WhyNa:
A lot of people have been sending me mails, asking me how to come here. There are several packages available...

You can come here on a 3 months visa

You can come on a 3 months visa, job offer, flight ticket.

You can come on a football visa, flight ticket, airport pickup and accommodation

You can come on a one year visa, 2 years work permit, TEFL, flight tickets, airport pickup and 2 nights accommodation.

They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Just be wise and careful to avoid stories that make water come out of the eye. I can't overemphasize this!

Disclaimer: I don't work with anyone here and nobody here helped me get the visa or anything to avoid anyone mailing you with or in my name. Biko.

sosowater:

Nice. Please which of these packages did you choose?

WhyNa:


One year visa. It's the best

Soknown:

Thank you for the updates, can we have more when you have time to write. Apart from learning to ride a bike and learning their language, is there any other thing to do while waiting for school resumption ?.
Is there any historical sites in Hanoi, I know Asians love preserving their historical sites.
What about their healthcare ?. Your contract of employment, does it cover your health needs and do you pay for health insurance ?
On a lighter note, let me ask you, what I should have asked Google, do they have a monolithic culture and language.
Thank you.

WhyNa:


Yes there are lots of historical sites here. I'm not really into those things but maybe one of these days, I'll visit some of them. Vietnam is also known for it's tourist centers so there's always always an influx of westerners here on a daily. many have decided to stay back, others spend a couple of days or weeks. The Tay Ho area is their abode. Just like idi-araba in lagos or Ama awusa in owerri.

There are lots of things to do and learn here. It all depends on what interests you

I haven't had a reason to visit the hospital and I pray I don't anytime soon. Yes most schools have health insurance as one of the benefiits. Just ask your employer or read the contract.

Yes. to the best of my knowledge, they have a monolithic culture and language. It may be too soon to deduce this anyway but I'll say yes. religion wise, I think there's about 3.

Extra: They love massages here. There is a massage palour on almost every corner...even those that come with happy endings

WhyNa:


Yes there are lots of historical sites here. I'm not really into those things but maybe one of these days, I'll visit some of them. Vietnam is also known for it's tourist centers so there's always always an influx of westerners here on a daily. many have decided to stay back, others spend a couple of days or weeks. The Tay Ho area is their abode. Just like idi-araba in lagos or Ama awusa in owerri.

There are lots of things to do and learn here. It all depends on what interests you

I haven't had a reason to visit the hospital and I pray I don't anytime soon. Yes most schools have health insurance as one of the benefiits. Just ask your employer or read the contract.

Yes. to the best of my knowledge, they have a monolithic culture and language. It may be too soon to deduce this anyway but I'll say yes. religion wise, I think there's about 3.

Extra: They love massages here. There is a massage palour on almost every corner...even those that come with happy endings

WhyNa:


Yes there are lots of historical sites here. I'm not really into those things but maybe one of these days, I'll visit some of them. Vietnam is also known for it's tourist centers so there's always always an influx of westerners here on a daily. many have decided to stay back, others spend a couple of days or weeks. The Tay Ho area is their abode. Just like idi-araba in lagos or Ama awusa in owerri.

There are lots of things to do and learn here. It all depends on what interests you

I haven't had a reason to visit the hospital and I pray I don't anytime soon. Yes most schools have health insurance as one of the benefiits. Just ask your employer or read the contract.

Yes. to the best of my knowledge, they have a monolithic culture and language. It may be too soon to deduce this anyway but I'll say yes. religion wise, I think there's about 3.

Extra: They love massages here. There is a massage palour on almost every corner...even those that come with happy endings

Hadampson:



My choice

Subomi007
Iamboladee
AngelicBeing

Tyteeso:


Can say categorically 90% of spa is with happy ending...and for guys that love to do the do...in Vietnam na guys go tire cos they don't see sex as sin..and as Foreigner u are a celebrity..u just enter a bus and say "xin chao" meaning hello.. u are already going out with 2 or 3 ladies..just go along with ur fone Google translator

Tyteeso:


Can say categorically 90% of spa is with happy ending...and for guys that love to do the do...in Vietnam na guys go tire cos they don't see sex as sin..and as Foreigner u are a celebrity..u just enter a bus and say "xin chao" meaning hello.. u are already going out with 2 or 3 ladies..just go along with ur fone Google translator

Hadampson:



My choice

Subomi007
Iamboladee
AngelicBeing

Linsigne:
@Whyna pls did ur redmi phone work there wit there service provider or u got a new phone

WhyNa:


Not really. Ho Chi Minh is like the Lagos of Vietnam and Hanoi is like the Abuja of Vietnam

WhyNa:
All the pictures I posted had Redmi Note 8 watermark

Linsigne:
lolz. Im asking if it their sim card works on ur phone

WhyNa:

Yes it does

Hadampson:



My choice

Subomi007
Iamboladee
AngelicBeing

WhyNa:
Sometime in 2019, I started nursing the idea of teaching English abroad.

I did a lot of research, lost a lot of sleep, penciled down and weighed my options. I was also lucky to meet a senior bro who towed the same line and is doing well. God bless him real good.

The first thing I found out was I was going to need an English certificate, preferably CELTA which was going to be a one month intensive course.

Only problem was....it would cost a fortune

WhyNa:
Some more updates.....

Internet is free here. Your room comes with internet. When you're in a public place, say a gym or restaurant, you can request for wifi password. Some write it and paste on the wall. I no longer download movies, I just watch online and there's no interuption.

I've said it before that things are cheap here. Was going to upload some pictures with prices but some people deem it fit to ban me anyhow ontop something I'm not being paid for. One year gym subsription is as low as 28k naira. A very big fish, those very big ones they sell specially in lagos is just about 700 naira here. 10 big eggs is about 300 naira. Things are sold per kg here. Remember to price Lagos style. If the price be like say e too much, then it's too much. Walk away to the next store and sure enough it would be cheaper. There are the honest ones who tell you straight up the price. Some would try to rip you off especially those mamas.

Things are cheaper in the market than the supermarket so try to buy things from the market. Some things are cheaper in the supermarket plus there's no language barrier and prices are fixed and you have a variety of options.

Ask ask ask for help when you are in malls and need to buy a product but don't know the section or can't read the labels. Or when you need to find out something. Some of them speak little English. I always start with "Do you speak English" They are always willing to help. If you don't find one who can speak English, use google tranlate. They will willingly type back and assist you

Their food is really nice. Never say never, try it out and you'll find out that 95% of the time, you'll enjoy it. You could spend a month trying out different types of food here. At least for the next one week after you arrive here, you'll be eating out so get ready to try new dishes and use chopsticks. I got the hang of it on the 3rd day. Now I have one fork and 4 chopsticks

There are lots of street food sellers here and they are cheaper and tastier too. there's also KFC and the likes if you don't want to go local

Pork is their main protein here but there's also beef which is a little expensive. But there's fish which I already told you guys is cheap and there's chicken.

Fruiits are in abundance here and different types too. I've counted up to 10 and they don't seem to be seasonal. They also have lots of vegetables here.

Someone asked if Hanoi is developed. Yes Hanoi is developed. It's the Capital city. So is Ho Chi Minh, Da nang (This is the beach city), Hai Phong, Lao Cai. Ha long, These are the ones I can say for now.

Houses come fully furnished here too. The degree of the furnishing sometimes determine how expensive. Like does it have a washing machin, TV, rice cooker, pots and plates, etc.

If you're the type that doesn't eat sticky rice, you might have a little problem here as that's the way their rice is. Still looking for the ones they said they export to Naija. The one I currently use isn't too bad. It just needs to be cooked on low heaat with little water.

Just like their rice, their noodle takes just 1 or 2 minutes to cook if not, akamu straight up! Like you'll stand there and rice don done. Not the Naija one you cook forever.

Their detergent/liquid soap is foamy. Thank God I used some to wash my undies and socks before using it in the washing machine. I for don resemble Mr. Bean with lots of foam coming out of the washing machine and me looking confused

SN: Learning to ride a bike is kinda difficult. I'm finding it hard keeping my balance. I tend to tilt to one side and feel like the bike is about to fall. Any ideas/advice?