Okay I was the other days at a nail salon (yes, I'm metro) and while I was talking to the girl taking care of me I asked her about whether the capital of VietNam was either Hanoi or Saigon. Trying to keep the conversation going. She shook her head when I mentioned Hanoi and emphatically responded with Saigon. Then she began talking with other employees in Vietnamese and next thing I know they're gathered around her. While I don't understand the language, I did pick up the words, Hanoi, Saigon, and Ho Chi Minh. It's not like they appeared angry or anything but I sorta perceived they might've been making fun of me among themselves. So for my question, was the question I asked considered offensive or rude or whatnot among the Vietnamese population? And second, just out of curiosity, what could they've been saying about me?
okay in concern to the last answerer, I was under the impression that they were making fun of me b/c of the tone they were speaking in and certain gestures they were making. I speak 2 other languages besides English and lived the first 14 years of my life in a country that was not the US

So, the other evening I went to this bar (probably more like a Bia om/brothel) in Saigon.
Anyway, this incredibly beautiful, young girl sat next to me and, after a game of pool and countless drinks we ended up at my place.
Anyway, I've been seeing her quite a lot since then and I really like her.
Problem is, it's difficult to trust these girls. Although I'm fairly young (29), have an acceptable appearance and a fair amount of money at my disposal, it is always difficult to know what these girl are actually after.

So yesterday evening we had a minor argument because I asked her whether she would stop working in the bar. Obviously, I don't like that. She said yes, but I'd have to pay her USD 1500 a month so that she could support her family.

This kind of annoyed me. Obviously she needs to support her family and the job she's doing at the moment rakes in quite a bit of cash I would imagine. If she were my girlfriend I'd do my best to provide support, but it did somewhat annoy me that she could put an instant price-tag on our relationship.

Anyway, I'll spare you the details.

My problems is that my Vietnamese is basically non-existent and I would like to send her a text message.

Would somebody be so kind and translate this into Vietnamese for me?
I'll be happy to transfer a few bucks to you PayPal account if it's too much of an effort:

This is what I'd like to say:

Kim, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday. I love your beauty, and if it is realistic to say this after the few days we have known each other, I also think I love you as a person. You are funny, intelligent and as far as I can tell an honest person. I apologise for my mistrust, but maybe you can understand that it is not always easy to trust people in your profession.
I hope we can talk about this again sometime and find a solution. I have paid yesterday's bar fine and will pay it again today if you feel like talking. I really like you Kim and hope this is not the end.

OK, so I am a charming young 24-year-old American that has decided to travel to the South East yonder. I have a few friends from the States who are Vietnamese and they’re willing to show me all the tourist attractions and keep me out of trouble. However, my main purpose of travel is to bang as many beautiful women as humanly possible all whilst staying at a very high level of intoxication. Accordingly, my question is what do I need to know/ be careful of when attempting to “party like a rock star” in Vietnam? For example, what type of drugs are available in Vietnam and what is the penalty for a tourist being in possession (I am particularly interested in marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine). How much money should I bring, and should it be in cash, traveler’s checks, or bank cards? Are Vietnamese women attracted to Americans? Do they prefer courtship or do they prefer monetary incentives? I do realize that some of my questions are blunt and can be misconstrued as distasteful, but in all honestly this is why a good 1/3 of single Western men go to SE Asia. Just for reference, I spent last summer in Tokyo, Japan and although the drug scene was somewhat disappointing, the women were voracious for Western men, but were not financially motivated and they still required significant efforts for them to put out (but it was well worth the effort as I would rank Japanese women as the best when it comes to sex). I did, however, have the fortune of knowing basic Japanese and a large percentage of Japanese speak English fairly well. Therefore, I do not expect my experience in Vietnam to be similar to my summer in Japan on account of language barriers and a starkly different culture and economic system. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I depart for Saigon On July 7th and will be staying for a month.

I have a friend in Saigon that I have never met in person. She is in college. We chat online a lot and recently she gave me her address. I was asking her awhile ago about sending her a gift. At first she made it seem as if it may be inappropriate according to some of their beliefs. But when I explained how we do things in America, she felt so bothered by hurting me that she said she would never refuse again if I offered. So we exchanged addresses.

Vietnamese girls in their home country seem to talk a lot about real chocolate. Supposedly it is expensive there. I was thinking of sending her some. I like her very very much.

Does anyone have any good ideas of what would be good to send and maybe something clever to make an impression?

I will be at Saigon to visit my relative in this summer and would like to volunteer in my free time. I want to find places that offer suitable time for volunteers to come in their own time...

Also I will travel to Nhatrang and wonder if there is any places to volunteer ( in one week) or visit poor child also...

And places that have people speaks English..

Thank you very much.

My dad is from Saigon and left during the war (c. 1973). To my knowledge he is the only family member to come over to the US. I've been trying for years to find agencies or web pages that I could search for family I've never met. It's been years since my dad spoke to or seen his family & I would love to meet that other 1/2 of myself! Are there any good places to look or try, other than going to Vietnam and asking people there???

I'm thinking about Saigon, and then make my way to the coast or an island. I might only have 10-12 days, is it worth it? I know French, will it be useful at all? I guess I am a little worried about the language barrier.
Any advice for a solo female traveler will be appreciated. I've heard that Vietnam can be failry safe for solo females.

My dad is from Saigon and left during the war (c. 1973). To my knowledge he is the only family member to come over to the US. I've been trying for years to find agencies or web pages that I could search for family I've never met. It's been years since my dad spoke to or seen his family & I would love to meet that other 1/2 of myself! Are there any good places to look or try, other than going to Vietnam and asking people there??

wir sind ganz neu hier in Saigon (HCMC0 und wuerden gerne Vietnamesen kennenlernen, die deutsch sprechen
We are brand new here in HCMC and would like to meet people who can speak german

I'm 22 years old and I'll be in Vietnam for 2 weeks. I'll be with my parents (who speak fluent Vietnamese, but I don't). We're starting in Saigon and we'll be up and down southern and central Vietnam. What are absolutely must see places and things to do in Vietnam? I'd also appreciate some good travel advice or customs I should know about.

Should I learn Hanoi or Saigon dialect? Most of the people I know speak Saigon or Southern dialect.

I know English is fairly extensively spoken among young Vietnamese in Saigon/HCMC but how about Hanoi??

Specifically, will it be easy to pick up a girl in Hanoi with only limited knowledge of Vietnamese (I am Vietnamese American but my Vietnamese is almost nonexistent). Do a lot of young women in Hanoi speak English (at least some)?

I'm interested in Hanoi specifically because I find the city more interesting than Saigon. Hanoi is more intellectual and historic (which is exactly my style).
@suzielu: quit being so damn sensitive. sorry you are intolerant of other people's opinions.

It is my opinion that Hanoi IS more intellectual than Saigon. If you don't like that opinion than too damn bad, get over it.

And yes, people generalize all the time about cities.....

For example, people say San Francisco is a very liberal city which is quite true. People say Washington DC is a political city..... etc.

And in my opinion, Hanoi is a much more intellectual and historic city than Saigon. Saigon is better for business and finance.

By the way, suzielu, work on your English, its terrible.
btw, i want to marry a girl from Hanoi...... not having sex with a bunch of sexy Vietnamese hot chicks.

also, i know Vietnamese girls pretty well. i have a lot of experience with Vietnamese-American girls so generally speaking i know what they are about.

i was just concerned about the language barrier with Vietnamese girls.

since i'm Vietnamese-American there is not much if any cultural barrier but there is a bit of a language barrier (i understand quite a bit of Vietnamese but i don't speak much myself).