The end of Tet 2014 Flower Market at 23- 9 park

                                                             

This afternoon I was over at 23-9 park and witnessed the end of the flower market.  Last day, so last minute bargain shoppers abounded and it was a beehive of activity..  Twice I just about sucombed to wily cumquat salesman offering me deep discounts on remaining stock.

Cumquats are a traditional Tet fruit tree and look very impressive as this time of year their branches are heavily loaded with fruit.  Don't know about eating them, really all I know, think came from an old movie line by W C Fields  and  it went something like this - "my little kumquat". you had to be their.  

The really cool stuff are the bonsai plants and inexpensive too and one group of the plants where smaller ones were available but not sure how to get one through customs in California. 

Okay now for the photos -

shoppers and wanta be your delivery guys 

finished

about retiring in Vietnam

               Thoughts on Vietnam as a retirement destination                             

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

 just thinking....

I've lived part time, 3-5 month periods, in Vietnam and Thailand for the past 15 years.  Most of these periods had me living in Saigon’s district 1, Ben Thanh Ward.  Spending enough time here that I often refer to it as my second home but I’m unable to stay full time. It just seems too complicated and stressful, mostly caused by the unavailability of a long term retirement visa. With the present visa offering you’re required to put everything on hold periodically, hop a bus to Cambodia or some other country and reapply for a new visa and start all over again.

Also, the ongoing problem of locating good quality long term accommodations at a reasonable price is challenging, there are a great many offerings of luxury digs but if you're like me and don't have a Fortune 500 Company bank rolling you, a guy can hardly afford to look at the photos let alone rent one of these. Then what you have left are mostly low quality room for rent deals, so how do you find something in between, as what I like to call a “cheap but good” offering?

Navigating the government system to obtain things you need can be daunting, for example I want to drive a motor bike, by law am I allowed to and then where do I get a license or insurance that will cover me when I get my license and run into the side of that bus.  Which brings me to medical care, I see a lot of clinics around but how do go about finding something to fit my needs and all older people even if they don’t drive a motor bike have medical issues or will have them. Part of the coolness of staying here is figuring those things out but it can wear a guy down.  That is when he starts thinking of the Philippines and Malaysia and their formal foreigner retirement offerings, Thailand with its welcoming attitude and simple to obtain and use long term retirement visa, or Panama’s Pension-ado program with approved government certified discounted services.

If Vietnam ever gets really interested in attracting retires a good place to start would be with an offering of a retirement visa of some sort allowing the foreigner to feel secure and that he is part of this wonderful country.