Job Discussion Forums

krisW · Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 3:39 pm Post subject: what to take to Vietnam

This may sound a little dumb, but i'm going to HCMC to teach in about 3 or 4 weeks, and I'm not sure what i'll definitely need to take. i'll take some clothes, books, copies of my degrees etc.

I've got a DVD player, an acoustic guitar and a PS2, and my friends think i should take them, and i'm not sure.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

The less you bring - the better. You can find all the stuff in H.C.M.C. at a fraction of the cost.

When you are moving around in a tropical climate, stay light, and you will be thankful....you don`t need most of the stuff you will bring. Just bring one set of decent clothes for teaching, and the casual stuff.

You should not go over 20 kilos in weight, no matter how long you stay.

A backpack and smaller bag will do the job. If you cannot fit it all into these two items, take stuff out until you can.....

sigmoid · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

krisW · Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 12:33 pm Post subject: .

I'm going to be there for a year, I was thinking i should take some paper backs, my CD's, things for when I have time to relax and don't want to go out.

I need a new pair of glasses, and I'm thinking they must be a lot cheaper in Vietnam, is this correct?

can i get a CD player cheap there?

Also, everyting i don't take i have to either throw out or put in my sisters loft, and it's a small loft.

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

I'm not sure why you're coming to Vietnam for a year, but no doubt you have your reasons.

Yes, bring books, because there are few available here. There is a lot of pop music available here, esp. new pop music, but little else, so if you like classical music, jazz, shows, roots, country, opera, etc., bring it with you. I brought my guitar, but I could have bought one for somewhat less here. It is not, in my opinion, true that you can buy a quality instrument here at a hugely lower price, nor do I agree with another poster about clothing. The stores that make clothing here do not, in my opinion, do a very good job at the price stated (3-5 dollars). However, you can get nice stuff for 10-20 dollars, certainly, and if you push it (the tailor who made me the first shirt I bought did a terrible job, and I had to give it back to her and insist that they redo it). It depends on your taste and standards. I actually don't know whether to laugh or groan at the wretched quality of the shirts, pants, and suit jackets that most (not all) tailors here display on their mannequins in front, but none of them that I have seen would be suitable for doing business in the United States for someone who wanted to rise above the level of Walmart floor manager. Perhaps the better places are hidden, but I have never seen quality here to match what you can find in, say, Thailand.

Glasses -- I doubt it. You need the lens, which is probably going to be imported if its made of hi-tech lightweight plastic, and you need a frame, which is going to be either good (which means imported) or local junk, which won't last more than a few weeks. In general, any electronic product can be found for less in the US (I don't know about other countries) than it sells for in Vietnam. I wouldn't mess around with my eyes, if I were you. A bad lens could be destroyed on impact and blind you. And you cannot believe much of anything that people here tell you about authenticity of origin. The pirates are getting better and better at pirating logos and the like.

In sum, don't expect huge bargains here. Food and beer are cheaper, and so is clothing, to some extent, but the products that require technical expertise to make cost about the same as the US; and cultural products for those outside the mainstream of corporate merchandise are hard to find. However, you can always have things shipped to you.

krisW · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 2:26 pm Post subject:

Cheers for that, I will get a new pair of glasses here, it's not worth reisking get poor quality ones, and they only take a few days to come through.

greent · Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Posts: 40 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

the glasses are funky and cheap here tho! I have terrible eyes and got a great pair with extra thin lenses for $30.

krisW · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:39 pm Post subject:

countdown · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 70

Greent - where did you get your specs?? I need new ones and an eye exam ASAP!!

greent · Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Posts: 40 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

There are about 4 different places at the end of Pham Ngoc Thach Street, D3. I got a green pair!

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Just curious - one assumes that you people are getting around HCMC with motor bike ``taxis.`` How stressful do you find riding them?

Ghost found the experience rather horrendous, with anarchy appearing to be the order of the day on Vietnamese roads (especially in HCMC).

That was one of the reasons ghost left Vietnam....having to deal with that kind of thing on a daily basis was just not on. Not only the danger aspect (HCMC has huge road accident stats.), but also the simple fact that living in a concrete jungle was not the kind of life one wanted. Picking up work in Vietnam is easy, but the quality of life has to be looked at too.

If you want to live in the region, HCMC is second worst in the region, after Bangkok, Thailand. The traffic is more docile in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Vientiane (Laos) has more of the feel of a big village, with traffic problems not an issue, really. In Vientiane you could use a bike without any problems, because the traffic is pretty light.

Hanoi traffic is bad, but not as bad as HCMC, and the Central part of Hanoi has that big lake, which makes the traffic slower, because people are constantly crossing that road, and there is a de facto ``entente`` between the car and motorbike users and the pedestrians to let the people on foot cross the road to get to the Lakeside walking path.

Climate does seem to influence the behaviour of people, as the more temperate climate in Hanoi shows. In HCMC the warmer climate seems to produce more hot headed characters, and this is actually reflected in the crime stats.

sigmoid · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276

We seem to have strayed off topic a bit here, but I'd say yes it's true:

apanve1 · Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 14 Location: USA

legaleagle · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 59 Location: HCMC

You can basically get all the food you want here, except for "Annies Organic White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese". Please bring a case!

You'll need good shoes. Here, you get either utter crap w/o style, or you get 500US Armani at Milano on Dong Khoi. I haven't seen anything like Bass or the like that would run you about 100US. And I think size 9 is about as large as it goes so if you are larger than that, bring a few pair of your favourite brand.

As for clothing, Vinh Tailor on Bui Vien makes flawless shirts, trousers and suits (can you say Armani quality?). Way better than the quality I get over in Thailand. Shirts are 300K to 350K (about 20 US), trousers with the highest quality Italian fabric are about 1mil and a suit is 4mil. Believe me, I have shopped the finest and the threads you can get at Vinh are very sweet. I can't even imagine paying Saks prices ever again.

Ties are also another area where you can only get crap or Prada. If you have a Gap store near you then you could probably sort yourself out with some fair 25US style before you get here.

Good luck!