven, a Microwave Oven, an Ionic Air Filter, a mosquito zapper, a Brother Printer-Scanner-Copier, shoe racks (some of which I converted to pantry racks and shelves), Pots and Pans with heavy flat bottoms that work on Induction Cookers used by every Vietnamese, lamps, rugs and carpets, a Makita Cordless Drill and other tools, etc., and I even constructed a 3-tier lamp system to illuminate a dark corner of my dining room using things I bought at a local hardware store.

I got all the vitamins and medicines and shampoos that I needed at Pharmacies or international markets, or online, and Lazada is the best online source in Vietnam, but you need to figure out the right combinations of words in English that work to locate what you want.

I found fabric stores - even the wholesale fabric markets, and tailors, and had shirts made (not that I needed any, but the fabrics were nice, and it was a challenge at first, easy now!)

So what you need to take with you depends on where you become an expat.

When I come back home - whenever that will be, I'll pay for excess baggage, and I bought decent suitcases in Vietnam to accommodate my purchases - which will include clothing that I had made here, great sandals that I bought here (both for walking and for riding my motorbike without socks) , super pots and pans, face masks, over-sink dish drain racks that I never saw in the US, super scissors and kitchen knives, and who knows what else?  I'll only know when time comes to pack.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

Stein really good advice. 

Yeah I am divesting a house, shop, lots of hunting/camping gear, two boats, about $10k in fishing gear as I compete in tuna tournaments up & down the west coast.  Selling the fishing gear is going to make me cry.  I will bring some of the fishing gear though.  Couple of Diawa Lexia reels, a Stella casting reels. Not sure about the Diawa Tanacom electric reels or custom rods I had built.  Some fly fishing gear might make it too.  I do have a locking hard case for rods so might fill to it's max and either checked as extra or have it shipped.  Dunno.

Bloodydecks.com which is a community I belong to have talked about the emerging and under developed fishing in Thailand and southern Vietnam.  Couple of guys I know have had some success with that so I just need to give it a whirl.

Meds is great advice too.  Not sure what I would do after six months but that gives lots of time to source alternative channels.  If/when I make trip(s) home I can sock up again although without domestic insurance they will sting

I have read to get your electronics here before you leave.  I want to take up photography so a camera & gear, a good video drone, new tablet and laptop will likely be bought. 

My favorite 100 year old cast iron skillet that has been in the family a few generations might make it too. Or pass it on to another family member.  I love to cook and have tons of that stuff too.

Going to be some very hard decisions to be made for sure.

The firehose is tasting great 😁

Oh not to worry. It will all go fine. I did a little of everything when it came to shipping. I have a freight forwarder so I used them for a painless shipping of a lot of stuff. They take care of everything on this end with no hassles. I also took all the extra baggage I wanted to on the plane and paid the extra fees. No more expensive as I recall then shipping with my shipper. But it does make for a lot of stuff to manhandle through departure  and arrival. Meds are so cheap here that I would not worry about it unless you have some odd med, or some of the ones they do not allow in the country. Wise to check on that before trying bringing them in. Cough syrup is just one. Many psychotropic meds are not allowed or available. The cast iron skillet is a must bring if you love your skillet like me. Your not going to find one like it in country. Anything you want to work beyond 30 days you might want to bring. I brought all my kitchen appliances in 110 v 60 hz. But was able to get a 220v kitchenaid stand mixer before I left. You can get them here, but for much more. Shocked by your fishing statement. This place is about fished out I think. The inland waters so polluted it is really a catch and release thing. But they eat them. Never known of a foreigner eating any. But I am no authority on fishing that is for sure. Can not imagine finding a boat I would go to fish on the open sea. Keep us posted on that. I too came to VN on the advice of something being great. In my case it was reading about the 10 best beaches in the world. Nha Trang was way up on the list. Arrived and was shocked. Who the heck voted? Human waste dumped directly in from the entire city. That has been cleaned up now with the new waste treatment plant. At any rate, good luck. You will love it here.

I am curious about this.  Anti anxiety or anti depression meds are not allowed or sold in VN?

I haven't taken anti depression drugs but there have been times when work has had me wound up pretty tight, usually highly visible big projects where I have taken anxiety meds. 

They won't let people use them if needed? Do they not have mental health issues in VN?

Diazo wrote:

odd med, or some of the ones they do not allow in the country. Wise to check on that before trying bringing them in. Cough syrup is just one. Many psychotropic meds are not allowed or available.

Jimpdxusa wrote:

I am curious about this.  Anti anxiety or anti depression meds are not allowed or sold in VN?

I haven't taken anti depression drugs but there have been times when work has had me wound up pretty tight, usually highly visible big projects where I have taken anxiety meds. 

They won't let people use them if needed? Do they not have mental health issues in VN?

Diazo wrote:

odd med, or some of the ones they do not allow in the country. Wise to check on that before trying bringing them in. Cough syrup is just one. Many psychotropic meds are not allowed or available.

They certainly do have mental health issues, many untreated. I would check with a medical clinic here and send them a msg about any particular drug to see if it is banned. PM me and I will give you the email address for one. OBTW you may want to subscribe to Magicjack before you come.

Diazo wrote:

Jimpdxusa wrote:

I am curious about this.  Anti anxiety or anti depression meds are not allowed or sold in VN?

I haven't taken anti depression drugs but there have been times when work has had me wound up pretty tight, usually highly visible big projects where I have taken anxiety meds. 

They won't let people use them if needed? Do they not have mental health issues in VN?

Diazo wrote:

odd med, or some of the ones they do not allow in the country. Wise to check on that before trying bringing them in. Cough syrup is just one. Many psychotropic meds are not allowed or available.

They certainly do have mental health issues, many untreated. I would check with a medical clinic here and send them a msg about any particular drug to see if it is banned. PM me and I will give you the email address for one. OBTW you may want to subscribe to Magicjack before you come.

How about ooma? Or Google voice? Any info on whether my current US #'s will work there?