Increased Luggage Limit by Vietnam Airlines

Hi, Sunshine!
If you have flown through any of the Vietnamese airlines, such as VietJet, JetStar, and Vietnam Airlines, you know that the maximum weight limit for carry-on luggage is 7kg and checked luggage is purchased separately. Well, great news! Vietnam Airlines has boosted their max carry-on limit to 12kg, as well as 1 free checked luggage of 23kg for flights in Vietnam, Australia, Northeast Asia, and Europe, and two 23kgs checked luggage for flights to and from Japan and North America. This applies for economy class passengers. For premium flights, the allowance is extended even more. If you intend to fly often or overseas with Vietnam Airlines, I recommend signing up for their free Lotus Miles membership so that you could collect your miles on there and reap in the extra benefits. Vietnam Airlines is classified as the 5-star Vietnamese airline so you are guaranteed a standard of quality when you fly.







Sources:

https://www.vietnamairlines.com/vn/en/travel-information/baggage/prepaid-baggage

English:
https://saigoneer.com/vietnam-travel/16900-vietnam-airlines-increases-carry-on-weight-limit-from-7kg-to-12kg?fbclid=IwAR30cPbUN17YUiNj-71H0xO22s7yYlHkfOo9em8kKOnjr-GLlbOqzHJcvjY

Vietnamese:
https://bestie.vn/2019/07/hanh-khach-duoc-xach-hanh-ly-12-18kg-len-may-bay-thay-vi-7kg?fbclid=IwAR0jj6MBq2GTxxjQcyLqgrzmHJkCr1TaHviV0bQlilVcFHtiE5MpPZoX2ho

Green Smoothies in Saigon

Good afternoon Sunshine!

Do you like healthy smoothies? I do! Since I am not great on eating my vegetables, I supplement by enjoying a fresh green smoothie every now and then. This place has been my favorite and my trusty go-to, Green-O. My favorite drink is "Ve Dep Toa Sang" which translates roughly to Radiant Beauty. It has avocado, banana, spinach, celery, ginger, and honey. On their website, when viewing in English mode, the smoothie is called "Ginger Green". They blend every thing fresh from when you place your order and always advise you to drink within 3 hours for best quality. I have left mine in the fridge for 1 day before, and although it's not as best as when it was first made, it was still good. 

Before, the smoothies would come in these plastic bottles, and I felt they were too nice to only use once and throw away so I kept saving them, but then I ended up with too many and still had no use for them. Time to give them away for recycled use. 

Why did I mention their plastic bottles? Because they now have the option of paying an extra 8k (~$0.30) for a glass bottle!!!!! And they look so nice! Honestly, the smoothies tastes so much better in the glass bottles. Makes me wonder if the plastic had gotten into the smoothie some during delivery with this Saigon heat. Very possible. Oh yes, you can order in store, store shipping or on Delivery Now, a food delivery service. On D'Now, you'll add in the notes during checkout that you would like to switch to the glass bottles. Don't forget or you'll get the plastic bottles like I did once. D'Now normally have deals where you get free shipping so you save time and Grab transportation fees by having your food shipped to your door! :) New post idea! I'll write more on this in a later post.

Anyways, back to the glass bottles. I get so excited when I touch them! The glass just feels so nice! The bottles are 8k each, but you can save them and once you have 10, you get to trade them in and get 1 free 500ml green smoothie. Their 500ml green smoothies are about 85k, so with 10 bottles at 8k each, you pay 80k, but trade in and get 85k worth. See the upside here? I hope you do because that's such a deal. We benefit our health by drinking from glass rather than plastic, and we contribute to saving the environment too!

One major detail I must add is that the fruits and vegetables they use are VietGap grade or organic. VietGAP (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) means they are of high quality standard. Much more guaranteed cleanliness than the produce you buy in the street markets and if you are eating/drinking the greens raw, you got to be careful about where you buy them.

They also have packages you can sign up for, and they will ship to you everyday. Personally, I just order on D'Now, but I figured I should add this detail in case you are interested.

Enjoy!

https://greeno.vn/

https://www.facebook.com/greenosinhtorausach/

416A1 Hai Ba Trung, Tan Dinh Ward, Distict 1, HCM 

Why Live in Vietnam

Good day, Sunshine!

I read a Vietnamese article earlier today, and Vietnam is highlighted as one of the Top 10 countries for foreigners to live! Here are the 8 reasons why, directly translated:

Job opportunities: Vietnam's rapid and stable economic growth has created millions of new jobs. Jobs in education, finance, banking or information technology are very open to you. The only important thing is that you need to use English.

High income: According to the HSBC Expat Explorer survey, if you want to earn six-figure salary (USD), go to Vietnam! In particular, 15% of foreigners in Vietnam earn more than $ 250,000 a year, compared with the global average of only 7%.

Low cost of living: Foreigners can live a comfortable life in Vietnam with a moderate expenditure because the prices of goods and services are relatively cheap compared to most other countries in the world.

Rich cultural diversity: 64% of foreigners in Vietnam say this is a place with a very diverse culture.

Friendly and open people: Although many years of fierce war history have passed, the Vietnamese still keep hospitality and generosity for international people. Vietnamese people are skillful, approachable and enthusiastic, have a demand for progress and optimism.

 A peaceful country: Compared to some neighboring countries in the region, Vietnam seems safer to live and work.

The weather is relatively pleasant: Vietnam has a climate difference between the North, Central and South. It means that in a year there will always be an area with very nice weather.

Amazing natural landscape: Vietnam is famous for its many attractive and inspiring tourist attractions with countless beautiful beaches, cool highlands with fresh lakes and streams.

I'd say these reasons are pretty accurate of Vietnam, besides the fact that 15% of expats in Vietnam earn more than $250,000, because I didn't know that. I can see how that is true though. With the economy advancing, many companies in Vietnam require foreigners expertly specialized in that profession to hold high or top positions. That way, the company would excel to an international level of standard. Another job many expats take on is teaching English or teaching in English. Vietnamese parents are willing to pay thousands of US dollars to provide their children a proper English education. To have a proper English education, you would need.....? You guessed it! A native English speaking teacher! Therefore, the demand is high. I will go into further details on how/what regarding being an English teacher in a later post. 

I must add to this list another reason why I love living in Vietnam: It's so affordable to travel here! In Saigon, I can be at the beach and up in the mountains within an hour! The flight to Da Lat is about 30 minutes. Seriously. Shortest flight time I have ever been on. From Saigon, I can fly to Da Nang in 45 minutes. Now do note this is the actual time on the plane from take off to landing. Airport time adds an extra hour or two. If I don't feel like flying, I can get to Vung Tau Beach by car in 1.5 hrs. If I want to go international, tickets are just as much or even less than flying from state to state in the US and flight time is little to get to the other Southeast or East Asian countries. So I should say, I love it for the opportunities to experience. 

Of course there are pros and cons to every place we live. Do your research, weigh your options, be prepared for any scenarios, and lastly, go experience because you will never know until you try. 

Source: http://genk.vn/singapore-bi-danh-bat-khoi-vi-tri-quoc-gia-dang-song-nhat-hanh-tinh-viet-nam-nam-trong-top-10-20190705103530409.chn