Cost of Living- Vietnam

[Mfg Eng]

Last day in Da Nang so last day for the beach. 31deg C 68% humidity all sunshine

An amazing life however not something I could do 5 days per week for years. It gets old. Lack of “buddies” that I have in the area I live is starting to become a bit. Familiarly that I have there is not here. Language barrier is real. Vietnamese are very friendly however the quick exchange of speaking back and forth with excellent knowledge of English is being missed a bit.

It would take some time which would allow me better knowledge of the Vietnamese language (I have to assimilate myself to Vietnamese not Vietnamese assimilate to me) and culture. Things to do are not in question as there is just as much as in Canada, just different things to do is all. Splitting time between here, Canada and other areas of the world is definitely something I would consider. Nothing wrong with two home bases plus a bit of travel

Nice part is I don’t need to figure anything out right now, lots of time baring unforeseen circumstances like heart attack, accident and so on. The brain MRI and LDCT lung scan proved that to me.

 

[Mfg Eng]

Ho Chi Minh today! I double checked my flight information from booking. Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang return was $69.00CAD. Return not one way. 15hr drive one way so 30yrs drive time total. 1hr 20mins tarmac to tarmac.

Double checked my flight next week to be sure- Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi return was $144.01CAD.

Air travel is very cost effective here to say the least.

There is a Bạnh Mi festival here this weekend. 167 vendors. One vendor sells over 700 per half day morning with the evening being about 1000 so 1700 sandwiches per day, he had to expand the space he rented to get to this number. Fourth annual and they expect a quarter of a million visitors this weekend. I will be one tonight No $0.80CAD Banh Mi though- the prices start at 25,000 dong or $1.32CAD and go as high as 78,000 dong or $4.11CAD for very large ones with more exotic stuffing. A crispy roasted pork is about $2CAD which is double what I paid on the street last night when I got here- around the corner from my hotel. I am staying 300 meters away from the “Walking Street” so mainly locals here.

No anything else go sale except Banh Mi sandwiches. Will post more about it later on

 

[Mfg Eng]

I like to say nothing in this universe is all good and nothing all bad. Durian pushes that limit though

It is a polarizing fruit. Most love it or hate it. It is so pungent that many hotels ban it charging a $100USD fee if you bring in the room. I did in Da Nang and put it in the fridge. The next morning the room absolutely stank of durian. I bought a bottle of detergent, stripped the fridge and scrubbed even the contents in the shower to remove the smell.

In Canada it’s about $80-90 sometimes over $100 for a whole fresh one. Here $20. Just bought one nice fat pod for $2.50CAD. It was delicious They give you a plastic glove to eat it as it just gets into the skin and it’s oily. Tons of fat.

It’s worth a try if you have never had it. I’ll eat a couple more pods before I go.

Next up is mangosteen! It’s just coming into season and $3CAD for about a dozen of them.

 

[Mfg Eng]

Here was that Banh Mi festival at about 11am. The heat of the day starts at 10am and ends at about 4pm. Man the pile of hot sauce was even bigger than this picture, just do one stall!

 

[Mfg Eng]

Bought the watermelon for $0.95CAD, just under 5lbs. The other two pictures are that “locals market”

 

[Mfg Eng]

I have no idea what the hell this flag means but there is also a temple with it as carvings and flags around the corner from it…
The other two pictures are of Maybauch’s I saw yesterday in the area I am staying

 

[Mfg Eng]

This is a massively popular Bánh Mì restaurant near me. This line up is low compared to after sundown. 75,000 dong $3.95CAD is the average price and they sell over 2,000 per day- $8,000 per day open 7 days per week. Nearly $3 million dollars!! BTW I got the shits from eating here so volume, price, etc means nothing. Place “looked” very clean. I eat street food, rarely does that happen.

Happy Lamb! A restaurant beside my hotel. They have smiling lambs in the window but got the feeling they ain’t smiling coming in the back door to the kitchen

 

[Mfg Eng]

I have noticed that the obesity and overweight rate here in Ho Chi Minh is much, much higher than Da Nang especially in the teen/early 20’s group.

In Da Nang of people (men and women) maybe 1 in 25 are overweight or obese. Here about 1 in a dozen. In teens/early 20’s in Ho Chi Minh about 1 in 7 or 8. Big difference between the two. I see a lot of young people drinking fruit and energy drinks galore, eating while sitting and walking while snacking all the time- always something in the hand. In Da Nang they drink coffee and eat rice noodle dishes and Pho. Water in hand.

Kind of rare to see soda pop like Coke in hand with the locals, tourists drink those. A can of Coke or Pepsi is about 50% more money than beer there is an awful lot of beer drinking going on though. Almost never see a local in a street restaurant or bar with a hard liquor drink.

 

[Mfg Eng]

I cannot believe what just happened.

I went to an area beside the morning market that, although near walking street (tourist area) they cater to locals. There is a store that sells bulk coffee and rice. They purchase 50kg burlap bags then sell by the 100g. Buy what you like.

They had robusta beans which are very difficult to find in Canada as we drink Arabica typically- Colombian coffee. The also have Cáo beans which are damn near impossible to get in Canada. 26,000 dong ($1USD) per 100g. I bought 2Kg of Cáo for 540,000 dong $28.42CAD.

The gentleman was sleeping on the sacks having a nap. I waited and looked for 5mins or so while the gentleman beside the shop was cutting water coconuts. I decided to gently tap the steel sheet on the side of the booth. The man woke up and called out to the other guy then closed his eyes again. The other guy cut coconuts for a couple of minutes then came to me. I asked for 2kg of Cáo beans. No smiles (it’s ok that’s not the way it is sometimes) and was like it was a burden to get them. He took two bags, filled them with beans, heat sealed them and gave them to me in a plastic bag. I gave him the money and left.

Felt a bit light for 4.4lbs. I got 200m down the road and sat down for a smoke and a beer as it is 37deg C right now. Looked at the bags, they said 500g net. Thought ok maybe that’s regular size and he over stuffed the bags giving the benefit of the doubt. As I got back to the hotel there was a circle K and needed water. I saw an elderly woman selling oranges that have a green peel. She has a scale. I asked her to weigh it. 1kg. I was so angry. On the 50 meter walk back to the hotel decided I was going back to the coffee place after checking in. I got to the hotel and the owner brought me in, I was dripping in sweat and agitated. I put my finger up (symbol for one minute) took my phone and typed “I apologize, I am extremely angry right now. I purchased 2kg of coffee and he gave me only 1kg”.

To make a long story short, the name and number of the shop was on the bag. She called and was given the run around. She typed “please let me speak with my husband”. She took the two bags of coffee and left. I took a shower and 3mins after that the door knocked. It was her husband and her with four bags of coffee in a bag!

I couldn’t believe it! I thanked them profusely over and over again.

If I went back there I will guarantee I would not get those two bags owed plus both would had been screaming and yelling at me (that is the custom here when there is conflict). There is NO WAY they would touch me as that is a very big crime especially against a money spending tourist that would trash the good Vietnamese name. If I grabbed a coconut I am in HUGE trouble with the cops PLUS they are allowed a couple of shots in on me for picking up a weapon during dispute.

My point is the Vietnamese can be extreme but the caring is more than there, she didn’t need to do a damn thing- she genuinely wanted to help. I’m off to get flowers from the market for her and a six pack for him. I know their culture a little bit, they will refuse money for help.

Cu soon bros

 

[Mfg Eng]

There is a massive amount of people here about my age with horrific birth defects. Mis-shapen limbs, jaws, legs that are crossed, can’t speak, extra fingers and so on and so on. They look like they are 70 but they are in their 50’s. I asked someone that was friendly to me- a bit older as well. He said it is the result of agent orange from the war. April 30th is their Independence Day here and they are putting up thousands and thousands of flags all over the place along with bandstands going up as we speak in a park I see. National pride runs high here. They are proud to be Vietnamese!