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[iicycold]

Originally Posted by snipeshot08

Can u still recognise him???

Hi hi....can recognize her? Lol....



jus 4 laugh onli....lol

[anhmaplee]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Any fan of Bun Rieu here...

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This dish will not be the same without the strong flavor of fermented shrimp paste, a signature Vietnamese sauce. Each bowl costs VND50,000 ($2.18).

I am ! will go try on my next trip to HCMC. 😀 Thank you for the info.

[Hurricane88]

Happy Vesak Day...

Happy long weekend to you...

[lazylazylazy]

Hi all bros, any updated list of girl-friendly hotels with massage in the hotel itself? Been using bro hurricane88 helpful list but the regular hotel i stayed (dai nam) is sold out on the dates im going.. thanks in advance..

[Hurricane88]

Better visit early before prices escalates...
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Travel firms worry high admission at Ha Long Bay harms competitiveness

An official said the government had deliberated on the new pricing before introducing it

By Thai Xuan / Tuoi Tre News Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 19:00 GMT+7

Some travel agents have expressed their concern over unaffordable admission at Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, warning it would reduce package attractiveness and put off visitors.

Tourists to Ha Long Bay, located in Quang Ninh Province, spend VND200,000-250,000 (US$9-11) each for a daytime entry fee, and VND500,000-750,000 ($22-33) for an overnight one, and pay more if they use services, like kayaking and cruises, at the site.

A number of travel companies supposed that the price bracket discourages students and low-income Vietnamese workers from entering the bay.

N.T.M., local resident, said her family has not revisited the place since this pricing scheme was introduced in April 2017, as tickets for four people cost VND1 million ($44).

The entry fee is now too high compared with many other tourist destinations, according to Tran Quy Anh, representative of a Hanoi-based travel agency, who said the charge does not suit the pockets of average Vietnamese people.

Anh cited an example that the maximum admission at Lan Ha Bay, next to Ha Long Bay, is only VND40,000 ($2).

Phan Xuan Anh, general director of Du Ngoan Viet Company, said Ha Long Bay effected an across-the-board twofold increase in its charges as of 2017, with the entry fee climbing from VND120,000 (just over $5) to VND250,000 ($11), and admission fees at its various locations from VND240,000 ($11) to VND500,000 ($22).

Moreover, the bay requires payment from a tour guide and one visitor from a group of 16 tourists, who Anh said are typically waived according to a common practice.

The elevation of entry fees was already weighed up by the government in Quang Ninh, Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of the provincial Department of Tourism, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday.

Local authorities have hitherto received no complaints from visitors or tourism firms saying that the fee is high, Thuy underlined.

He said money collected from visitors is meant to improve service and security.

Pham Hai Quynh, general director of Van Hai Xanh Travel Company, supposed that while many people are split in their view of the entry fee, he perceived positive changes in infrastructure and Ha Long Bay employees’ attitude.

But Trinh Nguyen Hung Dung, director of Thien Nien Ky Travel Company, worried that the competitiveness of a tour offer to the bay could be reduced due to the new pricing.

“It’s tempting to think that as the number of tourists to the bay has risen steadily, heightening ticket prices wouldn’t affect customers. But this is the vantage point of regulators, not of tour organizers or visitors,” Dung said.

[Hurricane88]

Visit to HCM...pls read this...

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How to protect yourself from theft and robbery in Vietnam?

Do not show your money, some expats say

By Dong Nguyen/ Tuoi Tre News Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 14:33 GMT+7

A number of expats having lived in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for several years gave their opinions on theft and robbery in Vietnam as requested by Tuoi Tre News.

Some of the interviewees were themselves robbed.

Be vigilant

I worked as a security consultant, and as a person who has worked in the protection of robbery of businesses for over 20 years in my home country, I see the rate of robbery on people and businesses in Vietnam as a moderate issue only. When we compare the number of robberies to that in other countries around the world, Vietnam does not have a high rate of robbery, either on local residents or tourists.

Fortunately, I have not been a victim of robbery in Vietnam. However, I used to run a restaurant on Bui Vien and have seen a number of robberies in and around the area. Phone snatching is a very common crime, especially on tourists. Also bag snatching from motorcycles has always been a common issue known by locals and international guests.

One particular crime targeted single Western men in and around the District 1 tourist area. It would usually have two females and two males. The beautiful women would see a man standing alone, especially near an ATM. They would see they have a wallet in their back pocket and a smartphone. The first woman would begin flirting with the Westerner before grabbing the Westerner’s body as the second one removes his wallet. The second woman got on a bike with a male and rode off. As the man turned to chase her, the first woman got on another bike and escaped.

I believe the Vietnamese government has done a lot to stem the growth of attacks on tourists and Westerns in Ho Chi Minh City. When I first came to the country six years ago, it was a real threat to be attacked whilst walking in the streets. Changes made by police have resulted in these crimes being a lot less frequent than a few years ago.

There are a few ways to reduce these crimes:

1. Don’t use your phone on the street. If you are a Westerner and use your phone a lot, consider buying a small Nokia to use on the street. Leave your iPhone in your bag.

2. Don’t carry a wallet in your back pocket. If it is seen then it can be taken. Don’t show people where you keep your money.

3. Don’t carry a big handbag. Ladies who carry a large shoulder-type handbag are highly vulnerable to robberies. Leave all your stuff at home and only carry essential things in a small purse.

4. When walking always carry your belongings in the outside hand or outside pocket. By keeping your belongings away from the street you reduce the risk of a drive-by attack.

5. Don’t use your smartphone. You must remain vigilant of who is around you and who is looking at you. A thief will not attack you immediately. They will plan the attack. This means they will follow you for 3 to 15 minutes before attacking. If you are observant you are able to make changes to your movements and even take evasive action before a crime is committed.

6. There is a study that defines the anatomy of crime. A crime of any kind has three elements, including a way to commit the crime without being identified, something to gain from the crime (money, sexual gratification, etc.), ways to escape without being caught. Studies show that if you can remove one of these three items from a potential crime scene you will prevent a crime.

Crime and scams are a major deterrent for tourists. The reputation of a country's crime rates on tourists has the potential to crush the tourism of that country. Countries such as Egypt, Greece and Brazil have all been greatly affected by the reputation developed by robberies on tourists. As beautiful as these countries are, people refuse to visit them because they are aware of the extreme risk of robbery.

Overall I feel rather safe in Ho Chi Minh City but the police and community need to continue to be active to reduce the opportunity for robberies and punish those who commit them, especially on tourists.

Ray Kuschert, Australian

Theft all over newsfeed

Living in Vietnam, while I feel safe from serious crime, one concern that is never far is the threat of theft. I can scroll my Facebook newsfeed and see motorbike thieves, dog thieves, and many creative scams. I myself also experienced a few small things like people trying to pick my pockets while another time I've come home late to a man trying to attack me and get into my home. Another time while driving home two men tried to threaten us with a knife (to cut the purse) and to my luck I hit the driver with a hamburger in the face and they fled.

I think there are many reasons and the factors are numerous but the simple answer is because they can. The thief will very rarely be pursued and they know that. When they do get caught they just have to apologize and pay a small fine. There is also the wealth gap which can easily make desperate people do desperate things.

Solutions for this are harsher fines, community service work programs, longer jail sentences, and rehabilitation efforts that include job training and work programs and subsidies for employers who hire these people who are coming back to society. Additional patrols by police in high crime spots/tourist areas would be helpful too. A poster campaign could be set up to let tourists know that they care and where they can go to report crimes. This will also improve the image of Vietnam as the public will be getting a message directly from the government instead of the 'Negative Nancies' on the Internet who suggest that people here don't care about theft. Last but not least, we can support people who are victims of theft instead of blaming them. I think when Vietnam tackles its theft issues we will see tourist rates at higher levels than ever before.

Thomas Alexander Bissell, Canadian

Theft using a scooter

I can't speak for other cities in Vietnam, but theft and robbery in Ho Chi Minh City are a big concern of mine. One of the major reasons for theft and robbery in the city is because of the vast number of scooters and the ability to use them to flee the scene quickly. Even in my hometown of Manchester (London too), there has been an increase in the amount of theft and robbery involving a scooter, which allows for a fast getaway, up and down small streets and alleyways.

One night on Bui Vien, at 2:00 am, my girlfriend was almost a victim of a bag snatch from a scooter. Luckily, she turned away at the right time. The driver was out of sight within seconds. It happened so quick! Even in the daytime, I've also seen a Western woman have her phone snatched from a scooter, in Phu Nhuan District. Although most crimes against tourists happen within District 1, it can happen to anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.

The fact is theft using a scooter is an easy crime to commit and to escape from. In order to prevent these crimes from happening, we need to make it much more difficult for potential thieves. Educate citizens to avoid becoming a victim. Don't use your phone facing the road. Avoid carrying a single-strap handbag. Be careful of valuables when sitting at a café.

This particular crime isn't unique to Vietnam, but it will be more frequent due to the number of bikes, population density and people's lack of vigilance.

Avoid flashing belongings

This issue has gone worse since the year I first came. I remembered walking in the middle of the night and feeling safe. Everything has changed. Now I’m always anxious about my surroundings. I feel like someone will take my belongings. It’s just not the same anymore.

The issues once happened to me around 10 years ago. I was on a motorbike when 2-3 guys nicked my bag with two cellphones and a passport in it. I think the authority should be more vigilant and the people must be aware and avoid flashing their belongings.

[Hurricane88]

Ho Chi Minh City vice-chair says impossible to eradicate erotic services in hotels

Though illegal, erotic services are not considered prostitution by law, so no criminal charges can be filed against violators

By Son Luong / Tuoi Tre News Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 11:45 GMT+7




While many hotels and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City have been caught having female attendants offer erotic services to guests behind closed doors, a deputy leader of the municipal administration has admitted that there are no way to completely crack down on such illegal practices.

The ‘erotic services,’ involving women wearing scanty clothes while performing provocative dances before their patrons, are in fact not considered prostitution, as far as the current laws are concerned, Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy chairwoman of the city’s administration, said at a meeting on Monday.

“This means any establishments caught offering erotic services will only be subject to administrative fines, and there are no legal frameworks to criminally charge them,” Thu was quoted by the official Voice of Vietnam radio as saying.

As the civil punishments are toothless, those hotels and restaurants may easily repeat their violations shortly after paying their fines, the deputy chairwoman admitted.

Even when a hotel has its business license revoked for repeated violations, the facility owner would still manage to have someone apply for a new permit to resume operations, Thu added.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have strengthened inspections and crackdowns on erotic services at hotels and restaurants citywide.

In mid-May, police raided the Dmax Restaurant on Ton That Tung Street in District 1, discovering dozens of suggestively-dressed female employees serving their guests in erotic manners inside 20 ‘VIP rooms.'

The crackdown came only days after police officers swooped on RUBY, another restaurant on Ton That Tung Street, finding many female employees, dressed in revealing outfits, drinking and singing karaoke with their guests inside VIP rooms.

[snipeshot08]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Should be able to recognise chai tow 007...

Now he is into bodybuilding so he looks like Arnold Swazer-em-zai-simi-sai liao

Cheerios.......SS08 ^_^

[snipeshot08]

Originally Posted by iicycold

Hi hi....can recognize her? Lol....



jus 4 laugh onli....lol

Errmmm I give up .......................any clues????kekekeke

Cheerios.......SS08 ^_^

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by snipeshot08

Now he is into bodybuilding so he looks like Arnold Swazer-em-zai-simi-sai liao

Cheerios.......SS08 ^_^

Also must be keto diet then he can seen nice muscular body...

[Hurricane88]

Downtown Saigon raids net drug users, pimps, sex workers

By Quoc Thang May 31, 2018 | 03:42 pm GMT+7

Raids aim to curb proliferation of vices in tourist district, police say.

In a pre-dawn swoop on Thursday, police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested dozens of suspected drug users and female sex workers at a downtown restaurant.

Hundreds of police personnel blockaded part of Ton That Tung Street in District 1 from both ends before raiding the Ruby Restaurant, a notorious overnight hangout.

The restaurant employees were prevented from turning on the alarm system, and dozens of waitresses in skimpy clothing were caught red-handed ‘playing’ with drunk customers. The suspected drug users and waitresses were taken to the police station for drug tests.

Police said they have fined the restaurant for operating an unlicensed karaoke business, keeping the place open late, offering sex services and selling fake alcoholic drinks, but did not specify the amounts.

At the same time, a group of officers raided a hotel on Bui Thi Xuan Street in District 1 and caught two women offering sex services to guests.

The women admitted to the police that they were sent to the hotel to serve for drunk customers for up to VND4 million ($175.4) per session. The restaurant manager, Pham Huu Sinh, 40, was also arrested for arranging sex services for customers.

Police said the raids were part of an operation to tighten control over several kids of commercial sex services offered by many restaurants and bars in the tourist district.

Vietnam is considering lifting its night curfew to 2 a.m., to encourage tourists to stay more and spend more. But most bars and nightclubs in Saigon, the country’s largest city, are only allowed to serve guests until midnight.

According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Saigon has nearly 22,000 registered drug users, the highest in the country at nearly 10 percent of the country’s total.

Drug use is banned in Vietnam, and producing and dealing in drugs are criminal offenses.

Around 3,000 people are believed to be sex workers in Saigon, according to official data.

Gambling and prostitution have long been officially forbidden vices in Vietnam, but authorities have adopted a more lax attitude towards them in recent years. In 2013, Vietnam abolished compulsory rehabilitation for sex workers in favor of fines no higher than $100. The move has since sparked fierce debates among researchers, officials, and lawmakers on whether the country should legalize sex work.

Proponents of legalizing prostitution in Vietnam say the move is critical because it could significantly reduce the transmission of HIV among sex workers, citing studies that indicate that in places where prostitution is illegal, sex workers are more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases. Some 70 countries in the world have legalized prostitution outright, including Australia and Germany.

According to a report by the United Nations Development Program, sex work has been decriminalized in many Southeast Asian countries as police turn their focus on arresting pimps and brothel owners instead of the sex workers themselves.

They also say that even though Vietnam has declared a “war on prostitution,” sex work has continued to thrive. More than two years ago, sociologists in Saigon proposed that the government establish regulated red-light districts in order to root out some of the worst results of the trade, such as sex slave trafficking. But the proposal eventually died out under strong opposition from a mindset wherein prostitution is a symbol of moral decadence.

[Hurricane88]

Another bad name for Viets...haizzz...

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Four Vietnamese shoplifters nabbed in Singapore

By Nguyen Quy May 31, 2018 | 10:34 am GMT+7

They could get up to seven years in jail.

Police in Singapore detained four Vietnamese nationals earlier this week for stealing high-end clothing from various shopping malls along Orchard Road, one of the busiest shopping areas in the island-state.

The group of petty thieves, including two men and two women aged 26-27, are accused of pilfering over 100 branded clothing items worth SGD10,000 ($7,500), Channel News Asia reported on Wednesday.

The arrest came after police authorities received “theft-in-dwelling” reports from many shopping centers in Singapore.

The alleged thieves will go on trial and if found guilty, face up to seven years behind bars, besides stiff fines.

This is not the first time Vietnamese people have been caught stealing in Singapore. In 2016, a group of five Vietnamese citizens were given jail terms of up to three years in prison for stealing goods valued around $12,600 from the ION Orchard shopping mall.

Vietnam ranked 9th among top 10 countries with the highest number of visitors traveling to Singapore in 2017, according to an annual tourism report by the Singapore Tourism Board.

More than 530,000 Vietnamese visited the country last year, up 13 percent against the same period a year earlier.

[Hurricane88]

Money down the drain...

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HCMC flood-prevention plans a leaking sieve, experts say

By Huu Nguyen May 30, 2018 | 06:30 pm GMT+7



No matter how much money is poured in, outdated urban drainage plans will ensure failure.

Flooding has haunted Ho Chi Minh City for almost two decades and there is no let up despite billions of dollars sunk into prevention efforts.

Without a sea change in current flood-fighting efforts, this situation will continue, experts warn, explaining that the drainage plans being used are outdated.

Vu Hai, an engineer with more than 50 years of experience in water supply and drainage, said that with its current methods, HCMC cannot fight flooding and has to change everything it is doing right now.

He said that for water drainage, the city is using a plan that was formulated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 1997-1998 and approved in 2001 (with vision until 2020).

This plan is no longer suitable as there are just three years left and the city has carried out less than 30 percent of its tasks, he added.

Aside from outdated data, the plan does not incorporate solutions for tidal flooding, sea level rises caused by climate change, and subsidence triggered by excessive groundwater extraction, he said.

For flooding, the city is using a plan developed by the agriculture ministry, which was approved in 2008.

But this plan only focuses on tidal flooding and fails to take heavy rains and dam releases into consideration.

And in a revised master plan for development until 2025 that was approved four years ago, the city has a plan to deal with rainwater and wastewater but not tidal flooding.

“What the city needs to do now is make a digital map for all of its current water drainage systems. This will work as a very important document, an effective tool for the management, design, construction and planning of the city’s drainage system, and it can also help with forecasting flooding levels in the future,” Hai said.

Since 2015, HCMC Steering Center of the Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC) has collected data for this digital map but it has limited this to downtown districts. Hai said the city should finish data collection within this year.

In the long run, a scientific council should be established to appraise designs of flood prevention projects and put them up for auction to lure private investors.

“If the city assigns the task exclusively to state organizations as it does now, no one can be blamed when some projects do not work effectively,” he said.

Ngo Viet Nam Son, an architecture specializing in master plans, said it is high time that the city faces the truth that its flood prevention projects so far have met with very limited success.

The flood fight can no longer depend on just dykes, sewers or reservoirs, because some high areas are still getting flooded due to the high density of concrete buildings that leaves no space for water to get escape.

“Preventing flooding requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary strategy; but the city has been doing it sporadically and has stopped at coping with flooding rather than tackling it once and for all. This way, flood waters will only flow from one place to another,” Son said.

He suggested that the city appoints someone to take charge of flooding and traffic jams. Right now, just one person, the vice chair of the municipal People’s Committee, takes care of urban development in general and there are too many tasks for him to handle.

Son also said that it is irresponsible to blame the SCFC for a flooding problem caused by inadequate master plans, urban management, traffic, and construction also.

The city plans to build at least seven new wastewater treatment plants from now until 2020 to deal with its rapidly rising population, which has reached 13 million.

Ho Chi Minh City is vulnerable to flooding, and many of its streets are transformed into small rivers almost every time it pours or the tide rises. According to local media, the city will need VND97.3 trillion ($4.38 billion) for flood prevention projects over the next three years.

[Hurricane88]

Men arrested for snatching bag from Canadian tourist in Saigon

By Son Hoa June 2, 2018 | 11:51 am GMT+7



Passersby caught one of the thieves before police knocked down the other.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City detained two Vietnamese men for snatching a handbag from a foreign tourist in the city center on Friday.

The Canadian woman, 21, whose name has not been revealed, was walking with a group of friends on Nguyen Trai Street in District 1, five-minute ride from the popular Ben Thanh Market, in the afternoon when she lost her bag to the two men on a motorbike.

Some passersby chased after the thieves and managed to catch one of them after their motorbike crashed. Police stepped in and caught the other.



The two are being held for further investigation.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest metropolis, is one of the most visited destinations in the country, with 3.2 million foreigners arriving in the first five months of 2018. Travelers are attracted by the city's mix of modern comfort and wartime heritage, but its charm is being undermined by street crimes, traffic chaos and pollution.

Vietnam has welcomed 76,650 Canadian visitors so far this year, up 10 percent from a year ago. The country last December including Canadians into a list of citizens eligible for its e-visa policy, in an attempt to attract more visits from the North American country.

[Hurricane88]

Knight riders to the rescue: Vietnam vigilantes bust crooks

By Reuters June 2, 2018 | 07:11 am GMT+7



'If everyone shares the effort, society will be much better,' said one of the knights.

Vietnam’s “street knights,” hurtling through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, are not your typical medieval warriors.

Their stallions are scooters. They wear rubber flip-flops, not metal boots. And their shining armor is a tracksuit jacket billowing like a cape.

The band of bike-riding unpaid vigilantes chases down petty criminals in Vietnam’s largest city and the neighboring province of Binh Duong, where residents grumble about rising crime and ineffectual policing.

“Whenever there’s a call I show up,” said one of them, Nguyen Thanh Hai, who gets 50 to 100 calls for help every day about robberies, drugs, and even kidnappings. “Even at midnight, when I can barely keep my eyes open.”

Hai, 47, keeps a notebook recording details of the roughly 4,000 criminals he has helped catch and turn over to police during 21 years as a part-time crime fighter, though he gets no monetary reward.

“You don’t think about money when you do this,” he added.

He is among a group of about 30 men in Ho Chi Minh City, and 1,500 in the province, who have modified their bikes with police-like sirens and upgraded engines that can reach speeds of more than 170 kph (106 mph).

Videos of their high-speed chases have gone viral on social media. One shows thieves weaving between trucks and cars along a twisting, suburban highway, with the group in hot pursuit.

“My little son gets so excited when he sees me on YouTube,” said Pham Tan Thanh, a 31-year-old Binh Duong taxi driver who becomes a street knight in his spare time.

“He always asks me when I’m going to go out again.”

The men don’t see themselves as heroes, they said, but they do appreciate the occasional gesture of thanks, with Southeast Asia’s famously pungent-smelling durian fruit being a favorite.

Dangerous work



Crime is low in Vietnam, but petty theft and similar minor crimes are a growing problem in urban areas like Ho Chi Minh City, home to 13 million people.

Last year, the former Saigon ranked as the third least-safe city worldwide, after Caracas and Karachi, on the Safe Cities Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which rates personal security in 60 cities.

Some crime victims, hoping for a faster response, turn to the vigilantes before the police.

“Police have so many jobs, we just can’t blame them,” said one of them, Nguyen Viet Sin, whose father is a policeman. “If everyone shares the effort, society will be much better.”

Police in Ho Chi Minh City are underfunded and lacked training, the U.S. government said in a report on crime and safety last year.

The city’s police department did not immediately comment when contacted by Reuters, but some vigilantes say they work closely with officers.

Barred by law from carrying weapons, many have received police training on legal issues and use martial arts for self-defense, since their work can be dangerous.

Last month, two were stabbed to death in Ho Chi Minh City and three badly injured in clashes with thieves.

Sin described a fight with a suspected thief who cut himself and rubbed his blood into Sin’s wound. After learning that the suspect had HIV, Sin worried he could have been infected.

“I wanted to quit, but after I recovered and could still see clips of robberies on social media, I hit the road again,” he said. “My passion didn’t die.”

'In my blood'

After the two deaths, worried families begged some of the vigilantes to stop.

“My fiancée asked me to quit, and I agreed,” said Mai Truong Xuan Huy, a 44-year-old Vietnamese-American who works as a security guard in California.

Huy, who left Vietnam in the 1990s, returns to spend his summers fighting crime with the street knights.

“I feel so proud every time I help someone, but it’s also very tiring,” he said at a Binh Duong coffee shop that is an unofficial group headquarters.

“I’ve been peppersprayed and had my head smashed,” he said. “It’s very dangerous and the thieves have more weapons now. It’s no fun.”

His ruminations on leaving the group were interrupted by two people asking for help. Huy and his friends jumped on their bikes.

“I can’t help it,” he said as he sped off. “It’s in my blood.”