Is worth moving to live vietnam

Good to read what I want to say too.

Ciambella wrote:

@THIGV, Matt, et alii --  i must be the only person who gained weight anytime I stayed in VN for longer than a month.  I've never gained more than 7 or 8 lbs, but on my body frame, 4kg of unwanted baggage is still a lot to carry.

For almost 20 years now, our diet has always been healthy no matter where we lived -- plenty of fruits and a lot of vegetables, minimal amount of meat with fat removed, and very little salt.  In addition, no sugar for me because I simply do not care for sweets, and no more alcoholic drink for me because my two favourite single malts are not available in VN.  We also walk a lot and work out almost daily, but while spouse maintains his weight, I just get thicker, Vietnamese cuisine notwithstanding.

Gaining weight simply means you burn less calories than you absorb every day. It's a very simple math really, but difficult to control! When I'm in Vietnam I usually *gain* weight because I love cheap bakery and love drinking beers with friends, which seems to be a favourite local hobby over there :-) Also, I tend to use a motorbike more and walk less... but yeah as we get older we burn less and less calories so it sometimes requires extra efforts to keep our weight.

Do you have money? what exactly do you want to do there?     I would go visit Vietnamese  restaurants if around you ask questions  what is the romance with Vietnam?   Why do the Vietnamese want to come to U.S.A. ? and yourself vise versa... ????  go to a tourist office?
Fred Wright.

Above posts mention weight gain and yes if your body is adapted to storing fat unlike the gifted thinnies... It may call for a diet adjustment.  Aged 37 and  working online full time means a less active life for myself. My gf also. After our 3 month holiday back to Oz I threw on 10kg while my gf was lucky to only add a few.  Now back here I've switched back to internment fasting/warrior diet. Half hour exercise a day plus occasional activity like swimming,  bicycle ride,  walking etc has already  encouraged a 5kg weight loss first month..  With anywhere between 15 to  30 beers a week!! Food may appear healthy here but being as cheap as it is you may find it hard to lose anything and maybe gain due to eating larger volumes 3 to 5+ times per day. Eating mainly one time a day at the end is easy... You can eat a few portions of fruit,  drink black coffee to suppress appetite,  additionaly the hot weather helps suppress appetite.  Then come the end of the day feast and drink to your hearts content.  Works for me 👍😊

15 year old McAllan Fine Oak seems abundant at Aeon Mall and it is an excellent sipping whisky. Several other choices are available as well.

70 years old wrote:

15 year old McAllan Fine Oak seems abundant at Aeon Mall and it is an excellent sipping whisky. Several other choices are available as well.

I prefer Lagavulin 16 and Highland Park 18, Mr. E.  Since I couldn't find either one, I'm going for full abstinence. 

(I entrusted a rare bottle of Highland Park 25 into the children's safekeeping in CA.  Didn't  want to pack it in checked luggage and didn't know how to ship it safely here.)

I might have seen some Highland Park at the Aeon Mall. Next time that I am there, I'll check and let you know. Note, the Aeon Mall is a rather high end Japanese owned Mall. I believe that their are now two of them in Saigon.

From my experience living in Japan, the Japanese can be rather picky about the Scotches that they buy. Prices seem similar to America, 12 year old McAllan is about VND 1,600,000 and my 15year old fine oak is VND 3,600,000

That's higher than in the States, Mr. E.  Total Wine sells Mcallan Fine Oak 15 for $100, every day price. 

Thank you for your offer to check out Highland Park for me.  If it's 18 years and less than 3.5 Triệu, I would be very happy to rush to the mall for a bottle.

The mall is pretty close. My wife seems to be in a reasonably stable condition, we have a house boy who can watch her while I'm gone and I haven't been out of the condo in a while. So, after discussion with my wife, she has decided that I should get out of the house for a while. I'll let you know what I find.

Sorry, they do have a good selection, but not your brand. But, if you would like to spend VND 30,000,000.00 they do have a large bottle of "Royal Salute" 38 years old.

For the Lords sake, both of you please try and get your tonsils around a few drams of Caol Ila Islay single malt. It's the neck tie of the Gods!

Dad's side is German and English. Mom's side is Irish and Scottish.

We were able to visit County Donegal for the 400th anniversary of the execution of the last Irish ruler of County Donegal and the last last Irish ruler of any part of Ireland, a distant Daugherty relative.

I hope to make a similar trip to Scotland someday to honor a different branch of the family. Enjoying some Caol Ila Islay single malt sounds like showing proper respect to one's ancestors.

You wont regret it!

eodmatt wrote:

For the Lords sake, both of you please try and get your tonsils around a few drams of Caol Ila Islay single malt. It's the neck tie of the Gods!

At home right now I've got two bottles of Laphroaig and two bottles of Ardberg, both 10 years. Islay darlings!

Stop this torture, please! Anyone who has tried to buy real whisky in Australia, where unfortunately I am, will know that a real whisky is unaffordable unless you are a millionaire.

@Matt: Funny you should mention Caol Ila.   I was introduced to the 12 year old  version during Hogmanay 2004 in Edinburgh.  Surrounded by music and the joy of the celebration, I thought it was a very good drink, so I bought a bottle to take home (Umbria, Italy at the time).  At home, the taste changed on me and became too caramelish. 

I was happy to return to my first love, Lagavulin 16, which was, and still is, IMHO, a "bigger" (in taste) Isley malt.  It's perhaps overwhelmingly peaty, but as I like my drink to make me sit up and listen, I have yet to find anything similar to it.

I "discovered" Highland Park late in life, just 12 years ago in Puerto Rico of all places.  While I was contemplating a Highland Park 18 at one shop, spouse found two dusty bottles of the same, but 25 year version, on a very high and dark shelf of another shop.  A teetotaler who knew nothing about Scotch, he thought he would surprise me with a bottle.  One of the best surprises he has ever given me indeed.

I finished the Highland Park 18 (smokey, peaty, velvety, all around a brilliant drink), but  could not allow myself to open the other one.  No one else in my family drinks anything stronger than wine, so, opening a Highland Park 25 (the price is up to $750 now in the States, though spouse didn't pay that much then in PR) and drinking it alone seems to be a great crime to me.  That reason, and the fear of it being broken or stolen from our checked luggage, were why I left it behind in CA.  If I ever find a safe way to ship, I'll have it with me straight away.

@Ralph:  From what I've seen over the decades, the prices of Scotch have always been lowest in the States.  Except a few very rare occasions (as the time my spouse found the Highland Park 25 in Puerto Rico), not one Duty Free shop in the world can match Total Wine and More (nation-wide chain stores, but family-owned) or the quirky and unbeatable also family-owned Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Orange County, CA.

Even the prices in Scotland are higher than in the US; I wonder why.

@Mr. E. -- http://www.totalwine.com/spirits/scotch … /118969750

My brother used to drink Royal Salute.  For some reason, Vietnamese men only drink Chivas for Scotch (blended? No siree, not for me), Martell and Courvoisier for cognac.  I don't think they ever venture further afield than those names.

@Ciambella, even local prices in the UK are often more expensive than elsewhere because of the British pound, sadly.

I do remember a time in Japan when JW Red was the premier  Scotch and JW Black was considered almost an insult.

As the grocery store at the Aeon Mall has at least a dozen different brands of Scotch for sale including "The McAllan." someone else in Vietnam must be drinking some Scotch other than Chivas. Also note, the customers seem overwhelmingly Vietnamese. I'm almost always the only American/European in that mall.

I should have said "older Vietnamese men", as I was using my brothers and their peers (all of them are between late 70s and mid 80s) as the examples.  I don't know much about the taste of the younger generation Vietnamese; even the youngest of my nieces and nephews is already in his mid 50s.

70 years old wrote:

I do remember a time in Japan when JW Red was the premier  Scotch and JW Black was considered almost an insult.

As the grocery store at the Aeon Mall has at least a dozen different brands of Scotch for sale including "The McAllan." someone else in Vietnam must be drinking some Scotch other than Chivas. Also note, the customers seem overwhelmingly Vietnamese. I'm almost always the only American/European in that mall.

Which is odd because JW Black Lable is the better of the two blends.

Ciambella wrote:

I should have said "older Vietnamese men", as I was using my brothers and their peers (all of them are between late 70s and mid 80s) as the examples.  I don't know much about the taste of the younger generation Vietnamese; even the youngest of my nieces and nephews is already in his mid 50s.

The thing here is that older Vietnamese men are highly susceptible to advertising hype - for example I have had many an argument with Vietnamese men about Heineken beer. They buy it because the adverts tell them that it is "higher quality", in fact it's just a normal alcoholic, fizzy malt and hops drink, which in Europe, where it was originally brewed, is no better than any other bier, beer, bia, pivo etc.

In UK the Belgians successfully branded Stella Artoi as a "premium lager" which is "reasuringly expensive". In fact I used to quaff it when passing through Belgium en route between Germany and UK when I was a young soldier. It was the cheapest you could buy in those days and, to me, it smelled somewhat of cat pee (and it still does).
Blended whisky is ok and some are useful for mixing. Chivas is not bad, a pleasant blend. Some, like Bells, Cutty Sark etc are. .... Well, a bit rough to be honest.

I used to drink Laphroag, but my taste mellowed over the years and I began to find it too strongly phenolic - like TCP mouthwash.

Then I found Caol Ila. Still a peaty Islay malt, but more subtle than Laphroag.

Then there's the Speyside malts....

I lived in Scotland some years ago, in the wilds of Ardnamurchan. You needed a good malt whisky there in the winter especially.

At the time that I was in Japan 1972-1974, JW Red was a status symbol left over from the American occupation when a Lot of American Soldiers drank JW Red. JW Black just didn't have the wide spread exposer to the Japanese population. Style vs quality.

These days my beer of choice is Sapporo, whose Brewery I was able to tour while stationed in Japan. Sapporo is definitely available in the (Japanese)Aeon Mall or at least was yesterday in the grocery store.

I quite like Sapporo and it is widely available in Saigon, mainly in restaurants. But I honestly think that Saigon Do is a good choice here. Every now and then you get a slight after taste of the hops, which I love.

Partly because it is good beer and partly to remember old friends like Hawaii born Yoshi who happened to be visiting his Grandfather back in Japan on Pearl Harbor Day.

WillyBaldy wrote:

@Ciambella, even local prices in the UK are often more expensive than elsewhere because of the British pound, sadly.

And of course because of tax and duty!

After Mr. E. mentioned the Japanese Mall, I wonder whether buying Scotch from duty free in Japanese airports would be a good idea financially.

We're in Stockholm yesterday and today, and Caol Ila 12 at Arlanda Aiport is 595 SEK/$72, which is very good in an outrageously expensive country (my dinner salad was 185 SEK/$23.)

I've always enjoyed is walking, something that is rather unpleasant in much of Saigon. The thing that I absolutely love about the Aeon Mall is that it is a very pleasant walk with good sidewalks etc, from the apartment.

I do have someone looking at the jeep and hopefully the jeep will sell soon. There just isn't anywhere that I need to drive.

Just opened a can of Dole chopped mixed fruit from the mall. It really tasted good. Bac was in Heaven.

ralphnhatrang wrote:

Stop this torture, please! Anyone who has tried to buy real whisky in Australia, where unfortunately I am, will know that a real whisky is unaffordable unless you are a millionaire.

Have you tried the Rob Roy hotel in the city, they used to have a large selection of scotch whiskey.

Colin, Thanks for the tip. No matter how good their whisky is, the Oz government charges way too much tax for good whisky to be affordable.

When I  turned 21  eons ago, I really had no one or an idea as to what being 21 was, so I went out bought a nice bottle of Teachers, took it to work hidden in my raincoat, so I could celebrate with the boys at work, I was in the cloakroom, the only good friend I saw there was an older short  Scotsman, I asked him if he wanted a drink? Oh boy his eyes lit up, must have quaffed half the bottle. I am in the states now, i cannot find teachers whiskey here.
here's   a whiskey joke....

Two Irishmen standing over the grave of an old friend.
Paddy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of  Irish  whisky.
Paddy's friend looks at him and says,
    What are you doing Paddy?
    Paddy begins to open the bottle and said.
       I am going to pour it over his grave.
          His friend said , well do you mind if I pass it through my kidneys first?  lol.

70 years old wrote:

I've always enjoyed is walking, something that is rather unpleasant in much of Saigon. The thing that I absolutely love about the Aeon Mall is that it is a very pleasant walk with good sidewalks etc, from the apartment.

I do have someone looking at the jeep and hopefully the jeep will sell soon. There just isn't anywhere that I need to drive.

Just opened a can of Dole chopped mixed fruit from the mall. It really tasted good. Bac was in Heaven.

We live in a compound which is very pleasant, however there are only 14  streets, which i pound every morning for exercise. There are no footpaths outside, so if we want to go anywhere its motorbike or taxi. Im just about to set off for my morning walk - same old streets.

Don't know where you are in the US,  Joseph, but Teachers is available in all Total Wine and More, BevMo, and even Costco.   Very inexpensive too, only $20 or so.

Oh, just saw that you're in TX.  Total Wine and More have many locations in your state.