Thanks for sharing your perspective 0:53 - 1$ for a chocolate bar like that is cheap, imported from south Korea and of pretty good quality as well. Also your comparison with prices of pho isn't relevant to the chocolate bar. The chocolate itself is a good deal regardless of location. 1:58. In my world 99K for this is not expensive for that meal even with Vietnamese standards. Also it's made in a big scale supermarket, not a shack on the street. From an international perspective, it's a really good deal. I see loads of locals buying this , and other pre-made meals at e-mart, and I'm there 2-3 times per week. What's your point anyway? That you can find some cheap meals on the street in vn? We all know that and I speak the language fluently and I can guarantee you I'm less ignorant than you about Vietnam in general. Obviously I don't lie, try to find a vlogger making vids about Vietnam who's more authentic and less fake, you wouldn't find many. I'd know where to go if I want a small and cheap portion somewhere but in reality it's not as cheap as people think in Saigon, especially for the quality and amount you get when comparing to nearby countries. 2:51. Almost always they have deals of Imported apples from South Africa, 69K/kg. That's a good deal if you ask me. You can probably find apples imported from China cheaper than that if you dare to eat it. It's not just all about getting the lowest price. We can disagree but I rather pay 69K /kg for apples from SA than let's say 45K/kg from China. It doesn't mean in my opinion that buying Chinese apples is a better deal. 5:31 yeah it'd be better if you could just put the carrots by yourself in a plastic bag but at least I can do that with many other fruits and vegetables there. Of course a local market would be cheaper especially the vegetables.

@@perpetuallyabroad "1$ for a chocolate bar like that is cheap, imported from south Korea and of pretty good quality as well. Also your comparison with prices of pho isn't relevant to the chocolate bar. The chocolate itself is a good deal regardless of location. " If you're going to use USD, then you should also price things as they are in the US. And if you want to support/simp for S. Korean products, fine, just say so. I use a bowl of pho as a reference, as it's a rather cheap but fulfilling meal in Vietnam. Chocolate is a luxury. But in the US you can get a cholate bar for about $2, but a bowl of pho for about $7, or maybe $10 now. "In my world 99K for this is not expensive for that meal even with Vietnamese standards." In your world, and that of tourists, indeed. "Also it's made in a big scale supermarket, not a shack on the street." So, do you guarantee that 'big scale supermarkets' are guaranteed to have better quality then street vendors? " From an international perspective, it's a really good deal." Yes, because of how much more their currency is worth. The people you see shopping there are pretty well off in Vietnam. "I can guarantee you I'm less ignorant than you about Vietnam in general" Then why didn't you mention Winmart or Co-op mart? Unless you want S. Korean goods, don't they also provide a good one-stop shopping experience? I understand not wanting to go to 5 different places to get everything you want/need. " I'd know where to go if I want a small and cheap portion somewhere but in reality it's not as cheap as people think in Saigon" So you're saying Saigon isn't as cheap as people think, but you didn't say that prices in that hypermart are good. Is that correct? You seem to be trying to throw up a strawman. You're saying one thing unrelated to what's actually being discussed. "especially for the quality and amount you get when comparing to nearby countries. " Speaking of strawmen, other than you, who brought up nearby countries? Why bring this up? "Almost always they have deals of Imported apples from South Africa, 69K/kg. That's a good deal if you ask me. You can probably find apples imported from China cheaper than that if you dare to eat it. It's not just all about getting the lowest price. We can disagree but I rather pay 69K /kg for apples from SA than let's say 45K/kg from China. It doesn't mean in my opinion that buying Chinese apples is a better deal" I simply said, in that portion of the video, based on the apples that were shown, and the prices I saw, the avg. price was about 110k/kg. Yet, you see how you went off on that tangent about SA and China? Very suspecious. "yeah it'd be better if you could just put the carrots by yourself in a plastic bag but at least I can do that with many other fruits and vegetables there. Of course a local market would be cheaper especially the vegetables." I didn't bother to comment it then, but after this part of the video, I started thinking "if he just wants to say he likes hypermarts, or specifically S. Korean hypermarts, he should just say so." If the price for shopping convenience is having to buy 5 carrots instead of the 2 you want, and 7 potatoes instead of the 3 or 4 you want, so be it. So, in short, if you want to say that S. Korean hypermart is great (and I can agree with that) and cheap (which I disagree with), you can. But the point I was making was, your advice isn't the best for everyone.

Thanks for watching! From what I've seen the main area for swimming is basically right by this hotel. However there might be even better areas further south, not sure. If you go down to the beach by Radisson, but go left a bit there's even less people

If you haven't got an e-visa yet ( which I actually recommend because it's only 36$ and you don't have to deal with cash at the border ), you'll have to give cash to the bus operator who will assist you in getting a visa on arrival. They usually charge 40$ and you can pay in either dong or USD. I wish you a great journey

@@perpetuallyabroadthank you so much!!

Thanks for sharing I appreciate it

Hanoi can be a bit chilly for 2-3 months compared to Saigon.

I heard nowadays you might not need the exact point of entry but this will be clear if you apply for the visa online

Thanks for your support Sergei, I appreciate your inputs here on the channel. The bus is not that bad and the road is quite ok on the Cambodian side

No matter who rules VN, problems will persist b/c Vets worship $$ more that anything and have a scam gene. They scam Communists, Democrats, backpackers, their own neighbors, everybody. That kind of selfishness will always result in them living in their own crap, regardless of who rules.

The roads are not too bad on the Cambodian side actually, it's worse on the Vietnamese side

Thanks for sharing Chris, cool that you visited so "early". I was there a few years later. Hope you'll have a great trip next time you visit

@@perpetuallyabroad Thanks ! May I just ask one question? I’m planning to rent out my condo for a year. Do you think I’ll be ok if I renew my 90 day tourist visa a few times? I know I’ll have to go to Cambodia or Laos to do it and I’m fine with that.

Based on the latest information I've heard, you can definitely renew the 90-day visa at least 2-3 times. Apparently now you have to leave Vietnam before you apply for the new visa which means that you will probably have to spend at least 4-5 days in another country before entering Vietnam again.

@@perpetuallyabroad That’s reasonable but I’m planning to rent a studio in Da Nang or Hanoi so I hope they let me back in the country ! 🤣🤣

Sounds great, I'm happy to answer any questions about Vietnam

Thanks I would love to visit Pakistan one day

Unfortunately I have a really hard time sleeping in cars,planes etc and I find the backseat more spacious. But I totally get your logic and I'd sit at the front for sure if I could fall asleep

I know it's expensive but Intercontinental Danang is amazing. Radisson was pretty good overall but depends on your budget

Yeah very good value for money

Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate these longer elaborative comments. Now you know why almost all foreigners making content in Vietnam rarely even say anything remotely "negative". The ambiance of the discourse is creating a weird dynamic where people only make "positive" videos about VN. You can join the club and be loved by the locals by pretending you love everything about VN but it's just superficial since once you uttered one negative thing they will turn on you. It's up to the level of integrity of the content creator. I closed down my Vietnamese channel with millions of views just because of this mindset and I basically didn't get any hate or made any negative remarks, I just didn't wanted to be part of it. Funny thing is all flights to Thailand and back to Vietnam are full of Vietnamese tourists but there are literally almost no Thai tourists going to Vietnam. To be fair I did see locals on some posts in Vietnamese admitting that things are more civilised in Thailand ( including admitting that travelling in Thailand is better than VN ) etc but yeah most of them will defend themselves no matter what. Thanks again for your contribution

@@perpetuallyabroad well if it’s keeping people happy in the fault sense of security then what else can we say. Traveling experienced taught us that as far as the freedom of speech goes, it is not going to go without being judged one way or another. We point out what we see wrong whether at home here in the Uk or abroad. At the end of the day the country that progress on well to better things will be coming from a nation that comes together in action by large and not from insignificant individuals. Rubbish tipping isn’t a small problem. Adequate Healthcare standards protect all humanity from bad to worse. Food marketing strategies speaks for capability of a nation and often plays a big part in economic success. And as far as tourism goes, there must be something that the Thai did right in gaining the return visitors. Here, You have said it yourself, more Vietnamese are coming to Thailand and this isn’t the first time we have seen and heard it happening.

Thanks a lot for your reply, take care!

I appreciate your perspective and agree that Vietnam faces significant challenges, particularly with difficulty accepting constructive criticism. Having visited both Vietnam and Thailand multiple times, I've noticed stark differences in how feedback is received. While no country is perfect, Thailand seems more open to addressing issues that impact tourism. Vietnam seems to have some potential, but problems like pollution, overcharging, and poor infrastructure continue to hinder tourism growth. It's frustrating to see defensive reactions rather than acknowledgment of areas for improvement. Hopefully increased international exposure will lead to positive changes over time, but for now, the disparity in return visitor rates between Vietnam and Thailand speaks volumes. I'm glad the author of this video is open to starting an honest dialogue, which is is crucial for progress.

Really, I had no idea

Yeah people usually guess Luritja off the bat

Akun

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I saw oatmeal but bulgur I'm not so sure about

Thank you very much for your comment. I didn't expect this kind of comment. I actually think the same. I've literally thought about the same thing regarding the writing system. Even though it might be a small part of why people don't return, I think you are right about it being a subconscious thing

I guess it's all about perspective, I totally understand that , the northerners are more ruthless,smarter and cunning in general hence me personally I am not afraid of any southerner if they try to scam me since they are not as "smart" as the northerners that I'm used to and their scams are usually not well executed as their northern peers. It's usually very easy to detect any "plan" they have to scam. I can't even remember how many times I literally laughed out loud or in my head when someone in the south attempted to scam me in any way. In the north it's also easy for me to detect but they go to much further lengths and the scam can be incredibly complicated to the point where even a "scammy" Southerner didn't know what happened if they were the victim. Even I as a Vietnamese speaking well above average IQ INFJ aka a walking lying detector have to be alert and pay attention, which is a testament of how complicated it can be To me at least, a lot lies in the language and how they communicate. It's not just that the northerners are "smarter", they way southerners speak, it's hard for me to take them ( the vast majority ) seriously no matter if it's a scam or if they are angry, I guess it's a linguistic trait that shines through the lower lever of "cleverness" compared to their northern comrades. Also if you don't speak ( at least understand) Vietnamese on a almost completely fluent level, it will be significantly more difficult to decipher those more complicated scams. I can only imagine how many clueless foreigners are being taken for a ride on a daaaaaaily! For most foreigners the people in the south are perceived as scammy as well since they don't know about the differences between the north and the south, especially when comparing to other countries, north and south are considered scammy no matter what

​@@perpetuallyabroad Interesting. Now that you mention it, southern accent does sound childish to me. Their scams I've experienced are likewise primitive: snatching, stealing, overcharging, landlords not returning deposits. Seems like they only have enough brain to grab what's in front of them. Like children, indeed. Fortunately, I haven't experienced those advanced northern scams you're talking about b/c I just got the hell out of that garbage dump country, never to be seen again. Thankfully, with a Western passport, the world is open :)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts I appreciate it

Even though your statement is rather blunt, I understand where you're coming from.

謝謝

Thanks for sharing JC, I appreciate it

What you said about VN sounds typical. Never had that happening in 15 years visiting Thailand, though. On the contrary, Thai vendors sometimes ran after me to return the change when I accidentally overpaid and didn't notice. That never happened in VN, the exact opposite - Viets constantly tried to overcharge and rip me off any way they could.

Yeah it would basically never happen in Vietnam it's like 1 in a million literally for something like that to happen ​@@sergeitokmakovesq.9153

Thanks for your question! Firstly, I am not sure about how much they charge for renting a motorbike ( wild guess about 5-10 USD / day ). It will be cheaper to rent a bike compared to chartering a tuktuk. I would think chartering a tuktuk will still not be too expensive depending on your negotiation skills. Personally, I'd either rent a motorbike for freedom. Angkor wat is not that far from the city centre but you need either a tuk tuk, taxi or motorbike. It can be quite hot driving around in a bike though, that's the only problem I see. If you plan to charter a tuktuk ,I'd research a bit beforehand about how much other people paid because they will probably ask for a significantly higher price tag than it should be at first. Good luck

@@perpetuallyabroad Thanks for your help and advice, it's very useful and important for me 🙏

Thanks for your question! Yes there is a bus from PP to HCM, please check out my video about taking a bus from Vietnam to Cambodia, (it's the same from Cambodia to Vietnam ). From my understanding and reading Vietnamese sources, the border is open for crossing from 7AM to 6PM. This might not be correct though. I would advise to cross the border during daytime just to be sure. If you have a multiple entry visa please print it so you can show the officers by the border. Good luck with your travels

@@perpetuallyabroad 非常謝謝你！

沒問題

The border at Moc Bai is controlled by the Military' and customs just a matter of screening your baggage no forms to fill out just have your visa ready easy entry .

@@perpetuallyabroad Also have you original entry visas as they may want to see it did ask me last time never had it got the run around

Thanks for watching, it's a bit rusty but thanks

I know you're very smart, but where do you get 2 years from

@@perpetuallyabroad Your channel is 2 years worth of Vietnam content, I know you're hopping and out of the country. So more then 2 years or less.

I said 4.5 years in the video btw, I had a Vietnamese channel with millions of views before this one

@@perpetuallyabroad Oh really? that's so cool, what's the name of the channel I'll subscribe :)

I removed it a long time ago

Thank you 🙌

Thanks! I was in Da Nang last year, it's a great place. I have no plans to go there for a while though..

@@perpetuallyabroad Ok :) would love to meet in Vietnam sometime.