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[Hurricane88]

Ho Chi Minh City: Best place in Southeast Asia for cheap love

By Ha Phuong May 11, 2017 | 04:23 pm GMT+7

No need to go 'Dutch' in a city of satisfied lovers.

For a night out with a potential life-long love in Ho Chi Minh City, love birds have to shell out around $35, while in Singapore a date may cost them at least $80.

A cheap date night combo consists of: dinner for two at a local pub, movie tickets and two cocktails.

The findings were based on a cost of living index updated recently by Expatistan.com, a database that compiles the global cost of living.

Date nights may be even cheaper in Hanoi where living costs are 2.62 percent lower than in Ho Chi Minh City.

continue to read here
http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business...e-3583318.html

[snipeshot08]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Thot u love most ladyboss how to share...

Oh yes I love LadyBoss so am not sharing this you really need to read my posted message carefully as I did not say I was sharing LadyBoss kangtaos leh.....

Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^

[snipeshot08]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Knew you sibei serious...so My SGM..

Oh yes My Great Mighty Transcended Being......... *bow down deeply*

Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^

[snipeshot08]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Ho Chi Minh City: Best place in Southeast Asia for cheap love

By Ha Phuong May 11, 2017 | 04:23 pm GMT+7

No need to go 'Dutch' in a city of satisfied lovers.

For a night out with a potential life-long love in Ho Chi Minh City, love birds have to shell out around $35, while in Singapore a date may cost them at least $80.]

Wrong terminology not cheap love lah sounds so cheap like dating those WLs

Cheerios......SS08 ^_^

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by snipeshot08

Oh yes I love LadyBoss so am not sharing this you really need to read my posted message carefully as I did not say I was sharing LadyBoss kangtaos leh.....

Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^

Oops supposed to ladyboys...

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by snipeshot08

Oh yes My Great Mighty Transcended Being......... *bow down deeply*

Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^

I salute and sappork SGM...

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by snipeshot08

Wrong terminology not cheap love lah sounds so cheap like dating those WLs

Cheerios......SS08 ^_^

Depends how u view it..to me not bothered...

[Hurricane88]

Can Tho mulls subsidizing airlines to open new routes to Mekong Delta hub

TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 05/12/2017 11:00 GMT + 7

Authorities in Can Tho have offered to assist airlines in recouping potential losses from future flight routes to the southern city in response to some pilot services being ceased due to low bookings.

Can Tho, the economic hub of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, is cooperating with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and certain airlines to launch three new routes this year between the city and Cam Ranh, Hai Phong, and Bangkok.

In the long term by 2020, the Mekong Delta city also plans to open direct international flights to Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, on top of domestic routes to Vinh and Da Lat, the city’s chairman Vo Thanh Thong said on Thursday.

The air routes are meant to increase the operational capacity of Can Tho International Airport, which was inaugurated in 2011 but didn’t receive its first international flight until 2015, Thong added.

Many Mekong Delta air travelers still prefer heading to Ho Chi Minh City to board flights out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, despite living closer to Can Tho.

Past additions to flight routes running to and from Can Tho were ceased just after pilot runs due to low occupancy rates, a failure Can Tho hopes to avoid by providing airlines with financial aid should the three planned flights incur losses in their initial stages.

The proposal submitted by the Can Tho transport department to the municipal administration and the CAAV included three possible incentive plans: subsidizing loss-making services in the first year after launch, covering the cost per seat of up 30 percent of the seats on flights departing from Can Tho, and subsidizing unoccupied seats on flights departing Can Tho with an occupancy rate lower than 70 percent.

It was also noted that the maximum amount the city would need to earmark for subsidization would be VND5 billion (US$223,214) a year for domestic services and VND8.5 billion (S$379,464) a year for international routes.

The Can Tho administration has requested that the transport department continue soliciting feedback from relevant sectors before determining the final incentive framework.


Goodwill but impractical

The subsidization offer was meet with both appreciate and straightforward feedback, with many airlines saying that a new service to the southern city might not be a profitable move.

It costs a huge amount of money to launch a new service and every flight must be at least 70 percent booked for the carrier to recoup investment, while piloted flights have proven that few wanted to fly to the Mekong Delta hub.

“Our flights to and from Can Tho currently enjoy an acceptable occupancy rate, but compared to other destinations the service is not particularly attractive,” a Vietjet representative said.

A Jetstar Pacific representative said if there is real demand for flights to Can Tho, airlines will want to open services there, whether or not local authorities provide incentives.

In 2009 Jetstar launched an affordable Hanoi – Can Tho route but quickly ceased the service due to low travel demand between the cities.

Bui Quang Tin, a local economic expert, said the proposal to use the already tight local budget to subsidize airlines has shaky grounds.

CAAV deputy head Vo Huy Cuong said Can Tho should think of a more thorough solution than offsetting for airlines’ losses, such as “encouraging Mekong Delta people to come to Can Tho, instead of Ho Chi Minh City, when they travel by air.”

[bastardboy]

Xin chao everyone. It's been more than 2 years since I wrote something on this forum. Now still in HCM city enjoying my holiday. Been in and out of HCM for the last 2 plus years but did not have chance to go cheong because I was with my Vietnamese gf. finally have chance to cheong and relialise that some parts of the cheong scence have changed while others remained the same.

Not sure if this is still the place to share information on my trip but I will still do so anyway. As I am here alone for a week, I try not to spend money expensive tourist attractions and try to go local as possible. So far I have been to HTGD at Q10, benny, NPK. Q10 is still the cheapest at 300-320k and still my favorite of all. Was offered a fs at q10 for 800k. Went to cafe om this trip as well, 120-150k for drinks and tips. Nothing to shout about. Girls are at most a passable 6. Was also offered fs at one of the cafe om but maybe because they think I am Robert and wanted to charge me 1 mil incl hotel which I refused. Overall was just an experience. Went to a DJ cafe which was quite interesting. Girl dj with half ball bouncing to the music and pretty waitress that can sit and talk with you for tips. No hanky panky allowed but can try to sian if your tv is good enough. Went for a few fs from website and zalo. Interesting now girls can be found more easily through zalo than 3 years ago offering this service. 400k plus hotel your own. Girls looks I had were on par with those you find at massage like China or haiyan but service depends on luck. Went to the ones at tan binh, q8 and q10. One wanted to charge me 1.2 mil after finding out that i am not local instead of the 400k. Another girl actually was caught by Singapore police last year before working at a ktv at jalan besar. Overall it was a refreshing experience and will be going to cheong at a club tonight for my very last night in hcm. Before ANYONE starts to comment things like " I can get a girl at a lower price", " for that amount I can get a 18 year old syt", " I can get etc etc for free", "you overpaid by 100k" I am just sharing my experience as a frequent flyer not as someone who stays here all the time. Do share the information for free if you are better if not just SHUT UP.

[Hurricane88]

Hanoi-Sapa Train Cars Receive Major Upgrades

Published on Friday, 12 May 2017 13:00 Written by Saigoneer.



In an effort to attract more tourists, the Hanoi Railway Transport Company recently carried out a thorough upgrade on its current Hanoi-Sapa route.

As VnExpress reports, the Hanoi Railway Transport Company has completely revamped its passenger cars by adding more comfortable seats and beds, as well as cleaner toilets. The improvements were made to trains serving trips from the capital to Lao Cai City and the coastal city of Vinh.

Moreover, tourists can now hop on a designated shuttle bus service upon arriving in Lao Cai and Vinh to get to Sapa and Cua Lo Beach, respectively. Train stations throughout the country will also provide free WiFi starting this month.

A train ride from Hanoi to Lao Cai used to be the most popular way for tourists to get to Sapa. However, ever since the US$1.5-billion Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway was completed in September 2014, many now find the five-hour bus trip a more practical transport option than an eight-hour train ride. It remains to be seen whether the service upgrades will entice travelers into taking trains.

A ticket from Hanoi to Sapa on the new train car costs US$20 (VND440,000), but the company is offering discounts of up to 20% to summer travelers.

Train trips in the south have also received similar improvements in the past few months: the Saigon-Nha Trang route was upgraded three months ago while Nha Trang-Hue trains are being renovated next week.

[Photo via Zing]

[Hurricane88]

Israeli tourists charged $22 for 3km ride in Da Lat

TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 05/13/2017 09:59 GMT + 7

A taxi operator in Da Lat City in the Central Highlands’ Lam Dong Province has been fined and had its driver suspended from work for overcharging two foreign tourists earlier this week.

Vina Gold was slapped with a civil fine of VND7 million (US$308) after one of its driver charged two Israeli women VND510,000 (US$22.5) for a 3km ride on Wednesday.

The dishonest cabbie was also suspended for two months, the provincial transport department said on Friday.

On May 10, the Israeli, Gadot Sharon, 21, and Sheeff Ayelet, 20, hailed a Vina Gold taxi to go from Phuong Hanh Hotel to a local homestay service owned by Huynh Ngoc Diem Trang.

“The distance is around 3km and costs no more than VND40,000 (US$1.8),” Trang told Tuoi Tre.

As per her service’s policy, Trang would refund the taxi fees for guests on their shuttle to her house.

However, upon learning her Israeli guests were asked to pay VND510,000 for the ride, or tenfold the normal rate, Trang immediately filed a complaint to Vina Gold, asking for a refund.

The cab operator agreed to refund the overcharged money to Trang, but refused to admit that their driver had transported the two Israeli tourists, even though the CCTV footage proved otherwise.

It was not until the provincial transport department looked into the case that the cab company admitted all responsibility in the wrongdoing and suspended the driver in question.

The driver said he had thought the VND510,000 sum included ‘bonus’ for him, whereas the tourists said it was meant to pay for the homestay service fee. The cabbie was supposed to give the sum to Trang after deducting his ride fare, but he kept all for himself.

[Hurricane88]

The bitter truth behind sticky-tape wrapped luggage headed for Vietnam

KIM VAN
UPDATED : 05/12/2017 16:48 GMT + 7


Best way to protect your luggage?
Kim Van

Should you come across luggage wrapped with sticky tape on a baggage carousel, chances are it is bound for Vietnam.

Kim Van, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reader, recalls how she learned to protect her luggage from being rummaged through by screeners when traveling home to Vietnam – a revelation that Vietnamese have lost faith in airport services.

Vietnamese want to keep their luggage safe, but many feel being forced to resort to the ‘sticky tape method’ is a kick in the gut.

The opinion in this article is the author's own and does not necessarily reflect the view of Tuoi Tre.


The talking luggage

I was recently on a trip to Japan when I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to buy new luggage.

She advised me to look for models with an invisible zipper, “so ‘they’ won’t be able to cut the zipper and steal any valuables.”

I know by saying ‘they’, my friend was referring to the airport baggage screeners in Vietnam.

My friend then illustrated how secure suitcases with invisible zippers are by showing me on her bags that the zipper is hidden once the case is closed.
“This is the only way to prevent ‘them’ from cutting the zipper,” she said, once again using an oblique reference to airport luggage handlers.

In the end, I was unable to find any luggage with this crucial criterion.

On our last day in Japan, I started to pack the tax-free goods I had bought in into my old, traditional zipper, luggage.

While doing the same, my friend, to my surprise, pulled out a large roll of sticky tape from nowhere (I bet she brought it from Vietnam) and began to wrap it around her suitcase.

“Now I challenge ‘them’ to cut into my luggage,” she said, proudly showcasing her ‘work’.

She wasn’t the only one. Other people on my Japan tour just followed suit. In just a matter of seconds, the entire roll of tape was gone!

My friend offered to do the same with my luggage. I tried to tell her that I wasn’t sure it was necessary because I had locks on my bags.

She told me that such security never works, telling me about a time she had two bottles of wine stolen from her checked baggage and “could do nothing but complain on Facebook.”

Another member in the group said she had the same experience, adding that complaining to the luggage screeners is never any help.

I eventually agreed to have my suitcase plastered in sticky tape!
Losing faith

I used to believe that reports of luggage being stolen when entering Vietnam were only unexpected accidents.

Now, after seeing so many of my companions being so serious about wrapping their luggage, I think I may have been wrong.

Authorities have repeatedly committed to tightening checks in the luggage sections of Vietnam’s airports, but reports of luggage theft don’t seem to be stopping, forcing home-bound Vietnamese to resort to the ‘sticky tape method’.

I’m not concerned over the effectives of wrapping bags with tape, but rather with the fact that it is an issue travelers in Vietnam must think about at all.
It hurts seeing that people have lost so much faith in security personnel at Vietnam’s airports.

Why must people switch to ‘alarm mode’, as if thieves are all around, whenever they come to Vietnam?

It shouldn’t be so easy to figure out that luggage wrapped in a tangle of stick tape is destined for nowhere but a certain Vietnamese airport.

[Hurricane88]

Vietnamese men nabbed for blackmailing partners with sex tapes

TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 05/12/2017 14:51 GMT + 7


Tran Dinh Trong (L) and Vo Hoang Tuan are seen in these photos provided by police in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai.

Police in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai have arrested two men for blackmailing their lovers with personal sex tapes.

Tran Dinh Trong, 35, and Vo Hoang Tuan, 40, two suspects in two different cases have both been charged for blackmail, the provincial Department of Police affirmed on Thursday.

According to the case file, Trong became friends with a married woman named T. on social media some six months ago.

The two eventually decided to spend some ‘private time’ at a local motel, an encounter that was filmed by Trong on his smartphone.

In mid April, the couple had a conflict and T. wanted to break up with the man.

Trong responded by threatening to send their sex tape to T.’s husband and family unless she gave him VND10 million (US$438.3).

After the victim agreed to pay, Trong asked for an additional VND15 million ($657).

When T. hesitated at the additional request, Trong sent the footage to T.’s younger sister as a warning.

T. eventually reported the case to local police and a sting was set up by local officers at a hotel.

In a similar scheme, Tuan became acquainted to a married woman named L. on a social media site in January.

The two had sexual encounters multiple times, during which Tuan took many photos for ‘memories.’

During their two-month affair, Tuan borrowed VND76 million ($3,331) before claiming that he was unable to pay up due to a loss-making business.

As L. pressured the man to pay her the money, Tuan threatened to send the sex photos to her husband.

Tuan attempted to blackmail L. for another VND20 million ($876.6) before the victim reported the case to competent authorities.


Victims are also to blame

According to Lieutenant Colonel Chau Van Sang, an official from the police department in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, people often take advantage of naïve and desperate partners.

In the two cases, both victims share some responsibility for committing adultery with the suspects.

In many cases, the female victims were willing to have their sexual encounters filmed, which opened them up to blackmail, said Nguyen Thanh Son, a judge from the People’s Court in the southern city of Vung Tau.

These women often allowed themselves to be extorted by their once trusted partners in order to keep their personal lives together. Eventually they become fed up and report the case to police, Son continued.

An investigator also warned that teenage girls are a typical target of these types of criminals, who often hunt for prey on social media.

Parents must protect their children by paying attention and warning them of the potential dangers from strangers, the investigator suggested.

It is advisable that people immediately report blackmail to authorities.

[Hurricane88]

Southeast Asia's longest cross-sea bridge to open shortly

Released at: 09:29, 13/05/2017



5.4-km long bridge in Hai Phong to undergo tests on May 14.
by Long Van

The Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge, the longest cross-sea bridge in Southeast Asia, will undergo a test run to check loading capacity on May 14, according to a report from local media.

The 5.4-km long bridge is part of the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Highway project, which connects developing areas in the east of the northern port city of Hai Phong with Lach Huyen Port in the island district of Cat Hai and the Hanoi - Hai Phong Highway.

A source from the management board was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying that 99.8 per cent of the work has been completed on the bridge section built by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. and Vietnam’s Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.4 (Cienco 4).

Once the bridge is operational, traveling from Hai Phong city to Cat Hai Island will take about five minutes, compared to hours on ferries.

The Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Highway project has total investment of almost VND11.85 trillion ($525.3 million), the majority of which comes from Japanese official development assistance. Construction began in May 2014 and was scheduled to be completed this month.

The project is expected to form a complete transport network facilitating transportation to Lach Huyen International Port, thereby attracting investment to Hai Phong.

[Hurricane88]

Will Saigon become yet another generic Asian megalopolis?

May 13, 2017


The city risks losing its tourists if architecture gems keep disappearing.

They formed the charming backdrop to Graham Greene’s sin-filled Saigon in “The Quiet American,” but the colonial-era buildings of Vietnam’s biggest city are fast disappearing, sparking fears it is losing its unique charm.

Any visitor to Ho Chi Minh City, as Saigon is now known, cannot help but notice the construction cranes dotting an increasingly crowded skyline.

They are the most visible symbols of one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.

But like many locals, office worker Tran Trong Vu is dismayed the city’s gleaming new look is so often at the expense of its colonial-era architecture.

“They have cultural value, so we should preserve them, not replace them with high-rise buildings,” he told AFP in the bustling commercial hub.

Others are concerned the demolition of its famed French architectural gems will render Ho Chi Minh City indistinguishable from other Asian megalopolis.

“In the 1960s and 1970s it was very much French, but now it’s very Americanized, McDonald’s on every corner,” said Hiep Nguyen, born in Ho City Minh City and author of several books on its architectural history.

“A streetscape without a story has no value,” he added.


Cars and motorcyclists ride past the City Hall, a French-colonial era building, in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam

Money talks

Much of the demolition is happening in the city’s rapidly-developing downtown core, to keep apace with a mushrooming young population hungry for modernity and to feed the demand for more housing and office space.

But those aren’t the only needs being fed, says Nguyen.

“The key is money, the key is interest groups,” he told AFP from Sydney, where he now lives.

Developers with deep pockets have scooped up swathes of land in the city center, with privately-owned old villas or historic municipal buildings replaced by sprawling construction zones.

City officials have inventoried more than 1,000 buildings constructed by the French when they ruled the country from 1887 to 1954 remain today, including the famed Opera House, Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, all must-sees on city tours today.

A few of the old haunts on Rue Catinat frequented by Greene remain, but the street is now called Dong Khoi and also features Hermes and Chanel boutiques for the city’s growing number of high-rollers.

There is no comprehensive survey of how many buildings have been demolished.

But in one central district, some 50 percent of French villas have gone down since 1993, according to Fanny Quertamp, the co-director of the urban development organization PADDI.

The breakneck pace of destruction has prompted some to leap into action.

Former video game developer and conservation buff Daniel Caune is creating a mobile app called “Heritage Go” for city residents and tourists.



The app, which is still in development, will ask users to hold their phones up to colonial-era buildings, and aims to automatically generating images of the edifice in eras past.

“It’s to make people conscious of their heritage,” said Caune, who helps to run the Heritage Observatory website dedicated to archiving colonial-era buildings in Vietnam.

City officials are now writing a nine-point plan to classify buildings and mark some for protection, but admit such a huge task could take years to be implemented.

“Pressure for economic development is very high,” said Tuan Anh Nguyen, deputy head of the architecture research center in Ho Chi Minh City’s planning department.

He said many developers who scoop up precious downtown land do not value historic buildings, adding that he would like to see the structures incorporated into development plans, as has happened in Old Montreal, for example.

The city risks losing the millions of tourists that stop into the city every year to soak in the charm of colonial-era buildings, said architect Ngo Viet Nam Sơn.

“It’s like losing the chicken that gives the golden egg,” he said.