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I spent last December in HCMC and loved it. 100% agree with you about the people. The younger Vietnamese especially were friendly and smart and inquisitive. I definitely want to spend more time there.
I've spent the last 3 years living in Vietnam and have visited Thailand 7 or 8 times in total and you're spot on here. A good comparison between the two!
Welcome to vietnam ... .... i was born and grew up at hochiminh city .... and i have been learning english on youtube lately .... i hope you have a great time here .... i want to practice and improve my speaking skill so i want to make friend with everybody on the world to understand more about the culture the food every country ... my english not good ....
Hi I lived in Thailand for 17 years I got fed up with it in the end and I moved back to London in 2020 I am going on my first trip to Vietnam in September I cant wait. 😮
I went to HCM twice last year and plan to go back this year for border run purposes. The first time the people were a bit rude in the airport but nice at the hotel. The second time I took my Thai girlfriend and stayed directly on Bui Vien and the experience was much better. They can get a bit pushy there but nice overall.
If you stay on the main backpacker, tourist hub of Bui Vien, then yeah, they can be a bit pushy to say the least, but that’s a tiny snapshot of HCMC and VN in general and not common behaviour at all
WE ARE VERY MUCH IN THAILAND - IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD - BUT WHEN WE TRAVEL TO VIETNAM - WE LIKE THE FRIENDLY & HONESTY OF PEOPLE VERY MUCH. VIETNAM IS BEAUTIFUL AND WE HAVE MANY GOOD MEMORIES.
Saigon feels very exciting for the first few months, but the constant noise grinds you down. One of the best places for single digital nomads, but nearly everyone leaves when they have kids.
I like Vietnam. Not the easiest for running. With all the scooters but very interesting experience. the young people were very friendly. Older could be a bit brusque but all good.
If you have been to Vietnam, we invite you to come to the west to play, we westerners are very friendly and welcoming. I live in Ben Tre province, Vietnam
You are spot on about the noise. The contrast when you come from HCMC to Chiang Mai is just night and day in that respect. The first line of the subway is mostly built and is supposed to open in 2024.
Hey Brett, have you tried Malaysia? When I lived in Thailand, I had to go to Malaysia to get my visa fixed. And I LOVED Malaysia; especially the food!!! There's a large diversity of different things there. Malaysia is one of my favorite places on Earth!!
Yep - Malaysia is totally underrated. Plus they speak English! I was stranded there for six months during the pandemic - had a blast travelling all over that country - super nice people, beautiful places like the Perhentian Islands, great laid back cities like Penang and KL has everything you could ever need at a fraction of the cost of elsewhere. I used to stay in the Hilton Garden Inn in Chinatown for $30 a night, including breakfast!!
Awesome. Thanks. Been enjoying your videos since you started. The digger😅 Are you still in that place in Chiang Mai?! Bet you are going to Ho Chi soon. I am on my way next month.🙏🤙🤳
I lived in HCMC for two years and had visited several times prior. Loved the vibe (2006-2008) back then. I had a scooter and lived 30 minutes from Dist.1 in a cheap rental, far away from tourists. Was an incredible life changing experience. I was teaching so no Visa dramas. Now retired, unfortunately no retirement visa there so last several years spent in Thailand. But would love to go back .
Saigon is awesome. I had a great time in 2014. My hotel was $30usd and it was an upper end hotel. Could not believe how nice and cheap it was. Im not a big fan of Abnb.
Brett, love your comments about HCMC. I'm planning to visit Thailand (Nov15-Dec 27) which should allow for visit to HCMC. I'm a fellow Brit (Buxton, Derbys), now living in US (ex-wife issues etc!). I'm 84 and have a terminal lung disease (doc gives me 1-2 years max)...but screw that! I keep fit and plan to keep traveling (till I drop). I love the Far East but never visited Vietnam. Sounds like Viet's are friendly than Thai's, so I may stay longer in Vietnam than Thailand...what do you think?
If you have been to Vietnam, we invite you to come to the west to trip, we westerners are very friendly and welcoming. I live in Ben Tre province, Vietnam
Great video and you are bang on with your observations, based on my experiences there. Like you said, the North and the South are completely different. I did meet some friendly people in Hanoi but overall, people are way more extroverted in the South (starting from Danang, where I lived for several months and where I have a ton of great Vietnamese friends as a result). I have also spent a lot of time in Bangkok and once again, agree that Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as the locals still prefer to call it) is like a cheaper, grittier, noisier and somehow more fun version of Bangkok. It is very easy to strike up a conversation with a lovely lady on a rooftop bar anywhere in Vietnam, without all that usually accompanies that in Bangkok.
Was just there in Jan-Feb your take on it was spot on, i had a great time. Yea the only thing is the noise and beeping from motorcycles 🤣oh and the karoke super loud as it was there new year when i went...
I got scammed three times in HCMC. 1st was online visa that wasn't processed when I arrived. 2nd a taxi tried to switch money for small denomination note so I just hopped out and headed through a park. 3rd got money stolen while having a massage. Dodgy as! 4th I was in a bar and a lady had her bag stolen. Great place, lovely people but they are tougher edged than Thais in my experience which is typical of previous war torn countries. Another strange thing at the hotel in District 1 was at breakfast another hotel guest whilst sleeping said the police tried to get into his room at night then left.
Vietnam government now accepts online visa applications on their official website and processes in 3-4 working days so no need to ever use dodgy agents or websites. Always use Grab in Vietnam. Vietnam has Chinese levels of property theft. Much worse than Thailand and much worse than N. Thailand. Always watch your stuff. Police sometimes check on foreigners to make sure papers are in order and for whatever reason almost always do it at night.
@@scottwillie6389 Well said and Good to hear someone else is aware of the underlying issues in Vietnam instead of this fluffy everything is amazing and loving life stuff. At the time I was already a seasoned traveler and a little too complacent from being in Thailand alot, BAM! GOT SCAMMED LOL 😂
@@Dutchy695 It seems you didn't do your research before going to Vietnam. There are videos of tips made by expats or foreigners living a long time in Vietnam to help you to avoid common scams and petty thef.
Brett, You make great content! Watched your videos before moving here to Bangkok Thailand and they inspired me, taught me, and save me time and money. Thank you very much!!
It is funny that you are a foreigner and you can detect the differences in people between the North and the South. The reality is that each city in Vietnam has a different culture. You have not been to the smaller, less touristy cities. Those also offer a different life style as well which I prefer since I speak the language. Your video is fair.
In which district did you stay in HCMC ? The people who made noise with the digger machine in the middle of the night were violating the environment laws in VN . You should complaint to the police instead of enduring that inconvenience . I recommend you to stay in district 2 , 3 or 7 if you plan to come back next time to Saigon .
Saigon IS a Great City and one I LOVE to visit, Brett! The Vietnamese there really ARE outgoing and the women ARE equally as beautiful as the 'ying Thai! 🙂
HCMC is a good place with tons of coffees where you can work from, some of them are even open 24/7. The only downsides are the traffic and the lack of good visa options. IMO the absolute best place for nomads in South East Asia is Phnom Penh, Cambodia, especially the BKK1 area. It is still completely under the radar and that's kind of a good thing. Thailand was a huge disappointment for me, Bangkok is quite expensive, there are no good coffees, no good places to work from, the air is not good, visa options are so-so compared to Cambodia or Laos. I feel the only reason why people go there is because of the bar girls and lad*boys, if you come there to work on your laptop, you are in the wrong place.
I think your take on HCM is spot on. As a resident of Bangkok I often think I would prefer living in HCM. I stayed in district 1 also and found it much easier to just walk around and explore with the wide sidewalks and trees and I did not really need a taxi. The people were very cool and friendly and had some fun conversations with the locals. Agree the night life / red light stuff is there but everything does not seem to revolve around it like Bangkok and I find the Vietnamese girls more attractive. Food, coffee and craft beer scene were also great. Agree it is more interesting than Bangkok and I just found it a bit more relaxing there. I couldn't sleep either at the hotel because I was staying too close to the bars and the bass was thumping all night long 🤣Can't wait to get back to HCM!!
Hey Brett, have you over the years learnt any hacks to get to Thailand from UK cheaper than the typical flights? Recent prices have hiked the flight prices by like 20-30% i'm noticing. £600 one way ticket is madness
HCM is definitely a very good alternative to Thailand. For me Thailand and Vietnam are top 2 countries i dream to live in for the rest of my life. Vietnamese people are more outspoken compared to Thais that is true. HCM people are more open to tourists as compared to Hanoi.
With your entirely honest - as you see it, LOL, you're really telling it to us 'how it really is'. I'm booked for Thighland for a month. I'm not knocking Thailand - never been there... But Could you please give some advice on how to go from Thailand for a visit to Vietnam - visas, etc.? Apologies if you've covered this before. I should add; not wanting to visit solely for the girls!
December '19 spent 10 days Bui Vien and loved it. Sadly came down with a heavy cough so could not enjoy all delights offered. (Hmm wonder what that was then?} Definitely on my bucket list for next year as I understand there MAY be a longer term visa available from the existing 30 day evisa.
I didn`t like Vietnam much. Especially because of the people, just so obnoxious compared to Thais. I didn`t experience friendliness much apart from the people in the tourist destinations who were trying to make a buck.
Get the most out of your digital nomad journey! Nomad School is home to over 1000 nomads sharing their experiences. It's free and you're invited! Sign up ➡ nomadskool.com/
100% agree, HCMC and Vietnam in general is amazing, friendliest people I've ever come across, cheap, great food, lots of buzz and lots of noise.
I spent last December in HCMC and loved it. 100% agree with you about the people. The younger Vietnamese especially were friendly and smart and inquisitive. I definitely want to spend more time there.
I hope you will back viet nam more time
@@rml4289 Not my experience at all.
I've spent the last 3 years living in Vietnam and have visited Thailand 7 or 8 times in total and you're spot on here. A good comparison between the two!
Welcome to vietnam ... .... i was born and grew up at hochiminh city .... and i have been learning english on youtube lately .... i hope you have a great time here .... i want to practice and improve my speaking skill so i want to make friend with everybody on the world to understand more about the culture the food every country ... my english not good ....
I definitely want to know more about Vietnam now and look forward to more videos on the country.
I think you might like Kuala Lumpur as well.
I enjoyed Vietnam earlier this year. I’ll go back again.
Malaysia is incredible
Hi I lived in Thailand for 17 years I got fed up with it in the end and I moved back to London in 2020 I am going on my first trip to Vietnam in September I cant wait. 😮
What made you get fed up in Vietnam?
This is the exact comparison news many of us want to hear about: Vietnam vs. Thailand. Looking forward to your other videos Brett!
I went to HCM twice last year and plan to go back this year for border run purposes. The first time the people were a bit rude in the airport but nice at the hotel. The second time I took my Thai girlfriend and stayed directly on Bui Vien and the experience was much better. They can get a bit pushy there but nice overall.
If you stay on the main backpacker, tourist hub of Bui Vien, then yeah, they can be a bit pushy to say the least, but that’s a tiny snapshot of HCMC and VN in general and not common behaviour at all
WE ARE VERY MUCH IN THAILAND - IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD - BUT WHEN WE TRAVEL TO VIETNAM - WE LIKE THE FRIENDLY & HONESTY OF PEOPLE VERY MUCH. VIETNAM IS BEAUTIFUL AND WE HAVE MANY GOOD MEMORIES.
Ho chi minh is one very cool city an amazing place for a great holiday with super cool people to make the fun merrier
We are joyful to welcome you to Vietnam
Welcome to Vietnamese, we love all the people who come to visit Vietnamese .Thanks ❤❤❤
Vietnam is top on my places to visit soon. Good video as i have heard various opinions Vietnam
Saigon feels very exciting for the first few months, but the constant noise grinds you down.
One of the best places for single digital nomads, but nearly everyone leaves when they have kids.
I like Vietnam. Not the easiest for running. With all the scooters but very interesting experience. the young people were very friendly. Older could be a bit brusque but all good.
If you have been to Vietnam, we invite you to come to the west to play, we westerners are very friendly and welcoming. I live in Ben Tre province, Vietnam
You are spot on about the noise. The contrast when you come from HCMC to Chiang Mai is just night and day in that respect. The first line of the subway is mostly built and is supposed to open in 2024.
Hey Brett, have you tried Malaysia? When I lived in Thailand, I had to go to Malaysia to get my visa fixed. And I LOVED Malaysia; especially the food!!! There's a large diversity of different things there. Malaysia is one of my favorite places on Earth!!
Yep - Malaysia is totally underrated. Plus they speak English! I was stranded there for six months during the pandemic - had a blast travelling all over that country - super nice people, beautiful places like the Perhentian Islands, great laid back cities like Penang and KL has everything you could ever need at a fraction of the cost of elsewhere. I used to stay in the Hilton Garden Inn in Chinatown for $30 a night, including breakfast!!
Awesome. Thanks. Been enjoying your videos since you started. The digger😅
Are you still in that place in Chiang Mai?! Bet you are going to Ho Chi soon. I am on my way next month.🙏🤙🤳
I lived in HCMC for two years and had visited several times prior. Loved the vibe (2006-2008) back then. I had a scooter and lived 30 minutes from Dist.1 in a cheap rental, far away from tourists. Was an incredible life changing experience. I was teaching so no Visa dramas. Now retired, unfortunately no retirement visa there so last several years spent in Thailand. But would love to go back .
love these type of videos ... very informative
Glad you like them!
Saigon is awesome. I had a great time in 2014. My hotel was $30usd and it was an upper end hotel. Could not believe how nice and cheap it was. Im not a big fan of Abnb.
Welcome to Vietnam ❤
I was in danang recently and will never go back there. Your video gives me hope for Ho Chi Minh. 2am LOL
I didn't like Da Nang either. The place felt soulless.
Vietnam welcome you again ❤❤❤❤
you should go to Hanoi, Hoi An-Quang Nam, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh too
Brett, love your comments about HCMC. I'm planning to visit Thailand (Nov15-Dec 27) which should allow for visit to HCMC. I'm a fellow Brit (Buxton, Derbys), now living in US (ex-wife issues etc!). I'm 84 and have a terminal lung disease (doc gives me 1-2 years max)...but screw that! I keep fit and plan to keep traveling (till I drop). I love the Far East but never visited Vietnam. Sounds like Viet's are friendly than Thai's, so I may stay longer in Vietnam than Thailand...what do you think?
If you have been to Vietnam, we invite you to come to the west to trip, we westerners are very friendly and welcoming. I live in Ben Tre province, Vietnam
😢😢😢
I liked Hanoi more then HCM. The food in Hanoi was fantastic
Tks you!!! ❤❤❤
Great video and you are bang on with your observations, based on my experiences there. Like you said, the North and the South are completely different. I did meet some friendly people in Hanoi but overall, people are way more extroverted in the South (starting from Danang, where I lived for several months and where I have a ton of great Vietnamese friends as a result). I have also spent a lot of time in Bangkok and once again, agree that Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as the locals still prefer to call it) is like a cheaper, grittier, noisier and somehow more fun version of Bangkok. It is very easy to strike up a conversation with a lovely lady on a rooftop bar anywhere in Vietnam, without all that usually accompanies that in Bangkok.
Next time, you might wanna check Thao Dien in district 2 and Korean town in district 7 which are desirable places for expats to live and play.
Was just there in Jan-Feb your take on it was spot on, i had a great time. Yea the only thing is the noise and beeping from motorcycles 🤣oh and the karoke super loud as it was there new year when i went...
I love Vietnam. But until they reinstate the 3 month visa it’s not an option for more than 15days.
Im about to check out chiang mai next week. Im told the smoke season ended in may
You have a nice voice .... i really like it ....
Welcome to Vietnam
I got scammed three times in HCMC.
1st was online visa that wasn't processed when I arrived.
2nd a taxi tried to switch money for small denomination note so I just hopped out and headed through a park.
3rd got money stolen while having a massage. Dodgy as!
4th I was in a bar and a lady had her bag stolen.
Great place, lovely people but they are tougher edged than Thais in my experience which is typical of previous war torn countries.
Another strange thing at the hotel in District 1 was at breakfast another hotel guest whilst sleeping said the police tried to get into his room at night then left.
Vietnam government now accepts online visa applications on their official website and processes in 3-4 working days so no need to ever use dodgy agents or websites.
Always use Grab in Vietnam.
Vietnam has Chinese levels of property theft. Much worse than Thailand and much worse than N. Thailand. Always watch your stuff.
Police sometimes check on foreigners to make sure papers are in order and for whatever reason almost always do it at night.
@@scottwillie6389 Well said and Good to hear someone else is aware of the underlying issues in Vietnam instead of this fluffy everything is amazing and loving life stuff.
At the time I was already a seasoned traveler and a little too complacent from being in Thailand alot, BAM! GOT SCAMMED LOL 😂
@@Dutchy695 It seems you didn't do your research before going to Vietnam. There are videos of tips made by expats or foreigners living a long time in Vietnam to help you to avoid common scams and petty thef.
Brett, You make great content! Watched your videos before moving here to Bangkok Thailand and they inspired me, taught me, and save me time and money. Thank you very much!!
It is funny that you are a foreigner and you can detect the differences in people between the North and the South. The reality is that each city in Vietnam has a different culture. You have not been to the smaller, less touristy cities. Those also offer a different life style as well which I prefer since I speak the language.
Your video is fair.
In which district did you stay in HCMC ? The people who made noise with the digger machine in the middle of the night were violating the environment laws in VN . You should complaint to the police instead of enduring that inconvenience . I recommend you to stay in district 2 , 3 or 7 if you plan to come back next time to Saigon .
😀 me Viet Nam 🇻🇳
amazing video
Saigon IS a Great City and one I LOVE to visit, Brett! The Vietnamese there really ARE outgoing and the women ARE equally as beautiful as the 'ying Thai! 🙂
Hey Brett
Do you film with a go pro when vlogging?
Osmo pocket
Why did you prefer HCMC over Da Nang?
HCMC is a good place with tons of coffees where you can work from, some of them are even open 24/7. The only downsides are the traffic and the lack of good visa options.
IMO the absolute best place for nomads in South East Asia is Phnom Penh, Cambodia, especially the BKK1 area. It is still completely under the radar and that's kind of a good thing.
Thailand was a huge disappointment for me, Bangkok is quite expensive, there are no good coffees, no good places to work from, the air is not good, visa options are so-so compared to Cambodia or Laos. I feel the only reason why people go there is because of the bar girls and lad*boys, if you come there to work on your laptop, you are in the wrong place.
thanks
how is the visa situation in Vietnam ?
I think your take on HCM is spot on. As a resident of Bangkok I often think I would prefer living in HCM. I stayed in district 1 also and found it much easier to just walk around and explore with the wide sidewalks and trees and I did not really need a taxi. The people were very cool and friendly and had some fun conversations with the locals. Agree the night life / red light stuff is there but everything does not seem to revolve around it like Bangkok and I find the Vietnamese girls more attractive. Food, coffee and craft beer scene were also great. Agree it is more interesting than Bangkok and I just found it a bit more relaxing there. I couldn't sleep either at the hotel because I was staying too close to the bars and the bass was thumping all night long 🤣Can't wait to get back to HCM!!
Thanks for the description. The bass was thumping in the middle of the night?? lol 🤣. Gosh!!!! They sound like some party people!
11:23 who sleeps at 2am?
i dont sleep until sunrise
What abaout Malaysia ?
Hey Brett, have you over the years learnt any hacks to get to Thailand from UK cheaper than the typical flights? Recent prices have hiked the flight prices by like 20-30% i'm noticing. £600 one way ticket is madness
HCM is definitely a very good alternative to Thailand. For me Thailand and Vietnam are top 2 countries i dream to live in for the rest of my life. Vietnamese people are more outspoken compared to Thais that is true. HCM people are more open to tourists as compared to Hanoi.
With your entirely honest - as you see it, LOL, you're really telling it to us 'how it really is'. I'm booked for Thighland for a month. I'm not knocking Thailand - never been there... But Could you please give some advice on how to go from Thailand for a visit to Vietnam - visas, etc.? Apologies if you've covered this before. I should add; not wanting to visit solely for the girls!
You like countries the language is super hard to learn. Thailand and Vietnam is tonal like Chinese.
Big shame about the digger 😉because if that had stopped, you'd have been able to hear the other dozen or so things that were going to keep you awake 😴
😂
vietnamese girl total likes your video 😂😂😂
December '19 spent 10 days Bui Vien and loved it.
Sadly came down with a heavy cough so could not enjoy all delights offered. (Hmm wonder what that was then?}
Definitely on my bucket list for next year as I understand there MAY be a longer term visa available from the existing 30 day evisa.
The Beer is cheaper and superior than the beer in Thailand as is the food the people and the culture, Thailand is fantastic it's just not Vietnam.
อวยเวียดนามเว่อร์ ย้ายไปอยู่เวียดนามเลย เห็นอยู่ไทยก็มีแต่บ่น
I absolutely hated Saigon and Hanoi. Da Nang was fantastic though.
I didn`t like Vietnam much. Especially because of the people, just so obnoxious compared to Thais. I didn`t experience friendliness much apart from the people in the tourist destinations who were trying to make a buck.
Vietnam is not for everyone I guess. Some hate some like.
i lived in vietnam for 6 years. vietnam is a lot dirtier than thailand
🇻🇳 > 🇹🇭