Having spent time in both countries & having explored nightlife and mongering options, this is comparison is long overdue.
Should you visit both countries? Which is better for nightlife? For women?
King Epic, if you had to pick one, which would you choose?
Tough question that can’t be answered generally, so I address different areas such as nightlife, quality of living, mongering, women & costs separately.
Mongering (= Paid Sex Options)
This is what most men will be interested in anyway … and the comparison ends before it even starts: There is no comparison. Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya) wins on all levels – whether that’s quality & quantity of women or even prices.
No other country in the world comes close and certainly not Vietnam (where prostitution is illegal but unlike Thailand so low key that it’s sometimes hard to find).
Does that mean you can’t have your fun in Vietnam?
Absolutely not, there are still options available, such as happy ending massages. Full service is, however, rather rare & difficult to find. Prices are on par with Thailand (Bangkok) for those places; freelancers in clubs are significantly more expensive.
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Thailand has it all – what Saigon has going for it are regular spas (think sauna, steaming room, massage) for low prices where you can get a hand job finish.
If your goal is to explore pay for play, spend your time in Thailand.
Who’s Women Are Better?
Thai women are more sexually open compared to Vietnamese gals. Now, that can be good or bad – depending on your preference.
If you’re looking for femininity & conservative girls, you’ll find plenty of those in Vietnam – and quite easily one that is still a virgin.
Online Dating works in both countries, but volume-wise Thailand clearly wins by a wide margin. Vietnam’s culture is a bit more conservative, but on the upside your exotic factor as a Westerner is much higher. Given the sheer amount of tourists, a Farang in Thailand is nothing special … quite the opposite, you’re likely to be seen as a sex tourist.
Thailand – specifically Bangkok – is ideal for sleeping around, whereas Saigon provides ideal ground for finding a wife or LTR material.
Epic Nightlife
Somewhat tied mongering, you already know the answer. Thailand has perfected the entire nightlife scene over the last decades. Saigon (Vietnam’s capital) does have nightlife … but a different kind.
It’s more like regular people hanging out at night whereas Thailand’s nightlife mainly caters to tourists. The only thing that comes close to that is the backpacker district in Saigon … but I wouldn’t want to spend more than a few hours there.
Thailand & Vietnam ideally complement each other because they are so far on both sides of the spectrum that spending enough time in one of the countries makes you want to go to the other.
Quite simply put, bust a nut in Thailand – then come to Vietnam to relax & play it slow.
Quality of Living
Genuine local culture can only be experienced in Saigon – Bangkok doesn’t really have much of such a thing anymore and is heavily Westernized/overrun with tourists.
One of the things I really enjoy in Saigon is the lack of tourists. There are hardly any & you get approached here and there simply because people are curious about your origins. I stay in District 1, so pretty much everything is within walking distance, I need no train or motorbike.
If you need Western-like infrastructure such as trains, Bangkok has exactly that: MRT & BTS.
Costs (=Better Value For Money)
In Saigon, I can live within walking distance to the center for $300 per month, which is impossible in Bangkok. Yes, $300 gets you an apartment, but either deep in one of the Sois close to central, or far away close to a train station.
Food is about the same, taxis are cheaper in Thailand.
Hookers/Mongering … isn’t that what you came here for in the first place? 🙂 Thai hookers are cheaper – and that’s simply because there’s so many of them that prices inevitably have to be low.
Vietnam doesn’t offer full service that is publicly advertised … and it’s indeed hard to find which, of course, inflates prices. $100-200 overnight for a freelancer is the norm, whereas in Thailand you can get a hot working girl for 2-4000 Baht “long time”.
The Final Verdict
I like both, honestly. If you can, visit both countries to make up your own opinion. But, let’s say I could only go to one of these countries, which would I choose?
I really like Vietnam, but would pick Thailand instead. Overall, there are more upsides … and the downside of too “busy/crowded” are negligible.