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Gday George,

Just read your profile , similar situation to me.
I've been living here about 6 years, and have been travelling to the region for many years before that.

Some parts of SE Asia are "snake pits " for expats looking for a retirement destination.   I've lost count of the number of men that have limped back to their homelands physically ,mentally & financially crippled. 

If your worried about the rip offs , just remember common sense is your best deterrent.  Most of the rip offs are usually only for pennies.   Once you know what the going rate is for Taxis, transport, food & accommodation etc, the rest is what you learn along the way. 

Some learn the easy way, some learn the hard way.   Same everywhere in life.   

There's one thing I've found to be consistent.  I rarely , if ever had a local person approach me that hasn't wanted something.   Don't fall for the old "can you teach me English" bullshit.  Most of those can already speak it.
I've found most of them were only looking for someone to "bank roll" a business venture they or their family had.   The language talk over coffee evolves into a joint business venture to save the family from ruin.😉

If your single, and don't want kids.....I can't stress enough the importance of a vasectomy.  That's the biggest downfall of a lot of guys here.  They are the "anchor daddies" ...stuck in sham marriages & relationships and are slowlly sucked dry with emotional black mail.    The smart girls play the " long game"  . 

That is,  they know your financial limit.  OK..they'll then involve your family back home via Facebook or family visits etc  and try and establish the emotional connection with the child's expat relatives.   Once they've sucked the anchor daddy dry, they've already "groomed" the in laws and start working on them for mysterious child illnesses and education expences.  They've tapped into the family blood line.    I know guys that have been dumped , and that blokes elderly parents are now sending money for the little kids well being.   Mum is just pissing the money up with her Vietnamese boyfriend.  😬😬 that kid will be the "gift" that keeps on giving down through the generations.     Great stuff eh....

So don't worry about paying $5 for a $3 Tshirt or not getting enough Bo in your Pho Bo that your only paying $1.50 for.

Your rip off protection starts between your ears , and between your legs.

Above reply is really meaningful. Trivial loss is not considered as "rip off" but gold diggers are. Beware of them.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese is very friendly and helpful so you just need to visit any store/ shop/ cafe to ask for help. Dont ask around the street or you might get trouble with vagabonds or meanie people.

Learn to say a few Vietnamese words for "refuse" and "help" and "thank you" will truly help you in unpredictable circumstances.

5 Dont:
_ Travel alone. Need local guide/ friends.
_ Walk alone at night, except crowded streets. Go by taxi instead.
_ Buy anything in vendor streets by yourself. Ask your local acquaintances if need. (dirt cheap stuff is ok)
_ Drink to much.
_ Play gamble except official casino in 5 star hotels/ lottery.

1 DO:
_Ask "how much" in Vietnamese clearly before buying anything

I want to thank all of you for your responses and especially Yogi for such a well thought out and detailed response.

Vasectomy? That is rock solid advice, and something I certainly intend to do.

I would like to ask you guys if I am reading between the lines correctly:

Are you saying that very few Vietnamese want to have anything to do with foreigners unless they have an agenda?

I guess what I am asking is it like 90% to 10% in favor of those who would want to have anything to do with me working an angle, or would you say less?

If so, I guess I would focus on making my friends in the Expat community as opposed to with the locals.


As far as the language goes, I speak Spanish and Portuguese fluently and I am sure Vietnamese is much harder but I feel very confident that I could master the most basic phrases and questions quicky and with a few years be able to at least speak functionally--but I could be mistaken about how hard it is.

Thanks again to you all!

George

airlinepilot wrote:

Are you saying that very few Vietnamese want to have anything to do with foreigners unless they have an agenda?

I guess what I am asking is it like 90% to 10% in favor of those who would want to have anything to do with me working an angle, or would you say less?

Personally I think it's case by case and it depends on how good you are at seeing through someone. Beyond the language barrier, I think there are obvious signs to be recognized when you're with someone who intends to "cheat" you in the longer term.

Many Vietnamese women would love to be with a Westerner just because of our different mentality. We usually treat them with more respect than Vietnamese men do, for example. So I'd say that there's definitely gold diggers around, but many are just looking for a foreigner to "escape" the stuff they don't like about their own culture. I'm telling you this based on feedback I got from 5-6 Vietnamese female friends I have, including my ex Vietnamese wife, so I'm in no way an expert but there ought to be some truth in this.

Lastly, start taking Vietnamese lessons if you intend on moving to Vietnam in a few years, it really makes a big difference.

Thank Willy!

Much appreciated.

Best regards,

George

Nothing much to add, but the best bit of advice was" use common sense". Everyone gets scammed a little, most of the time it's very little.

Don't pay the police money unless you have actually broken the law, they are like a Mafia and always on the hunt for an easy buck.

Vietscam