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Spinoza
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 194
Location: Saudi Arabia
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 Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:29 am Post subject: |
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| 1st Sgt Welsh wrote: |
| The important thing is, unlike the fanatically religious basket-case of a country in which you live, you actually have the freedom to do it |
For those who cannot go five minutes without a drink, it's very easy to make homemade alcohol with no risk. Of course, it's not as nice as the real thing, but it has largely the same effects.
| BenE wrote: |
| ]Looking at the GDP per capita is such a great way to choose a place to teach in. If I look at it I can see Belarus is up there in the at 62 so that must mean that it's also a much better place to go and teach in. |
Not necessarily. I merely pointed out that Vietnam is very poor and that this ought to give someone who cannot handle Korea pause for thought.
| BenE wrote: |
| I'll think of you tonight when I'm having a long island ice tea for $3 or maybe when I'm travelling through the lush green mountains 1 hr from Hanoi. |
Yet another alcohol reference. What a bunch of lushes!
You live in Hanoi? Good grief, you poor soul. Having lush green mountains one hour away (one hour?? Not exactly on your doorstep then?) seems scant consolation for living in Hanoi Pit of Hades. Perhaps I'll post some of my youtube videos of the real Hanoi (motorbike traffic, filth, noise, etc).
| Quote: |
| As Sarge has pointed out, rent is not expensive here by any means. Of course you can pay a ridiculous amount if you want to, but I don't know anyone who does. My current apartment is big, fully (and nicely) furnished with a balcony overlooking a leafy garden and in a quiet area 20 minutes stroll from my work, all for $450 a month, with reasonable utilities. |
My apartment in Hanoi cost $700 per month (anything cheaper was very small). At the front was a dog that barked day and night. At the back (but out of view) was a Buddhist temple where monks used loudspeakers to deliver their hour-long monotonous chants. The water pump made a terrible noise as well - I had to fix it myself. Of course, I didn't realize any of this until after I'd moved in and signed the contracts.
| Kurtz wrote: |
| Vietnam can be chaotic, noisy, stressful but there's a little more to it than sitting on small red plastic stools drinking bia hoi, go read some history and experience the beautiful landscape. |
In all likelihood, the OP will end up in either HCMC or Hanoi Pit of Hell. It's all very well saying "experience the beautiful landscape", but from Monday to Friday he's going to be stuck in one of the aforementioned ghastly cities dodging the motorbikes and eating grotesque slop like buncha and pho. It isn't a fate I would wish on anyone.
Last edited by Spinoza on Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:30 am; edited 1 time in total |
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LettersAthruZ
Joined: 25 Apr 2010
Posts: 466
Location: North Viet Nam
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:30 am Post subject: |
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| Spinoza wrote: |
| Ah, yes. The good old bia hoi. Brings back memories (...of sitting on small plastic chairs and drinking 1% beer). |
OMG I STILL cannot stop laughing from this!! Touche!! 
One percent ABV does seem a bit generous, though..... |
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1st Sgt Welsh
Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Spinoza wrote: |
For those who cannot go five minutes without a drink, it's very easy to make homemade alcohol with no risk. Of course, it's not as nice as the real thing, but it has largely the same effects. |
Sheesh....you are completely missing the point! However, I do find it curious that you keep returning to the magic "five minutes" without alcohol figure [don't know where you got that particular strawman from] and don't seem interested in addressing my points about the subjugation of women.
Anyway, be that as it may, I don't know how else I can say it. It's a matter of personal freedom. Spinoza if you are OK with having your morality dictated to by some straight-out-of-the-Dark-Ages religious fanatic who thinks that women should be treated like chattel, gays should be publicly executed and that people who steal a goat should have their hand cut off - great! I'm not sure I would be and I don't think it's a difficult concept to understand. But if I did choose to live in such a repulsive country, in all honesty, I don't think I'd have the brass to visit a country-specific internet board and advise others what a "dump" such-and-such-a-place is and why they should avoid it like the plague. You know that whole thing with stones in glass houses etc.
Oh, by the way, these guys might disagree with your "no risk" assessment of the alcohol situation:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5662/Saudi-Britons-face-flogging.html
| Spinoza wrote: |
Not necessarily. I merely pointed out that Vietnam is very poor and that this ought to give someone who cannot handle Korea pause for thought. |
I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm pretty sure the OP already knew that Vietnam is poor, knows what 'GDP' means and is capable of using Google. The whole point was, IMHO, a complete red herring.
| Spinoza wrote: |
My apartment in Hanoi cost $700 per month (anything cheaper was very small). At the front was a dog that barked day and night. At the back (but out of view) was a Buddhist temple where monks used loudspeakers to deliver their hour-long monotonous chants. The water pump made a terrible noise as well - I had to fix it myself. Of course, I didn't realize any of this until after I'd moved in and signed the contracts. |
I'm sorry but, by the sound of it, you got ripped off. Most people's experiences are not anything like yours and just because you got a raw deal doesn't mean that most teacher's accommodation here is expensive and/or substandard. |
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H5N1
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 80
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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| BenE wrote: |
| I'll think of you tonight when I'm having a long island ice tea for $3 |
Where was this, BenE?
Mao's?
Regardless, we all know that the booze in Hanoi comes from China and is fake.
That is why....your Long Island Iced Tea is so cheap.
Carry on. |
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BenE
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 321
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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| H5N1 wrote: |
Where was this, BenE?
Mao's?
Regardless, we all know that the booze in Hanoi comes from China and is fake.
Carry on. |
I haven't been to Mao's since 2010 I don't think. Prefer to avoid the same conversation about going to Laos in 2 days etc. etc.
What happens if I drink this evil fake Chinese alcohol??!? I can't tell the difference yet but it doesn't taste any different to a cocktail in Germany or England. Just less comes out of my wallet. Maybe everything you drink here isn't dodgy and fake but that would be impossible. After all this is "Vietdump"
$700 is certainly pretty high. I pay $480 for a flat with a lift and there's no noise. |
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Spinoza
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 194
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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| 1st Sgt Welsh wrote: |
| But if I did choose to live in such a repulsive country, in all honesty, I don't think I'd have the brass to visit a country-specific internet board and advise others what a "dump" such-and-such-a-place is and why they should avoid it like the plague. You know that whole thing with stones in glass houses etc. |
Where I presently choose to earn a living doesn't render my critique of Vietnam unreliable in any way, shape or form. That's just a useless ad hominem. I'm sorry that you're outraged that somebody could detest Vietnam yet get along fairly well in a society you hold to be "repulsive", but that's life, as they say. Perhaps somebody needs to grow up a little.
Article says: "The authorities normally turn a blind eye to Westerners drinking if they remain discreet, but penalties against those who go too far [selling it] can be harsh."
Selling alcohol (to a Saudi in particular) in Saudi Arabia would be extremely foolhardy, but the likelihood of a Westerner making crude homemade booze for private consumption and getting into trouble over it is practically zero.
| 1st Sgt Welsh wrote: |
| I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm pretty sure the OP already knew that Vietnam is poor, knows what 'GDP' means and is capable of using Google. The whole point was, IMHO, a complete red herring. |
My critique of the OP's desire to go from Korea to Vietnam isn't solely reliant on Vietnam being economically poor, although it's certainly important. Vietnam is, in my view and in a variety of ways, an unpalatable place to live and work, similar perhaps to India - poor, dirty, overcrowded, incredibly noisy and basically just the absolute pits.
| 1st Sgt Welsh wrote: |
| I'm sorry but, by the sound of it, you got ripped off. Most people's experiences are not anything like yours and just because you got a raw deal doesn't mean that most teacher's accommodation here is expensive and/or substandard. |
Even if I was satisfied with my accommodation, I still would've hated Hanoi. It's the worst place in the entire world. That's my position. |
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