My 1st Impressions - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Saigon)
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- Опубліковано 7 січ 2019
- Life in the Philippines, Dating in the Philippines and How To Retire in the Philippines with Reekay at Life Beyond The Sea.
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Great information, Reekay!
Just a note about Google Translate:
Right below where you enter text, there are four buttons.
The left-most button is "camera". This allows you to point your phone camera at a menu, and it shows a video feed in which the text is translated into English.
The 3rd button from the left is "conversation" which allows you and another person to take turns speaking, and it translates using its computer voice into each other's language.
I found more people resented me in the Philippines than in Vietnam. I found it to be a much safer place to be, even Ho Chi Minh late at night.
Hello Reekay I agree I’ve been to Vietnam four Times my wife and I own a house in Vung Tau if you have a chance to travel you should stop at vung tau for a day r two ! Vung tau is a city of about 250,000 but it really has a small town feel . I will retire in two years and move back there 👍 our house is a five minute walk to the beach I love it 👍 there is another city in the Central Highlands called Dalot city if you like a little cooler weather you will find it there in Dalot 👍 anyhow I hope you have a blast ! I really like watching your UA-cam channel you make it very interesting thank you!👍
Certainly a challenge with the language barrier but makes it all the adventure! Good luck over there man. I wait for the haircut experience
Viet Nam has been rebuilding and modernizing since the mid 70's so most everything you are experiencing is practically new.
Glad you are enjoying Henry, thanks for the vids!
Thanks for the info! Looks really exciting! I hope you have an awesome time! 😊
These videos are amazing. Thanks so much for these. You are an inspiration.
Reekay, followed your videos for a few years... Thanks for the information which is practical and informative. Real fun to watch - I’m back in the Philippines soon & hope to travel other SE Asian countries soon! Try to do a video on the medical system/hospitals of Vietnam soon!
Lots of good information and comparison. Thank you for sharing Vietnam with us.
Great you had a safe trip.. and looking forward to follow your adventure
Great video Henry! I can’t wait for the next one! 😃👍
Glad you're getting off to a good start look forward to more great videos
Ive been following your channel for a few years. Glad to see you traveling and having fun. Best of luck my friend.
Always good advice ...Thank you
Hey reekay that's awsome your in Vietnam now cool, i injoyed watching your first impressions video, injoy your travels reekay and thanks for the video 👍
One of the things I like best about your videos is the way that you never come off as a Know It All. I was hooked on your Philippine vids enough so that it got me to check out Cebu in 2017. (Came back with a Jollibee tattoo) Now it appears that I will watching your Vietnam series, with a great deal of interest. Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing.
Great to see that your having a fantastic time there already Henry, good luck, and stay safe.
Great to see you again! Keep traveling and informing!
Good to see you back on the move. Looking forward to getting to see your adventures again. Good job!
Please do a video on what and how you pack your suitcase / backpack. Keep it up the great videos!
I currently live in Seoul and it's the same here English is not widely spoken so learning the basics of the language is necessary. I prefer South Korea and Vietnam to the Philippines for that reason. Not as weird daily life wise but overcoming language barrier is a great challenge. I am returning to Danang this summer I love Korea and Vietnam and really enjoy every year or two switching. Good luck I have confidence that you will love Vietnam.
As a Filipino, it's sad to know that the Philippines is quite behind its neighbors in the infrastructure aspect. (20 years of a Dictator Marcos really did the economy in.) I have lived in Bangkok, Thailand for seven straight years in the late 80s to early 90s and, despite the corruption, the government still managed to focus on its infrastructure. But, for the Philippines, if the current Duterte government actually sticks to its promise of "Build, Build, Build" - a slogan for a serious focus on the country's infrastructure state - then the Philippines can truly begin in its footsteps in "catch up." Have fun on your Southeast Asian travels, Reekay. - from Sibulan, Negros Oriental, the Philippines
exactly.. for now if people would choose other asean countries.. that's fine.. ph is catching up just wait in a year or so.. and sorry I don't agree with your marcos part.. but I respect your opinion
Great info Reekay.
That’s awesome me and my girl will have to come out there now to see Vietnam. Great tips, now I’ll know what to look out for.
Communication and socialization are 2 most important things for me, 3rd is food. Haven't seen any overweight person in Vietnam, their food are delicious and mostly healthy.
Vietnamese are skinniest, but there are some tubby kids, a worrisome trend. See chart: www.thailand-business-news.com/asean/49065-thailand-ranks-second-asean-prevalence-obesity-mcot-net.html
Sounds like you are enjoying your experience so far, keep the videos coming.
will do. :D
Great video Reekay. I was in Vietnam for the first time one year ago. I was only there for 2 weeks but I had a great time. I agree with you about the food, amazing!!!! But, I purchased my sims card at the airport and all I had to do was pay them the amount they asked for. I also purchased the same sim as you. I read on trip advisor that it was the best sim card according to travelers on trip advisor. I've only been to the PI twice, Thailand many times since 2001 and I have to agree with you, Vietnam is a great place to visit. Being there long term, well that may be a different story but I'll never know that, except for watching your videos I'll learn from you. Have a great time.
Jon
Great first impressions glad to see you are enjoying it there, it's one of my favorite places in all of SEA.
Interesting as always as the man from the street point of view. Waiting for next updates. Good luck. Buona fortuna ;-)
HCM city is huge, with the various districts. You could explore the place for a year.....
Nice video keep up the good work can’t wait till you go to Thailand thanks
Hi glad things are going well looking forward to your videos of ho chi minh city I'm watching this video from your old residence mabolo garden flats
i really liked that place. great view at end of day. :)
Looking forward to your comparisons of Phil vs. Viet Nam - best wishes
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Wow.. thxs 4 giving me this impression 💜🌼👍🏽
Great insight. Cheers 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
I can imagine Vietnam would be an awesome place if one was willing to take a 3 month language class. I might venture over there in the next 2-3 months.
Been there 3 times and never had any problem with communicating with locals in the cities. Nearly everyone knows some English. They also try their best to communicate with you because they want to learn English.
Sounds cool...Enjoy following your adventures...Look forward to more of your vids
I really enjoyed following your posted updates on your Facebook page. Thank you so much for sharing the details of your travels . I love traveling and Vietnam is my first destination for 2019. I have many Vietnamese co workers and I trying to learn few Vietnamese words from them . To be honest it’s not really easy . 😊I understand how you feel about the language barrier. Reminds me , When I first came to Tokyo 35 years ago . Looking forward to see your next video from Vietnam. Have fun and safe travel.
thanks. :D if you do learn some basic vietnamese it will help greatly when you get here.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Thank you so much 😊😊😊😊
Nice video, hope to see some of the Vietnam countryside that will be interesting. I love going were the locals go.
yes, at some point i'll be doing that. still getting my bearings and a few essentials gathered up. (big bath towel and a good wok.)
Nice video Reekay, Good luck on your adventure! :)
thanks. it's an interesting but fun process relocating. :)
Good to know you are embracing the challenges there Henry . I know that you will find that most Asian countries are ahead of the Philippines on infrastructure, and modern living . I enjoyed my time there but it could have been even better without the language problems, and the people are certainly not as friendly as Filipinos. If you want an experience, run the gauntlet in Ben Than market haha . Have fun and take care.
Great video, never been to Vietnam even though I have planned to visit each time I get to BKK, Gr8 Video.
What Video Editing software do you use, cheers, keep up the great work?
i use Filmora, by Wondershare. if you google-it, you can d/load it and sample it for free. license is about $50.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Thanks, never heard of it, everyone knows the big editors only.
Hi, it's always good to see you again. I suspect that we will end a great adventure. Your satisfaction is seen in the face.
still so much to see. just getting started. :D
Good stuff bro. Been thinking fir a year now, but was committed. Your insights help by saying it out-loud in this forum really helps.
2020 might see you on the street 😂
Oh, I bet the food selection is amazing. Challenges and problem solving = Adventure of a Lifetime. Best of luck my friend. Looking forward to your adventures.
i'm in foodie-heaven. :D
Wow, great vid. Thnk u.
that level of excitement you have? - Welcome to the way I felt after landing in Thailand for like 30 minutes... and I keep coming back!
I have gone to a few Vietnamese restaurants over the years. I really do love the food. I am sure everyday will be a treat to try different foods. That is also something that makes life so enjoyable.
Have to do what makes YOU happy Enrique ....have fun brother
What's up Reekay! Just wanna say I really enjoy your videos!
One thing I will say about the Vietnamese language/conversation... I will preface this by saying that I live, work with Vietnamese people and have visited Saigon before. So I totally know what you went through. haha
I've noticed Vietnamese conversation can start to sound like an argument very quickly. It's the tones and excitement or something. I have learned it's not the anger that us foreigners think it is. that's not saying they never get angry and argue though. Cause that gets nasty. haha
Anyway, take care and have fun man! I'll be visiting Nha Trang in February! I cant wait!
i've noticed that tones are a huge part of the language here. everyone else i've run into has been very friendly, even if they can't speak english they will smile and are polite.
Maybe some sign language would help. I am one of your Filipino subscribers and I am excited to join you in your new adventure. I have always wanted to go to Thailand and Vietnam.
Tip! Goto “Asian kitchen” Very small restaurant and order the crocodile spring Rolls.. had it 3 times, its amazing!!
I use Google Fi cell phone service which works in 167 countries. The data rate is $10/GB, same as in USA. Call rate vary by country but I used Messenger for calls home which use the WiFi or data plan. Best part is my phone works when the airplane lands and I don’t have to buy a SIM card and my number doesn’t change.
I also recommend using an ATM to get your initial cash. Often the cost is less than the exchange booths. I use a Fidelity account that charges no international fees and even reimburses the local ATM fee. So my Fidelity debit card gives me free cash and the current bank exchange rate.
Most places in Vietnam only serve one or two items. Pho isn't as common as you would think. That's just how Vietnam is. If you learn a few things in Vietnamese like ga (chicken), bo (beef), bun (noodles), ca (fish) etc... It really helps. Most restaurants say what they serve. Type that into Google and you can see what it is. I agree Vietnam is not for everyone... I would describe it as a raw experience haha. I love it.
I go to Vung-Tau Vietnam . There Expats there . The 2 American Bars Theres American Resturant the Beachs are nice .
Yes there are english there .
Its easy to open a bank account .
Theres a new condo building on the beach .
Theres KFC normal fast food . Easy place to get around . There 3 Americans in our building we did buy a condo .
We still live in the Phils .
What impressed me was how Clean it is . And reasonable .
My one friend he left the Phils for Nam. Because his 1200 dollar a months goes farther
this is great you in vietnam ,its onmy to do list,now you are out of you're comfort zone like when you first arrived in the philippines back in 2012,lots to learn i'm sure you and all your fans are going to enjoy,cheers
yes, totally new environment. in the PH i was familiar with the latin influences on language and culture. here in vietnam i'm in a fully-asian country where everything is different. i'm loving it. :D
Welcome to Sai gon. You already noticed that the main areas of District 1,2 and 3 are the tourist areas or are for the rich and famous. But also lots of locals are there. The food is great from the 15k VND street soup with fresh herbs, or the 35k pork BBQ all the way to the 800k upscale French plate of whatever. Viet tacos are great, and their coffee, as long as it's not made out of Chinese battery acid. So always get it made at the table and not from somekind of syrup. It's very exciting for the first month till you slowly figure out what is going on and can start to relax and watch from behind the scenes how welcoming and relaxed most viet's are. I'm looking forward to watch your video experience their. I spent 20 month in Sai gon and lived in Go Vap, Dist. 1,7,8 and 10, moving arround every few month, but still feel I only know maybe 30% about the city and their people. The best thing is you can't compare PH and Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand. It's like comparing the US with Canada or Germany with France. It's somewhat the same but so very different.
Looking forward too your input about Vietnam.
Hello Reekay, enjoy your stay in Vietnam. I will miss you doing your Videos from the Phillippines. Do you ever see yourself one day returning to the Philippines.
i have so many good friendships still in the PH, so i do see myself there again at some point. i'm open to possibilities. i may decide to live permanently in the PH, or not. way too early to tell yet since there is much more of southeast asia i want to see.
@@Lifebeyondthesea enjoy your adventure. Thanks for sharing.
that's a hot pot w vermicelli and fish place, good on cold days. kinda like shabu shabu. Try going to Starbucks asking for pizza.
i love hot-pot. have had it several times.
love your videos. thanks for the update. so you just plan to visit some other countries in Asia and eventually go back to the Philippines? or if you find it more interesting and you like it more, you will consider re locating and changing country for good.
i'm keeping an open-mind, and giving VN about 6 to 12 months. see how things go and then make up my mind. :)
Just another note about goggle translator it can translate in real time. As you ask the women was the restaurant for seafood only her answer would come back to you in English and what other conversation you had with her would be in English for you.simple way to carry on the conversation .
When You get a chance can You please visit Da Nang? From what I’ve seen it looks Beautiful there, especially the 30 miles or so of Coastline. Probably not as Hectic as Saigon, but seems to be growing rapidly.
Henry, great place HCM, when I was there I experienced some scowls early in the morning - first thing I would ask the peanut vendors for the price and not buy, I would just compare prices and ask the coconut vendors around the city and not buy and the older ones - 40-5o-60 would all get mad at me show me angry face and the prices were all the same - come to find out it is bad luck that can last all day for them, to have the first of the day shopper(s) ask and not buy. I was curious - I changed my pattern and when I made a small purchase $1.00 USD what a change - or if I did not ask the price - just say hello, all would be ok, so some of the culture has some superstition and seems the younger ones are more understanding of curious tourists, can speak some English and are full of questions themselves. Most of my time is in District 1. I had a great time and love the people, place and the food.
thanks, good to know. although i rarely wake up early. :)
Reekay's LifeBeyondTheSea you’re definitely more of a night owl 🦉
New adventure 8^D
Good video
I live in Thailand and visit often visit the Philippines and Vietnam. You are correct that they try to make everything efficient and beautiful in construction. Except the HCMC Skytrain/ Mass Rail transport that seem to never been completed. Well , this is a government project ... not private. If they have a retirement visa one day, there will be a lot of people moving over there. Something are less efficient for foreigners like drivers licence and motorcycle ownership transfert. that are mostly never done. You will find out eventually. If you have to deal with any administration , better have a Vietnamese friend with you to translate and feel the paperwork correctly.
You’re a smart challenger 👋
We have the escalator for trolley/shopping carts here in the UK too :D
i never saw anything like that in the PH.
You can divide the city into tourist zones and Vietnamese zones, but there is a third "zone" where you can find menus with English and/or pictures, stores where shopping-english is spoken, and that cater to visitors too. These zones include shopping malls, large intersections throughout the city, and expat living areas. There are also a number of restaurant chains. Regarding the small restaurants (quan an), it is normal for them to specialize in one thing. Just pho, just a noodle dish, just grilled pork chops, hotpot etc. Only the chain restaurants, like Com Tam Cali or Mon Hue, or the huge special occasion restaurants, seem to have full menus. Banh mi is snack food, I only see it on food carts. Foody.vn website is what Yelp should have been, a directory of midsize to fancy restos.
@12:15 - "without Internet, you're pretty much lost"... indeed! if you are only there temporarily and don't want to 'register' your passport (not that its an issue but it bugs some people) you just go to a little mom & pop place and they will have a bunch of SIMS that some with a bunch of data BUT are only good for about 30 days - only for the 'vactioner' like me. I LOVED VIETNAM more so than the Philippines... (he said, typing from BlueWater on Mactan - haha)
i'm totally stoked to be here. :D i'll be checking out thailand at some point.
Good luck Reekay, I want what you said about the Philippines, except looking for women, happily married 26 years, soon retiring to PI to enjoy the good life, happy trails.
They have apps where you speak and it translates the conversation ( sounds ) to them. It can also translate back to you whatever they say.
i just download a speech-based one last night, so i'll give that a try.
Reekay's LifeBeyondTheSea Yes, That’s what I meant speech based.
Big park there and on Sundays have TERRIFIC street food in the park
At Bangkok airport the wheels lock on escalators.
im in Saigon now, occasionally youll meet well educated girls there with good English and are angels. Must admit though the Thais have better manners and service levels
your so right henry language is a critical issue , that's what makes the Philippines my choice
I remember I’m almost peeing in my pants describing toilet😔doing the charade in my entire stay,
that no picture in ordering the food plus meeting difficult people😔and many more.😭Its not a vacation place for me.good luck
The India Cell Phone operators also require a Tourist/Foreigner to give them your Passport so they can collect all the data, this is Anti Terror mechanism, but you can eventually get a SIM
Because of the language barrier are you still planning to visit places outside the city?? (if you haven't already done so)
Sounds like you’re going to have to go to the tourist spots or you may die from malnutrition.Its just teething problems I’m sure you will survive and cope,it’s unfortunate that they don’t speak English as a second language.Thats really what makes the Philippines so appealing for me , anyway good luck and safe travels at least the Internet is pretty good.
i've been eating fantastic meals since i arrived. :) ha! i spent maybe 5 minutes at that one fish-place and then went across the street where i had an amazing meal of noodles, beef and tiger-prawns.
It was just bad luck he ended up in a restaurant that makes no pho or banh mi. lol. I was there in 2015 and again in December 2017. Only one restaurant they barely spoke English but they had pictures on the menu. Also a Vietnamese friend came and took me to an entirely different area where her friend owns a restaurant. Everything written in Vietnamese but I had her so everything worked out fine.
do you have to get a new cell phone for each country you visit?
never mind, you just answered it, LOL
Google translate apps on phone are great to translate the menu by the cam. If you enjoy the food in HCM should go to Hanoi food are much better and the city have a lot history colonial building... have fun to discover ...
very informative information. so when browsing the web with my cell phone in vietnam, the vietnamese govt might be able to track every web site I visit? actually, I wouldn't be surprised if that was happening here in the states. of course in the states the govt is very much more discreet in things like this and would never admit to it.
As far as food Malaysia is the best place to visit for that
Make sure you check out Malaysia great food, great infrastructure, very inexpensive, and most people speak English.
i have Langkawi on my list for later.
A lot depends on where You go
Google Translate my friend. With the camera option to read the menu.
Hi Rick very good information.
Do we ( US Citizens) need Visa to go to Vietnam ? If yes then how to get Visa ? Please let me know.
Thanks
yes. the process is a bit different from entering the PH. for vietnam visa info check here for details.. bit.ly/vietnam-visa-online
Thanks Rick
Thera are 17 branches of jollibee restaurants there.
I didn't like Ho Chi Minh city however, I loved how inexpensive it was :D Even the place I stayed was so cheap and nice. Had a maid.
Most Vietnamese could understand English even when they could hardly speak the language. It would be a big help if you know French or a little Chinese to be in Vietnam.
Any English language TV or movies?
How is the weather compared to the Philippines?
so far each day i've been here there is a steady breeze each late afternoon. that breeze makes all the difference, so i'd say it 'feels' cooler. then again, it's still winter here. today was overcast and pleasant, i went for a walk midday and didn't mind it at all.
speaking slower!!! LOL!!! I'm glad you've now settled in
I was in Vietnam also in the War also
I am looking at going to Cebu city for the 1st time, how long you plan to stay in Vietnam, also what is the visa for long term stay?
i plan to stay in vietnam for my 6 month lease. then i'll figure out where things stand at that point.
If you went into a wrong place and ask have fho, and they respond yes fho, then you would be in business.