OK - the law in Vietnam is that a foreigner can't stay with a Vietnamese in a hotel room unless they are married. They can visit the room, but not stay overnight. Now, of course, we ALL know that the hotels allow it anyway most of the time. Here is my question:

I stayed in a bunch of hotels with Tan and have receipts for many of them where the hotel wrote BOTH our names. I thought this would make good proof - on the other hand, will the consulate think they are fake receipts because the "law" in VN doesn't allow that?? But we really did stay together in those hotels and they really DID write both our names on the receipt, including one that can't be faked where it was a print out that had both our names. Hmmmmmmmm .... any thoughts?
ILOVETAN

That is a great question. Xuan and I stayed together every day and night on my last trip and almost every day and night on my first trip. We too have both our names on the recipts. I think it is standard though. The hotels we stayed at did not give it a second thought.

It is a good question. If your genders were reversed I say don't use it, but I doubt they would ever accuse you of hiring your fiance as a male prostitute. I guess you never know though. Kind of a silly rule if you think about it. Guests had to leave by 10 if I'm not mistaken- because people don't have sex before 10 pm. They used to care when we stayed at hotels though. We used to have to rent a second room.

This post is great. And absolutely true. NO ONE has sex before 10pm. In fact, I don't think Tan could even "perform" with himself before that hour rolls around. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH this is great.

I know damn well I get special treatment in VN because here is another secret about VN culture. If Vietnamese like you it's like this: "Rules, what rules?? High price, what price?? THIS IS FREE!" Great personality trait IF they like you! :-) hihihihi

Yes, I don't think anyone thinks I hired Tan for sex (although if I had known of his skills earlier, I might have!)
ILOVETAN

ILoveTan,

Good question but you worry too much ... I know you are stressing out about the whole ordeal and all but it is all good. That "law" is only being enforced by more upscale 4, 5 stars hotels like New World, Sharaton, Caravelle and the likes ... For the rest of our "common folks" who stay at 20, 30 bucks a night hotels, we are "exempt" ... The Consulate knows.

I foget the name of the hotel I was staying at in Saigon, but it was an average hotel, probably 2.5 stars to 3 stars by American standards and they were sticklers for that rule. No doubt.

When we did travelling we went to 4 star hotels because it was the off season and prices were insanely cheap. We had to have seperate rooms each time.

I found out about this rule the hard way. What I learned from both the hotels and my travel agent was that the rule only applies to 3 star and up. As long as you stay at a 2 star hotel there is no problem. I had to cancel my original reservation and switch to a less expensive one.

There are many very nice rooms for cheap rates at 2 star hotels. The biggest difference between 2 star hotels and nicer ones is that the 2 star don't have their own full service restaurant or a swimming pool, therefore, they can't receive a higher rating. I found a nice little boutique hotel in downtown HCM for $38 a night. It had comfortable and contemporary furnishings and a big whirlpool bathtub...for two. The bathtub was the selling point for me and we made good use of it with some aromatherapy candles and a nice scented bubblebath.

Ours was $12.00 a night and I still think they jacked up the price a little because I'm American. It was actually nicer than many Hotels I have stayed at in America. They even have a guest retrieval service. I went out alone and walked right past it when I was returning. The manager jumped on his moped and came after me!

We were married by then though so us staying together wasn't an issue.

Kevin & Loan: I think what you wrote about falls into the "NO SH*T" category.

I really DO worry too much - I have a personality much like a Viets - worry, overthink, worry, overthink. Now I am stressed I have TOO MUCH proof and they will think I orchestrated it that way. EGADS.

I did stay at one 3 star for $40 a night (a fun $700 for our stay there) - they had no problem with us both staying. BUT, I had been there before and I am quasi famous in VN no, seriously ... a white girl who speaks viet like they do and makes jokes non-stop with them is very well liked. I go to VN for the Vietnamese PEOPLE, not the country, and they know that. I buy dinners for my Xe-Om (motorbike drivers), and invite everyone everywhere. Very few foreigners spend hours chatting with street people, employees, motobike drivers, like I do. And I don't stay in just the city, like most foreigners - I go out to the countryside - places they have never even SEEN a white person ... oooh, they follow me around in groups. It's really neat for them, like an Alien just landed in their crops. In a way, it's hard for me to imagine these people scamming because they show you EVERYTHING they are feeling.

I even asked the employees at the 3 star hotel I mention above to go out dancing with me and Tan in Saigon. hihihi, we ended up at some ALL viet club (no foreigners) and there I am on the dance floor, getting hugged by 5 or 6 viets as we bounced up and down (vietnamese call it "dancing" ). VN is the only place I feel free to love everyone equally and with a whole heart ... I wish I felt safe enough to be like that in in my own country ...

Shoot, I wish the consulate could just visit any restaurant or hotel we were at together - everyone knows us by name. We show up at Quan An Ngon in saigon - famous restaurant there - and get greeted with squeals, hugs, and about 10 people coming up and going: "THUY OI!!!! Thuy o VN luon di!" hihihih (Stay in Vietnam forever!) I am addicted to viet affection, what can I say? Tinh cam cua nguoi vn lam Thuy cam dong nhieu ....

Sooooo .... paranoid question: DO I HAVE TOO MUCH PROOF? I suppose I am being ridiculous ... no one stays in VN 3 months the first time if they aren't serious - why not just stay 2 weeks like most people? OK SHUT UP THUY. IM DI THUY.

OHHHHH p.s. Not that I need to justify (but am about to) but TAN LOVES ME, listen to this: He had been crabby for the past 2 weeks - totally unlike his personality as I have ever known it. Short-tempered, complaining, really a sour-puss. He kept saying he didn't feel well and just missed me, but nothing more. I really didn't understand his personality change. Yesterday, he was finally his old self again and he said he wanted to tell me the truth about something if I promised not to get mad. I said, I am never mad when it is the truth. He said that he was like that because he was getting some "threats" by someone in his past because of a debt he owed them. Because right now he is in Saigon but his house is in Nha Trang, I guess this guy he owed money to was threatening his MOM. He didn't have the money to pay and didn't know what to do about it but didn't want me to think he was a "bad boy" because he had a debt (like Americans don't - the only difference is our creditors don't threaten to hurt family members). So he went ahead and SOLD HIS MOTORBIKE to pay the debt. This is huge, people ... motorbikes are everything in VN. So my point is: I think we can all rest assured he is not just using me. Why not ask his American fiancee for the money??? That is what I call integrity. I am so impressed with him right now, I can't tell you. He is now looking for work to buy a new motorbike for when I come back to VN. (YES, I WILL BUY HIM ONE - but the point is, he never asked me for anything).

Ok, I am gushing (AGAIN) I REALLY LOVE THIS SHORT SKINNY YELLOW MAN OK?!?!?!?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
fini
Thuy

In the paranoid north, we never had a problem staying together in the same room, ever. In Saigon, we had to deceive a bit. Luckily, we had 2 couples, which allowed us some room for deception.

Yes - Tan and I also had no problems staying in Hanoi together (or Dalat, for that matter). James oi ... send me a PM, what's the status?? Hieu kg?

See that's the opposite for us. In Hanoi we stayed at a half star hotel for $15 a night and we had to book two rooms. Same thing in Nha Trang. It was only in Saigon that they were cool, but it seemed like every other night they would call us and tell us the police were doing a patrol of the local hotels. Maybe they've all relaxed in the past few years.

ILoveTan: Too much proof will probably not helping you much either. I made that mistake before as well. I gave the Consulates everything from chat transcripts, phone bills, letters, to even receipts of our meals and when the interview came, they did not even glance at it. So, my point is you need to focus on providing coherent and solid proofs, documentation rather than junks like I did and thats what you need to do.

For all: I will be in VN from July 4th to July 25. If anyone wanna hang out, get some inside tips and info for a guy whose case was put on AR for 8 months, I would love to help. Drop a message here or PM me