Vietnam Here I come

[GregF]

Well After over a year of waiting, in two day I will finally be off to Vietnam to meet my Sweety. I will be keeping a log during my trip and will post a trip report when I get back. But to start with I thought I would introduce my self for those of you who do not know me.
   I am 29 years old, never married with no kids. I spent 8 years as an Merchant mariner and have traveled through most of the pacific and a good portion of the world. I love traveling and have always loved the people and cultures of Asia. Two years ago I grew tired of always being on the go and decided to settle down and find a shore side job. I found a good job with a large ship building company in Connecticut and moved there.
   I chose to put an profile on one of the large Internet dating sites because I was new to the area and was not having much luck meeting people. I was only looking to meet people in the area and was not really looking for a serious relationship. I meet a couple of nice people but none that where really my type. Then on day I got a letter from a girl in Vietnam saying she was an English student and was looking for a pen pal to help her practice her English skills, and would I please talk with her. I was not interested in a long distance relationship at the time so I almost did not bother writing to her. But there was something about her letter that for some strange reason caught my attention. I decided to write to her not expecting anything from it. Well we went from on letter a week, to one letter a day, to chatting everyday and calling once a week. And now I am finally on my way to see her.
   Trang is one of the most amazing women I have ever meet. She is beautiful, loving, sweet and intelligent. She is everything I want and if all goes well on this trip, I will be starting the process to bring her here as my Fencee as soon as I return. Well if anyone out there is interested in the details of my trip, let me know and I will post them in 3 weeks when I return.
Greg F

[Benh]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

Hi Greg,

It will be good to read your trip report.
I myself have just returned from a 4 week trip to Vietnam to meet my now fiancé, it was a great trip spending most of my time in Saigon with Hoang Anh and the week of Tet in my fiancés home town of Vinh Long, as well as Dalat and Nha Trang.  

I got on very well with Hoang Anh’s family, her mother who does not speak English was teaching me Vietnamese, and I was drinking with her father, uncles and cousins to celebrate Tet,

The thing that stood out the most about Hoang Anh and the Vietnamese people in general is their devotion to family, which I think is missing a little in western life.

We are now about to start the long process of applying for Hoang Anh’s Australian fiancé visa. The website for Australian Embassy in Vietnam say they aim to complete the entire process within 6 months, which is not long compared to previous report of 9-12 months that I had heard.

Enjoy the food it is cheap and great

I look forward to your report. Best of luck

Regards

Ben

[Windmill Boy]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

GregF

Great to hear about  your upcoming adventure.  I'm doing the China thing myself for the first time in about a couple of weeks myself.  Looking forward to hearing about your  experiences  with Trang and Vietnam  especially with your  Merchant Marine background  having traveled in Asia before.

Have a good  and safe trip !

Windy

[madmal]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

for your trip report.
I love to hear other peoples experiences of Vietnam.
Tell us more about Trang before you go.  Where does she live? Will you be able to travel around with her?
Is she meeting you off the plane? Where are you flying in to?
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I'm excited on your behalf. I'll never forget arriving in Vietnam the first time. Me, my backpack, my bike and 4 weeks to kill.

Enjoy

Mal

[GregF]

... in response to I'll be waiting.., posted by madmal on Jan 30, 2004

Hello Mal,
  Thank you for your intrest. Trang is origonaly from Hia Phong but is now living in Hanoi wail going to University. I will be flying to Hanoi where she will meet me at the airport. We will stay in Hanoi for 2 days and then will be taking the train to the south. We are planning to stop in Hue and Hoahn for a few days each. Then we will continue by train to Sigon. We will stay in Sigon for a week and then will fly to Hia Phong where we will spend the rest of my stay with here family. I am very excited because I am an avid photographer and will be taking alot of pictures durring my trip. Well I will include alot more info in my trip report when I return.
Untill then
gregF

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

I spent some time in Vietnam when in the Army in 1963.  Mostly all tbe women were beautiful, half french and Chinese.  Wow most were knockouts and very smart there are a few hurdles to cross like religion and culture but I am sure you already took care of that chatting with each other.  What I didn't like about situations like that was untill you really meet face to face you really don't know if the chemicals are right.  
WHAT IF?
What if, like what happened to me I found that that was not the one for me?   What now?   I was 9000 miles from home and got disappointed.  It is nice to have a backup plan if things don't go right.  If that happens it could be the most embarassing moment of your life.  But you could be lucky and get it on the first shot.
From your story it sounds like she found you!!
Would you have fealt more comfortable if you found her?  I too had to decide which country to look.
When I finally decided to look for a wife and being in South East Asia for almost 20 years I had a list of about 100 women that I chatted with who were interested in me.  I screened it down to 10 of what I thought was the best prospects and out of the 10 there was the favorite.  Then I traveled to meet my sweety the favorite one.  But just in case it didn't work out had some backup plans.  Well the favorite didn't work out and neither did the other 9 later.  I was introduced to a nice gale in someone's house later and we hit it off.  She later became my wife, was all that work for nothing?
Well you got a plan and your happy so go for it, I hope she is the one.  Do you have a back up plan? I would be very interested in your trip when you return for sure.  Oh, you can email from there too try it when you have time.
Later
Peter Lee

[GregF]

... in response to Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by Peter Lee on Jan 29, 2004

Hi Peter,
 Thank you for your concern but I do have a back up plan. It is to go have a good Vacation with a girl I know I am atleast friends with and see what happens. If I still feel as strongly about her when we meet as I do now, That is wounderful. but if not then I am going to have a wounderful vacation traveling in a place i have never been. I am single now and perfectly happy and if I am still single when I return I will be happy with that too.
We will see what Fait has in store for me.
GregF

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Re: Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 30, 2004

I like your attitude I know you will have a great time.  I just wanted to put in stuff for you to chew on rather then just say have a good trip.

[Stephen]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

asdf

[Jimbo]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

Hi Greg,

Good luck and have a great trip.  I'd love to see your trip report.  Here's hoping yours will be another internet success story!
Jim

[Humabdos]

... in response to Vietnam Here I come, posted by GregF on Jan 29, 2004

Good luck Greg!
I've always wanted to visit Vietnam. I have some good Vietnamese friends here in Oregon. I have noticed here in the Vietnamese community few if any of there daughters marry whites they almost always stick together. They are very high achievers and have far more ambition and drive than 90% of most average Joe's. I'm wondering how well you will be received in the established Vietnamese community.

I would avoid eating chicken with the bird flu going around. I wonder if the have a shot for that flu?
Hum

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by Humabdos on Jan 29, 2004

You can't get the flu from eating chicken meat - have to get it from a human who has it. A very few humans can get it from live chickens, so the best advice is not letting a chicken sneeze on you.

- Jeff

[Humabdos]

... in response to Re: Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by Jeff S on Jan 30, 2004

I guess if I could see it alive and make sure the bird could still hop around I would eat it. I sure as hell don't want to eat downer cows ether but I'm sure I have.:-P From what I hear it's easy to find live stuff in any market place in Nam. Live Snake eye soup anyone?
Hum

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by Humabdos on Jan 30, 2004

.

[madmal]

... in response to Re: Vietnam Here I come, posted by Humabdos on Jan 29, 2004

Though the flu shot 2 years ago (in Australia) had an H5N1 strain in it. Unfortunately I didn't get it then.
The flu shot for this year (in Australia) will have a similar strain in it. But it won't be available until March or April.

Mal