Trip report April / September 2025 – Da Nang & beyond – Research if an elderly gay retiree can live comfortably in Da Nang, Vietnam

[spoon]

Finally manage to catch up to your very well written reports! Sorry to hear about your breakup. 

Coconut water is traditionally given to people with diarrhea as it is an electrolyte that can be a good replenishment and prevent dehydration.

Yoghurt also can helps with diarrhea. Not sure if mango will helps though hehe.

[PeterRS]

On 5/1/2025 at 9:19 AM, bkkmfj2648 said:

It would be really nice if we had a "Welcome Wagon" equivalent in Pattaya / Jomtien for us gays.

Not quite the same, but there is I believe still an organisation named the Long Yang Club with  branches in various parts of the world. Mostly in Europe and the USA. In Australasia I note the website still lists Manila, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Sydney wiht a branch being planned for Taipei. When formed this was primarily for guys from each country to meet up in a social environment - drinks and eats -  with either visitors who wanted to meet local Asians or foreigners living in the city. They are not hook up joints.

Many years ago I once went with some friends to the Bangkok Club which was then based in Sri Bumphen - very close to the Malaysia hotel. Most people there seemed to know each other quite well but still were very welcoming to us. No idea what it is like now.

The name Longyang refers to a nobleman in the Chinese Zhou Dynasty some 2,500 years ago or thereabouts. A beautiful young man he was the Emperor's favourite. This became an example of the openness of the Zhou courts to homosexuality. Since then, Longyang has frequently been used in Chinese literature as a euphemism for gay men.

https://longyangclub.org/newsite/directory

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 11 in Da Nang – 4 May 2025

 

I wake up to an email from my ex-Thai boyfriend where he shares with me some pictures of his new fruit salad shop in one of the Pattaya food courts.  I was impressed, as it looks like he did a good job in creating his new business.  He asks me to unblock him in , but I am not yet ready for that – as I need more time to heal.

I follow some controversial Thai bloggers in Twitter (X) and they posted some opinion pieces about what is currently happening to the American university professor, Paul Chambers and related Thai military feedback.  I won’t say anymore – but I find this entire issue fascinating as it reveals the inner dark workings about Thai politics.

Around noon, I go over to eat my usual Bò né and salt coffee breakfast.  Today is really hot and since I rented my motorbike for 3 additional days, I try to force myself to ride it in the heat.  So, I decide to ride along the Han riverfront towards the HSBC ATM that has high withdrawal limits (10 million VND instead of 2 million VND).  Unfortunately, as it is a Sunday, the ATM machine is out of physical bank notes – so I instead use nearby EXIMBANK ATM machine and I limited to a 2 million VND withdrawal (around 77 USD).

I drive back to my condo and I visit   for a refreshing cold coconut coffee with a decadent pandan coconut pastry.

As it is still too hot to drive around on the motorbike I return to my room to relax a bit. Around 4:30pm, I venture out on the motorbike to get a good spot for the sunset up on the Son Tra mountainous hillside that overlooks Da Nang.

Unfortunately, mother nature was not cooperating, as there are too many clouds in the sky to capture a breathtaking sunset.  In the upper right you can barely see the Lady Buddha and the nearby Linh Ung Pagoda.

The good news about today’s trip up into the mountains is that Da Nang has returned to its calm normal self (which makes driving a motorbike pleasant and enjoyable) – as the majority of the gazillions of people who were here for the 50^th anniversary of the National Reunification celebration, have by now returned home (i.e., HCMC or HaNoi).  This is when Da Nang is at its best – and I can say the same for Pattaya / Jomtien – because when there is a big holiday weekend, too many people venture out of smog filled Bangkok to come out to the seashore and then Pattaya / Jomtien suffers from all of the Bangkokian traffic that they bring.

As a beautiful sunset was not going to happen I decide to venture up to near the InterContinental resort – where the road ends – as the views from that vantage point are also breathtaking.  The air is fresh with a nice sea breeze sweeps the mountainside.

I head back into the city before the darkness takes over and I pick up 2 Banh Mi baguette sandwiches to enjoy as my dinner later on.

A friend sends me the blasphemous photo that President Donald Trump has posted on his Truth Social account, and so I decide that tonight is the appropriate evening to watch the film, Conclave:

I truly enjoyed this fictional papal thriller with all of its illuminating discoveries along the way.  As the movie progresses you do not know what surprise is lurking yet to be discovered.  And the ending is truly shocking but so apropos.  The acting in my opinion is superb. 

 

Did any of you see this film?  Did you enjoy it as much as I did?

 

 

 

Furthermore, after living in Rome for 12 years, anything about the Vatican I almost always find fascinating.  I moved to Rome in May 1999, and the local gay community was in a state of agitation with the Vatican because of the prior year’s 1998 murder of one of the Swiss Guard, his wife, and the suicide of one of the new Swiss Guard recruits – as it was covered up by the Vatican to hide the fact that these murders were related to a gay love story.  As a newbie to Rome, I was so intrigued by what was going on with the regular gay protests that were occurring near the border with Vatican city on Via della Conciliazione.

The below book, City of Sins, published in 2003, delves into this amazing coverup gay love story.  It is a short easy to read fascinating book.

 

Afterwards, I call it a night.

 

End of day 11 in Da Nang – 4 May 2025

 

[PeterRS]

16 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

they posted some opinion pieces about what is currently happening to the American university professor, Paul Chambers and related Thai military feedback.  I won’t say anymore – but I find this entire issue fascinating as it reveals the inner dark workings about Thai politics.

I think there is no need to be too sensitive about the lèse majesté law - other to avoid any criticism of it. The fact is it exists and we have to be fully aware of it. In Mr. Chambers case, the provincial prosecutors announced at the end of last week they would not prosecute him on the basis of the lèse majesté law. However this decision has also to be approved by the Commissioner of Police in that province. There are other lesser issues involved. Presumably these will be cleared up if the Commissioner of Police accepts the prosecutors' proposal.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/01/asia/thailand-lese-majeste-paul-chambers-intl-hnk

[bkkmfj2648]

2 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

I think there is no need to be too sensitive about the lèse majesté law

What I saw in Twitter (X) was a meme supposedly published by someone from the Thai military and it sent shivers down my spine and I feared for Mr. Chamber's life.  If this meme truly originated from a Thai military official it is quite alarming in my opinion.

[PeterRS]

I'm not on any social media and so did not see the meme you refer to. As for sending shivers down one's spine, I would think someone is playing some sort of game here. The fact is that if found guilty of this law, the punishment is well known - up to 15 years in prison. Like it or not, that is the law. As far as I can recall, though, few foreigners found guilty serve more than a few months in prison. Usually their visas are revoked and they leave the country.

[PeterRS]

4 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

I truly enjoyed this fictional papal thriller with all of its illuminating discoveries along the way.  As the movie progresses you do not know what surprise is lurking yet to be discovered.  And the ending is truly shocking but so apropos.  The acting in my opinion is superb.   

Did any of you see this film?  Did you enjoy it as much as I did?

Watched it and was mesmerised by it. Less by the machinations or indeed the unexpected ending, more as you mention by the acting and its superb direction. I do not think Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci have given better performances in their long careers. And I loved the direction, especially the frequent holding of the camera for slightly longer than usual on questioning faces which only added to the indecision.

In another thread I gave an instance of books about Popes which I found fascinating - both by the Catholic historian John Cornwell. The first is "Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII" which argues that this Pope fatally undermined the Catholic Church with his endorsement of Hitler during his time serving as papal nuncio in Berlin and later as Cardinal Secretary of State . It remains a devastating condemnation of a man who used his influence to become Pope - even though during the war he did some good in sheltering Jews. A second edition mutes Cornwell's criticism, but only slightly.

"A Thief in the Night", surprisingly has two different sub-titles in the version available on amazon - "Life and Death in the Vatican" and "The Mysterious Death of John Paul 1". With the world, especially the Catholic world, ablaze with rumours of skullduggery and even murder, the Vatican finally opened its archives to  Cornwell in an attempt finally to dispel rumours about the sudden death of the smiling Pope only 33 days after his election. Cornwell found a plethora of instances of supreme and unforgivable inefficiency, but none of murder.

I wonder if you have read much if anything about Pope Paul IV? This is part of an article I wrote ssome years ago -

"By the mid-1500s the Catholic Church was an ambitiously corrupt and licentious organization. The Church had wavered massively from its strict, pious, moral, incorrupt principles. With the Renaissance almost at its height and more and more artists celebrating the male nude, one Catholic Pope realised he had some cleaning up to do. The decrepit, rigidly austere, authoritarian Pope Paul IV, tormented by rheumatism who had been elected to office at age 79 decided anything that looked immoral would just have to go. 

"Called by all who encountered him as 'God’s wrath incarnate', Paul was universally loathed. In his book 'Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy' Peter De Rosa, an alumnus of the Gregorian University in Rome, says of Paul IV, 

”'His massive head was shaped like Vesuvius in whose shadow he was born. He, too, erupted without warning, spewing out destruction and death. His shaggy beard and craggy brow gave him a savage look; his cratered eyes, red and blotchy, shone like burning lava. His cracked voice, seldom free from catarrh, rolled and thundered, demanding instant, blind obedience.'

"In what became known as 'The Fig Leaf Campaign' Paul determined that dicks on male nudes in the Vatican were out and plaster fig leaves were in. Not to be too hard (sic) on the male figures, the decision eventually extended to all genitalia, buttocks and woman’s breasts – all the fun bits, as one blogger nicely put it. Thus began the great cover-up . . .

"Thanks to a succession of anti-dick Popes, all male statues in the Vatican and across European Churches were henceforth to become dick-less. In 1982 one Donovan Essen visited a newish building in the Vatican Museums where he was shown a wall of stone penises – over 100 limply hanging as if by a thread! Yet on his return in 2010 to show his wife this curious display, the exhibit had disappeared. When asked about its new location, the attendants professed no knowledge. Clearly this is a mystery which author Dan Brown could profitably take up.

“'The Vatican and its Missing Male Members' might make an intriguing title!"

[floridarob]

Now you've had some days... how is it there compared to Cebu or Jomtien?

I hope you do try Bali at some point, If I was open to living on that side of the world, it would be at the top of my list I think.... just enough of a gay nightlife to enjoy when the need arises but not only a sex destination.... guys that do sex work, but most have other jobs...so if you do hire, the sex is usually enjoyed by both, not just another day at the office for them.

Then there are guys that are looking for a relationship with a foreigner....more genuinely than what I've experienced in Thailand for sure.

[bkkmfj2648]

10 hours ago, floridarob said:

Now you've had some days... how is it there compared to Cebu or Jomtien?

As I am writing this, I am now in Day 13 of my 130 days here in Da Nang - so I can give a preliminary comparative assessment.  I have not yet experienced:

• getting a haircut and getting my hair colored - as this is a frequent activity for me - so I would like this to be in the final comparative analysis - to be fair about the true cost of living here in Da Nang,
• visiting a massage shop - this is still on my list of things to do - as I give a preference to "ordering in" my massages - but I think that this is an important economic detail,
• gogo bar equivalent - in Cebu there were 2 - of which I visited 1 and reported on it, whereas here in Da Nang I am not aware of any gogo bars.  I have already reported on my visit to Q Bar here in Da Nang.  I believe that there are 2 other gay bars here in town for me to visit.

Excluding the above, I can say the following preliminarily:

Condo rental:  I already made a comparison in my Cebu report at: 

So, I can now expand on this above comparison with the reality of Da Nang:

Rentals in the huge 41 floor condo building where I am currently residing go on average for 12,000,000 VND (around $462 USD) per month.

When comparing this with Jomtien and Cebu on a sqm basis, we can see that Da Nang is clearly the winner:

Da Nang = $462 per month / 70 sqm = $6.60 USD per sqm

Cebu = $777.53 per month / 44.6 sqm = $17.43 USD per sqm

Jomtien = $834 per month / 98 sqm = $8.51 USD per sqm

So, Da Nang (from a condo rental point of view) is 22% cheaper than what I pay for back in Jomtien.

A bare bones (in your condo room) massage can be had for 800,000 VND (around $31 USD) - but the true average cost for a good massage (in your condo room) costs between 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 VND (around $39 USD to $46 USD).

Whereas, back in Jomtien I pay between 1,500 baht to 2,000 baht for a good (in your condo) massage (around $46 USD to $61 USD).  

So, Da Nang (from a massage point of view) is 33% cheaper for a massage.

When eating only Vietnam food versus only Thai food - my comparator is my daily Da Nang breakfast costs me 80.000 VND (Bo Ne + salt coffee) = around $3.09 and in Jomtien a similar breakfast, "Boss Breakfast" + cappucino, costs me 405 baht = around $12.30 --> again, Da Nang is the cost winner, at 4 times less than what I would pay for the same equivalent back in Jomtien.

From the beach point of view, Da Nang's beach wins over Jomtien's BIG time, because:

• the seawater is much cleaner,
• the beach promenade is awesome and landscaped in a beautiful daily manner,
• the zones where you can rent a lounge to lay out on the beach are intentionally not crowded and the loungers that you lay on have thick mattresses and are luxurious,
• the restaurants and bar cafes are situated directly on the beach sand in an esthetically appealing manner.

So, Da Nang from an economic and beauty point of view is a clear winner over Jomtien.

Additionally, renting a motorbike and having access to the nearby mountains and nature - and the ease of only 15 minutes you are out of the city is truly very appealing.  Also, I feel safer when I drive my motorbike here (even though the traffic can be more intense - because they fear to exceed the 40kmh speed limit) than when I drive my motorbike back in Pattaya - because the Thais just drive in a very crazy hi-speed reckless manner.

 

However, when it comes to integrating with the locals - Jomtien is still the clear winner.  Because Pattaya and Jomtien have so many gay venues; Boyztown, Jomtien Complex (aka Supertown), and the Dongtan gay beach - it is very easy to have gay contact and have gay entertainment.

Unfortunately, here in Da Nang, it is quite difficult to make gay friends and to have the luxury to meet a gay (even if you pay him) to accompany you out for a night out.  I sense that the local Vietnamese guys that I have had contact with in my 12 days here - they would not be open to walking around the city together or to go to bars and restaurants.

Even when I visited the Q Bar here in Da Nang - the few Vietnamese customers were sitting together and all of the farangs were sitting with other farangs.  I did not see the mixing that we have back in Jomtien / Pattaya.

 

Could I live here full-time - YES - but I condition that YES on being able to integrate myself more with the local Vietnamese gays who are not afraid to be seen with an older farang out on the streets of Da Nang.  The Vietnamese are VERY family oriented and it seems that as a consequence, very much in the closet.  Perhaps, that would explain why so many hot sexy Vietnamese guys come to work as escorts in Thailand and NOT here in Vietnam.

In closing, I still have more than 100 days here - so a lot can change - and that is why I do not like answering these questions too prematurely.....

 

 

 

[PeterRS]

35 or so years ago I would have jumped at the chance of selecting Bali as a retirement haven. That was before I saw the unfortunate changes as a result of mass tourism in 2005. It remains a beautiful island with over 4 million inhabitants but only has around 30,000 foreigners living there - and some of these are from Java. That's a big enough pool to make friends. But selecting the place to find an apartment or small Balinese house for me would be the most difficult. Personally I would loathe Denpasar, Nusa Dua or Kuta and other built-up areas as a place to which to retire. I'm also not sure i would like to be on an island that annually attracts nearly 6.5 million tourists with the majority coming from Australia (by far the largest) and India.

[PeterRS]

15 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Could I live here full-time - YES - but I condition that YES on being able to integrate myself more with the local Vietnamese gays who are not afraid to be seen with an older farang out on the streets of Da Nang.  The Vietnamese are VERY family oriented and it seems that as a consequence, very much in the closet.  Perhaps, that would explain why so many hot sexy Vietnamese guys come to work as escorts in Thailand and NOT here in Vietnam.

I was only in that part of Vietnam for 10 days in 2020 before everything closed due to covid. But the moment I arrived in Da Nang airport, I had approaches from the apps. As I was going immediately to Hoi An and then Hue, I was not able to meet a guy in Da Nang for a week. But he was amazing. Mid-20s, liked westerners, knew the area like the back of his hand, spoke near perfect English, wanted to come to the hotel - and we had a great time for my remaining two days.  He even came to the airport to see me off!

He was not an MB. Just a guy trying to run a small business who enjoyed sex. He wanted no money. All I bought were coffees, simple lunches and dinners and some lovely cocktails in the hotel bar. If there was a long term visa, I am certain I would really enjoy retiring to that area of Vietnam. But I would plan on learning some basic Vietnamese.

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, PeterRS said:

attracts nearly 6.5 million tourists

And what are those numbers in Thailand, even if you restrict it to BKK or Pattaya?

Lot's of low priced airlines that would allow for trips to other parts of Indonesia- the 4th most populated country in the world 18, 000 islands with about 6000 inhabited depending on the source..... also to other parts of Asia.

Indonesians seem like a cross between the the best part of Filipinos and Thais .... in my experience.

I'm sure the price comparisons from above, rent, massage, MB's, local food....Indonesia wins, but everyone's priorities aren't the same.... but as @vinapu says, go see for yourself 😝

[PeterRS]

12 minutes ago, floridarob said:

And what are those numbers in Thailand, even if you restrict it to BKK or Pattaya?

Not nearly a valid comparison, in my view. Bangkok is a huge city compared to anything in Bali - population well over ten times the size of Denpasar. Sure, it also probably has at least ten times the number of tourists. But you cannot compare a major city in a very large country with a far smaller one on a relatively small island.

Also, my own view - I'm sure not shared by many others - is that I would primarily be interested in Bali, its landscapes, its people and basically its Hindu culture which is quite different from the rest of Indonesia. I would not wish to retire to Bali and then spend my time jetting to other parts of Indonesia. Do most retirees in Pattaya spend a lot of time jetting around to other parts of the region?

[floridarob]

55 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Do most retirees in Pattaya spend a lot of time jetting around to other parts of the region?

Could you retire to Pattaya and live that life?

I get antsy when I've been home for 3-4 weeks and am on a plane going to S.America or the other side of the world, generally I try to include Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Mexico City, Panama or somewhere on the way to make many trips out of one.

After 2 weeks in Pattaya I was so ready to leave... I can't imagine living there.... I'd become one of those miserable looking expats that @Olddaddy has mentioned before.

I have a friend that lives in BKK and he's frequently traveling all around Asia to small villages and been all over Indonesia.... I'm more of a big city guy and wish I could/would be into those small places.

Indonesia also has remarkable rail service thru Java.... 

Island of Bali= 5590 km2 4.4 million people
Bangkok=        1568 km2  5.7 million people

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 12 in Da Nang – 5 May 2025

 

I wake up with slight diarrhea again 😓😢.  So, I pop another Diatabs pill (loperamide).

I am convinced that my diarrhea is a result of the Banh Mi baguettes that I am buying from the nearby street vendor.  This is sad, as I truly enjoy her Banh Mi, because she sells the rare “Banh mi ga Da Nang”, which is based on chicken and is served in a round baguette instead of the typical French éclair formed baguettes.  It is so delicious. The longer I am here the more I am learning about the many varieties of Banh Mi that they are - and of course - everybody has their favorite.

You may remember from yesterday’s trip report update that I bought 2 delicious Banh mi baguettes for dinner, that I ate while watching the Conclave movie last night.

Official name is:  Banh mi ga Da Nang

 

So, for today, I try an experiment (which I also do in Thailand when I get bouts of diarrhea) – which is to only eat farang Western food until my intestinal system reboots.

After posting my 4 May trip update in the morning, I head over to  and I eat their Gumbo with rice meal as my lunch.

After lunch I decided to walk over to the special VB Bank ATM, as mentioned in Samy Social’s Treasure Map that I purchased and discussed at the beginning of this trip report series about living in Da Nang. 

Samy mentions that there are 2 banks (VP Bank and TP Bank) that allow for 10 million VND withdrawals in one go.  I am also using the HSBC ATM that I discovered in my 2024 trip to Da Nang – but since it malfunctioned on Sunday (ATM was out of physical bank notes) – I did not want to schlep all the way over to the far away Vincom Plaza mall and it is good for me to learn about other ATM alternatives.  It is about a 20 minute walk to this VB Bank ATM and it granted me 10 million VND with one of my many debit cards (that I use for traveling).

Afterwards, I walk down to the My Khe beach for a lovely beach walk (I already posted those beautiful beach photos in my above response to @floridarob, so I won’t post them again).  I stop at my now favorite place to have coffee on the beach = Caribou – a bright yellow food truck that you cannot miss.

https://www.facebook.com/Cariboufoodtruck

Behind the truck, there are those famous Vietnamese low seats to enjoy your coffee under a palm tree in the shade and just observe the calmness of the beautiful sea.

Afterwards, I return to my room for a nap (I love afternoon naps) and later on when I wake up, I decide to again use Samy Social’s Treasure map to eat farang food (in keeping with my anti-diarrhea experiment) and I choose Mexican.  I see a place, Casa Loco, which is nearby and I walk there – but unfortunately it is completely full – I guess Samy’s map is doing wonders for their business.  So, I eat next door at Pizza House

https://www.facebook.com/pizzahousedanangvietnam/#

I order a Caprese salad, Australia Beef Tenderloin and a bottle of SanPellegrino water.

This has been my most expensive meal to date in Da Nang, 725.000 VND ( around $28 USD) and the beef tenderloin was perfect – I could not complain.  So, this restaurant is not on Social Samy’s Treasure map – but I think that he should add it, as I truly enjoyed my experience in this Italian restaurant.

I head back to my room and I fire up the apps wishing for a massage hookup – but to no avail.  There is a very sexy foreigner who has been writing me for many days – as he wants me to edge him, so I tell him that I am available tonight.  He insists that I go to his place – but I am reluctant – as I feel safer at my place – you never know – so he gets bitchy and angry and then blocks me – all because I wanted him to come to my place.  Wow – so crazy and sad, as he had a beautiful cut cock.  Oh well. 

Noone else in the apps at that hour 10pm to 11pm ish tickles my gonads – so I decide to watch some edging videos on Twitter (X) and after an hour of edging myself I release and then I call it a night - as it has been a happy ending. 🍆💦🤪

 

End of day 12 in Da Nang – 5 May 2025

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, floridarob said:

1. Could you retire to Pattaya and live that life? 

2. I'm more of a big city guy and wish I could/would be into those small places.

1. No. I've been there a few times since 1983 but could never live there. And i still think that few retirees there spend much time each year jetting around elsewhere.

2. Same as you - I'm generally a big city guy. But for quite a few years I also loved travellng around, often to smaller places both in Thailand and other countries. Much less so now. But then I'm happy to do so being based in Thailand. I would not be happy doing so were I based in Bali. I've never been keen on travelling in other parts of Indonesia. 

[Raposa]

4 hours ago, floridarob said:

I'm sure the price comparisons from above, rent, massage, MB's, local food....Indonesia wins, but everyone's priorities aren't the same.... but as @vinapu says, go see for yourself 😝

There is the legal environment (e.g. laws on fornication) to consider as well. Elegantz spa was raided recently so that needs to be kept in mind.

[floridarob]

5 hours ago, PeterRS said:

And i still think that few retirees there spend much time each year jetting around elsewhere.

I think the majority of people that choose Pattaya, do so because of limited savings or pensions....I've come across very few big spenders that live there year round....a big trip for them is a few days in BKK.

 

 

3 hours ago, Raposa said:

There is the legal environment (e.g. laws on fornication) to consider as well. Elegantz spa was raided recently so that needs to be kept in mind.

And Thailand has laws against prostitution and has had raids at different places over the years..... Bali is like it's own country, I went once to Elegantz, didn't care for it and I'm sure there's more to why it got raided.

My friend that does all the village travels says that the stricter the religion, the more hotter sexually and closeted the guys are and willing to hook up with a visiting foreigner.... even in Brunei his apps were blowing up.

I have no desire to go to Brunei, but in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya Indonesia, I can say that yes, sex was easy to get on the apps and yes, the guys were super horny as it's not their only "job" having sex every night with another customer, like punching a timeclock.... 

[bkkmfj2648]

6 minutes ago, floridarob said:

I think the majority of people that choose Pattaya, do so because of limited savings or pensions....I've come across very few big spenders that live there year round....a big trip for them is a few days in BKK.

Then I am the exception to what you wrote above.

Already in year 2025, I have resided in Cebu in the Philippines for 59 days and it is planned that I will reside in Da Nang, Vietnam for 130 days this year --> for a total of 189 days outside of Thailand in this tax year.  So, this is definitely costing me a pretty penny - but I am doing it for principals sake - as I am opposed to the new Thai government income tax on incoming bank transfers for tax residents.

Regarding being a "big spender" - call me a previous "fool in love" where I spend inordinate sums of money on my last 2 Thai boyfriends - both were in Jomtien.  I would prefer to NOT be a foolish "big spender" - but matters of the heart sometimes make us do foolish things....

So, probably due to my previous foolishness, I believe that after I return from Da Nang to Thailand, that I will fall into the limited spending category - as I try to rebuild my depleted savings.

[floridarob]

8 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Already in year 2025, I have resided in Cebu in the Philippines for 59 days and it is planned that I will reside in Da Nang, Vietnam for 130 days this year --> for a total of 189 days outside of Thailand in this tax year.  So, this is definitely costing me a pretty penny

In response to Peter's reply:

"Do most retirees in Pattaya spend a lot of time jetting around to other parts of the region?"

Residing somewhere for months at a time to not be a tax resident is different than jetting around to other parts of the region for fun 😉

 

 

10 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

but matters of the heart sometimes make us do foolish things....

 yes 100%...

I started young at this international whoring thing.... is why my heart is more scarred than my liver, I think you noticed my indifference to people that play mind games to manipulate people for personal gain.... I've seen that movie too many times, it's tiring.

[PeterRS]

10 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Then I am the exception to what you wrote above.

Already in year 2025, I have resided in Cebu in the Philippines for 59 days and it is planned that I will reside in Da Nang, Vietnam for 130 days this year --> for a total of 189 days outside of Thailand in this tax year.  So, this is definitely costing me a pretty penny - but I am doing it for principals sake - as I am opposed to the new Thai government income tax on incoming bank transfers for tax residents.

You are indeed the exception! And thankfully so otherwise we would not have been able to read such detailed reports on other parts of the region.

[a-447]

I am convinced that my diarrhea is a result of the Banh Mi baguettes

Probably because they are washing the vegetables in the bahn mi with tap water.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 13 in Da Nang – 6 May 2025

 

First revelation - no diarrhea today - as I only ate farang food yesterday.  This is both good and bad news - as I want to eat lots of Vietnamese food during my 130 day stay as I really like Vietnamese food.  Perhaps, I can't eat the yummy banh mi baguettes but I can eat everything else?

Earlier in this trip report series, I complained that it is difficult to meet local gays that are not ashamed to be seen in the streets of Da Nang with you.

After eating breakfast in my condo I decide that after my 6 day motorbike rental that I will return it to the shop – as I find that I am not using it as much as I had expected.  The motorbike is great to go up the coastal mountain road – but that is not something that I do every day and during the daytime it is just too hot to be out and about on the motorbike.

The motorbike shopkeeper tells me to sit down and with Google translate we start to have a conversation about life, how many days I will be here, do I have family, am I traveling alone --> when he just blurts it out -->  If you feel lonely you can invite me up to your room for some fun 🤔🤨

I was like WOW – very bold – unfortunately he is not at all my type.  So, lesson learned, I complained earlier about the difficulties about meeting local gay Vietnamese and “the universe provided”.  Therefore, be careful what you wish for….

Our conversation starts to get uneasy – and so I keep saying to him can I have my Thai driving license back.  Then he says, let’s go to lunch – and then I lie to him – oh, I am sorry, I am going to meet some foreign friends for lunch and they are already waiting for me.  Then he says, ah, I am not your type?  I don’t say anything – but I nod my head in an Indian fashion so that he understands that I am not interested.  Then he finally gives me my Thai driving license and then he says to me, “I LOVE foreign guys – so if any of your foreign friends are single and lonely – please send them to me”.  Before I can escape, we exchange our ZALO  contact information.

I go to eat my Bo Né lunch with salt coffee by myself.

As it is now around 16 days since my last haircut and color treatment, I decide that today will be my first haircut and color in Da Nang.

About 1 year prior, Social Samy (one of the popular local YouTube bloggers) did a segment on the NHỰA STYLE BARBER SHOP which I really liked.  When I met Samy at the beginning of this trip, I asked him why isn’t this barber shop not in his Treasure Map, and he tells me because he did not like the way that they trimmed his beard.  I told him about my great difficulties in year 2019 getting my hair cut and colored in Phu Quoc and Samy told me – don’t worry – this shop is ok for hair color for men.

https://www.nhuastyle.vn/

This barber shop is really cool, as it has been created with a gothic JOKER style theme, which is very entertaining.  My assigned barber, BIN, is really good and took the time with Google translate (for the more technical aspects of our conversation) and wanted to see past pictures of my hair color treatments to understand what type of look that I was desiring.  BIN did a great job – and during the part of the treatment where you need to kill 30 minutes for the color to take hold – he cross-sold me an optional ”Remove Earwax” service with his female colleague .  At first I was apprehensive, as I have never let anyone touch the inner parts of my ear.  Him and his female colleague allayed all of my fears and I agreed to the service.  They said that it might be a tiny bit painful – but instead I found it slightly ticklish – in a pleasant way.  That procedure took about 20 to 25 minutes – and so when it was finished I had my hair rinsed and then sent back to BIN for the final touch up and blow dry and wax.

I would definitely return to this shop – as I really liked the funky artistic environment, the high exciting energy of all of the young Vietnamese that work there and the customers that visited the shop were all fun people – not surprising – as Da Nang attracts a young farang digital nomad type of crowd as its primary tourist base.

I paid 300,000 VND for the hair color treatment + 70,000 VND for the haircut + 50,000 VND for the ear cleaning for a total of 420,000 VND (around $16.20 USD).  Back in Jomtien, I pay 1,200 THB (around $36.65 USD) for my hair color treatment + haircut.  So, the cost in Da Nang is 56% less than in Jomtien – so very good value for money.

Here is a nice video interview of some hot Brazilian getting his haircut in this shop:

 

After my haircut I walked over to  

to eat a scrumptious coconut cream cake with a dark Vietnamese iced coffee.  Life is good.

I head back to my condo  and prepare yesterday’s trip report update and respond to some queries.

Afterwards, I log into Heesay (formerly BLUED) and I start chatting with user = CalBOy_18cm.  From his profile I can see that he is a sexy 27 year old with a big cock.  Note that in Cebu the key words for escorts were "Hire" or "Hire me" - but here in Da Nang, the key words are centered on variations of the words "Call Boy".

His English capabilities are near zero, so after many back and forth I think that I have made him understand what I am looking for and then he sends me the below boiler plate message that obviously someone else who knows English better prepared for him.

I tell him – oh, I am sorry – that we cannot meet, as it is written that you don’t accept anyone over the age of 40 and “too fat”.  I tell him my real age and that I have a belly.

There is no reply for a long time so I continue to peruse and write to other profiles.  After about 20 minutes he writes that he accepts my proposal (massage + edging).

We agree that he will come to my condo at 7pm and at 7:05pm he arrives and we go up to my room.  He does not speak at all and he just undresses and takes a long shower.  I try to offer him something to drink from the fridge – but he just does not understand me.  He writes me a message that he forgot his massage oil and then I give him my coconut cream that I brought with me from Jomtien.  The beginning of the massage is perfect – he has good talent and rhythm.  However, he has a big erection and he keeps rubbing it on me.  At a certain point, he stops massaging me and spreads my legs to start sucking my cock – eventually we turn over and the massage is cut short and we go into an intense 69 and he eventually cums on my chest and he goes to take another shower.  He has a beautiful cock and I believe that it was really 18cm.  I am waiting for quite a while when he returns to the massage room (I rented a 2 bedroom condo and 1 bedroom is the designated massage room) and I am waving my erect cock at him and he is already dressed ready to leave.  I wave the money at him and point to my cock and he then gets undressed and makes me a decent edging until orgasm.

What was he thinking?   He cums and goes?  I thought the mantra often cited in this forum is:  “I cum and he goes….”

I prefer that we both cum – but in this case his approach was strange.

I paid him a premium price (agreed to prior during the chat negotiations  - to make an exception to his rule that he does not go with guys over the age of 40 with some fat) = 1,500,000 VND (around $58 USD).

Would I hire him again?  Probably not because it was difficult to connect with him, he was too mechanical, and the massage part was too short.  But it was fun and to-date he was the most sexy of the massage guys that I have had so far here in Da Nang.

I clean up and I head over to Casa Loco (the Mexican place that I tried to get into yesterday but it was full) and tonight it is almost empty.

https://www.facebook.com/casalocodanang/

I order the delicious and filling Lamb Barbacoa Quesadillas and a coconut Margarita.

The Mexican food here is very good and the above menu is only 1 page out of 4 pages.  Now I understand why it is highlighted in Samy Social’s Da Nang Treasure map.

I head back to my room stuffed, but I need to stay awake, because at midnight it will be the birthday of my good Thai friend who owns a bar in Supertown.  So, exactly at 0:00am, I send him his birthday message and gift and he is so happy, because he told me that I was the FIRST person to wish him a happy birthday.  We chat for a few minutes and then I tell him good night and I fall asleep.

 

End of day 13 in Da Nang – 6 May 2025

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I paid 300,000 VND for the hair color treatment

You should've gone for the "Get Acne" treatment and you could've claim to be still in puberty, alleviating the over 40 restriction  😁

 

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I prefer that we both cum – but in this case his approach was strange.

Was strange to read as well, lol
 

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Here is a nice video interview of some hot Brazilian getting his haircut in this shop:

Have you ever been to Brazil....I forget if we talked about that?

 

 

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

The Mexican food here is very good

How would you compare it to the place in the complex?


 

[bkkmfj2648]

1 minute ago, floridarob said:

Have you ever been to Brazil....I forget if we talked about that?

No, not yet.

All of the potential crime scenarios that I read about freaked me out.  When I am on vacation I don't like being in that heightened state of emergency alert mode - I find it exhausting at my age.

4 minutes ago, floridarob said:

How would you compare it to the place in the complex?

I liked the Da Nang one better just because the menu has more variety.