[worldtraveler3]

Yep. Quality is higher in hcm.
The girls in Hanoi don't dress as well as the girls in Saigon either.
Night life girls in Saigon dress well. In overall looks I would say top tier Asia.

[the_ox]

What about Halong Bai? Is it worth going for two or three nights over there?

And the new year's eve, any suggestion? Thailand or Vietnam? And which city?

[mistertruc]

I just left Hanoi after staying two weeks.

I would not advise to stay that long for someone visiting. 3-4 days are enough, in preference on the week-end so you can see the night market in the old quarter. It is not including the tour to Halong bay which I strongly advice to do.
To visit the city, find a guide. A 25 years old student picked me up when I was walking in the old quarter. She knew all the good spot to see and had some inside knowledge on the culture and city which I appreciated.

The traffic in this city is crazy. You will see motorbikes every where. I never saw that many of them, it is ridiculous. The first day I was waiting a long time to be able to cross streets, even when there was a red light which they do not respect. I finally understood after watching an old woman cross the road: you do small steps, without stopping. The motorcycles will avoid you.

Also, the weather is relatively chill. It is around 15-20ºC. You will also not see the blue sky and the sun as long as you stay. The pollution keeps a fog around the city, which can be really important some days.


There are not much to do at night. The few bars and nightclubs are full of foreigners so you won't stand out.
Still, I successfully pulled a girl with her sister from a bar to a nightclub they knew. It is one which was not mentioned in this thread: the Hero bar (https://www.facebook.com/Heroclubhanoi).

Because of some logistics problems, my hotel refusing guests, I did not get the flag. But I could see some evident IOI from girls, even with boyfriend in their arms. I think I agree with others point of view from this thread: Hanoi is not a good city for ONS.
I am sure if I had my own apartment, knew a few basic words and stayed a little longer, I would have found a few girls.

For the ones working out in their hotel rooms like me, you can have a correct diet to go with it with the vietnamese BBQ that you can eat on the streets. It is pretty cheap, and you can order some avocado juice with it!


Personally, I was not a fan of this city, even more after being in Bangkok. The weather and the lack of things to do depressed me. I decided to focus on my work. It was a good thing as I was really productive.
I think I will come back in Vietnam, but go to Ho Chi Minh instead, or go back to Hanoi so I can travel down to the south in a motorcycle


Now I am in Vientiane and hellloooooo sunnnn. I missed you.

[mau man]

(12-31-2015 07:26 AM)mistertruc Wrote:  

I just left Hanoi after staying two weeks.

I would not advise to stay that long for someone visiting. 3-4 days are enough, in preference on the week-end so you can see the night market in the old quarter. It is not including the tour to Halong bay which I strongly advice to do.
To visit the city, find a guide. A 25 years old student picked me up when I was walking in the old quarter. She knew all the good spot to see and had some inside knowledge on the culture and city which I appreciated.

The traffic in this city is crazy. You will see motorbikes every where. I never saw that many of them, it is ridiculous. The first day I was waiting a long time to be able to cross streets, even when there was a red light which they do not respect. I finally understood after watching an old woman cross the road: you do small steps, without stopping. The motorcycles will avoid you.

Also, the weather is relatively chill. It is around 15-20ºC. You will also not see the blue sky and the sun as long as you stay. The pollution keeps a fog around the city, which can be really important some days.


There are not much to do at night. The few bars and nightclubs are full of foreigners so you won't stand out.
Still, I successfully pulled a girl with her sister from a bar to a nightclub they knew. It is one which was not mentioned in this thread: the Hero bar (https://www.facebook.com/Heroclubhanoi).

Because of some logistics problems, my hotel refusing guests, I did not get the flag. But I could see some evident IOI from girls, even with boyfriend in their arms. I think I agree with others point of view from this thread: Hanoi is not a good city for ONS.
I am sure if I had my own apartment, knew a few basic words and stayed a little longer, I would have found a few girls.

For the ones working out in their hotel rooms like me, you can have a correct diet to go with it with the vietnamese BBQ that you can eat on the streets. It is pretty cheap, and you can order some avocado juice with it!


Personally, I was not a fan of this city, even more after being in Bangkok. The weather and the lack of things to do depressed me. I decided to focus on my work. It was a good thing as I was really productive.
I think I will come back in Vietnam, but go to Ho Chi Minh instead, or go back to Hanoi so I can travel down to the south in a motorcycle


Now I am in Vientiane and hellloooooo sunnnn. I missed you.

Thanks for the insight.

If you don't mind sparing details, how did you manage to get a personal guide to show you around? I think that would make things easier for people exploring new places.

[1818Steve]

^^^ There are hundreds of university students who would be thrilled to show you around town just for the chance to practice speaking English and to hang out with a foreigner. Most are female and many are pretty. And it is a great way to see the town.

[mistertruc]

(12-31-2015 03:09 PM)mau man Wrote:  

Thanks for the insight.

If you don't mind sparing details, how did you manage to get a personal guide to show you around? I think that would make things easier for people exploring new places.

I was just walking down the street in the old quarter. My guess she was not the only one to do that, and it's an easy way to win money for them. She explained me she finished her exams in school and she was on holiday for a week, so she used the free-time to win some cash.

To find a guide, I would talk to the motorbike or tuk-tuk drivers waiting on the street. Then, I would negotiate how much they want to guide you in the city. I would also check they have a sufficient level in english so they can give their insights as locals.

[RustyShackleford]

(12-31-2015 11:52 PM)mistertruc Wrote:  

I was just walking down the street in the old quarter. My guess she was not the only one to do that, and it's an easy way to win money for them. She explained me she finished her exams in school and she was on holiday for a week, so she used the free-time to win some cash.

To find a guide, I would talk to the motorbike or tuk-tuk drivers waiting on the street. Then, I would negotiate how much they want to guide you in the city. I would also check they have a sufficient level in english so they can give their insights as locals.

I would not suggest the motorbikes. Most will overcharge you for what it's worth. It's best to walk around Old Quarter, and Hu Guo (Hoan Kiem Lake) and talk to university aged kids around there. Most are very excited to practice English and I have been rarely turned down by asking them to show me around to good restaurants or things to do.

[Global Entry]

Further to the previous question, i hired a guy that spoke english fairly well and that was selling fake Zippo lighters on the street to help me with various things.

As I said before "I hired a guide for very little money - he was someone who i met who sold lighters on the street, spoke decent english and had guided foreigners around before. He did a good enough job and was pleasant enough that I hired him a second time around when I went back. It was only a few dollars a day, and he would pay his own way by purchasing things like T-shirts and gifts on my behalf- they would have charged me more than double what they charged him for the same item. He also got me a bag of weed (he was definitely nervous about it) and also loaned me his terrible, brakeless motorbike to use a few times (I probably shouldn’t have taken him up on it). "

I am in contact with him if anyone needs a hand getting around or buying a motorbike. Just let him negotiate it for you and stay out of sight. Then give him the money (with whatever safeguards you need) while you stand nearby. I think he's fairly trustworthy, though it would be a big temptation for anyone of his financial status to have that much cash at one time. I still have his contact information and unless he's become an addict or something (no reason to think he even takes drugs, he was pretty scared finding weed for me but did it anyway), I would heartily recommend him, though no doubt people like him are not unique in their skill set. All in, with the discounts for shopping, he easily paid for himself, and is good company

(12-31-2015 03:09 PM)mau man Wrote:  

(12-31-2015 07:26 AM)mistertruc Wrote:  

I just left Hanoi after staying two weeks.

I would not advise to stay that long for someone visiting. 3-4 days are enough, in preference on the week-end so you can see the night market in the old quarter. It is not including the tour to Halong bay which I strongly advice to do.
To visit the city, find a guide. A 25 years old student picked me up when I was walking in the old quarter. She knew all the good spot to see and had some inside knowledge on the culture and city which I appreciated.

The traffic in this city is crazy. You will see motorbikes every where. I never saw that many of them, it is ridiculous. The first day I was waiting a long time to be able to cross streets, even when there was a red light which they do not respect. I finally understood after watching an old woman cross the road: you do small steps, without stopping. The motorcycles will avoid you.

Also, the weather is relatively chill. It is around 15-20ºC. You will also not see the blue sky and the sun as long as you stay. The pollution keeps a fog around the city, which can be really important some days.


There are not much to do at night. The few bars and nightclubs are full of foreigners so you won't stand out.
Still, I successfully pulled a girl with her sister from a bar to a nightclub they knew. It is one which was not mentioned in this thread: the Hero bar (https://www.facebook.com/Heroclubhanoi).

Because of some logistics problems, my hotel refusing guests, I did not get the flag. But I could see some evident IOI from girls, even with boyfriend in their arms. I think I agree with others point of view from this thread: Hanoi is not a good city for ONS.
I am sure if I had my own apartment, knew a few basic words and stayed a little longer, I would have found a few girls.

For the ones working out in their hotel rooms like me, you can have a correct diet to go with it with the vietnamese BBQ that you can eat on the streets. It is pretty cheap, and you can order some avocado juice with it!


Personally, I was not a fan of this city, even more after being in Bangkok. The weather and the lack of things to do depressed me. I decided to focus on my work. It was a good thing as I was really productive.
I think I will come back in Vietnam, but go to Ho Chi Minh instead, or go back to Hanoi so I can travel down to the south in a motorcycle


Now I am in Vientiane and hellloooooo sunnnn. I missed you.

Thanks for the insight.

If you don't mind sparing details, how did you manage to get a personal guide to show you around? I think that would make things easier for people exploring new places.

[Straw Hat Pirate]

(03-17-2014 11:58 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

How widespread is French among the girls there? I'd assume that on,y the upper middle classes and above would speak it.

On a practical basis no one speaks it, not even the upper class.

If you're going to Vietnam keep in mind that if you haven't been to a similar country before it might knock you on the head pretty hard. Thailand has nothing on Vietnam, and I met European people who thought Bangkok was too fast. LOL!! The Vietnamese don't really like White folk because of the war and so on so if you can't handle being looked at like a mark everytime then it isn't the place for you. If you aren't used to MSG you won't be able to handle the food either.

That said, Hanoi has a strangely likeable vibe, the only thing happening in the old quarter where the backpackers stay is the pub crawl but venture out and a whole new world opens. If you just want to get laid skip and go to Saigon, if you want to take in the sights too then it makes a decent stop. Most people just use it as a base for Ha Long Bay.

[Travesty]

^ This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

I'm white people were great to me there including shop and restaurant girls that would giggle as soon as I said two words in Vietnamese.

Vietnamese in my epxerience love white Americans and many want to talk and learn about America.

[Straw Hat Pirate]

*shrug*, I'm not really arsed about it so I'll take your word for it but shop and restaurant people are not an adequate sample size nor are they random enough to make a proper conclusion and you have to keep in mind this is a country where remnants of the war are everywhere. In old quarters Hanoi there are quite a few museums depicting the horrors of the American invasion, in the DMZ they are still clearing out bombs, there are old people with limbs missing from the war and there is of the course the world famous American War Crimes Museum in Saigon. The younger generation probably doesn't give a shit but it's def. in the back of their minds and plays out in how they interact with people.

I was traveling with Westerners for the most part in Vietnam, cool ass Euro dudes and a few Yanks in Dalat and they all had the same thing to say. The people were by and large aggressive and viewed them as marks and even if they were being nice it was difficult to gauge how authentic they were. The unanimous conclusion was because anti-white sentiment was still noticeably prevalent.

Of course, this isn't the end all and you shouldn't let it bother you one bit and Saigon is a massive enough city to find people of all kinds but it pays to be aware that's all.

Good luck to whoever is planning on visiting.

[Travesty]

What the hell are you talking about?

I bought art at the Political Prisoner Museum the Hanoi Hotel from two middle aged women. I am going to give some of the art to my mom.

They were great to me.

If you are an Indian this explains everything.

Vietnamese love and idolize Obama. They hate China and think Laos is boring and also tend to love Japan.

You need to pipe down and go sit in the corner.

[Going strong]

(08-15-2016 01:24 AM)Travesty Wrote:  

What the hell are you talking about?

I bought art at the Political Prisoner Museum the Hanoi Hotel from two middle aged women. I am going to give some of the art to my mom.

They were great to me.

If you are an Indian this explains everything.

Vietnamese love and idolize Obama. They hate China and think Laos is boring and also tend to love Japan.

You need to pipe down and go sit in the corner.

"Vietnamese love and idolize Obama" ? Really? How so? For being a (former and probably current) communist maybe, but as a (former and probably current) Muslim, and Kenyan (Indonesian?) US president and chief of US Army, I don't see how they can love him. Matter of fact, nobody ever spoke to me about Obama when I was in Vietnam, and I (mercifully) didn't see his picture in the local press.

[Travesty]

A girl I went on date with has 6 picture in her Zalo app of his portrait. A Couch Surfer girl in Da Nang asked about Obama because they love him there.

My friend watched the news when he came and saw the crowds.

http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/vietnam...ma-n579561

What the fuck is going on in this thread?

Who else needs to be corrected?

[Straw Hat Pirate]

(08-15-2016 01:24 AM)Travesty Wrote:  

If you are an Indian this explains everything.

They hate China and think Laos is boring and also tend to love Japan.

Yeah I'm 'an Indian'. Not sure how that explains 'everything' but okay and I'm amused as to why you're getting so bizarrely aggravated and defensive over an opinion.

Again, you're using anecdotal evidence and generalizing to an entire population. It's banana reasoning.

Yes, they love Obama. Not sure what that has to do with the fact the memories of the war are still relatively fresh and the country despite enormous growth is still poor in a few areas resulting in the locals viewing some tourists as marks.

I was there for 3 weeks and hung out with people diverse enough to form a UN and that was the unanimous opinion of the White folk who were there.

Anyway, this is boring, it's a great country in many ways and very different. If any of you are going don't forget to check out :

1) Lush - It's in Saigon. There are some hookers here though so be careful.

2) The pub crawl in Bui Vien. Starts at Hideout.

3) If you land up in Dalat, check out Maize bar. Easiest place to hook up with a fellow backpacker but it closes at midnight so you got to move fast.

[Suits]

(08-15-2016 04:48 AM)Straw Hat Pirate Wrote:  

(08-15-2016 01:24 AM)Travesty Wrote:  

If you are an Indian this explains everything.

Yeah I'm 'an Indian'. Not sure how that explains 'everything' but okay...

[Travesty]

(08-15-2016 04:48 AM)Straw Hat Pirate Wrote:  

Yeah I'm 'an Indian'. Not sure how that explains 'everything' but okay and I'm amused as to why you're getting so bizarrely aggravated and defensive over an opinion.

Again, you're using anecdotal evidence and generalizing to an entire population. It's banana reasoning.

Yes, they love Obama. Not sure what that has to do with the fact the memories of the war are still relatively fresh and the country despite enormous growth is still poor in a few areas resulting in the locals viewing some tourists as marks.

I was there for 3 weeks and hung out with people diverse enough to form a UN and that was the unanimous opinion of the White folk who were there.

Anyway, this is boring, it's a great country in many ways and very different. If any of you are going don't forget to check out :

1) Lush - It's in Saigon. There are some hookers here though so be careful.

2) The pub crawl in Bui Vien. Starts at Hideout.

3) If you land up in Dalat, check out Maize bar. Easiest place to hook up with a fellow backpacker but it closes at midnight so you got to move fast.

I don't know shit about other white. They like Americans. Another anecdote is on a flight from Da Nang to Nha Trang I had a male flight attendant talk my ear off wanting to know about America and telling me his life story.

Yet another story is a tea shop owner in Hoi An, who was an ex- Vietnamese cultural organization directory at some institute in HCM had a long conversation with my American friend and I about neighboring Cambodia and how he has taken several trips to the U.S.. He helped us find a custom shoe store down the street by walking with us.

Or there was the time we walking into a random restaurant in Hanoi and sat down at the front table when the owner came by and asked us where we are from we told American we had some banter then he invited us up to the private party room that was the only part of the restaurant with A/C to let us eat our meal.

Do realize in Southern California and other places in the U.S. there are tons of 2nd generation Vietnamese Americans millenials and Gen Y?

I was sure to both ask him and the Couchsurfer in Da Nang if I lived in Vietnam and knew some Vietnamese would it be easy to make friends immediately. Both said a resounding yes because they want to meet Americans.

A hostel roommate I met in Da Nang who is a white American 37yo was offered by a random group of Vietnamese college kids to show him around the tailor tourist town of Hoi An - a 40 minute ride away. They called over to him in English and invited him over.

Next Lush Bar sucks I just went there this last Friday night. Nothing but 2 decent hookers in their late 20s and a sausage fest with a few handfuls of 5s and 6s with a few more handfuls of tourist and expats. I thought it was awful.

Apocolypse Now was the only place with approachable local girls dancing that weren't hookers. Even though it has tons of hookers as well.

---

I have been to your country, I know your people intimately like the bottom left side of my nutsack I have itched oh so delicately with the nails of my middle and index fingers of my left hand whenever it has itched for decades. Oh I know it well...

---

I had amazing information on Colombia before I went.

Horrific information on Mexico before I went, which I am still trying to correct to this day.

And decent information on Vietnam.

Before I actually measured up RVF travel advice against my own experiences I had a lot of trust in it especially after Colombia.

Now seeing this misinformation be said with strong conviction when I watch in real time.

---

White American males are very well liked and received in Vietnam I can say. Everyone lit up when I said "choi ban" or "tahm biet".

I strongly suspect all Americans are.

[Travesty]

(11-25-2015 11:34 PM)worldtraveler3 Wrote:  

Yep. Quality is higher in hcm.
The girls in Hanoi don't dress as well as the girls in Saigon either.
Night life girls in Saigon dress well. In overall looks I would say top tier Asia.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this as well.

Having a comparison of Hanoi vs HCM in the last two weeks whether it was cafe girls, restaurant girls, motorbikers, street chefs, or out in the Hanoi night life district I saw many more dollface 7s in heels.

In HCM I thought the nightlife was pretty dismal and filled with aging late 20s+ hookers.

I look around like the Terminator when I am in a new place sizing up quality.

[Going strong]

I guess they love Obama because he castrated (and gay-ized) the US army, then, and generally weakened America. Makes sense. The (Manchurian) enemy of your (traditional) enemy, etc...

[Straw Hat Pirate]

Travesty, don't take this personally or in the wrong way but you're coming across like a boring nationalist who is unable to take difference of opinion on the chin. You're also ignoring the fact that I tried to tell you anecdotal evidence is never a good starting point to test the strength of a particular hypothesis and responded by providing a wall of text of more anecdotes. You're adding to the the error by not recognizing that your sample size is small and not random enough and pre-selected for service people who have no option but to be nice because their livelihood depends on it. No ex-colonized nation or one which has fought such a major war is going to have a overall positive sentiment towards White Westerners for obvious reasons.

Here is an anecdote since you seem to love them so much :

Quote:

The simple answer is that no one ever wants to return to a place where they felt they were treated poorly. When I was in Vietnam, I was constantly hassled, overcharged, ripped off, and treated badly by the locals.

I constantly met street sellers who tried to openly overcharge me. There was the bread lady who refused to give me back the proper change, the food seller who charged me triple even though I saw how much the customer in front of me paid, or the cabbie who rigged his meter on the way to the bus station. While buying t-shirts in Hoi An, three women tried to keep me in their store until I bought something, even if that meant pulling on my shirt

“She’s telling her friends she’s going to overcharge and rip you off because you’re white,” said a Vietnamese American who was also on my bus. “She doesn’t think you will notice.” “How much should this really cost?” I asked my new companion. I gave the vendor the correct change, told her she was a bad person, and walked away. It wasn’t the money I cared about—it was her utter disrespect.

. But after talking to a number of other travelers, I realized that we all had the same stories. Hardly anyone had a good story, which might explain why 95% of tourists don’t return. They all had tales of being ripped off, cheated, or lied to. They never felt welcome in the country either.

Two of my friends lived in Vietnam for six months, and even they said the Vietnamese were rude to them despite becoming “locals.” Their neighbors never warmed up to them. They were always outsiders—strangers even to those they saw every day. Wherever I went, it seemed my experience was the norm, not the exception.

While in Nha Trang, I met an English teacher who had been in Vietnam for many years. He said that the Vietnamese are taught that all their problems are caused by the West, especially France and the U.S., and that Westerners “owe” the Vietnamese.

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/...o-vietnam/

To compound this a lot of the Americans were made to feel uncomfortable because the Europeans were ripping on them so hard non-stop. This is not to discourage anyone but it pays to be aware of the situation before you go.

That's interesting because when we went it was the other way around, Apo. Now was filled with hookers and Lush was the decent one. Lol, I guess it changes. The rest of your post was irrelevant and I didn't want to divert a thread already gone off on a tangent.

Vietnam, good luck gents!!

[Suits]

(08-15-2016 07:17 AM)Straw Hat Pirate Wrote:  

Travesty, don't take this personally or in the wrong way but you're coming across like a boring nationalist who is unable to take difference of opinion on the chin. You're also ignoring the fact that I tried to tell you anecdotal evidence is never a good starting point to test the strength of a particular hypothesis and responded by providing a wall of text of more anecdotes. You're adding to the the error by not recognizing that your sample size is small and not random enough and pre-selected for service people who have no option but to be nice because their livelihood depends on it. No ex-colonized nation or one which has fought such a major war is going to have a overall positive sentiment towards White Westerners for obvious reasons.

Here is an anecdote since you seem to love them so much :

Quote:

The simple answer is that no one ever wants to return to a place where they felt they were treated poorly. When I was in Vietnam, I was constantly hassled, overcharged, ripped off, and treated badly by the locals.

I constantly met street sellers who tried to openly overcharge me. There was the bread lady who refused to give me back the proper change, the food seller who charged me triple even though I saw how much the customer in front of me paid, or the cabbie who rigged his meter on the way to the bus station. While buying t-shirts in Hoi An, three women tried to keep me in their store until I bought something, even if that meant pulling on my shirt

“She’s telling her friends she’s going to overcharge and rip you off because you’re white,” said a Vietnamese American who was also on my bus. “She doesn’t think you will notice.” “How much should this really cost?” I asked my new companion. I gave the vendor the correct change, told her she was a bad person, and walked away. It wasn’t the money I cared about—it was her utter disrespect.

. But after talking to a number of other travelers, I realized that we all had the same stories. Hardly anyone had a good story, which might explain why 95% of tourists don’t return. They all had tales of being ripped off, cheated, or lied to. They never felt welcome in the country either.

Two of my friends lived in Vietnam for six months, and even they said the Vietnamese were rude to them despite becoming “locals.” Their neighbors never warmed up to them. They were always outsiders—strangers even to those they saw every day. Wherever I went, it seemed my experience was the norm, not the exception.

While in Nha Trang, I met an English teacher who had been in Vietnam for many years. He said that the Vietnamese are taught that all their problems are caused by the West, especially France and the U.S., and that Westerners “owe” the Vietnamese.

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/...o-vietnam/

To compound this a lot of the Americans were made to feel uncomfortable because the Europeans were ripping on them so hard non-stop. This is not to discourage anyone but it pays to be aware of the situation before you go.

That's interesting because when we went it was the other way around, Apo. Now was filled with hookers and Lush was the decent one. Lol, I guess it changes. The rest of your post was irrelevant and I didn't want to divert a thread already gone off on a tangent.

[Global Entry]

Before the big dog gets in here (you'll know who he is when he arrives, and he's far more of an authority than anyone speaking on Hanoi within this thread thus far), I'll just say - this is a thread about Hanoi.

Vietnam was a divided country - the sense of Vietnamese about foreigners is not only complicated because of differing age groups (the youth of the country), vast income inequality, USA expatriation by Vietnamese, and educational factors, its also geographically complicated. I think there is some credence to the fact the Hanoi folks are less friendly to white foreigners than those whose families are from the southern part of the country that was allied with the USA during the Vietnam war. I started a thread on Hanoi, because its a manageable task - a data sheet on all of Vietnam, with its significant complexity would have been a fools task.

I will point out that Obama visited Vietnam and made some statements regarding the USA's support for Vietnam in re the South China Sea dispute, still ongoing with China. That undoubtedly won his some fans in Vietnam.

But other than this, I'll ask politely, Going Strong, keep the politics out, please. Thread's being derailed enough as it is, there's plenty of space in the Everything Else forum for political opinions, birthing theories and the like. Appreciated.

And lets tone down the racism and the name calling, all around, shall we?

[ChasInSin]

Sure there is a lot of history and still some ramifications for families, both positive and negative, due to whatever side they supported in the war. I'm sure there are a few who are hostile to the west, but never saw it. Having visited a few times and having had both north and south girlfriends, I never got any impression of overt hostility to Americans or Europeans. I will say the girls are very clear and explicit about people from certain countries they don't like...

My current girl was proud and felt it showed respect that Obama visited. I'm not fan of his, but it's cool that he visited. Supposedly lots of Bun Cha restaurants all over have Obama sets on their menus now and long queues to eat in the restaurant he ate at in Hanoi.

[TheBulldozer]

Oh boy. Where to begin.

GE is right, this is a thread on Hanoi, and not Vietnam. Culturally, Hanoi and HCMC aren't even the same country. They don't speak the same, they don't look the same, the food doesn't taste the same, they don't have the same cultural values. But that's for another thread entirely.

Let's begin.

Quote:

The Vietnamese don't really like White folk because of the war and so on so if you can't handle being looked at like a mark everytime then it isn't the place for you.

Untrue. This is untrue from north to south and everywhere in between. They may not culturally understand the west, and we may never understand the Vietnamese completely, but they certainly don't dislike The West. There is a universal curiosity at minimum, and oftentimes a deep desire among people to become a bit more Western. That's true among even those who were around in, and fought in the war. Especially in Hanoi, you'll see many older men wearing heir army fatigues driving around like it's 1968 - in fact many of them have varying levels of undiagnosed PTSD. Moreover, Vietnam won the war and in many ways the West was a blip on their radar of forming a sovereign nation. Their foundational folktales all deal with driving out Indochinese invaders. They have a deep disgust for the Chinese, not so much the West. On a final note, I've found the Vietnamese to be some of the most forgiving cultures - it's as if the entire country is built without consideration for the past. Unfortunately, the entire country has been built in without much consideration for anything except the immediate future.

Quote:

Vietnamese love and idolize Obama.

This is quite true, though bizarre. They tend to be skeptical of black people in general, but have taken a genuine liking to the guy. I've had more than a few Vietnamese people who speak no English yell, "Obama!" with a big smile on their faces. He has one of the highest favorability ratings in Vietnam, much as Americans have one of the highest favorability ratings in the world in Vietnam.

http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/23/1-am...bal-image/

Quote:

few areas resulting in the locals viewing some tourists as marks.

I can probably name the streets you were on. Marks? Were you robbed, or did someone look at you the wrong way?

Quote:

The pub crawl in Bui Vien. Starts at Hideout.

Bui Vien probably has the highest pickpocket/robbery rate in the entire country.

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Next Lush Bar sucks I just went there this last Friday night. Nothing but 2 decent hookers in their late 20s and a sausage fest with a few handfuls of 5s and 6s with a few more handfuls of tourist and expats. I thought it was awful.

Apocolypse Now was the only place with approachable local girls dancing that weren't hookers. Even though it has tons of hookers as well.

Try Glow, Play, Blanchy's, any number of restaurants/cafes on Hai Ba Trung, Hotel des Arts, or if you're feeling really weird at 4AM, Observatory.

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I wholeheartedly disagree with this as well.

Having a comparison of Hanoi vs HCM in the last two weeks whether it was cafe girls, restaurant girls, motorbikers, street chefs, or out in the Hanoi night life district I saw many more dollface 7s in heels.

Depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for that simple, geeky, family oriented wife type of woman then Hanoi is much better. But goddamn, understand what you're getting yourself into by marrying here. The complexity and utter ridiculous nature of Vietnam, its customs and culture, behaviors, and expectations make dating and perhaps marrying here an incredible social contract. Personally, I'm not sure I could do it, unless I knew you could live in another country with the girl.

Nightlife district with doll face 7's in heels

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Two of my friends lived in Vietnam for six months, and even they said the Vietnamese were rude to them despite becoming “locals.” Their neighbors never warmed up to them. They were always outsiders—strangers even to those they saw every day. Wherever I went, it seemed my experience was the norm, not the exception.

You don't know your ass from your elbow after living in Vietnam for six months. This entire blog post contains no actionable information and it's from six years ago.

If you're truly interested in what the hell is going on in Vietnam from informed Western eyes, have a read of:

"Rising Dragon" - Bill Hayton
"What We See, Why We Worry, Why We Hope" - Nancy Napier & Vuon Quan Hoang
Any articles by Jonathan London

I can provide far more insight, but understand that I don't want to share personal anecdotes, why I was there/still am there, where I have lived

[Kamaki4]

Like I said on the Wife Hunting thread, I don't pretend to be an expert on Vietnam in general or Hanoi (two visits 1 week each time) in particular, but my experience in Hanoi as a white Canadian who many assumed was from the U.S was positive. No question that there are differences between the locals in Hanoi and HCMC, but as for "the Vietnamese don't like white folk comment', I agree with Travesty; what are you talking about?