In Vietnam, i used this:
This is a guide on how to change your DNS so it will go around the Facebook blocking.
This should work for other countries that block Facebook as well.
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Some countries will block facebook through the Internet Service Provides.
Ok, if you haven't meet up with someone at a coffee shop who can't speak one word of English, and you can't speak 1 one word of her/his language, then you gotta try it.
In my case, I did it here in Vietnam, and boy was it a Challenge!!
I only lasted 20mins before she went home due to Boredom, ha!
Also, I caught up with Korbin, the American Traveler, and decided that we both go and visit the Tunnels! I heard, you can fire a mounted AK47, and shoot it for FUN!
I Reckon i will get a bruised shoulder, and definitely this is in my to do list.
I changed hotel, now Im staying at the Asian Ruby 2, which is a high end 2 star hotel cost about $35 AUD for the deluxe room a night, and its brand new, very clean.
Anyway, i went out and looked around, found a place called, PHU 2000, apparently the Bill Clinton ate there in 2000. They have photos and everything.
Meet a traveling american called Korbin. He said, he's been traveling around Thailand, and Vietnam is his last stop. We swapped number and decided to meet up for some bar hopping the next night, so stay tuned!
That night, i went out to checkout the salsa scene, had some fantastic dancers. Meet and American/Viet called Liz, she apparently a movie producer, she said she is doing a film about hip hop in Vietnam. Im like, cool, got her number, i will try to catch up with her again, maybe get on the set! haha.
More later i promise!
I want to share some ideas about spending money in Saigon.
Basically, Saigon can be expensive, just as expensive as Australia if you don't know what you're doing. For example, getting a haircut plus color can cost you $50 AUD or eating at place that looks cleanish, can cost you $10 per meal.
I don't believe local people will pay that much, only tourists.
Anyway, so put things in perspective, go to the nearest SUPERMARKET, and checkout the prices.
for example:
Bottle of water cost: 50c AUD
Shaving blade with refills: 2 AUD
Taxi ride from 1 end to another end: 4 AUD
Anyway, i need more information, but in conclusion, SAIGON is expensive, don't think its not. But you can save money if you know where to find the good deals.
Also, as a tourist, people expect to to be TIPPED, they expect something like 100k VND per person (6 AUD). This applies service and food in the city. So expect it.
As soon as i left my hotel, i was approach by many, many viet guys on motorbikes (Bikermen), offering to take me to massage, women, drinks... etc especially, if you are walking by yourself. Some of them don't even have bikes.
You can make your own judgments, but here is how it works (I think):
They try to make friends with you, and offer ride to where ever you want to go around the city. They get commission for taking you to a place for you to spend money. They can take you around the city whole day, and even wait for you. But at the end of the day, they ask you for $50 US for the day, regardless of what you have negotiated in the beginning.
My view is that, they are essentially ripping you off before you are a foreigner. I wouldn't do any deals with them, because their sole purpose is to get as much money from you as possible. They can succeed because they are good at making you trust them.
They only deal i will do with them are short trips, for example: Get from A to B for 30 VND (2 AUD), take it or leave it. But then again, it takes effort for you because they will try to sell you more things etc.
I rather take a Legitimate taxi with a meter. less questions, less hassle.
In my case, i did hire one of these guys for a day because i negotiated with him 200k (14 AUD) for the day. But, of course, at the end of the day, he wanted more, and i said PISS OFF (in the nicest possible way), trust me, its not worth the emotional effort.
After I finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (from delays in getting stuck in Darwin for a 24 hours), I find myself overwhelmed.
I'm staying at a Hotel in District one (The tourist area) called Thang Long Hotel. My room is a little small, but everything else is good, for example the FREE Wireless Internet. It only cost my $21 a night through www.agoda.com
From the airport, i was told by numerous travel blogs that the Taxes can rip you off, well, its not so bad.
Negotiate a price first. In my case, I approached an taxi agent inside the airport (The are middlemen), they Quote me 190k VND, I said 150k VND, they said OK.
So yeah, agent will try to rip you off. Luckly, i asked the Currency Exchange person on the Taxi price to disctrict 1 before i approached the Taxi Agent.
Then the agent took me to a VINASUN taxi (Said to be the Most reputable), i was on my way. Note that, there is a airport tax for the TAXIs in which you have to pay, make sure you ask them about this charge before you make the deal with the agent.
I didn't pay the taxi, so be firm about it and say that is NOT PART of the DEAL.
It was Monday 31 of may, and i just arrived in Darwin from Melbourne, I'm in transit, about to get my boarding pass to my Jetstar flight to Vietnam.
When I handed my passport to the check in counter, the Jetstar girl looked at me funny and said, "is this the only Vietnam visa you have?"
I looked very surprised and said yes, but asked why?
"Well, your VISA is from 1 June to 1st of July, today is 31st of May, I can't let you board the flight to Vietnam..."
In my mind, i was like Ohh... F*(&#!
"...oh really... what are my options??"
"well, you can change your flight until tomorrow, same time?"
Great, so here i am stuck in Darwin for like 24 hours at the airport! what the hell am i suppose to do? sleep in the terminal chairs??
Had chat with a friend of mine, over a nice bear, and towards the end of the meeting, he said to me:
"I gotta tell you about this chic I am after. I've been studying with her for while, and I think I really like her. I tried to tell her about my feelings one day by invited her out to come out sailing with me, she declined cause she's busy. But I already know she's busy, I just wanted to give a hint to her that I like her"...
Now, usually, this guy is very successful with women at clubs and bars. and his very direct with women, and it works for him, but this is with girl he just meet.
When he does meet a girl he really likes, the stakes are higher, but ironically, by playing it safe, he probably lowered his chances of success.
So the question is, just because you really like someone, and the stakes are higher, should you change the way you date her compared to your usually aggressive, direct way?
I don't think so...just because you like someone, you shouldn't change the way you pick them up, especially when it works for you.
Only 3 Sleeps to go!
I am really not that excited, not yet. Maybe I will when I land, and arrive at the Night Clubs in Saigon.
Went to the doctor today to check if I needed any vaccinations, The doc recommended one, said it's gonna protect me from getting food poisoning, but it's gonna cost like $80. So i'm like, screw that! I think i'm gonna take my chances.
Unless there is something that's gonna kill me, i don't think i need a vaccine for it.
So check list so far:
Visa (Check)
one-way ticket (Check)
3 nights hotel (Check)
Carry on Baggage (Check)
And that't all folk, I like to keep it simple.
I am planning to google stuff to do when I arrive. I believe its better to plan while on the move, makes it more Spontaneous!
Another great value site I found today is this:
This will make your blog look awesome and its FREE!
This blog is using one of the templates.
I just discovered a website called:
And they offer FREE email marketing service up to 500 subscribers! That is a great deal, everyone who is an internet entrepreneur should check it out!
I just received a call from a close friend, and she told me she was a little stressed out about her application. I told her not to think too much of it because thing too much about it cannot improve her odds of success with the application.
She said maybe it could, because she told me that should COULD be doing something about it.
Maybe so, but the general guideline from what I learnt from Eckhart Tolle's Books, is that your mind can make you a slave.
Your mind can think a lot about the future. It will try to think about all the possibilities of what will happen about the future. Well, this does't really help you except give you more stress.
Alot of people don't know what to do about this stress, they can be a slave to their mind, because their mind is creating this unnecessary stress.
You are the master of your mind, and your mind is only a tool for you. You can stop your mind from creating stress by becoming aware of is desire to think, and think and try to put you in the future.
As you can't do anything about the future, you could feel a little helpless.
As Eckhart has always said, you should become aware of "now" instead of thinking too much about the future.
She said maybe it could, because she told me that should COULD be doing something about it.
Maybe so, but the general guideline from what I learnt from Eckhart Tolle's Books, is that your mind can make you a slave.
Your mind can think a lot about the future. It will try to think about all the possibilities of what will happen about the future. Well, this does't really help you except give you more stress.
Alot of people don't know what to do about this stress, they can be a slave to their mind, because their mind is creating this unnecessary stress.
You are the master of your mind, and your mind is only a tool for you. You can stop your mind from creating stress by becoming aware of is desire to think, and think and try to put you in the future.
As you can't do anything about the future, you could feel a little helpless.
As Eckhart has always said, you should become aware of "now" instead of thinking too much about the future.
About 2 years ago, the internet come up with a new invention called RSS.
Check out this video:
Basically, you use a program called, Google Reader, and then you subscribe to your favourite sites using RSS, and then each time those sites have news, it will be sent to you reader, all in one place, which saves you time!!!
It 3 weeks to my trip to Vietnam and all I have is a VISA and a one way ticket!
But I am missing a few things like:
- Travel Insurance (Which I get for free due to my Gold Master Card!)
- Accommodation
- Itinerary
Hmm... Doesn't seem like that much, but the idea is getting cheap Accommodation for a month. I am defiantly not paying $50 a night at a 3 star hotel, I will try to find an apartment for $400 for the month!
How can I do this? Good question, let me do some research first!
I just came across a great resource, which teaches you how to write great headlines! I am trying to create some Google Adword Text Ads that have a high Click Through Rate (CTR). The resource is called:
"The 100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written".
Here is the link: http://www.abraham.com/articles/100_Greatest_Headlines_Ever_Written.html
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