Thought I would tag on my own data sheet here given nash23's original is a couple of years old now. This is my take on the 5 days I spent in saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. However there are guys on here who have been living there for a while who will have more knowledge & experience in the scene, so would be good to get their feedback on the below
Ho Chi Minh datasheet
i had previously been in Vietnam 4 years ago when I still lived in the UK (which started my love affair with Asia) and this was the first time I returned since for a long weekend there with a friend (non-game).
The city has changed a lot where there are now a lot more cars on the road and high fashion shopping malls have gone up, you can see money has come into the city and as a result the designer labelled and upscale bars have followed. District 1 is a lot different to 4 year ago but stepping outside that area and much of the city remains the same. A rather adorable chaos as everyone flying about on their scooters going about their business (while usually transporting way too many people or goods for too wheels)
Big shout out to Elim who, although being temporarily out of town PM'd me a load of invaluable information and also connected me to Papa Rico who I met for a big night out and then coffee later on in the trip. Super chill guy who has proper solid game and has been unsurprisingly tearing it up in HCMC since he has been there.
Stayed in Lancaster Serviced apartments in D1, highly recommended. Everything in D1 is walkable and unlike in Singapore it is not so hot and humid that you are sweating like a rapist after walking one block. I always go with serviced apartment rather than a hotel when traveling with mates as it gives you more options: Can cook if you wish, you got a proper living room space to hang and predrink but most importantly you can have girls back for an afterparty but still have separate private bedrooms to take your girl (or girls) back to without having to interrupt the rest of the party (ie hotel room you would have to boot everyone else out). Apartments were quiet, friendly staff and good location with a cracking little sidestreet of bars and restaurants on your doorstep. We normally kicked off our evening in a more traditional style bar called 5ku station just a block away where they serve cheap beer, and good food which you cook yourself on your own mini bbq/grill pot.
Generally everyone is super friendly, but I suspect being a white foreigner a lot of it is down to you having a lot of disposable cash to spend on random tat. But still it never really came across that way if that was the intention, I never got any real 'hard sell' nor the impression that I was getting blatantly ripped off like some experiences I had in Bangkok and Phuket.
Touristy stuff:
Of what we got to see in our brief trip, the Vietnam war remnants museum was my favourite and just 1USD to enter, highly recommended and a must see if you have any interest in the Vietnam War. The palace tour not quite as good but still worth a quick look around. There was another museum we stumbled into, the Gia Long Palace or Ho Chi Minh City Museum but it sucked compared to the War museum, so dont bother. We did the Chu Chi Tunnels also good, an 90 minute drive there so bit of a hike but worth it, the highlight being getting the opportunity to fire AK47 and M16s at a shooting range
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Climbing through the tunnels was pretty cool also. I recommend paying a bit extra to get a personal/private tour as takes away a lot of hassle, journey time and waiting around while you're there.
girls
Note: Getting the excuses out early, but my game was badly hampered due to a bad viral infection in my eye that had me almost canceling my trip. I still made it but the eye looked bad the first few nights which had folk looking at me funny. In addition the medication I was on (albeit mixed with alcohol) had me ending up very drowsy & pissed. On top of that my phone was also playing up severely which would prove to be quite a cockblock. But despite all this took 3 chicks home the first 3 nights (well the first ended up turning out to be a freelancer so doesn't count) and if it wasnt for sheer fatigue from the meds and charging a little too hard the first few nights couldve been 5 in 5. Saigon really is a turkey shoot for picking up the girls, tho they can be a little conservative/resistant once you get them back to your bed. Tho they do absolutely fall in love with you...to stalker-esq proportions. You pretty much barely need any game here to do well (other than maybe closing).
I had forgotten how curvy the Vietnamese chicks can be since I was here 4 years ago. The skin is quite pale and they have quite an oriental look. However their bodies have a bit more tit & ass going on as compared to the likes of the chinese/korean chicks I have come across (heh) which elevates them in my book. As a white guy/ex pat here you will get A LOT of attention, even by SE Asian standards. The chicks literally just stare at you. However they are extremely shy and get embarrassed easily, shying away and giggling when you smile at them in the street. Also their english tends to be pretty bad so communication is a pain, especially if you have a strong accent like I do. However, as badly they speak and understand english they can write it so much better so can you can communicate better through typing what you are saying on your phone and she reciprocates (when your phone isnt running out of fucking battery like mine that is).
Although some may find the shyness endearing for me I kinda prefer girls who are more outgoing, flirtatious and less conservative. But I know other guys tastes will differ. I found getting girls to come home with you was easy enough but they are a bit frigid and inexperienced in the bedroom, which was a little frustrating. But again very sweet where one chick why trying to take me to hospital cos of my eye condition and calling me up afterwards to see how i was. Although the keeness could be a little full-on, some would relentlessly phone me over and over and would want to come to meet me alone even though I was telling her I am out with my friends. You could tell they would make good girlfriend/wife material, if thats what you are looking for. Then again perhaps if I spent longer living there it may be a bit of an act I would start to see through. I'm sure depending on your venue of choice you will likely find more confident/slutty girls in certain bars/clubs
Anyway, was frustrating as given my condition I was operating way below capacity. So planning a repeat trip back when I'm firing on all cylinders and will report back how I get on
Nightlife
Changed a lot since 4 years ago, with a few more high end places springing up. Although generally cheap some of the high end places can still be pricey. Somehow I managed to spend a shitload of cash without really know how I did it.
Xu Bar - Came on a few recommendations and didnt disappoint. Busy high end bar which appears to be both the venue for high end white ex pats, and for local chicks looking for high end (ie non back packer) ex pats. Was surprising the number of white girls and guys in there actually, but was a friendly atmosphere where due to the layout was easy to get chatting to folk. Definitely plenty to aim at in there
Blanchys - Next door to Xu Bar and appears to be a smaller more chilled version but with a similar crowd. Looks good place to bounce a Xu Bar pick up to to better hear eachother talk (esp if her 'engerish' aint that great). But also good for pick up too if you prefer a more lounge-esq style of game to Xu
Apocalypse Now - more a proper club just couple blocks from Xu & Blanchys tho different crowd completely. Appears to be the place you descend upon around 1pm but attracts its fair share of badly dressed tourists, pervy old white men out alone and hookers. Although pretty good looking hookers at that (most had fake cans and a few with other plastic surgery). We ended up in here most nights around 12-1pm, tho seemed to be almost hookers exclusively on non weekend nights. Decent banter tho and the place to get tanked up and have a laugh. Not going to get near the volume or quality of targets as say Xu but still some gems to be had. Or try shore a hooker if thats your thing.
Go2 - in backpacker district. Lively last chance saloon club upstairs where you end up in around 3-4ish while already tanked up. Although also hooker heavy there are still some good options. Wish I could tell you more about this place but every time I was in there I was utterly shitfaced. nice bar to isolate your chick downstairs while club on 2nd floor is pumping, no idea how expensive it is to get in or how much drinks cost. But I do remember a bottle of vodka is (or should be) c120USD but my buddy got fucked in the ass paying 200USD and didnt get (or forgot) his change. So watch out for that stunt being pulled. During the day however we discovered it is also pretty cool to go have a beer on the terrace and watch all the chaos in the busy crossroads in front of you. We would sit there over a drink hoping to see an almighty bike accident but somehow those wee fuckers seem to just about miss eachother.
Also worth a mention was
Saloon Seventeen (near Go2) - has live band who take requests (but clearly prefer if you request metal tunes). Is decent banter, and good for a couple early drinks to kick off the evening
Got the impression outside of weekend nights seems not a lot happens. With the exception Tuesday is supposed to be big at
Lush (never made it there). Thursday night we tried
Chill Sky Bar but it was pretty quiet. Tho I expect would be a different case at the weekends. Tho pretty pricey place, comparable to Singapore even. We over did it the first couple nights and never made it out the prime time slot that was saturday night tho, schoolboy error. We shouldve taken it easier, especially given the meds I was on killed my energy
But all in all a cracking 5 days in the city, despite not being 100% fully fit. Definitely going back seeing as its such a cheap/short flight for me (like a lot of destinations when you live in Singapore
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).
Irish