Antwerpman's Posts

No reviews or comments posted; 2 questions asked; 23 answers given.

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Questions (2)

• Does anyone know where I can buy pool chemicals and cleaning equipment.

  When I lived in Africa I could buy a pool bouy which was a floating chlorinator. I could also by various cleaners which went automatically around the pool and kept it clean.

  Any ideas of where I might fnd these things would be grately appreciated

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• Does anyone know where you can buy a good quality childs car seat in Hanoi?

  The childrens shop in Hanoi Towers has one but they dont have any instructions on how to use it and the quality doesnt look fantastic.

  Any advice would be appreciated

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Answers (23)

• Posted Tuesday September 18th, 2007.

  I believe there is a limit which prevents people from riding a bike larger than 175cc and that obtaining a licence for above this size is very difficult, so that is probably why you dont see larger bikes on the road or available to rent

  In response to the question: Is it possible to rent a dirt bike or touring motorcycle for trips to the north? I know Minsks are the way most go, but I'd rather have something a ...

• Posted Tuesday November 6th, 2007.

  You can get the long life skimmed milk in the supermarket under Hanoi Towers

  In response to the question: Does anyone know where you can buy skim milk in Hanoi? I've been looking around but haven't been able to find any. Thanks...

• Posted Tuesday November 6th, 2007.

  You can rent an apartment as far as I know, but to rent to a foreigner the landlord is required to be licensed to do this although many are not. They should also supply you with a 'red' invoice although again many do not or require 2 contracts - one for the actual amount and one for the amount that is paid to the tax authorities

  In response to the question: Is there any laws regarding foreigners renting apartments in Vietnam? Are we allowed to rent all apartments Vietnamese can rent?...

• Posted Sunday November 25th, 2007.

  Surely it depends on your contract and what is contained in that. I just signed for a house and one of the clauses stated that if they didnt rent it to me they must pay one months rent as compensation, but without involving the lawyers even that would not be enforceable

  In response to the question: I have been waiting patiently to move into an apartment for over 3 weeks now. I waited while the place is rennovated. I am schedualed to move in tomo...

• Posted Sunday November 25th, 2007.

  I talked to someone who trains and hires out maids specifically for the 'expat' marlet and she told me that they charge from $160 up to $250 depending on the level of english, skills and experience

  In response to the question: i want to know the rate of maid in vietnam i.e fullday (8hrs)and halfday(4hrs) 6 days per week....

• Posted Wednesday November 28th, 2007.

  usually your driving licence is valid for as long as your residence or work permit is valid. If you are a member of your company's board of management you wil get one for 3 years as these requirements are not applcable

  HTH

  In response to the question: NOW its come to my attention that International Driving licenses arent valid here and I should get a Vietnamese one!! How ?? where?? Anyone...?...

• Posted Thursday November 29th, 2007.

  I got mine for 3 years, one of my colleagues got only 6 months as this was the length of his work permit. Maybe there are other rules in place depending on where you work (eg government bodies, embassies, etc)

  I was told (incorrectly it seems) that the length depended on your residence permit

  In response to the question: NOW its come to my attention that International Driving licenses arent valid here and I should get a Vietnamese one!! How ?? where?? Anyone...?...

• Posted Monday December 10th, 2007.

  Looking at it from a pragmatic point of view, if you take your own countries national holidays and your colleagues take thiers according to Vietnamese law, then the time you are available to work together is reduced which is not in the best interests of the business, and I am presuming the reason they brought you out here is because they thought it would be good for the business.

  Also what would you during Tet when every one else is on vacation? you would end up getting this as well by default.

  I think it is not unreasonable for your employer to to expect you to play by the same rules as everyone (local) else in your company with regards to vacation regardless of what quirky rules Denark may have :)

  In response to the question: My danish employer has JUST told me that I have to work over christmas as I have to now follow vietnamese holidays. Is that correct? Is that legal? My...

• Posted Monday March 31st, 2008.

  Why not join the hash? There are a group of us there who regularly go out during the weekends and have a great time, and new people are always welcome to join in. You dont have to be a runner to have a good time and meet people (they do a walk as well)

  In response to the question: I´m new to this city and already bored by my colleagues from work. Therefore I´m looking for some nice people to have some drinks after work or/and ...

• Posted Friday April 11th, 2008.

  What model is it? I can ask my driver who seems pretty clued up on car prices what he thinks

  In response to the question: We are interested in selling our car here (2007 Nissan SUV) but have no idea what price to ask as we don't know much about the used car market. Anyon...

• Posted Monday April 21st, 2008.

  did you decide not to sell? :)

  I know someone who is looking for a secondhand car so post details and maybe it is interesting for them

  In response to the question: We are interested in selling our car here (2007 Nissan SUV) but have no idea what price to ask as we don't know much about the used car market. Anyon...

• Posted Monday April 21st, 2008.

  As Natinnam says it can get expensive for that kind of house. I looked at about 50 and all but 3 didnt have outside space or a garage/parking. In the end I got lucky and got one at well under market price as I was willing to sign up several months before it was available. I think for this kind of spec you will be looking at $3500/month unless it is of a low standard

  In response to the question: My family and I are moving to Hanoi for at least the next two years. I am looking for advice on who to contact and how to find rentals (houses or apar...

• Posted Friday June 6th, 2008.

  You can probably take $ out of your usd $ account without a problem, you can also exchange at 17200 without a problem, the problem you will have is getting the 17200 back in to dollars. your bank will not transfer money from your VND account to your $ account, and even if you have $ already you are not allowed to deposit $ cash in to your $ bank account - only money paid as a $ part of your salary or other legal contract can be deposited. SO you would bestuck with all of your profits in VND not $

  In response to the question: So there is currently a gap between the black market buy/sell rate and the bank buy/sell rate for USD and Dong. I'm just curious, what's to stop me f...

• Posted Monday June 9th, 2008.

  I am sure there are other places around (but I coulnt not find them) so I ended up in Melinh Plaza. Go up to the first floor and then go out the back of the store to where all the cookers, etc are (over a walkway) and you will find a place there that does hardwood furniture. I picked up a couple of loungers, table with 6 chairs and parasole (with base). However it isnt cheap but they are very nice.

  If you want a barbeque I would recommend Aussie Barbeques who will make whatever you want

  In response to the question: Summer is coming and I'm looking for swimming pool furnitures : umbrellas (esp. in wood), umbrella bases, chaise lounges (wood or synthetic rattan), s...

• Posted Monday June 23rd, 2008.

  I guess it depends on your budget as the nicer hotels are +$250 per night.

  In response to the question: Im moving to Hanoi in jul/aug with my family for my new job.I was going to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks so to get the feel of the place and t...

• Posted Wednesday June 25th, 2008.

  Taxes are calculated as follows:-

  Level 1: 0% under 8,000,000

  Level 2: 10% over 8,000,000 to 20,000,000

  Level 3: 20% over 20,000,000 to 50,000,000

  Level 4: 30% over 50,000,000 to 80,000,000

  Level 5: 40% over 80,000,000 and over

  However if you are working less than 183 days in vietnam you pay a flat rate of (I think) 25% on everything you earnt in vietnam.

  If you are resident in Vietnam for tax purposes (you have to be somewhere and if you aren't in Aus then you most likely will be considered to be here) then you have to pay tax in vietnam on your worldwide earnings. How they would know you had earnings elsewhere I dont know, but not declaring it is tax evasion.

  Hope that helps

  In response to the question: Gday all... Moving to Hanoi in September/October, and just wondering about the income tax laws. I have been told by the contract company that I ...

• Posted Wednesday June 25th, 2008.

  forgot to add that these are VND rates per month gross.

  In response to the question: Gday all... Moving to Hanoi in September/October, and just wondering about the income tax laws. I have been told by the contract company that I ...

• Posted Thursday June 26th, 2008.

  I understand that people are having difficulty converting VND to USD but if has anyone with a USD bank account had difficulties in sending their USD abroad or withdrawing the USD cash?

  In response to the question: Dear all, Just a quick question-- what is the current black market rate for VND-USD? Has it risen above 18500 to even higher rates? Or has it sta...

• Posted Wednesday July 2nd, 2008.

  Usually when it gets that bad the only thing to do is to change the water or you will end up with a lot of organic matter in your filters. If you have overhanging trees dropping leaeves in the pool then this is usually the cause. Certainly the pool needs cleaned at least once per day if this is the case. I also have a pool and have struggled to find anyone who knows how to look after it and places to buy chemicals.

  You need to make sure you backwash your filter (assuming you have a sand filter on a freshwater, chlorinated pool) regularly and usually when it is going green a good dose of chlorine helps. When mine was similar I put a chlorine tablet in the filter basket to make sure the water was treated as quickly as possible, but usually you want a floating chlorine doser. A PH tester is also necessary, but I dont have one and seem to get away with it

  Sorry I cant be of more help. I do have the address of a place for pool chemicals but I am out of the country at the moment

  In response to the question: OK, we're lucky : we have a swimming pool in the house. And, by these days, it's invaluable... However, it has recently began to become troubled, mudd...

• Posted Wednesday July 2nd, 2008.

  you can buy imported steaks at the vine wine shop on Xuan Dieu but they are not cheap. The sausages were howeve particularly good

  In response to the question: Hi all, does anyone know where I can buy some nice steaks to cook at a reasonable price? So far I've checked out Au Delice, which sells some import...

• Posted Monday July 14th, 2008.

  Earlier in the week I was quoted as high as 17,500VND/USD in Hai Duong, and when I looked in one of the gold shops on Saturday it was around 16,750VND/USD but I didnt really shop around there

  I certainly have seen it dropping steadily

  In response to the question: Any idea what the current street exchange rate is for USD - VND?...

• Posted Monday October 13th, 2008.

  How much do you want to spend? We bought a commercial quality imported one but it cost $3500. However whilst this sound expensive it is the same price as you would pay in the USA and cheaper than in europe for an identical machine.

  We bought through Thu sports and I can give you the contact details if you are looking at this level

  In response to the question: My husband & I are wanting to buy a good quality treadmill (needs to be comfortable for running). Does anyone know where we might find one in Hanoi? A...

• Posted Monday October 13th, 2008.

  seem popular run :) myself and a friend are doing the 1/2 marathon there at the same time.

  To the original poster - dont dismiss the HHH as although the runs are longer than 3km there are a variety of paces all the way down to walkers and it is a great chance to meet people

  In response to the question: Are there any running groups that cater to slow/beginner runners? I see Hash House Harriers and the like, but I'm thinking more of a 2-3 Km, 2-3 times...

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