During my Vietnam stint, I took two reconnaissance trips to what I have been claiming is the most overlooked and under-appreciated beach city in Southeast Asia. Da Nang is a laid-back city of 1 mil in central Vietnam and which unlike Saigon and/or Hanoi, offers beaches, luxury for value, invariably friendly locals, an absence of scammers/crime, and clean air/no traffic. FDI is pouring in, constantly enhancing the city's infrastructure and logistics.
Being location independent, like many of you, I strive to place myself in contexts where I can work and play in relative luxury while consistently smashing exotic, hot, feminine, famous, and/or rich local girls. Guys on the ground will not deny Da Nang's obvious benefits and perks, among which include:
Pristine beaches: <10km from the city center. Great for dates.
Luxury housing on the cheap: modern 2-bedroom apartments in the center or on the beach can be had for 500 USD/m (month-to-month agreements). I heard about a guy who was renting an 8-bedroom house near the beach for that price. These prices are unheard of in Saigon and Hanoi city centers. Housing in Da Nang (and elsewhere in VN) is best secured through a local friend or resident expat, who you will find after one night of drinking. 2 girls whom I met and asked about apartment prices offered to take me around the following day. Get a hotel near the below mentioned nightlife for a few nights, and make it happen.
Hoi An: Vietnam's custom clothing capital, is just a 30 min drive away. THe G would explode with delight at the local custom clothing culture and quality of tailors. Decent quality custom linen suits start from around 75 USD. Shop around. There is no excuse for looking like a slob in Vietnam; get yourself to Hoi An and pick up some threads. Hoi An is also a thriving backpacker destination, in case you're into that sort of thing.
Da Nang is also a great place to get work done and you will not be stuck in traffic traveling between coffee shops. I recommend the following 3:
Temple Da Nang (Hoàng Sa, Sơn Trà): here you can literally work on the beach. Iced vietnamese coffee for around 1 USD.
Cong Ca Phe (96-98 Bach Dang): Vietnam War-themed, quite a funny sight to see a rail-thin 5 ft Vietnamese dressed in camouflage. Great day game opportunities.
Highlands Coffee (74 Bach Dang): National coffee chain. Great day game opportunities. I picked up a freak at this joint.
Food: Street food in Da Nang is bomb as hell. Vietnamese consistently rave it's the best in the country. My personal favorite is mi quang: yellow rice noodle with all kinds of proteins and quail egg
A brief word of caution on Game: I'm caucasian, late 20's, athletic build. When traveling and first beginning to establish a reputation in a new city, I tend to run aggressive (sometimes over the top) game, approaching everything in sight. When you're fresh off the plane, I think that's a perfectly acceptable strategy for Vietnam that yields immediate short-term rewards. But once you begin to penetrate Vietnamese high society and pursue models and actresses, people begin to recognize as you. Accordingly, you must adapt your Western Alpha traits to the local honor-based value system.
Do not, I repeat, do not, openly game multiple girls at the same venue. Do not game openly, period. Not in Da Nang, not in Saigon, not in Hanoi. You will be labeled a playboy, and once this has happened, no self-respecting girl will want to associate with you. Once you have identified a target, do not so much as look at another. If you are talking to a girl in whom you have interest, and another approaches you, politely reject the latter by introducing your target as your girlfriend.
You can take a lot of the burden off night game by getting yourself a Vietnam Cupid account and having an optimized WeChat profile with your best pictures.
Nightlife: Pleasantly concentrated, with very reasonable drink prices.
- Sky36 Bar at Novotel (36 Bach Dang): The most upscale, though not optimal for approaching. There's a bar and dance floor and outdoors area. Take your dates to the outdoors area; when rolling solo, head directly to the indoors bar. Bottle of Belvedere and mixers was around 120 USD. Game-changer: this place employs 6-8 Ukrainian girls as dancers and hostesses. To repeat what most of the forum is saying: Learn Russian. It will help you even in Da Nang.
- Golden Pine Pub (52 Bach Dang): This is your best bet on any given night. An expat-oriented hangout which blares dance music into the night. This is where you should go to make friends and meet hot locals whom are open to foreigners. Get a bottle of rum (30 USD), take it to a table outside, and smile at everyone. You will meet people here.
- OQ Bar (18 Bach Dang): Decent outdoor set-up with friendly locals. The indoor bar on the left and the bar on the right-hand side are good for approaches. I smashed the manager.
- New Phuong Dong Club (20 Dong Da): A club designed for Vietnamese: focus on bottle service, probably 5 (pro) hostesses per head, and dark with loud-ass music. Go only if you're with a local and/or to see a pre-existing target.
- Seventeen Saloon (76 Tran Hung Dao): Popular with the older expats. Saw some pros. Wild west theme and relatively expensive drink prices. Not always the best option but should definitely be on your radar. I got a couple of numbers here.
- City Pub (92 Bach Dang): Had some live music, good date spot, though nobody in the place had a clue what I meant by "Vodka soda".
Getting there and getting set up: Da Nang airport is served by Vietnam Airlines, other regional carriers, and the low-cost airlines (VietJet Air and Jetstar). Depending on where you are coming from, you may need to fly through Saigon or Hanoi.
Taxis and transport: As with Saigon, take only 'Vinasun' (white) and Mai Linh (green) taxis. A metered ride from the airport to the city center should not cost more than 7 USD. Once set up, rent a motorbike to get around the city (~50 USD/month). You will most likely be given a Yamaha Nouvo; these are the quintessential expat bikes (don't ask me why).
Fitness and lifestyle: Da nang has plenty of food options and it should be possible to maintain most paleo variants. Ask for extra proteins in your street food (always worth the extra dollar or two). If living in the center, you will also be walking distance to a gym and to the Han River for jogging.
Final recommendation: If you have identified Vietnam as your location-independent base for at least 1 month, I strongly urge you to spend a weekend in Da Nang prior to settling on Saigon or Hanoi.
Go get em boys
Being location independent, like many of you, I strive to place myself in contexts where I can work and play in relative luxury while consistently smashing exotic, hot, feminine, famous, and/or rich local girls. Guys on the ground will not deny Da Nang's obvious benefits and perks, among which include:
Pristine beaches: <10km from the city center. Great for dates.
Luxury housing on the cheap: modern 2-bedroom apartments in the center or on the beach can be had for 500 USD/m (month-to-month agreements). I heard about a guy who was renting an 8-bedroom house near the beach for that price. These prices are unheard of in Saigon and Hanoi city centers. Housing in Da Nang (and elsewhere in VN) is best secured through a local friend or resident expat, who you will find after one night of drinking. 2 girls whom I met and asked about apartment prices offered to take me around the following day. Get a hotel near the below mentioned nightlife for a few nights, and make it happen.
Hoi An: Vietnam's custom clothing capital, is just a 30 min drive away. THe G would explode with delight at the local custom clothing culture and quality of tailors. Decent quality custom linen suits start from around 75 USD. Shop around. There is no excuse for looking like a slob in Vietnam; get yourself to Hoi An and pick up some threads. Hoi An is also a thriving backpacker destination, in case you're into that sort of thing.
Da Nang is also a great place to get work done and you will not be stuck in traffic traveling between coffee shops. I recommend the following 3:
Temple Da Nang (Hoàng Sa, Sơn Trà): here you can literally work on the beach. Iced vietnamese coffee for around 1 USD.
Cong Ca Phe (96-98 Bach Dang): Vietnam War-themed, quite a funny sight to see a rail-thin 5 ft Vietnamese dressed in camouflage. Great day game opportunities.
Highlands Coffee (74 Bach Dang): National coffee chain. Great day game opportunities. I picked up a freak at this joint.
Food: Street food in Da Nang is bomb as hell. Vietnamese consistently rave it's the best in the country. My personal favorite is mi quang: yellow rice noodle with all kinds of proteins and quail egg
A brief word of caution on Game: I'm caucasian, late 20's, athletic build. When traveling and first beginning to establish a reputation in a new city, I tend to run aggressive (sometimes over the top) game, approaching everything in sight. When you're fresh off the plane, I think that's a perfectly acceptable strategy for Vietnam that yields immediate short-term rewards. But once you begin to penetrate Vietnamese high society and pursue models and actresses, people begin to recognize as you. Accordingly, you must adapt your Western Alpha traits to the local honor-based value system.
Do not, I repeat, do not, openly game multiple girls at the same venue. Do not game openly, period. Not in Da Nang, not in Saigon, not in Hanoi. You will be labeled a playboy, and once this has happened, no self-respecting girl will want to associate with you. Once you have identified a target, do not so much as look at another. If you are talking to a girl in whom you have interest, and another approaches you, politely reject the latter by introducing your target as your girlfriend.
You can take a lot of the burden off night game by getting yourself a Vietnam Cupid account and having an optimized WeChat profile with your best pictures.
Nightlife: Pleasantly concentrated, with very reasonable drink prices.
- Sky36 Bar at Novotel (36 Bach Dang): The most upscale, though not optimal for approaching. There's a bar and dance floor and outdoors area. Take your dates to the outdoors area; when rolling solo, head directly to the indoors bar. Bottle of Belvedere and mixers was around 120 USD. Game-changer: this place employs 6-8 Ukrainian girls as dancers and hostesses. To repeat what most of the forum is saying: Learn Russian. It will help you even in Da Nang.
- Golden Pine Pub (52 Bach Dang): This is your best bet on any given night. An expat-oriented hangout which blares dance music into the night. This is where you should go to make friends and meet hot locals whom are open to foreigners. Get a bottle of rum (30 USD), take it to a table outside, and smile at everyone. You will meet people here.
- OQ Bar (18 Bach Dang): Decent outdoor set-up with friendly locals. The indoor bar on the left and the bar on the right-hand side are good for approaches. I smashed the manager.
- New Phuong Dong Club (20 Dong Da): A club designed for Vietnamese: focus on bottle service, probably 5 (pro) hostesses per head, and dark with loud-ass music. Go only if you're with a local and/or to see a pre-existing target.
- Seventeen Saloon (76 Tran Hung Dao): Popular with the older expats. Saw some pros. Wild west theme and relatively expensive drink prices. Not always the best option but should definitely be on your radar. I got a couple of numbers here.
- City Pub (92 Bach Dang): Had some live music, good date spot, though nobody in the place had a clue what I meant by "Vodka soda".
Getting there and getting set up: Da Nang airport is served by Vietnam Airlines, other regional carriers, and the low-cost airlines (VietJet Air and Jetstar). Depending on where you are coming from, you may need to fly through Saigon or Hanoi.
Taxis and transport: As with Saigon, take only 'Vinasun' (white) and Mai Linh (green) taxis. A metered ride from the airport to the city center should not cost more than 7 USD. Once set up, rent a motorbike to get around the city (~50 USD/month). You will most likely be given a Yamaha Nouvo; these are the quintessential expat bikes (don't ask me why).
Fitness and lifestyle: Da nang has plenty of food options and it should be possible to maintain most paleo variants. Ask for extra proteins in your street food (always worth the extra dollar or two). If living in the center, you will also be walking distance to a gym and to the Han River for jogging.
Final recommendation: If you have identified Vietnam as your location-independent base for at least 1 month, I strongly urge you to spend a weekend in Da Nang prior to settling on Saigon or Hanoi.
Go get em boys
Lima | Kiev | Jakarta
Data Sheets: Da Nang (Vietnam), San Salvador (El Salvador), Arequipa (Peru), Santa Cruz (Bolivia)