[Travesty]

(08-18-2016 10:10 PM)Brosemite Wrote:  

^ Can't be nightlife bc HCMC is better in that department. I think Hanoi is (relatively) more walkable with more balanced cooler climate....not as scorching as HCM.

I thought the nightlife in HCMC after going out 2 different nights to probably 10+ venues was dismal. I would never visit or live there for nightlife. I seriously think Salt Lake City, UT has better nightlife.

Hanoi nightlife seemed more fun even though it may be smaller, and it seemed like way less foreigners and hookers around. I think the girls in Hanoi were hotter, walking around was exponentially easier if you wanted. Day street game possibilities seemed higher too.

[Bushido]

Vietnam is a great country but let's not spread too much hype around. This forum has become really bad for that.

I wouldn't call it a pussy paradise for your average guy. The girls are much more conservative than Thailand or Philippines, so you are going to get much less quantity of lays. The country is also harder to navigate, accommodation is basic and so on.

Your average white dude (ie someone with little experience in Asia) will probably do better overall in Thailand or Phils and I expect those countries to remain more popular hunting grounds for the foreseeable future.

[RichieP]

Have to agree on the HCMC nightlife. Quite limited and not modern at all.

A few bars are "international" which essentially means white expat/tourist guys and nasty washed-up foreigner-hunting local women (Blanchys/Xu/rooftop bars) or trashy youngsters (Lush). High proportion of whores in all. Yes you will meet "celebrities" in Xu with their gay BFF but they are tacky TV entertainers with abrasive personalities that Viet guys wouldnt touch. That was the whole vibe really IMO... "leftovers".

The local Viet clubs are all table service, no dancefloor and bouncers will actively make sure you dont interact with anyone, lol.

There's nothing like RCA in Bkk with actual fun, modern middle class girls. There is just a dearth of those girls in HCMC. I feel like in 10-15 years it will be there though.

I do agree Viet girls are switched on though and surprisingly sharp. I read somewhere that Vietnamese people often have high levels of either a) practical street smarts or b) intellectual curiosity. Of course not all, but you do get that sense. The "SE Asian facepalm" moments are surprisingly absent, although you do see some hilarious and bizarre things.

[worldtraveler3]

Really? I thought the form members here had a great time in HCMC nightspots. Especially the likes of Blanchys and Xu. I personally thought the girls in both places were sexy but had a bitchy attitude on par with north america. They seemed to be hanging out in their little groups at their table along with few older western expats probably financing these things.

[Travesty]

I was at both they are dead energy and have older patrons.

Where are the hot 18-22yos? It's SEA for christsake. Not even many girls under 25. Not many girls in general!

If Blanchys and Xu's is the best for a 9M city that is pathetic. Santa Barbara has 90k people and has way better spots and bigger clubs as well.

[RichieP]

Oh you can have fun there - both have good DJs, drinks, and music actually - but the Viet girls in there were very ropey IMO. You just get the vibe that they're hookers, 45 yrs old, or have been through every foreigner in the town.

I saw the same groups of Viet girls out every weekend, and they are all smoking, drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, cackling like witches and shamelessly chasing new arrival expats. The scene is just *small* and everyone knows everyone too. Average girl in one of these bars will know a ton of expats, when gaming you'll see her subtlely nodding to and getting winked at by a stream of white guys who's she's presumably already hooked up with.

You find this set everywhere in Asia, but at least in Thailand, Phils, China etc there is a much larger group of classier middle to upper-middle class chicks who are less trashy yet still open to foreigners. Seemed much harder to find in VN.

[crisj]

(08-20-2016 09:25 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

Oh you can have fun there - both have good DJs, drinks, and music actually - but the Viet girls in there were very ropey IMO. You just get the vibe that they're hookers, 45 yrs old, or have been through every foreigner in the town.

I saw the same groups of Viet girls out every weekend, and they are all smoking, drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, cackling like witches and shamelessly chasing new arrival expats. The scene is just *small* and everyone knows everyone too. Average girl in one of these bars will know a ton of expats, when gaming you'll see her subtlely nodding to and getting winked at by a stream of white guys who's she's presumably already hooked up with.

You find this set everywhere in Asia, but at least in Thailand, Phils, China etc there is a much larger group of classier middle to upper-middle class chicks who are less trashy yet still open to foreigners. Seemed much harder to find in VN.

I agree that you definitely get the 'welcoming committee' of expat hunting girls in most of these places. I've been in HCM for a while now after living in Da Nang, and the nightlife is definitely better in HCM compared to Da Nang, but Da Nang has a higher quality of life for sure with the quieter traffic and wicked beaches.

Vietnam Cupid is good for meeting girls here and i've had good success with it. I do get the feeling that you could be foreigner number 30 sometimes however but i've come across a few good girls on there too. I've met some high quality 20-24 years olds through various work projects. These girls will typically have never heard of bars like Blanchys and Xu, and would never go there or any other bar for that matter.

You'll certainly find quality women here and definitely wife material, but generally only after putting time into building up your local social and professional circles and not from the bar scene.

[RichieP]

Yes definitely. If you want a high quality relationship that is the way to go in VN - quality local social/professional circle, and maybe a bit of daygame/online.

[Patriarch]

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread about new Vietnamese visas for US citizens. Well they're being rolled out now/soon, and in my opinion it's a joke.

From now on, ALL tourist visa applications to Vietnam from US citizens will be for the new year visas. 1-day transit or 90 day fucking spree, you're paying $135 at the airport or border for a year visa.

Also, in typical third-world fashion, it's not even a real 12-month visa. It's really four 90-day visas that you get one stamp for. So you have to leave every three months for Cambo or Thailand or whatever anyway. I'll be sticking to business visas.

[Patriarch]

One more thing--my travel agent says that US citizens get rock-bottom rates for year-long business visas to Vietnam compared to every other nationality, so there's that.