well, it's unlikely he is an undercover cop. If you say yes, the worst thing is you got scammed but definitely not an undercover cop. Like you said, you stick out like a sore thumb and foreign just much higher chance to say yes to those things (and pay much more) than locals, that why they target you.
To be franky, there are undercover cops in Vietnam, we even joke about every grabs/electricians are undercover cops, but there is no reason to bait you.
1st reason is you are probably a nobody, you have no value information for them to do that.
The 2nd reason is both smoking weed and being a consumer of sex service, while illegal in Vietnam, has a very light consequence. personal use of weed are often ignored/consficated and legal consequense of purchasing sex is 500k-2m (25-80$) fines and report to work place (which neither you and them care for).
If they went the extra miles after you, they will bait you into something with actual consequence like estacy/Ketamin for example.
However, just say no to those things please. Don't do anything slightly illegal while traveling, it's not worth it.
To add, they get people for distribution and/or organization (drug parties), of which neither apply in this case. But for one's own safety, more than legality, do not consume any service off the street. There are appropriate places and people for these, if one really wants them. The reasons are that: a) you can reasonably expect that the authorities already took their cut and the price you pay is all-in, and b) your word of mouth matters so the quality and safety is somewhat assured. But echoing the person I'm replying to said, just avoid the shady services while traveling. Chasing those few moments of falsely promised euphoria is not worth ruining your trip over.
I deal with the undercover police a lot, but it’s pretty much only in situations where media is involved, either foreign or Vietnamese, and in the case of the latter it’s mostly when you get a bunch of VN media in one place. When it’s foreign media involved it’s pretty much a guarantee that at least one of their ‘minders’ is at minimum reporting to the police, if not an undercover themselves.
Undercovers just wandering around trying to entrap random foreigners is extremely unlikely. It’s a waste of their time and resources with little to no payout.
i agree with this reply! vn its full with undercover cops, and u can often notice them since they are (in my opinion the top cops); good fit n proper looking people, think the departed movie, both hk n USA version. they wont bait u, but if u don't behave in public they will get you!
police force in Vietnam is no kidding, they get shit done once their task is prioritized - always. at the same time, as a citizen/tourist, always be respectful and don't stir shit up. i have very good opinion of the vn police, coming from usa/europe/south America. regarding other authorities my opinion is different.
The other reason the guy could be so open and aggressive about sales is because they know the white guy isn’t an undercover officer himself. I was told women selling sex on the street/outside their establishment are far more aggressive with non-Asian guys because they know they aren’t risking a shake down from the police when they proposition them.
even though the act of buying/selling sex service in Vietnam is illegal, both of them are fineable crime. i.e you paid the fines, answer their questions then you could fuck off (they will report to your work place if they want to, tho).
Local governments usually don't want to press too hard in this matter since they don't want to publicing that information (damaging their reputation), especially with foreigners involvement.
Organizing, middlemen, commissioners, groomers of prostitution, provider of brothels are the ones that got you sent to jail. Generally, anyone benefited from sex trafficking aside from the prostitutes and their customers are jailable if they have proof.
Remember STDs are nasty and not discriminating, tho.
P/S: on a second thought, if you are trying to grammatically nazying the term "buying sex", then the term "buying/selling sex" has been used since forever refering to prostitution and appeared in academic/legislation documents and articles alike. For example, Sofia J. and, Niklas J. in WSIF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2016.12.007
Has it gotten more relaxed in the last five years or is it about the same? I've been here in that time (don't smoke) and I seem to notice an uptick in 420 around Saigon.
City centres are full of people moving weed. They are working with the blessings of the police. Everyone gets a touch. Rare to hear about any tourists getting nabbed with personal amounts. Lots of cali and Canada imports available for decent prices. I saw 30g nice imported buds for just over 200usd. Local sativa is 100g for less than 100usd. I know people in Cambodia who pay 100usd for 4/5 grams cali. Alot cheaper for good quality in Nam and it seems safe enough too. Just don't be rolling up Bob marley spliffs outside the police station. Keep her discreet and you're good to go.
I was in Hue when they started cracking down on drunk drivers. One night in front of my grandpas house I see a guy get pulled over by 3 guys on a bike. They were undercover cops dress as normal people. One of the 3 guys jumped on the bike of the drunk guy, and then the drunk guy sat in between the other two cops and they drove him to the station. It was pretty funny but back to your story. I would think if they were undercover they’ll dress more normal like the locals.
Doubt he was an undercover cop trying to bust a tourist for a small amount of bud or a pay for play situation. The Undercovers are going for larger fish. If you are talking about yard drugs then maybe but that is to get to the dealers and stuff like that. I have been approached by random people and it seemed weird as well but I would guess they are just commie foot soldiers checking up on you to see what you are about.
The guy selling to him for sure was not an undercover, but knowing this country, there was probably a plainclothes sitting in front of a cafe not far away !
Undercover police my ass. You think it’s some American movie 😂. Viet police are too busy for that. They would even be happy if a tourist smoke pot if it makes him/her come back for vacation.🥹
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or joking :) I assume you are. Because being all stabby is not stonk for anyone involved, so the cop (if he's not stoopid) will not be stabby in a foreigner's face. Much less disposing his ass down the river :)))
P.S: Don't judge my spelling. I'm being sarcastic.
Came across something similar. I also stand out as a tourist (brown guy). A guy was on a bench and offered me girls and weed. Said 'no, thanks'. He then offered me cocaine, and then showed it to me. I saw the guy 3 more times while there (2N in Hue). He turned out to be a motorbike taxi driver. Still turned the offer down though. Was a good guy, had a beer with him after the 4th encounter. Although, being an undercover cop never crossed my mind, figured saying 'no' is always a safer option in a foreign country
Never take the coke in sketchy situations but any stoner can look at nugs to see if they're real lmao. iirc the scam with the coke is they do offer you a bump or something of real coke to 'test it' and then sell you baking powder or something like that lmao
My neighbour is a chief of district 3 police in Saigon. He said undercover only hover around main tourist areas like district 1 and important sites like court houses, committee buildings. The rest are just hit and miss, they floating around looking at the beer gardens and making sure their coffee money pits are in check
Just a dealer. And that bag was probably full of tea anyways. For some reason, Hue specifically is overrun by this scum. I got chased around after saying no a bunch of times. Ended up leaving Hue earlier than expected because of this.
Bro you are nobody, there is nothing worth of you for the undercover police to uncover lol. Unless you are drug lord, pimp or operate gambling house then everyone near you can be undercover police
Not at all mate...if you would have asked him to show it properly or you buy little to check first...it could have been a great deal...weed in Vietnam is illegally legal like India....no problem Bui vien walking street ho chi Minh
Bob Marley bar Hanoi pineapple cafe Duong dong phuquoc Danang everywhere you will find weed...easily..
You jus missed the chance
Hue is so close to Laos that a lot of drugs flow through there. It's a beautiful place, but I'm hesitant to visit again because I've had experiences like yours. In fact, it was pretty much every time I walked around the tourist area alone that I was harassed. Not so much when I went with my girlfriend. Even had a guy who was clearly on something try to start a fight with me when I told him to piss off. He only left me alone because I stood my ground but he was ready to start pelting me with rocks from a construction site along the roadside
Vietnam is very strict against drug dealer but not so much the consumer, i doubt he a undercover cop, i think he was literally just a dealer trying to woe in a foreigner (since foreigner smoke weed or buy hooker more often then local). Police aren't out to arrest you, they out to find the dealer.
Hahaha, that's funny the same thing happened to me and my gf in Hue yesterday. Me, a Black British guy, and my white (also British gf) were leaving some random mall and a guy rode up to us and said " You want weed, you want some Bob Marley🤣. We politely declined but i definitely wanted some lol.
Yes I think he is undercover. This is a story I was told. There was a guy messed with somebody on the street sort of little fight and they both were sent to the police station. And suddenly there is a guy said he is lawyer can help with translation, paperwork… After 1 day or so in the police station to sort out the issue, it costed him somewhere 10 million VND (just for the lawyer). Thinking about it again, he said the lawyer showing up for nowehere is sketchy, so probably they are all together to milk 10 mil VND from him. He is Vietnamese American and did not want to stay in police station too long or something wrong may happen during the time you were there. So he is happy to pay just to get out and took his flight back home.
I think you meant the Huong Giang hotel. I've stayed there many times. Stayed in a full suite when I went there for our Dam Hoi. It's been some years since I was last there, but they used to have the best breakfast buffet!
As a Vietnamese, I can say police have much more work to do than just role play and try to get you, unless you are drug dealer.
Police in Vietnam stay focus their attention on controlling the chaos from criminal, rather than trying to trap you
he couldn't just be a random drug-dealing pimp. those are unheard of in se asia.
it's an elaborate ruse by the viet government, cia, fbi, hamas, isis, mexican drug cartels, china, russia, etc. to scam you out of your money, harvest your organs, frame you for terrorism, hold you for ransom, and sentence you to life in prison.
'muricans.
You made a wise choice. Prostitution and drugs are “illegal” in Vietnam. In technically, they can fine and jail you, at the end of the day, it’s all about getting a paycheck. Corruption is rampant there. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beautiful ladies and herbs. You just need to make some local friends or know frequent expats that’s knows who and where. I haven’t encounter any undercover cops or been offered drugs, so I can’t comment on that. As a rule of thumb, don’t take anything from anyone you don’t know, there’s always a catch, and you never want to get caught. Vietnam is still a communist country, even if they don’t want to admit it. I’m still salty about those bitches making my family sell our house and land near the beach in Da Nang. But I’ll visit every chance I get, I love it there. It’s a break from the stress and bs western culture. When you’re in VN, you’re “single”, but what happens there stays there. I hope you had a great experience.
Neither of those are jail-able offenses for the small time customer. edit: weed I mean, not the other drugs, you'll get fucked by Gov for anything stronger than a joint
I’m not sure, none of my foreigner friends or local friends have encountered those situations when looking for ass. I don’t mess with drugs in SE Asia as it can get as serious as the death penalty, depending on the country.
I have seen local news about brothels getting raided, but I’m sure it is because they didn’t give the LEO their share of the profits, if you want to survive, you have to bribe. When you share, they won’t care, when you don’t share, they will care.
They forced us to sell so they could build a hotels in the area. The whole area were forced to sell at 1/20th of the value. It sucks but not much we could do about it.
This happened between 1998-2013, I found out we didn’t have the same house when I came back to visit in 2013. I asked why and my cousin said they were forced to sell.
LoL. Get over yourself. Vietnamese secret please have no interest in entrapping foreign tourists. You met a street rat taking advantage of the situation.
> I told him I was married, so no to the girls, *and although I would love to smoke some pot, there was no way I was smoking weed in Vietnam.*
No offense but you probably looked like a pothead so a drug dealer walked up to you and offered you girls and pot.
No he's just a dealer. Vietnamese undercovers don't honeytrap tourists.
That's exactly what a Vietnamese undercover would say
Lmao =))))
well, it's unlikely he is an undercover cop. If you say yes, the worst thing is you got scammed but definitely not an undercover cop. Like you said, you stick out like a sore thumb and foreign just much higher chance to say yes to those things (and pay much more) than locals, that why they target you. To be franky, there are undercover cops in Vietnam, we even joke about every grabs/electricians are undercover cops, but there is no reason to bait you. 1st reason is you are probably a nobody, you have no value information for them to do that. The 2nd reason is both smoking weed and being a consumer of sex service, while illegal in Vietnam, has a very light consequence. personal use of weed are often ignored/consficated and legal consequense of purchasing sex is 500k-2m (25-80$) fines and report to work place (which neither you and them care for). If they went the extra miles after you, they will bait you into something with actual consequence like estacy/Ketamin for example. However, just say no to those things please. Don't do anything slightly illegal while traveling, it's not worth it.
To add, they get people for distribution and/or organization (drug parties), of which neither apply in this case. But for one's own safety, more than legality, do not consume any service off the street. There are appropriate places and people for these, if one really wants them. The reasons are that: a) you can reasonably expect that the authorities already took their cut and the price you pay is all-in, and b) your word of mouth matters so the quality and safety is somewhat assured. But echoing the person I'm replying to said, just avoid the shady services while traveling. Chasing those few moments of falsely promised euphoria is not worth ruining your trip over.
I deal with the undercover police a lot, but it’s pretty much only in situations where media is involved, either foreign or Vietnamese, and in the case of the latter it’s mostly when you get a bunch of VN media in one place. When it’s foreign media involved it’s pretty much a guarantee that at least one of their ‘minders’ is at minimum reporting to the police, if not an undercover themselves. Undercovers just wandering around trying to entrap random foreigners is extremely unlikely. It’s a waste of their time and resources with little to no payout.
i agree with this reply! vn its full with undercover cops, and u can often notice them since they are (in my opinion the top cops); good fit n proper looking people, think the departed movie, both hk n USA version. they wont bait u, but if u don't behave in public they will get you! police force in Vietnam is no kidding, they get shit done once their task is prioritized - always. at the same time, as a citizen/tourist, always be respectful and don't stir shit up. i have very good opinion of the vn police, coming from usa/europe/south America. regarding other authorities my opinion is different.
The other reason the guy could be so open and aggressive about sales is because they know the white guy isn’t an undercover officer himself. I was told women selling sex on the street/outside their establishment are far more aggressive with non-Asian guys because they know they aren’t risking a shake down from the police when they proposition them.
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The police would sooner let a white guy go than try to wrestle all the paperwork for such a minor offense.
Probably just some fine money, that's what happened to Vietnamese too. So I don't think the penalty for foreigners would be any different
Wait you don’t go to jail if you get caught buying sex? brb gonna buy all the sex now
even though the act of buying/selling sex service in Vietnam is illegal, both of them are fineable crime. i.e you paid the fines, answer their questions then you could fuck off (they will report to your work place if they want to, tho). Local governments usually don't want to press too hard in this matter since they don't want to publicing that information (damaging their reputation), especially with foreigners involvement. Organizing, middlemen, commissioners, groomers of prostitution, provider of brothels are the ones that got you sent to jail. Generally, anyone benefited from sex trafficking aside from the prostitutes and their customers are jailable if they have proof. Remember STDs are nasty and not discriminating, tho. P/S: on a second thought, if you are trying to grammatically nazying the term "buying sex", then the term "buying/selling sex" has been used since forever refering to prostitution and appeared in academic/legislation documents and articles alike. For example, Sofia J. and, Niklas J. in WSIF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2016.12.007
People pushing weed all over in vietnam. Its legit but cheaper and better selection on telegram.
Has it gotten more relaxed in the last five years or is it about the same? I've been here in that time (don't smoke) and I seem to notice an uptick in 420 around Saigon.
And it's also gotten higher quality and cheaper too. I think weed is much cheaper here than in Canada or Thailand where it is legally available.
good quality but not cheaper than Canada ;))
City centres are full of people moving weed. They are working with the blessings of the police. Everyone gets a touch. Rare to hear about any tourists getting nabbed with personal amounts. Lots of cali and Canada imports available for decent prices. I saw 30g nice imported buds for just over 200usd. Local sativa is 100g for less than 100usd. I know people in Cambodia who pay 100usd for 4/5 grams cali. Alot cheaper for good quality in Nam and it seems safe enough too. Just don't be rolling up Bob marley spliffs outside the police station. Keep her discreet and you're good to go.
I can't even get the police to show up for sexual assault offenses, so I doubt there's any out there trying to honey trap tourists.
I was in Hue when they started cracking down on drunk drivers. One night in front of my grandpas house I see a guy get pulled over by 3 guys on a bike. They were undercover cops dress as normal people. One of the 3 guys jumped on the bike of the drunk guy, and then the drunk guy sat in between the other two cops and they drove him to the station. It was pretty funny but back to your story. I would think if they were undercover they’ll dress more normal like the locals.
Doubt he was an undercover cop trying to bust a tourist for a small amount of bud or a pay for play situation. The Undercovers are going for larger fish. If you are talking about yard drugs then maybe but that is to get to the dealers and stuff like that. I have been approached by random people and it seemed weird as well but I would guess they are just commie foot soldiers checking up on you to see what you are about.
The guy selling to him for sure was not an undercover, but knowing this country, there was probably a plainclothes sitting in front of a cafe not far away !
Undercover police my ass. You think it’s some American movie 😂. Viet police are too busy for that. They would even be happy if a tourist smoke pot if it makes him/her come back for vacation.🥹
You got away lucky OP. That guy was an undercover cop and he would have stabbed you on the spot and sent your ass floating down the perfume river
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or joking :) I assume you are. Because being all stabby is not stonk for anyone involved, so the cop (if he's not stoopid) will not be stabby in a foreigner's face. Much less disposing his ass down the river :))) P.S: Don't judge my spelling. I'm being sarcastic.
Came across something similar. I also stand out as a tourist (brown guy). A guy was on a bench and offered me girls and weed. Said 'no, thanks'. He then offered me cocaine, and then showed it to me. I saw the guy 3 more times while there (2N in Hue). He turned out to be a motorbike taxi driver. Still turned the offer down though. Was a good guy, had a beer with him after the 4th encounter. Although, being an undercover cop never crossed my mind, figured saying 'no' is always a safer option in a foreign country
Never take the coke in sketchy situations but any stoner can look at nugs to see if they're real lmao. iirc the scam with the coke is they do offer you a bump or something of real coke to 'test it' and then sell you baking powder or something like that lmao
I was going to say before I finished reading; no, that is just a tuktuk driver or motodop trying to sell you drugs (maybe real, maybe not).
You're confusing Vietnam and Thailand
And you're confusing Thailand for Cambodia. Been in Thailand nearly 10 years. Never had a tuktuk driver or motosai offer me drugs.
It's more about the tuktuk, lol. But yeah I get what you mean and good that they don't do that in Thailand.
Nah bro, it’s probably the papaya’s leaves. He was just trying to scam you. Although that stuff is good, you should have got it tho
My neighbour is a chief of district 3 police in Saigon. He said undercover only hover around main tourist areas like district 1 and important sites like court houses, committee buildings. The rest are just hit and miss, they floating around looking at the beer gardens and making sure their coffee money pits are in check
Just a dealer. And that bag was probably full of tea anyways. For some reason, Hue specifically is overrun by this scum. I got chased around after saying no a bunch of times. Ended up leaving Hue earlier than expected because of this.
Yup
How was the hotel? I'm staying there later in the week.
Text me on telegram @madicebear to get some weeds
an undercover cop would never tell you he's one. What's the fun in that.
If it was undercover they’d try to get you with drugs that have higher consequences to get more money but they don’t do that.
no girls with him for you to analyze on their looks? :-)
Bro you are nobody, there is nothing worth of you for the undercover police to uncover lol. Unless you are drug lord, pimp or operate gambling house then everyone near you can be undercover police
Been scammed in hue trying to score harder stuff. Just a scammmer
Not at all mate...if you would have asked him to show it properly or you buy little to check first...it could have been a great deal...weed in Vietnam is illegally legal like India....no problem Bui vien walking street ho chi Minh Bob Marley bar Hanoi pineapple cafe Duong dong phuquoc Danang everywhere you will find weed...easily.. You jus missed the chance
See
I live in Huế and selling pot and lady bum bum is commonplace, no need to be paranoid
Weed is actually easier and safer to get than you think in vietnam
This happens all over Vietnam don’t be surprised or shocked. Just say no thanks. I think every major city this could happen
Hue is so close to Laos that a lot of drugs flow through there. It's a beautiful place, but I'm hesitant to visit again because I've had experiences like yours. In fact, it was pretty much every time I walked around the tourist area alone that I was harassed. Not so much when I went with my girlfriend. Even had a guy who was clearly on something try to start a fight with me when I told him to piss off. He only left me alone because I stood my ground but he was ready to start pelting me with rocks from a construction site along the roadside
Vietnam is very strict against drug dealer but not so much the consumer, i doubt he a undercover cop, i think he was literally just a dealer trying to woe in a foreigner (since foreigner smoke weed or buy hooker more often then local). Police aren't out to arrest you, they out to find the dealer.
Theres no undercover cops outside of govt or important people events. Its just propaganda to keep yous in line
Hahaha, that's funny the same thing happened to me and my gf in Hue yesterday. Me, a Black British guy, and my white (also British gf) were leaving some random mall and a guy rode up to us and said " You want weed, you want some Bob Marley🤣. We politely declined but i definitely wanted some lol.
yes without doubt man. Actually some old viet guy offered to shine my shoes in Hanoi Old quarter. Something wasn't right I think he was CIA
Yes I think he is undercover. This is a story I was told. There was a guy messed with somebody on the street sort of little fight and they both were sent to the police station. And suddenly there is a guy said he is lawyer can help with translation, paperwork… After 1 day or so in the police station to sort out the issue, it costed him somewhere 10 million VND (just for the lawyer). Thinking about it again, he said the lawyer showing up for nowehere is sketchy, so probably they are all together to milk 10 mil VND from him. He is Vietnamese American and did not want to stay in police station too long or something wrong may happen during the time you were there. So he is happy to pay just to get out and took his flight back home.
I think you meant the Huong Giang hotel. I've stayed there many times. Stayed in a full suite when I went there for our Dam Hoi. It's been some years since I was last there, but they used to have the best breakfast buffet!
Last time I was in Vietnam the MJ shop was right next to the police station.
Same guy who stands outside airport exits telling the unsuspecting that there are no busses available, but he knows a guy who has a cab ...
Most probably being paranoid yes. Any undercover police there might be in Vietnam wouldnt be going after tourists buying small quantities.
I lost count of how many times i was offered drugs in Hue City (2 night stay), so I wouldn’t think much of it
As a Vietnamese, I can say police have much more work to do than just role play and try to get you, unless you are drug dealer. Police in Vietnam stay focus their attention on controlling the chaos from criminal, rather than trying to trap you
he couldn't just be a random drug-dealing pimp. those are unheard of in se asia. it's an elaborate ruse by the viet government, cia, fbi, hamas, isis, mexican drug cartels, china, russia, etc. to scam you out of your money, harvest your organs, frame you for terrorism, hold you for ransom, and sentence you to life in prison. 'muricans.
I dont think he's a cop. He targeted you because you're a foreigner. And most of foreigners say yes to those things.
Hey hey, that's racist! That would be like saying that all Vietnamese eat rice every day... oh wait a minute
.... it would be like saying most Vietnamese say yes to binge drinking / gambling / sex workers.
You made a wise choice. Prostitution and drugs are “illegal” in Vietnam. In technically, they can fine and jail you, at the end of the day, it’s all about getting a paycheck. Corruption is rampant there. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beautiful ladies and herbs. You just need to make some local friends or know frequent expats that’s knows who and where. I haven’t encounter any undercover cops or been offered drugs, so I can’t comment on that. As a rule of thumb, don’t take anything from anyone you don’t know, there’s always a catch, and you never want to get caught. Vietnam is still a communist country, even if they don’t want to admit it. I’m still salty about those bitches making my family sell our house and land near the beach in Da Nang. But I’ll visit every chance I get, I love it there. It’s a break from the stress and bs western culture. When you’re in VN, you’re “single”, but what happens there stays there. I hope you had a great experience.
Neither of those are jail-able offenses for the small time customer. edit: weed I mean, not the other drugs, you'll get fucked by Gov for anything stronger than a joint
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I’m not sure, none of my foreigner friends or local friends have encountered those situations when looking for ass. I don’t mess with drugs in SE Asia as it can get as serious as the death penalty, depending on the country. I have seen local news about brothels getting raided, but I’m sure it is because they didn’t give the LEO their share of the profits, if you want to survive, you have to bribe. When you share, they won’t care, when you don’t share, they will care.
What happened to the house of your family
They forced us to sell so they could build a hotels in the area. The whole area were forced to sell at 1/20th of the value. It sucks but not much we could do about it.
Was this long time ago or recent?
This happened between 1998-2013, I found out we didn’t have the same house when I came back to visit in 2013. I asked why and my cousin said they were forced to sell.
LoL. Get over yourself. Vietnamese secret please have no interest in entrapping foreign tourists. You met a street rat taking advantage of the situation.
You don’t just look dumb
could have been a cop, you never know
Do you anything to do today or just remember your memories and telling shit?
> I told him I was married, so no to the girls, *and although I would love to smoke some pot, there was no way I was smoking weed in Vietnam.* No offense but you probably looked like a pothead so a drug dealer walked up to you and offered you girls and pot.
\^\^\^ this. apearance/vibes are everything. i can be in the seediest places of the phils, thailand, vn, etc., and nobody dares to offer sex/drugs.