Vietnam News & Discussion

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hanno
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by hanno »

District 5, HCMC. When I first came to Vietnam, there was a water-skiing Club in HCMC. For some inexplicable reason, few people were willing to get on the skis:

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sigmoid
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by sigmoid »

Getting back to tourism in Viet Nam:

Foreign tourists keep flocking to Vietnam, but whether they come back is another story

Poor promotions, unfriendly visa policy and dizzying development at the expense of natural attractions are turning visitors away.
In 2015, Tim Doling, a British author who has studied Vietnam’s history and tourism extensively, said he was left “simply astounded” when the vice director of one of the biggest hotels in Saigon told him there was “nothing to see or do here.”

At a conference held in Saigon in April, tourism experts and insiders lamented that it remained extremely difficult to keep visitors here for more than three days. Nguyen Thi Khanh, the vice chair of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, said many tourists wanted to leave the city of 12 million after just one day.

At another conference on tourism last month, delegates yet again blamed the dearth of original pull factors and Vietnam’s failure to promote its unique characteristics for the low rate of repeat visitors.

These warnings, which are far from new, come at a time when Vietnam’s tourism sector is showing signs of bouncing back from a crisis that sent its number of international arrivals plummeting in 2015.
Full story:

http://e.vnexpress.net/projects/foreign ... index.html
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Cruisemonkey
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by Cruisemonkey »

I recently returned (to China) after my summer vacation, spending: six weeks in Sihanoukville, two weeks in Kampot and three weeks on Phu Quoc.

I love Phu Quoc and will return for my whole winter vacation - even made a non-refundable deposit on the resort. In general, Phu Quoc is more 'modern' than Cambodia with better infrastructure and roads. There are the tourist 'centers'/beaches, but also miles of beautiful deserted beaches. The people are friendly. Best of all, there doesn't seem to be all the stoner backpackers or junkies/meth-heads; and while you can spend as much as you want, it can be just as inexpensive as Cambodia.
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Cruisemonkey wrote: Wed Sep 06, 2017 3:56 pm I recently returned (to China) after my summer vacation, spending: six weeks in Sihanoukville, two weeks in Kampot and three weeks on Phu Quoc.

I love Phu Quoc and will return for my whole winter vacation - even made a non-refundable deposit on the resort. In general, Phu Quoc is more 'modern' than Cambodia with better infrastructure and roads. There are the tourist 'centers'/beaches, but also miles of beautiful deserted beaches. The people are friendly. Best of all, there doesn't seem to be all the stoner backpackers or junkies/meth-heads; and while you can spend as much as you want, it can be just as inexpensive as Cambodia.
Heads up if you are going to Phu Quoc for New Year/ Jan 2018. It may not be as quiet as you expect.

Epizode Festival set to hit Phu Quoc beaches again this NY
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After a triumphant first year with nothing but rave reviews straight across the board, with pride and confidence Epizode festival dived head first into planning its second year and organization seems especially on point as the first details surrounding Epizode’s return have just been announced.

Dixon, Luciano and Chris Liebing need little introduction despite the fact that they hardly ever play in Asia. The rare performances by three of the world’s most venerated names in house and techno and in an Epizode style setting and atmosphere will be an experience hard to top anywhere in world.

Last year saw over 100 acts play including Julia Govor, John 00 Fleming, Alexkid, Bushwacka, Konrad Black and Ten Walls as well as plenty of local names from around Asia and Russia.

Epizode is a two-week long festival held on Phú Quốc Island in Vietnam and will return at the end of this year from December 31st 2017 to January 10th 2018. It’s thrown by some of the original KaZantip crew and debuted just a few months to glowing reviews. It’s also strongly recommend by the Mixmag crew as a worthy destination festival for the holidays.
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Cruisemonkey
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by Cruisemonkey »

I'm safe (not going until Jan. 31).
:beer3:
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Butterfly101
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by Butterfly101 »

Hi,
I'm planning on taking a prepaid currency travel debit card to Cambodia but not sure which one is best. I'll be using it to make ATM with drawls so free ATM withdrawal charges together with a high withdrawal limit are the best choice. I'm not sure which is the best, VISA or MASTER CARD and was also wondering whether the banks have their own ATM limits - meaning that even if my ATM withdrawal limit was USA 2000 per day, I would be unable to achieve this due to having to abide by the Banks' daily withdrawal limit. Can anybody advise, please?
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TOG
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by TOG »

Butterfly101 wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:22 pm Hi,
I'm planning on taking a prepaid currency travel debit card to Cambodia but not sure which one is best. I'll be using it to make ATM with drawls so free ATM withdrawal charges together with a high withdrawal limit are the best choice. I'm not sure which is the best, VISA or MASTER CARD and was also wondering whether the banks have their own ATM limits - meaning that even if my ATM withdrawal limit was USA 2000 per day, I would be unable to achieve this due to having to abide by the Banks' daily withdrawal limit. Can anybody advise, please?
I have yet to find a pre-paid currency card that when put in an ATM anywhere is Cambodia/Thailand/Vietnam is not hit with a service charge from the ATM.

I am sure that many members will now claim that their local ATM does not charge for using pre-paid cards.

Maybe a list of ATMs that are honest and charge free will then be produced.
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Cruisemonkey
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by Cruisemonkey »

I live in Vietnam and have a pre-paid VISA account with ACB. To make a withdrawal from an ACB machine I'm charged 1,100 dong. At any other bank's ATM the charge is 3% (minimum 60,000 dong).
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Arget
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by Arget »

I have a Australian Commonwealth bank (CBA) pre paid.
Everywhere charges between $5 to $6 afor a withdrawal and the CBA charges $2.5. I know its a rip off.
ANZ only allow $400 US at a time but you can withdraw multiple times until it spits the dummy and stops.Others let you have less and all charge something.
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TOG
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Re: Vietnam News & Discussion

Post by TOG »

I would never use a pre-paid card again. Not only do you get stiffed at the ATM but there is always a small amount left over and you end leaving it as the ATM fee is more than the remaining amount.

Bank account first then cash is king.
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