Kaoboi Bebobp

Woohoo! 

Now, will VN Immigration relax or postpone new visa law amendments due July 1? 

Quote

 

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) estimated that the Covid-19 epidemic could cost the country $5.9- $7.7 billion in first-quarter tourism revenues, or about 25 percent of the industry's revenue last year.

 

To help the industry revive, the administration has outlined several revival measures in a proposal it plans to submit to the Prime Minister.

 

The proposal says Vietnam should issue unilateral visa exemptions to Western and Northern European markets as well as Canada; and abolish visa fees for all international visitors in 2020.

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/places/free-visas-among-revival-measures-proposed-by-coronavirus-hit-tourism-industry-4058622.html

3 hours ago, Youlike said:

It's weird, yesterday we had hard wind but also very dirty air....i thought the wind would blow it away but it didn't.

Was thinking the same thing yesterday and today. Great early morning breezes and low temps out here in Phra Khanong, yet the city landscape was still cloaked in dirty air. There's just little or no respite from pollution sources. 

Well, that’s my plan all shot to rats**t.

I was going to tough it out during the couple of days of Songkran in Bangkok and had delayed my flight to Canada to when the weather would be somewhat better at the end of April. 

I’ll take the freezing rain, snow flurries and biting wind before I suffer a full week of Songkran’s idiocy. I’ll pay the flight penalty. 

And ditto all the critical comments above. 

16 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Any idea if they are 24hr? We arrive after 9pm.

I always arrive in the afternoon. At a guess, I think some would be open at least until midnight or even later. 

9 hours ago, treetops said:

I've used Vinasun taxis, both at the airport and in town, and have had no issues.  Always on the meter with no arguments.  Airport to District 1 was about 150,000 Dong and it looks like Vo Van Tan is a bit closer to the airport so should be less.  I've also taken a bus for 20,000 but not sure which one to recommend for your destination.

 

I use VND (Dong) obtained from an ATM at the airport.  I've seen USD accepted but not sure how widespread it is.

Yup. About 130,000 to 150,000 VND to D1. Take Vinasun (white/red) or Mai Linh (green) taxi downtown. Watch out for copy taxi names/colours. You can ignore the taxi touts outside at the lineup but they are usually pretty helpful.  

Prices will almost never be listed in US$ because it's illegal. The Viets will often take US$ but you will be ripped off on the exchange. So, change some money at the Exim or AgriBank exchange desks just outside the customs/luggage area. Go to the right. First, check the online ForEx rates. It's usually 23,000 VND to the US$.

The Singapore minister of health tells it like it is. It's virtually same information recently issued by a Canadian provincial centre for disease control to dispel bad info in social media.

Singapore minister of health gives safety guidelines to the legislature

Reuters confirms the death of the shooter too. Odd that the above original headline and story did not match.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-shooting-death/thai-mass-shooter-killed-at-shopping-mall-security-sources-idUSKBN203025 

A month later . . . Are the tourist (i.e., Chinese) numbers down now? Was thinking about taking up a month's residence in SR in order to get up to speed on new services and developments, and get a reading on the look and feel of the place since I was last there.

Is Rosy's Guesthouse still operating? I know the original family sold it several years ago. Was a good place to stay with good food. 

Here is the key VN immigration law amendment, among many, passed last November and effective July 1:

Quote

13. Amendments to Clause 1 Article 31 as follows:
“1. A foreigner making entry without having a valid temporary resident card or permanent residence card shall be issued with a temporary residence certificate at the border checkpoint valid within definite period as follows:
a) Period of temporary residence granted shall equal his/her visa validity; in case his/her visa is encoded as DL and valid for more than 30 days, he/she shall be granted temporary residence for 30 days and shall be considered for extension of temporary residence as specified in Article 35 of this Law;

Yup, it appears to say that even if you have a 90-day tourist (DL) visa, you can only stay 30 days and must get out. But you can come back.

Taken as it is, it sure seems like long-term "tourists" are not welcome any more. However, the government is keen on getting rid of "tourists" who, for example, teach English without a work permit. There was another news article that went further:

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/police-profile-foreign-criminals-entering-vietnam-601182.html

All that said, we don't know a lot more than that. Several legal firms have said they expect more "clarifications" and "guidance" before the July 1 effective date.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

As an American you've gotta get an eVISA or an invitation letter before you go.

Here is the link to the Vietnam government e-visa web site:

https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt

All other links that pop up when you search for VN visas are private agencies that will email you an invitation letter.

On 1/22/2020 at 3:08 PM, SteveK said:

If you produced that Roy, please get in touch. I want to employ you.

This hilarious video was made by Eli the Bike Guy, who has a YouTube channel featuring Da Nang. He rides a bicycle and narrates his tours around the city. He's very tuned in to things Vietnamese, and is married to a Viet girl. His vids are very informative. 

Rock on, Nyezhov!

An open mind is a healthy mind.

Best of luck in Siem Reap (yes, part-time) and do report from time to time because, for selfish reasons, I'd like to hear from someone with his head on straight (well, a bit like Pisa maybe but in a good way) and currently on the ground. Been thinking about moving there. 

11 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

The situation of smog and visa is not any better in Cambodia.

The whole country is filled with smog now just as in central and north Thailand.

 

SR is for me a top 3 choice for escaping Thailand, but I'd never checked SR AQI before. Just did. It's not good. Two sources: Air Visual 180 (!!!) and Air-Quality says 152. Must be all the crop burning in northern Thailand and Cambodia. I don't know how accurate the AQIs are, but there you go. 

FYI: The central highlands and coastal region of Vietnam are clean as a whistle. Stay away from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh.

AQI of Da Nang and region

"Makara" also means January in Khmer. And there's a district in Phnom Penh called 7 January or 7 Makara. 

I once sent a standard letter via EMS service from Banglamung, Thailand to Toronto. It was out of Thailand in something like 36-48 hours. Clearing Canada customs and arriving at a government department took weeks. Tracking was working. About 7-10 days to clear customs and over a  week to get to Toronto and a few more days to be delievered. Absolutely abominable service in Canada. 

I'm just adding to the positive reports here. I know two Thai-American couples very well. The Thai girls absolutely blossomed in the States. Took courses to upgrade their English, learned other skills, run businesses or have a good job, very active in their communities.  They have loosened up a lot, i.e., became American and embraced freedom.

One relationship, I'll admit, I thought would be a disaster. No, not a bar girl! I'm happy to report I was dead wrong. She emails me once in a while. So, coming to Thailand this winter?, I ask. Doesn't want to. The other couple, nope, not coming back this time.  In conversations with them, they don't want to talk about their families and frankly, avoid the visits as much as they dare. 

In both cases, the American husbands, long-time friends of mine, are cool about not visiting Thailand. But they do travel elsewhere, such as Europe and South America. 

OP, a good topic. 

6 hours ago, Rimmer said:

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/240-vietnam-forum/

Right. I committed a wording kerfuffle. I meant to say that within Vietnam, there is nothing resembling Thaivisa forum  for the whole of Vietnam. 

On 1/11/2020 at 9:16 PM, kinyara said:

 

Is there a Vietnam forum you can recommend ?

Sorry to say but there is nothing like Thai Visa for Vietnam. However, there are FB pages for various VN cities. Some are atrociously combative, e.g. HCMC (I left group years ago). Some are very nice, e.g., Da Nang-Hoi An Expats. It takes a strong Admin to run an FB group. 

Cambodia Expats Online has occasional Vietnam topics but no particular separate sub-forum.

Ho Chi Minh is "only" 102 by the AQICN.org and 93 by AirVisual. Believe it or not, Beijing is in the 40s-50s at various monitoring stations. KL the same as Beijing. Hong Kong in the 80s. Taipei in the 30s to 70s.

So Bangkok is No. 1 again.

Every morning I open my curtains and see the dark cloak of dirty air over what ought to be a rather spectacular view of the city. I am impatiently looking forward to leaving this all behind in the spring. 

Sad to report that Reuters says death toll is now 36. It's hard to look at the photos of the concrete floors literally collapsed one upon the other. Shockingly poor construction practices.

https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1Z401D