wow.. I am amazed by the outburst of cynicism and resentment at the mere mention of people opening Blue Label in KTV166. Well, from what I have heard from friends and even from Sgsnipe too, it is quite common to see the newly rich locals and Vietkieu splurging big time at such places. and I have personally know a few VietKieus who are successful businessmen in their own countries. why the sudden jump to conclusion about other people source of cash? and speaking of spending money to impress girls, don;t we all do that at one time or the other? and it actually works for one of the guy. I bumped into one of them in CLUB 27 a few days later and he had the girl who sat with him in KTV in tow....
anyway, back to my FRs..
MGM - The place is as loud and flashy as ever but I noticed there is a noticeable drop in patrons. It was a Friday night and the place should be packed like Volcano but instead, I can easily find strategic spot to sit at the Cafe downstairs and wide spaces to move around in the Disco at the top. In the disco, the typical group of locals huddling around tables sipping VSOP and chewing on fruits with minimal dancing action. The PR and waitresses look more Chinese than Vietnamese and most of them look out-of-shaped and too fleshy to be of interest. Nothing like their counterparts in CLUB 27. The Lounge at the Third Place, which plays RnB and Pop music, is a much more relaxing place for single or smaller group of clubbers to hang out and have a drink or two. The PR girls even look more radiant and attractive, possibly due to the lower amount of stress as they not need to handle as many patrons as their colleagues in the Disco. Big group of youngsters occupied a few tables in the centre with a big cake on one of them. Birthday celebration. Ordinary looking people doing ordinary partying. Feel just like home. We adjourned to the Cafe area at around 11pm and it is almost empty by then.
cLUB - Same concept, same setup and same music as the Volcano Disco, MGM Disco etc. Recalled seeing tables of gorgeous girl-only clubbers in this joint in my previous trip and decided to check out the place with my friend. Half of the place is empty. Would have hang out and party with a bottle but didn't see anything that even comparable to the girls we saw in KTV and left after an hour.
PALACE - Pronounced "Pa las" by Vietnamese. Any other pronunciation will draw a blank stare from the taxi or mototuk drivers. Futuristic decor that look it was inspired by the movie BLADE RUNNER. Playing the same loud, thumping, soulless techno that the local elites seem to enjoy. This is like cLUB with a more stylish decor. We are bored after having two beers.
DONG KHINH massage - SgSnipe told me there are higher percentage of girls who can speak Cantonese or Mandarin in this massage and decide to try our luck picking up girls here with my friend. I befriended one who went out with me a few times. Lots of fun. My friend's girl didn't even offer him a handjob and asked for 300,000 dong tips. I thought all the girls in such Vietnam massage joint offer handjob by default. what is happening? and my friend is not smelly or fat and is rather good-looking to boot. strange!
VUNG TAU
Clean seaside, quiet environment, good, fresh seafood and a welcome change of pace from the mad traffic and noisy crowd in Saigon. It was only 1 hour 45 minutes away by hydrofoil ferry and cost 120,000 dong. Rented a motorbike for 100,000 dong (yes, I know, we got ripped off) and the person who rented us the bike showed us a few places where we can get girls to go overnight. It turned out that most of the massage joints in Vung Tau, except for the few in major hotels, do offer FJ in-house. Massage is 100,000 dong, HJ 200,000, FJ 500,000. Girl refuse to negotiate although I believe the locals pay lower. My friend got his serviced while I took the girl number as she said she is willing to go to my hotel after work but got too drunk at night to follow up.
Found a local joint which offer girls for ST500,000 and LT800,000. Not sure if it is convenient to disclose the name here but apparently most of the local taxi drivers know the place and we visited the place both in the afternoon and at night and see many taxi bringing locals to the joint. Quality of girls are similar to those in Cambodia KTVs, right down to the price LT800,000 = USD50. I work in Cambodia and wanted something special and superior and decided against taking any.
Dinner at a seafood restaurant and then it is time to check out the local pub scene. Many Western-style pubs that work on the voluntary ladies-drink system and the girls in them actually look much much better than the girls you see in similar kwailo pubs and bars along Hai Ba Trung in Saigon. What a surprise!!! But none of them can be barfined and most of the attractive ones only chat and play pools with you. Among the bar we have visited, the one with the most attractive girls is HOT GOSSIP.
VUNG TAU is a very laidback and peaceful resort town and I find things are much more easygoing and lenient than in Saigon. I would not be surprised if the KTV in Vung Tau is wilder and the girls more playful and more willing to go overnight than those in Saigon. For those of you going there soon, please do check the local KTV out and report back. We didn't have the chance as we only spend one night there, regrettably.
We spent the second day visiting the tourist attractions in the early morning eg Giant Jesus statue, the backbeach, eating crabs and drinking beer under beach umbrella. At 2.30pm, we took the ferry back to Saigon.
MY TWO SEN
Vietnam is definitely not a suitable place for people looking for wild nightlife, endless partying with gorgeous girls and instant sex services. Vietnam is more suited to people who can spend more than a few months in the country befriending the girls, mixing with locals and enjoying the food. The girls are pretty and fair and some has the Eurasian features we Chinese find so irresistible but they don't have the same wild partying spirit as the Thai and Malays. Heck, most of them don't even dance in disco.
Ho Chi Minh is not Bangkok and men who come here for vacation should adjust their expectation accordingly.
