Job Discussion Forums

[csputali]

Hello, I am about to move to Hanoi to start work as an English language teacher, and I am debating about what to take with me (as this is my first long trip abroad). I am wondering about whether to take my laptop and my mobile phone handset, and cannot decide. Wondering about security issues. Also, how many pairs of shoes to take as I have size 7 feet (41 EU) and have heard it isn't that easy to buy larger shoes over there.
Any advice re. what is and isn't available there would be very much appreciated.
Also, I have been told that the EU 2 prong plug adapter is fine for Vietnam; is this the case, does anyone know?
Thank you

[Tue]

Yes bring shoes and the laptop.

Just about everything else you can find here, cheaper than back home. You can software and games(copies) for your laptop for under a dollar in Hanoi. Send me a PM when you are here and I' ll give you the address.

I would suggest stocking up on some Pepto-Bismol and Advil. It seems that most noobies, myself included get sick quite easily for the first couple months. And try to avoid the street for for the first month or so until your body adjusts to the difference in hygiene from back home.

[csputali]

Thanks for the reply; I'll stay clear of the street food for awhile, as I already feel a bit sick! I did bring my laptop, which was a good idea.

[larryB]

Most local shoe shops go up to a UK8 / 42. I have bought shoes in Hanoi and Saigon easily for years.

[lost_gypsy]

Hi

I will be coming to Saigon myself around Feb. if all goes well. I spent five years in Canton, PRC and a few things I think I can tell you from that experience is--bring stomach medicine as mentioned above; do NOT use the local water when rinsing after brushing your teeth, use bottled water, this will lesson your bouts with frequent runs to the toilet, literally! (It took me two years to figure that one out; a friend gave me a heads up when I mentioned I was having cronic "runs" about every 5 weeks).

Also, any kind of bacteria treatments, like Neosporin. I can't recall seeing any while in China. What else? Hmmm...if V is anything like China, you should be able to find lots of choices in the shampoos; Asians love washing their hair!

Hope that helps and perhaps see you in the near future

Good luck,
Michael

[si_in_edinburgh]

Tue is correct,
Nearly everything is obtainable these days in Edinburgh. I would say take things so that you can support yourself for a first month until you work out where everything all is, but most Vietnamese people will be more than willing to help you find what you are looking for. The new shopping centres including Big C and Metro (both about 20 minutes from the centre of town) are like big European hyper-markets and sell pretty much anything you would find in Western stores. It is worth taking things such as comfort items that help you settle in, so being a Brit I stocked up on my tea and digestives before my first visit to Hanoi, but I really don't think you need to bring much more than the essentials. Oh and maybe its just me, but I was in Hanoi for about a year in total, and never once got any form of stomach sickness, although I do agree it is worth having the medicine with you

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

Doesn't matter what size feet you've got, you CANNOT get decent men's shoes in Vietnam, unless you pay $100+ for imported DMs like I've just done. Vietnamese men are the worst dressers in the world and it begins with the shoes.

The water in HCMC is OK to brush your teeth with, just try not to swallow too much. You can get all worthwhile stomach/headache medicines here.

All I'd advise you to bring is books, books & more books, plenty of socks, and spare shoelaces as they're impossible to find. Everything else can be bought cheaply here.

[BedTiger]

Bring some really good ear plugs...the ones construction workers wear.

[larryB]