Third floor - trip to SE Asia in Jan/Feb 2026

[mauRICE]

4 hours ago, vinapu said:

discover freedom of not reading

That's one "freedom" I can do without. You may find the freedom from thought in not reading a relief, but I've lived a thousand lives because I love to read and the man who doesn't read lives only one.

[jason1975]

5 hours ago, Min said:

So this must be your fourth watch? 😇

Chinatown was walking distance to several well-known gay bars and clubs (Taboo with their drag shows and coyote dancing is the first to come to mind) in my times of studying and working there, and still is.  Why didn't you guys give it a try?

It was a Tuesday evening. Bars not open or quiet. Only open and busy Fridays to Sundays.

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, mauRICE said:

but I've lived a thousand lives because I love to read and the man who doesn't read lives only one.

Similar to an Arabic saying about traveling .....

[Olddaddy]

9 minutes ago, floridarob said:

Similar to an Arabic saying about traveling .....

Mmmmmm.    Sounds negative to me , and I must say a bit weird 🧐 

 

[BjornAgain]

5 hours ago, floridarob said:

Similar to an Arabic saying about traveling .....

Favorite Arabic insult, which has also started wars, "May your mother rot in the belly of a pig".

Else, "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits".

[vinapu]

11 hours ago, Min said:

Chinatown was walking distance to several well-known gay bars and clubs (Taboo with their drag shows and coyote dancing is the first to come to mind) in my times of studying and working there, and still is.  Why didn't you guys give it a try?

Being fresh from Bangkok debaucheries I was not really  interested in bars there, next time I will try to be better member of community

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, mauRICE said:

That's one "freedom" I can do without. You may find the freedom from thought in not reading a relief, but I've lived a thousand lives because I love to read and the man who doesn't read lives only one.

i should be more specific and say ' discover freedom of not reading posts, threads  and reports you find not interesting "

[vinapu]

 Da Nang, Vietnam, 5 nights and some boy business

 I had afternoon flight there from Singapore and having window seat I could see city from above on approach. It pretty unique, while most cites are happy to have mountains in the background, or beach or great river, Da Nang has all three. And as a bonus, it’s airport is right I the city. I doubt it’s more than 1 hr walk from terminal to the beach, if that much.

That did not prevent  taxi driver from offering me “promotional” fare to my hotel of 20 $. Short’ no, I will walk there” resulted in reduction to 10$. I just kept walking and easily found guy or rather guy found me offering ride for 7 $,. Still too much but I accepted it and at hotel got 25000 dong change from my 200 000 dong bill.

1$ = 26000 at time of my stay so we are dealing with lots of zeros and it needs a bit of mental  adjusting as at first sight everything seems to be soooo expensive until one realizes that 30000 for sizable portion of ice cream is only 1.15 $. In short, Vietnam is very budget friendly with bonus on one feeling like Bezos or Musk dealing with those millions.

 My hotel was close to a beach, perhaps 200 m walk the most but during  my stay sea was very choppy and I did not see many people wading into water. Visited night market by the Dragon Bridge to eat something and exchange money , 100USD produced 2 601 000 dong, now we are talking thought I. Never inclined to waste  time  I took circular way back to hotel and in process located Hero spa offering man to man massage, place recommended by BKKMFJ who spent few moths in the city.

Steps from there was restaurant where I had a meal and while checking their trip offers it turned out that owner has a car and can be hired for trips to Ba Na hills ,  Hoi An and Champa ruins in My Son, to name few places I was intended to visit. We exchanged WhatApp as I was not sure about my itinerary, primarily because I want to go to Hue but by train only..

 Next morning horror – I couldn’t  find my glasses. After several minutes finally found them – inside pillow. How they landed there it’s mystery , all I know that I was checking forum or Grindr on my phone while in the bed already and took glasses off.

 Trip to railway station crossed Hue idea out – no seats  on the  train in next 3 days. On my way back visited Champa Sculpture Museum , very interesting but not overwhelming. In late afternoon walk  to Hero  for that man to man massage. Owner recommended Royal Treatment , 1.5 hr course for 1 500 000, not exactly cheap (60$).

  I had  high expectancies for that price, partially realized i.e massage itself was super good. When comes to afters, not much , promised body to body did not materialize. Although guy was naked throughout the session and easily accessible what  was missing was spark and chemistry between us.

Fault could be mine – I did not get a choice  of boy and one assigned was not my type . Oh well, chalked off to experience and well energized- remember massage was great  I walked to find another spa recommended by bkkmfj, Nam spa. Localized it with help of Google Maps  but did not go in. Through open door I could see hunky guy in the lobby so there’ some hope thought I .

 

To be continued…..

[kram987]

22 hours ago, vinapu said:

 Da Nang, Vietnam, 5 nights and some boy business

 I had afternoon flight there from Singapore and having window seat I could see city from above on approach. It pretty unique, while most cites are happy to have mountains in the background, or beach or great river, Da Nang has all three. And as a bonus, it’s airport is right I the city. I doubt it’s more than 1 hr walk from terminal to the beach, if that much.

That did not prevent  taxi driver from offering me “promotional” fare to my hotel of 20 $. Short’ no, I will walk there” resulted in reduction to 10$. I just kept walking and easily found guy or rather guy found me offering ride for 7 $,. Still too much but I accepted it and at hotel got 25000 dong change from my 200 000 dong bill.

1$ = 26000 at time of my stay so we are dealing with lots of zeros and it needs a bit of mental  adjusting as at first sight everything seems to be soooo expensive until one realizes that 30000 for sizable portion of ice cream is only 1.15 $. In short, Vietnam is very budget friendly with bonus on one feeling like Bezos or Musk dealing with those millions.

 My hotel was close to a beach, perhaps 200 m walk the most but during  my stay sea was very choppy and I did not see many people wading into water. Visited night market by the Dragon Bridge to eat something and exchange money , 100USD produced 2 601 000 dong, now we are talking thought I. Never inclined to waste  time  I took circular way back to hotel and in process located Hero spa offering man to man massage, place recommended by BKKMFJ who spent few moths in the city.

Steps from there was restaurant where I had a meal and while checking their trip offers it turned out that owner has a car and can be hired for trips to Ba Na hills ,  Hoi An and Champa ruins in My Son, to name few places I was intended to visit. We exchanged WhatApp as I was not sure about my itinerary, primarily because I want to go to Hue but by train only..

 Next morning horror – I couldn’t  find my glasses. After several minutes finally found them – inside pillow. How they landed there it’s mystery , all I know that I was checking forum or Grindr on my phone while in the bed already and took glasses off.

 Trip to railway station crossed Hue idea out – no seats  on the  train in next 3 days. On my way back visited Champa Sculpture Museum , very interesting but not overwhelming. In late afternoon walk  to Hero  for that man to man massage. Owner recommended Royal Treatment , 1.5 hr course for 1 500 000, not exactly cheap (60$).

  I had  high expectancies for that price, partially realized i.e massage itself was super good. When comes to afters, not much , promised body to body did not materialize. Although guy was naked throughout the session and easily accessible what  was missing was spark and chemistry between us.

Fault could be mine – I did not get a choice  of boy and one assigned was not my type . Oh well, chalked off to experience and well energized- remember massage was great  I walked to find another spa recommended by bkkmfj, Nam spa. Localized it with help of Google Maps  but did not go in. Through open door I could see hunky guy in the lobby so there’ some hope thought I .

 

To be continued…..

Oh no! A cliff hanger 

[vinapu]

19 minutes ago, kram987 said:

Oh no! A cliff hanger 

not intentional, I  started feeling sleepy and  decided to cut relation short for that reason

[vinapu]

Next few days  I did  mainly touristy stuff outside of city during days.

   Ba Na hills was my first destination, 550 000 dong , about 22$  by car , waiting included plus admission 1 000 000 dong. Complex is vast with multiple cable car lines offering I assume great views. There is famous , often photographed  bridge supported by gigantic hands. They even have copy of French village complete with church which looks like church not only from outside but inside as well.

Unfortunately I had bad luck . It was raining and fog was so dense that I could hardly see fingers on my hand ,forget  those views. Still I enjoyed several rides, walked around , if only to get more wet although rain coat purchased for 50 000 was quite a help to stay at least partially dry.

Surprise was , all that nasty weather was localized in the hills and city was dry when we arrived. Still about 5 hours spent well,

 At dusk I went  for consolation to Nam Spa. I was told that guy there are more hunky and indeed three present all were. I was given option of choosing guy there. 75 minutes VIP treatment 1 500 000,  ( 60$) . Not exactly cheap. This time promised body to body massage materialized  with gusto, massage was again very good, clothes were shed in first few minutes. At end of session guy asked , if I have tip for him , to give it right in the room so I did. One thing I did not like was that I was left to shower alone which made bit difficult to get rid of all that oil .

 This was my second and last massage , or speaking more broadly , boy experience in Vietnam and  while massages themselves were very good and professional, additional stuff was under executed to put it mildly and at prices they were charging not as good value for money as Bangkok massages are. But I’m glad I tried and certainly will again if  travel to Da Nang again – highly likely as I liked the city vibe  and have that Ba Na hills experience to repeat in better weather.

Next day I visited or rather re-visited Champa ruins of My Son ( I was there in 2002 ) . I love ruins so it was highlight of my stay in Da Nang , weather cooperated today, heavy rain arrived exactly in the moment  when I was getting back into my car. The same feast repeated in the afternoon which I devoted to exploring Marble Mountain in southern outskirts of Da Nang . I liked  place a lot, temples , caves , quite a few climbs  to get a views and it proven to be big ego booster for me.

On top of highest point young Westerner  told me he is impressed how well was doing climbing up in just plastic sandals and asked my age. When told he couldn’t believe so we made bet , 1000 dong ( 4 cents)  and I prove it with my driving license.  I collected banknote  gladly.

 In the evening I went to Dragon Bridge to see Dragon breathing with fire and then splashing people with water. Spectacle is only Fri to Sun at 9p.m.  

Next morning funny thing at breakfast. I brought a soup to the table, left it there and returned to pick up more food and spoon. Upon return I see couple sitting at my table ( it was big one , sitting 6) and lady is eating my soup already !!!! WTF ? It turned up , she thought her husband was so nice and brought it for her and was even surprised how nice he indeed is. We had good laugh and become instant friends.

In the early afternoon I took a car to Hoi An for 250 000 curious how I find it after 24 years since last time. Then it was charming little town, now I found it to be busy and noisy tourist trap . Walked  though the old city, had 30 minutes river cruise , then some meal and was happy to go back to Da Nang. I know Ho An has many  admirer, one of my friends even calls it “Quintessence of Asia” but, me, no , I’m not sold on it. Perhaps bkkmfj is right that I should spend night there to appreciate place fully.

Like in all tourist infested places, I noticed tendence to overcharge. Both boat captain and taxi driver I took to drive me back to Da Nang started quotation at twice of final price I negotiated.

 All in, I enjoyed Da Nang a lot and can recommend city to everybody, I could stay few days more but my next stop is Phu Quoc island .

[vinapu]

few pictures to enliven the thread

Da Nang railway station

Campa Sculptures Museum

My Son ruins

beautifull mountain views from Ba Na hills

and fake church in fake village ( rain outside was real) 

[vinapu]

Marble Mountain, highest point and place of my winning bet

one of temples in the caves

angry dragon

and cooling down

city from above, bye, bye Da Nang, I'm on my way to Phu Quoc

[FunFifties]

5 hours ago, vinapu said:

In the early afternoon I took a car to Hoi An for 250 000 curious how I find it after 24 years since last time. Then it was charming little town, now I found it to be busy and noisy tourist trap . Walked  though the old city, had 30 minutes river cruise , then some meal and was happy to go back to Da Nang. I know Ho An has many  admirer, one of my friends even calls it “Quintessence of Asia” but, me, no , I’m not sold on it. Perhaps bkkmfj is right that I should spend night there to appreciate place fully.

 

I found Hoi An most charming in the mornings and evenings when the day trippers from Da Nang and coastal resorts were absent, so you are right that it is too busy during the day to really appreciate any small town charm.

[vinapu]

4 hours ago, FunFifties said:

I found Hoi An most charming in the mornings and evenings when the day trippers from Da Nang and coastal resorts were absent, 

so it looks I was part of problem and reason I did not really liked it. Lesson learned , next time I will try  to spend 1-2 nights there to see it's full glory

[vinapu]

Phu Quoc island – no boy business at all, other them meeting friend (not gay ) from my hometown.

It’s only  90 minutes flight from Da Nang to Phu Quoc  but practically it felt I spent whole day travelling . First, my flight was in early afternoon so morning was lazy, just wandering on the streets close to hotel and along Da Nang beach. At noon I checked out  from the room , left may bag on reception and did more aimless , yet pleasant walking along the seashore. Car arrived on the dot and for 120000 ( 4.60 $ ) took me to the airport. Then it turned out that flight will depart at 5.30 p.m. instead of scheduled 4p.m..

 We landed at 7.p. and knowing my friend will fly in  at 8.00 p.m. I decided to wait for him to scare him off. Why ? because he did not have idea I will be in Phu Quoc at all.

 It worked well, I was greeted with cheerful ‘ what the fuck you are doing here ?” which was met with my response “ none of your fucking business “  . It great to have friends, no ?

 Why Phu Quoc, specially that I’m not and never was sun and sand kind of person ? And I was there last year ? I think my sister has best explanation – senility sets in, this is what she said after I told her last year I was there and liked it.

Truth is , I like beaches there and like sea, warm , calm and very clean, specially on the west , Cambodia facing side, It’s probably only place in the world where I enjoy lazing on the beach whole day. (Ok , lets not exaggerate, half of first day only ).

My friend stay in different hotel than me and this was by design as being friend not necessarily means 24 hrs friend , island is quite small so logistics of meeting were easy. I took free bus to my hotel and immediately learned that it’s not free anymore, from Jan 1^st it costs 20000 to 50000 depending on distance but as senior I was eligible for reduced rate of 10000. Yes , almost always they checked ID to see if I qualify.

 First day  we went to the beach , it was so pleasant and breezy that I did not notice that consuming 3 bottles of Saigon beer  while sunbathing cost me getting burned by the sun . I noticed some color when we were leaving but only in the evening , when it started itching I realized it was  quite nasty burn.

Second day was devoted to famous cable car, longest in the world over sea  ending in amusement park. Admission was 850 000 and this includes cable round trip ride and unlimited use of park facilities, all those tubes , slides and everything self respecting water park should have . Taxi from the city was 240 000 each way. What we noticed was that , compared to year ago it was much more crowded. In fact I did not take ride on their large wooden monster rollercoaster because line was well over what I was prepared to stand in.

 Day three was tour of the island on organized trip. Very well organized, pick up from hotel was on the dot and it was neatly divided between commercial, sightseeing and relax parts. Commercial part  was typical- visiting pearl far, fish sauce factory, pepper plantation and yes, winery where they make wine from some local fruit. Quite drinkable. in all those places there was shop where  we could buy  whatever we wanted to waste our money on. In fact in pearl  farm I bought very nice shirt for 10$.Then  quite interesting temple and finally 2 hours on the beach so I could  work on getting burned even more.

 Forth day was day of my  departure in the afternoon  but we managed to wander through island only city and visited colorful local market. My friend stays another week  but I took Air Asia Cambodia flight to Siem Reap.  

[vinapu]

few pictures:

pearl farm gift shop

as you see money can be made from making wine on Phu Quoc  - owner's house

getting burned

fake Italy and cable car station

monster rollercoaster

[Ian here]

On 2/24/2026 at 9:01 AM, BjornAgain said:

Favorite Arabic insult, which has also started wars, "May your mother rot in the belly of a pig".

Else, "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits".

my version is May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch and your arms be too short to scratch. 

[vinapu]

2 minutes ago, Ian here said:

my version is May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch and your arms be too short to scratch. 

it's ok as long as you don't have me in mind