Bro SingViet,

Seriously, I am getting worried, I think I'm being shortchanged by the company.

I am completely in the dark about what type of costs to expect over there. While I'm not expecting to live like a king over there, I expect at least not to worry about the daily necessities.

I'm just employed as a marketing manager for a small SME. How much can I expect to spend on food per day, just for sustenance, not inclusive of entertainment and extras?

Handphone: Mean the normal Nokia mobile phone or those specially for inserting a top up card type?

Transport: Read that motorbike is the best way. But need license?

btw, which district are you in?

Thanks!

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Why are guys more rational? Becos they have 2 heads.

Hi ! may i offer some advice. I think the the living allowances u r getting is definitely not enough. over in HCM the standand living is low but the cost of living is not low. food u need at least US$10 a day. i dont think u would like to eat on the streets like the locals.

Handphone u can bring yours over from spore, as long as it is gsm. i brought my hp here, usage no problem. handphone is more expensive in vn. so are the top up cards. i top up 300,000 dong can only last a week.

transport i would go against buying a motorbike. u would have culture shock if u see the number of motobikes on the road and the way they ride. no traffice at all! even crossing the roads takes a lot of courage. taxi is not cheap either its around 12,000 dong for 2 km almost US0.80

girls are aplenty and beautiful. but u got to polish up your vietnamese language. otherwise it will be duck and chicken talk.

hope u enjoy your assignment here. cheers.

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George Soros is the BEST of the BEST! Read the latest book 2008 by Soros :

http://rapidshare.com/files/12704629...al_Markets.PDF

Hi bro, I'm a Malaysian posted here since last month myself. For me the main obstacle is communication, although I'm chinese but I cant speak mandarin or cantonese well so I use English.. it's very frustrating sometimes!

From what I observed, stuff here is definitely not cheap especially those branded ones. When I convert them back to MYR, they cost about 10-20% more in my country so let's not imagine the price when you convert them to SGD As for food, if you choose to go to those fancy restaurants then it will cost more but if you know how to go to those moderate chinese restaurants it's pretty affordable.

I stay near the Airport (Hong Ha) and the apartments there cost about 700-1200+ USD per month with 4-5 rooms. Not sure how much it will cost if you stay near the city though ... ?

Anyway, enjoy your stay in Vietnam. Remember to bring plenty of condoms! Oh and another thing, becareful about bringing girls back to your house. If they get caught after 12am in your house you will be fined 10mil Dongs. So find a permanent live-in gf and register her to stay with you

Bro Lugi,

Food wise, a breakfast by the roadside will cost you around 10,000 VND (with coffee) and that is like US$0.70. As for lunch and dinner, it will cost you around US$1.20 each , if you eat by roadside or at normal stalls. I see no reason why we cannot eat by roadside and normal stalls. I feel that its alright for any foreigner to eat by the roadside and normal stalls. In fact, the normal stalls cook better.

With the transport subsidy given by your company, i see no cheaper way to move around freely unless you travel by motorcycle. i spend like 3.5 million VND each month on taxi and that's like US$200 +++ The other way is to move around via motorcycle taxi, but u must know how to bargain.

I do think that your company expect you to live a life that's normal here in Vietnam. By the way, i stay in Binh Thanh District. if you need more information, you can private message me.

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Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself

Thanks bro smurfy.

language wise, definitely a problem, though lucky i can speak english, chinese and cantonese. now learning some bedroom and pick up vietnamese phrases...

since i'm working a six day week, i won't have a lot of time to travel around... so maybe can save on some expenses... especially since transport is the killer now.

apartment wise, i would be content with just a one bedroom apartment, for me and my girl... I'm still unclear as to my actual location posting... I guess could be in D1, 5, 6 , 11 or Binh Thanh .

btw, where are all the happening places located?

I will definitely stock up on condoms. Any wholesalers in Singapore to recommend?

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Why are guys more rational? Becos they have 2 heads.

U can change SGD to Dong in Viet. If u change SGD to USD then to Dong, u will 'lugi'. USD is widely used in HCMC esp in entertainment. But u still need Dong, to buy things like cig, mineral water, coke ....

One thing in HCMC is they like to round up, as in if your taxi meter shows 85000Dong, n u pay 100000Dong, the taxi driver will act blur n not returning u the change. So sometime small change is useful.

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รักแท้ หรือ แค่ เหงา

you can change USD or SGD to Dong at any gold shop ... the exchange rate might be better ...or there is a shopping centre at district 1 the exchange rate is not bad 2 .... hope this help .......

Bro Lugi, VND is actually not allowed to circulate outside Vietnam. Even if you can find VND outside Vietnam, their rate will be very low. The rate is around 9580VND to 1 Singapore Dollar. You can easily exchange your Singapore Dollar for VND anywhere in HCM. Its as easy as ABC...

I will want to comment that staying in HCM and coming here for business trip is different. Staying here will gain more local experience and you will get to see more of their culture and lifestyle thru daily contacts.

When are you coming over?

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Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself

If you got USDollar to carry along, the better. Last year, when I was there. It is more wildly accepted in vietnum.

Singapore Dollar is very popular in HCM now. You can exchange Singapore Dollars for VND easily in any part of HCM. Its not advisable to change Singapore Dollars to USD and to VND again, you will lose a lot in exchange rates.

Although many brothers still believe that night spots use USD, but in general, night spots that use USD are generally more expensive and you will lose if they convert USD to VND to foot your bill. After staying here for 2 years, i prefer to use VND in night spots, easy and direct. Brothers that are afraid of bulky VND notes can carry the new 500,000VND notes and you will just need to carry a few notes to night spots will do.

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Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself

Carry some Singapore Dollars in your wallet. When you reach HCMC Airport, you can change some of your dollars to VND there. But don't change too much at the airport as the exchange rate sucks there. You may change the rest of the Singapore Dollars at other parts of HCMC when you settle down.

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Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself

Don't worry about banking here. There is HSBC at Dong Khoi Street. With the USD depreciating and expected to depreciate further next year, i think SGD will make a better choice. But remmitance thru HSBC is expensive at US$40 fee. There is another bank that assist foreigners, its a local bank call VietCom Bank. They have branches thru out Vietnam. They also have modern ATMs. But i don't really trust local banks. But take note of currency controls. You can only bank in the amount that is your salary each month or US$3000 with each Immigration form.

As for medication, bring some Po Chai Pills for stomach and some cold tablets. Normal Panadol is available here so don't have to worry.

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Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself

Yes, better bring some normal sickness medicine over. The clinics here charge USD$100! Freaking expensive

You can exchange your currency in most of the shopping complexes around town, they usually have 1 or 2 money changers in the building. Most of the time you can also exchange to Dong in normal shops or eatery places but the rate will be lower though.

Two high end cheong place will be Catwalk and Royale, not too sure of the charges for rooms and services, should be around 300-600 USD from small to medium size. 300k Dong tips for girl is enough, if bring back usually they quote you 100USD hehehe

Best to go to those normal ktv places where they charge the rooms around 80k-150k Dong per hour or 900k Dong - 100USD for the whole night. 150-200k Dong tips for the girl is enough.

Bro SingViet, any nice ktv spots to recommend me?

Your package sucks big time lah. Tell them cannot.
Min US$ has got to be:-
$800 housing
$200 transport
$400 food etc

For expat, this has to be the min.
Ask anyone here. Not kidding.

Hi Bro, I'm planning to goto HCM or Hanoi (my preference as the weather is better) next week? I dun speak a word of Vietnamese.

What's the best way for me to go around? Is there anyway I can pick up an English speaking Viet guide (with sex included) for a week on a modest budget?

Hope someone can give me some pointers here.

Thanks in advance.