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saigon - sports

 
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cronolegs



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:36 am    Post subject: saigon - sports Reply with quote

I've actually lived in Vietnam Saigon for a year before. But was living a very rough and cheap lifestyle so don't know the answer to this question!


Is there tennis/ squash / golf courses, that are readily available for foreigners to join. Is it within a teachers salary as well ?
Currently I am Korea and golf is way out of the range of my salary Smile. + whilst the facilities are here... the foreigner community is far to lazy to be involved in activities outside of drinking it would seem .....


If there are these facilities in saigon is there an active scene of foreigners that play sports?
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toiyeuthitmeo



Joined: 21 May 2010
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Tue May 07, 2013 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

Short answer: Yes, there are plenty of opportunities for sports in Vietnam (Saigon included). Tennis is everywhere and cheap. Golf is possible but it's pricey and teachers I know who play do so on a "special occasion" basis. Squash I've not heard of being played as tennis and badminton are the ruling racket sports here.

While an active, sporting life is not in the top 10 list of things many would associate with life in Vietnam or Saigon, the options are surprisingly myriad.

Details:

Tennis is really big here. Courts are everywhere with varying degrees of quality. Teachers are known to play. Adult students have been known to invite their teachers out for a game. It's quite affordable, anywhere from 20,000d per hour to more, depending on location.

I've known teachers to golf. It's not cheap but is doable as a special outing. Vung Tau is a day trip from Saigon and has two courses and a round of 18, including renting clubs, can be done for under $100USD depending on season, time, etc. There are courses close to and in Saigon. Saigon South Country Club (is that the name?) is a "pitch and putt" style course and as I recall it's also in the $50-$100 depending on if you rent clubs and need to buy balls.

If you're really in to golf and expect to play in the once-a-month or more range, it's worth it to bring/buy your own equipment. You'll save a lot of money. Avoid having to buy golf equipment here though-- as with many "luxury" items, expect availability to be limited and prices to run very high. I was just at a golf shop in District 1 of Saigon (near that Cuban club/restaurant, sorry name escapes me. Anyone?) and there was an interesting mix of extremely cheaply priced quality golf shirts (3 for $20US!) and what my golf-savvy friend told me were vastly over-priced clubs.

The golf resorts in Da Nang occasionally do excellent deals where one or two nights at the hotel plus 36 holes goes for $200 or less. Again, something a teaching salary can handle as a special occasion.

There is a pretty lively and popular expat softball league running and it is composed of its fair share of teachers, so it must be affordable on teaching wages. They're based in District 7 and I think it's easy enough to track them down with a google search. They take it quite seriously, even travelling to regional Asian tourneys, but I do believe they are known to enjoy their beers, too.

There's even an expat cricket league and an expat Australian Rules football team, the Saigon Swans, that welcomes players. Again, google them, easy to find.

Many teachers play football (Association) and there are pitches (usually half-sized artificial turf) everywhere and quite cheap to rent out, very doable on a regular basis on a teacher's wages. Quite easy to find the odd one-off game, and also easy to get involved in tournaments and leagues. You'll hear most about this through word of mouth when you get here. The locals are also often warmly welcoming of expat players. If you wander on to their pitch, they'll put you in, just watch out, because I've heard it's popular to go quite full-on against the Tay (slide tackles, intense defense, etc).

There's a cheap, big rock wall to climb in a park in D3.

There's a new sailing club operating an hour or so out of the city and they've advertised as being affordable and friendly to newbies.

There are at least 2 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs which include expats and I think they're always eager for dedicated newbies and are especially welcoming of anyone with BJJ, Judo, wrestling, or other grappling experience to share with the group. I don't know that they have an official presence or web presence. One that I know of is really just a group of guys who pool money to rent some floor space... I guess you'd have to "be in the know" to get involved. Or not??? Anyone else please chime in.

Lap pools are around and cheap.

Badminton is quite popular and there are several sports centers where one can play with the friends. Cheap.

There is a Hash House Harriers group active in Saigon. If you're not familiar, its an international expat running club, also known for their post-run socializing.

I've seen a few expats running for fitness in Saigon, but I can't imagine it's too nice given the traffic, quality and availability of roadway / street paths, and air. I believe the Harriers (and others who run for fitness) are aware of the few choice routes that exist for outdoor running in Saigon.

I've seen more than a few teachers cycling for sport/fitness. I'd worry about the traffic and air quality myself, but apparently there are some decent enough routes to take. Word of mouth to find out more about this, maybe google can help. I know several teachers who've bought road bikes for this purpose and I've never heard any talk of it costing a fortune.

Vietnamese fitness/sport centers, such as the one at Phu Tho in District 11, have cheap, decent quality resistance and cardio training facilities, very affordable, expats welcome. These centers have a number of activities such as martial arts, badminton, yoga clubs, women-only clubs, etc, but are strictly aimed at locals. I think foreigners would be welcome but it'd be a bit of a spectacle and expect it all to be in Vietnamese.

There are several other fitness groups which welcome or are aimed at expats such as yoga, Cross Fit, "boot camp" style fitness sessions, dancing-based fitness, even under-water spinning (stationary cycling in a pool, apparently quite good for you). You hear about these groups word-of-mouth and they also have web and advertising presence.

Feeling cheeky or not they shy type? The locals can be found in several parks in Saigon practicing Tai Chi-like routines and dancing fitness, usually beating the heat of the day in the early morning, or in the relative "cool" of early evening. Go on, then!

And in the not-really-sports category we have...

Darts. Popular with expats, cheap, on offer at many bars, and a thriving league is active if you've got the skills. I believe Ice Blue bar in D1 might be a place to enquire about the darts league. They have a web presence.

Pool/billiards/snooker. Many-a-bar has a table, and pool halls abound and are very popular with (loud, smoking, Red Bull-swilling) locals. Cheap or even free, besides the drinks.

Beer pong. I shit you not, a dedicated beer pong venue has just opened. For those unfamiliar, beer pong (or as in it's known in its unbastardized, pure form, "Beirut") involves opponents at opposite ends of a long, narrow table, upon which are situated an arrangement of cups of beer, attempting to land a table tennis ball in the opposing players cups of beer, after which they must drink said beer, the loser being the team who loses all of their cups first. But is drinking beer ever losing? The game is often linked with another storied match of skill, Flip Cup, and if you want to know what that entails, you must wage that journey of knowledge on your own.

The beer pong venue is called...Beer Pong. It's on CMT8 street and they have a web presence. It really is a beer joint focused on playing Beer Pong. Watch for this to possibly disappear (too??) soon.

Bowling. Expensive. I recall feeling that it is actually quite cheaper to bowl in my home country than here. There are lanes at Hung Vuong Parkson in District 5 and I think a few others in Saigon. Usually based in or near "Fun Centers" which means loads of kids.

Bowls / bocce / petanque. Quite popular with local men, as it's played here, it involves tossing a small metal ball across a sand or gravel patch, then competing with teams to get as close as possible to the small ball by tossing some larger, apple-sized balls, with smashing opposing players balls out of they way being a prime stratagem. It's good fun and dirt cheap. I've actually not yet sought out a good place to play in Saigon, but there are bound to be several. Anyone know?

Enjoy your sports in Vietnam. Who knew there was more to it than Bui Vien Street, language mills, drunkenness and "dating" girls far prettier and younger than one could pull at home?
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cronolegs



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2013 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well thanks for your amazing reply.

It certainly sounds like it is the place I want to be at the moment.


I think an admin should sticky your post ?
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I'm With Stupid



Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 3:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

toiyeuthitmeo wrote:
I've seen more than a few teachers cycling for sport/fitness. I'd worry about the traffic and air quality myself, but apparently there are some decent enough routes to take. Word of mouth to find out more about this, maybe google can help. I know several teachers who've bought road bikes for this purpose and I've never heard any talk of it costing a fortune.


You can get cheap Chinese-made bikes, although the quality isn't great and they aren't in a range of sizes, meaning that taller people might want to look elsewhere. But anything better will be quite a bit more expensive than back home, or even neighbouring countries like Thailand. A cheap one is good enough for the city though really, because it's not exactly hilly. I actually quite like cycling in the city, because on a proper road bike, you're usually going about the same speed as the rest of the traffic. Expect some attention though, especially if you're female. There's a cycling club based in D7 and you can often see them riding in the car lanes of the highway to avoid the motorbikes.
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CELTA2013



Joined: 24 Mar 2013
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:34 pm    Post subject: Tennis Teachers Reply with quote

hi guys! This is my first post to this forum. I am eager to go to Ho Chi Minh City and have a good experience. I want to get an extra job teaching tennis at a club somewhere. I have taught here for years making good money.
I do want to teach English after I get a CELTA from Apollo. I have heard mixed rumors about Apollo so any advice on that experience would also be greatly appreciated!
Peter
USPTA Pro
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