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The ferry/bus combo isn't bad, and he's definitely right about the overnighting - though I think there's a night ferry (I took one once anyway). The ferry and bus combined take something like 10-11 hours if I recall, though, which is a chunk of time. If you're just backpacking without much time pressure I recommend it. Might as well get in the groove. It's not a bad trip, really, just a bit long - I don't like bus rides over 4 hours, heh. If you're in a hurry, though, and it won't require an overnight, flying will shave about 4-5 hours off your trip (since you'll already be at the airport). You can fly several carriers into Samui now, by the way, none of them cheap, heh. THAI and Bangkok Airways are the domestic carriers, but if you're flying international you can book through to Samui on various airlines direct and via codeshare. Sadly the old lovely little Samui airport has been replaced by a new less-lovely Samui airport.
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May 16, 2010 03:17
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Steve. posted:I've used these guys before, with great success: http://www.lomprayah.com/. They have a morning departure which arrives at Koh Tao at about 3pm from memory, and another overnight journey that arrives on Koh Tao at about 8am, again from memory. Edit: seems you have to book 3 days in advance, so I'll either hit up their offices when I get back to Bangkok and see what's what, or just get the train down to Chumpon myself and catch a Catamaran. There's a million agencies splattered all over Kao San who I'm sure would be keen to arrange something, but I'm hesitant to use one that hasn't been vouched for. ZeroDays fucked around with this message at 05:18 on May 16, 2010 |
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May 16, 2010 05:08
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ZeroDays posted:I'm heading to Koh Tao either tomorrow or the next day, and thus far, I've been arranging all travel myself and avoiding travel agencies to save a few bahts. But arranging island travel seems a little bit of a headache, and I must admit, having someone else arrange everything would be better than the stress of winging it I've experienced so far. These guys are also mentioned in Lonely Planet guide which is certainly worth a lot, and I've found that book to be absolutely invaluable so far, and don't know what I'd have done without it (gone to travel agencies I guess...). As well you should be hesitant - one of the big problems with DIY island travel are the dodgy operators who will probably eventually get you to where you wish to do, but it'll be uncomfortable and not at all the service that was advertised... and most importantly there's a tendency for valuables to go missing from bags. Songserm, Lomprayah, and Seatran are very reputable. Make sure you do the trip during the day. The scenery from the ferry as one leaves the Lomprayah dock at Chumpon (which is actually a bit out of Chumpon but easy by taxi) is spectacular and well worth seeing. The booking 3 days ahead thing is only relevant to online bookings - just show up at the office or use an agency to book the Lomprayah ticket for you (but make sure it's not Lamprayah or Lompray or other shifty schemes to make you think you're getting what you should be). I've used them a bunch of times and the ferry has never been full, even in the height of the full moon party transport rush.
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May 16, 2010 05:38
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Steve. posted:The booking 3 days ahead thing is only relevant to online bookings - just show up at the office or use an agency to book the Lomprayah ticket for you (but make sure it's not Lamprayah or Lompray or other shifty schemes to make you think you're getting what you should be). I've used them a bunch of times and the ferry has never been full, even in the height of the full moon party transport rush. Thanks - having just done some digging around online, it appears Lomprayah is the safest and best choice, and will actually be cheaper than were I to arrange the train and catamaran myself. I'll definitely go to their offices when I get to Bangkok tomorrow, which I understand is in Soi Rambuttri, near Kao San Road. I'll be extra vigilant for slight mispellings (devious fuckers). As for traveling back to Bangkok, man am I tired of telling my family there's nothing to worry about. Even if there was, it honestly doesn't bother me and I don't give a poo poo, but when tabloids back home are spouting out sensationalist headlines like "Tourists Risk Being Stranded in Thailand Civil War", it roils up unnecessary worry in people. Jesus Christ.
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May 16, 2010 06:10
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ZeroDays posted:Thanks - having just done some digging around online, it appears Lomprayah is the safest and best choice, and will actually be cheaper than were I to arrange the train and catamaran myself. I'll definitely go to their offices when I get to Bangkok tomorrow, which I understand is in Soi Rambuttri, near Kao San Road. I'll be extra vigilant for slight mispellings (devious fuckers). No worries. The office is very close to Khaosan, but the bus doesn't leave from there - it's a few hundred metres down the road and around a corner, but there's a guide to lead the passengers when all the paperwork is complete. Basically all the passengers check in at the office, and then walk to the bus. If you're worried about Bangkok (but it doesn't sound like you are!) it may be worth considering another fun option to get to Koh Tao: 1) (optinal) Fly to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 2) Transfer to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (Subang) airport. Allow 2.5 hours for the transfer by taxi. KL traffic sucks, and the airports are nowhere near each other. If one is already in KL then it shouldn't be more than an hour from KLCC to Subang by taxi. 3) Fly Firefly from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Samui. It's much cheaper than a Bangkok to Koh Samui flight. 4) The morning flight will allow a connection to the afternoon Lomprayah ferry. Another Malaysian airline, Berjaya Air, fly between Subang and Koh Samui but their flight doesn't connect with a ferry the same day on the way to Koh Tao, but on the way back to Kuala Lumpur they are the best option because they operate an evening flight that the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Samui will connect with.
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May 16, 2010 06:30
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Isn't there a North Korean restaurant in Phnom Penh? I went to the North Korean restaurant in Vientanne because the guide book said there was some kind of north korean dancing show in the middle of it all. Instead all i got was glorious propaganda videos and the chance to half listen to someone on another table talking about all the important and generous things the north korean government is doing. Plus the food was expensive and poo poo.
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May 16, 2010 06:41
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Arzakon posted:Not sure about Kho San and I stayed near Petronas for work but BB Plaza makes sense to me as a good tourist home base in KL. It is walking distance to Petronas if you don't mind the heat and a taxi would be 5RM by the meter (haha good luck) or you can haggle with the driver for 10-15RM flat rate. Same for KL tower. You can go directly to hotels and malls and use a taxi counter for a flat rate to Batu Caves (I want to say mine was 19RM each way for what is a relatively long taxi ride). Do Batu Caves for sure and KL Tower for the view (Don't do the dinner, its way too expensive for what amounts to a marginal buffet). Prescient. I got scammed by two taxi drivers within 10 minutes of each other. I found lodging right by the train station (KL Sentral) after pulling in on night #1. On morning #2 I decided to go more toward the center of the city (at the time, I didn't realize that Chinatown and Bukit Bintang were a super-easy 1RM skytrain ride away). So I get in a cab and the guy doesn't start the meter after about 2 minutes at a stop light. I say "meter please?" and he says "oh sorry..." and reluctantly turns it on. Then he takes me up and down a highway before finally alighting in the Chinatown area. At this point, it's up to 9RM from 3RM base. I then realize that I left my drat iPod back at the internet cafe I had just left so I ask him to take me back. This time he has no need to use the highways. 2RM later, he drops me off and I pay him 11RM like a sucker. So now I call for another cab. This guy ALSO doesn't turn on the meter. When I say "Bikut Bintang?" he says "oooh, that's usually 20-25 ringitt. today i'll take you there for 15 only." Then, the gall of it all, he says "you should be very careful! the cab drivers here will try to cheat you!" and he goes on in that vein for 2-3 minutes; meanwhile, between the first cabbie and this guy, i'm becoming certain that something is up (foolishly, I don't ask him to turn on his meter) so I say "Just take me to Chinatown, I'll give you 5RM." He hems and haws and pretends it's going to be a huge headache but eventually does so. End result: out 16RM but my iPod hadn't gotten snatched* so I'm not going to complain. * - Actually, when I returned to the internet cafe (this was literally about 30 minutes after I had left) the iPod wasn't at the computer I was using. So I asked the head muckety muck "you see iPod here?" at first he says no. Then I say "small, white electronic?" and he goes to his desk, opens the second drawer and hands it to me. Don't know if he wanted to take it or if he wasnted to keep it from being snatched by a civilian but between this guy and the two cabbies, my estimation of Malaysian honesty and truthfulness took a bit of a hit. ReindeerF posted:I'm sure you've read the history by now, but KL is basically a colonial construct of a city, only about a century old and not particularly exciting as capital cities go. Malaysia can be a very cool place, but KL's not a lot of fun as a tourist (though I like it for a few days at a time as a break from Bangkok). So I got here last night. Plan is to meet friends in Krabi on the 18th but I have couple days to burn in the meantime. Christ almighty is this place boring without other people you know. I drove a moped around all day, which was fun. But I was feeling super-lonely and depressed so I tried to walk down the main drag on Patong and it was all just... dunno, artificial? too loud? too full of creepy europeans and boring family travelers where ko pha ngan was full of lively and interesting people? Definitely not nearly as welcoming and fun as Ko Pha Ngan, where you can just go to the beach, douse your head in a couple buckets and start making smalltalk with a cutey from Sweden or Ireland or the UK. Haven't been scammed yet (though one of my friends from Ko Pha Ngan apparently got swindled; this happened two days after I left the island--according to his status update, he was given a jet ski with a hole in the bottom, hauled off to the police station, "knocked around a bit" and forced to pay 35,000 bhat. for his sake i pray that he was joking around but i dont think he was. i'll look to get more details later but i'm extremely grateful that the two times i used a jetski i didnt get swindled) but i have one more day here. Broohaha fucked around with this message at 16:09 on May 16, 2010 |
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May 16, 2010 16:06
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Sadly the US embassy in Bangkok closed friday and now monday too. That sucks because this means interviews got pushed back. Im hoping things get straighted out a bit this week because they moved all earlier interviews to next friday. I was in Bangkok near the embassy but I got tired of all the broken glass and seeing poo poo on fire in the middle of the street. Im going to hang out in Udon until later in the week. Hoping like a bastard the embassy doesnt stay closed and that I can get back down to Bangkok at the end of the week 
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May 16, 2010 16:14
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Broohaha posted:Haven't been scammed yet (though one of my friends from Ko Pha Ngan apparently got swindled; this happened two days after I left the island--according to his status update, he was given a jet ski with a hole in the bottom, hauled off to the police station, "knocked around a bit" and forced to pay 35,000 bhat. for his sake i pray that he was joking around but i dont think he was. i'll look to get more details later but i'm extremely grateful that the two times i used a jetski i didnt get swindled) but i have one more day here. Franco Caution posted:Sadly the US embassy in Bangkok closed friday and now monday too. The Embassy's having a town hall meeting on Sukhumvit Soi 31 at the S31 hotel at 14:00 on Tuesday if that helps. The announcement is on the US Embassy BKK web site. Probably won't get your interview, but you could at least press the flesh and get a date certain or something.In the mean time have fun up in New Daengistan!
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May 16, 2010 21:05
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Broohaha posted:So I got here last night. Plan is to meet friends in Krabi on the 18th but I have couple days to burn in the meantime. Christ almighty is this place boring without other people you know. I drove a moped around all day, which was fun. But I was feeling super-lonely and depressed so I tried to walk down the main drag on Patong and it was all just... dunno, artificial? too loud? too full of creepy europeans and boring family travelers where ko pha ngan was full of lively and interesting people? Definitely not nearly as welcoming and fun as Ko Pha Ngan, where you can just go to the beach, douse your head in a couple buckets and start making smalltalk with a cutey from Sweden or Ireland or the UK. Yup, that's what we've all been saying, Phuket's not great compared to the other island destinations... Re. taxi drivers, I wouldn't let their dodgy poo poo rub off on you as a negative impression of Malaysians overall. It's just a taxi driver thing no matter where you go; they pull the same poo poo in western countries, like here in Sydney.
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May 16, 2010 22:12
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brendanwor posted:Re. taxi drivers, I wouldn't let their dodgy poo poo rub off on you as a negative impression of Malaysians overall. It's just a taxi driver thing no matter where you go; they pull the same poo poo in western countries, like here in Sydney. Kuala Lumpur is pretty bad for taxi drivers trying to screw people out of money, though. It's not just particular to whiteys, either. I went to school with a guy from Malaysia. He's lived in Kuala Lumpur for 15 years. Maybe he's just a sucker (possible) but he complains about being ripped off by taxi drivers too. Outside KL and other major tourist places, the screwing stops - or at least, they're more subtle about it. I was surprised that even on Langkawi, the taxi drivers weren't trying to rip me off. Sabah and Sarawak even more so - they seemed to go out of their way to ensure the metred fare was as low as possible.
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May 16, 2010 23:14
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Manila's the worst I've dealt with in SE Asia on taxis. If you're not a Pinoy it doesn't matter who you are or if you speak the language, unless you get the yellow cab from the airport. It's a little pricier, but they're honest on the meter. Everywhere else it's nonstop fuckery. Bangkok is actually fantastic in this respect. It's easily the most honest bunch of taxi people in a major developing world city that I've seen, though there's a big caveat of "unless you're hailing a cab in front of: patpong, grand palace, soi cowboy, khao san road, nana, anywhere on lower sukhimvit and sometimes at the airport." Heh.
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May 16, 2010 23:19
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Ok we've decided to still stick around Thailand for the first part of our trip so we are wondering if the other cities in Thailand (Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai) are still safe to travel to just because they are under a state of emergency as well.
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May 16, 2010 23:53
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Currently everywhere is pretty safe other than certain parts of Bangkok. It's possible in certain areas you could run into an ad hoc checkpoint or a local rally, but it's difficult to imagine this causing you any problems in your trip and it's pretty unlikely to happens. These people aren't interested in buses full of foreigners, so unless something drastic changes I'd say not to sweat it. As far as I know, other than some local rallies out in bumfuck and that spate of roadblocks that bugged soldiers and people in fancy cars with Bangkok plates back around the 10th (and the Army train seizure I guess) it's been pretty quiet in the provinces. Even those events wouldn't have affected you. Obviously it should be said that things can change quickly in situations like this, but as of right now what's going in is highly localized to a few parts of Bangkok. I live in the Western side of the center of town and my life has barely been affected, just some minor inconveniences. That's not to downplay what's going on here, it's significant violence and it's saddening and scary for the people affected and the political ramifications are troublesome to consider, but if I'm speaking honestly about direct effects on me then I would feel very spoiled to complain about the Skytrain and Subway being closed and having to take circuitous taxi routes. These are definitely luxury problems compared to the people who live in the area and are trapped in their condos (not to mention the people who have been shot or killed or are in the middle of a fight or have put their lives on hold to protest or serve in the military or what have you). ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 01:24 on May 17, 2010 |
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May 17, 2010 01:22
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Broohaha posted:Haven't been scammed yet (though one of my friends from Ko Pha Ngan apparently got swindled; this happened two days after I left the island--according to his status update, he was given a jet ski with a hole in the bottom, hauled off to the police station, "knocked around a bit" and forced to pay 35,000 bhat. for his sake i pray that he was joking around but i dont think he was. i'll look to get more details later but i'm extremely grateful that the two times i used a jetski i didnt get swindled) but i have one more day here. Also, In Bangkok just now, noticed no difference for the "is it too dangerous" crowd.
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May 17, 2010 05:02
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Hey just read this article http://www.travelfish.org/feature/187 on Travelfish regarding trips to Thailand. They don't really make any mention of how hard it would be to get to/from the train station in Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi. We wanted to hit the train station as soon as we hit Bangkok and get out. Thoughts on this or should we just fly?
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May 18, 2010 00:32
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According to Wikitravel, Laos has just very recently (Feb 2010) opened visa-on-arrival facilities at the Cambodian land border crossing. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
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May 18, 2010 03:47
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joemers posted:Hey just read this article http://www.travelfish.org/feature/187 on Travelfish regarding trips to Thailand. They don't really make any mention of how hard it would be to get to/from the train station in Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi. We wanted to hit the train station as soon as we hit Bangkok and get out. It's in Chinatown, which I haven't seen on the news/in any pictures as being a hotbed of rebellion. Just tell the taxi driver at the airport "Hualamphong Train Station". freebooter posted:According to Wikitravel, Laos has just very recently (Feb 2010) opened visa-on-arrival facilities at the Cambodian land border crossing. Can anyone confirm or deny this? That would be cool if they did; otherwise you can still cross there if you get your Lao visa in advance at an embassy/consulate.
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May 18, 2010 04:30
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IMO ReindeerF bought his new avatar a bit too soon: (A big version of this Red Shirt protester was on the cover of the NY Metro tabloid newspaper today or yesterday or something but this is the biggest version of it I can find online -- Paula Bronstein / Getty is the publisher of it.)
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May 18, 2010 05:06
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Interestingly, flights don't seem to have gotten any cheaper as a result of this mess. I want to buy tickets to BKK for early-ish July and prices haven't gone down at all, surprisingly.
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May 18, 2010 06:56
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brendanwor posted:surprisingly
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May 18, 2010 10:56
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Pompous Rhombus posted:That would be cool if they did; otherwise you can still cross there if you get your Lao visa in advance at an embassy/consulate. I'm already kicking around in PP for a week waiting for my chinese visa, don't want to stick around another week on top of that.
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May 18, 2010 11:27
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freebooter posted:I'm already kicking around in PP for a week waiting for my chinese visa, don't want to stick around another week on top of that. A week, wtf? I got my Chinese visa in person in Bangkok same day, had a travel agent do my Lao visa in Hanoi overnight as well.
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May 18, 2010 15:44
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Pompous Rhombus posted:A week, wtf? I got my Chinese visa in person in Bangkok same day, had a travel agent do my Lao visa in Hanoi overnight as well.
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May 18, 2010 16:50
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Pompous Rhombus posted:A week, wtf? I got my Chinese visa in person in Bangkok same day, had a travel agent do my Lao visa in Hanoi overnight as well. Well, 3 days. And my friend applied after I did because he was sick on the day he went in, which stretched it out. But aaaanyway we've decided not to go to Laos because travelling through Vietnam looks to be a lot faster... and since we're in Vietnam we've returned to our earlier idea of riding motorycles through it. And since you're the resident godlord on that topic I'll send you a PM.
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May 18, 2010 18:23
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Funny Not The Nation article about Thai-English: http://notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=902 Made me remember a restaurant menu in Si Phan Don, Laos. They had managed to misspell almost every single dish on that menu. They probably thought I wanted to order more as I couldn't stop reading the menu even after ordering 
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May 18, 2010 20:54
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Ok, so my flight lands at 6:25am at BKK. I've decided to take the Lomprayah trip to Ko Tao, which leaves at 9pm at night according to them. My main concern is getting to their location on Khaosan road with the protests going on. Would getting to Koasan from BKK be a major issue? How long will it take via taxi? Thanks. Edit - I checked the following map which details the protest/riot locations: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...13&source=embed Dude - to get to Khaosan rd you are getting very close to those areas of unrest. Smokie fucked around with this message at 02:17 on May 19, 2010 |
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May 19, 2010 01:24
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Smokie posted:Dude - to get to Khaosan rd you are getting very close to those areas of unrest. I don't think you realize how big Bangkok is. Democracy Monument is near Khao San but it's separated from it by several blocks of traffic that no one crosses unless they really have to anyway, plus houses and poo poo. The rest of the dangerous areas are all quite a long ways from Khao San.
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May 19, 2010 03:11
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There's no much going on on this side of town tonight (the Western side near the river), just some problems at Victory Monument. I haven't heard of anything going on on Rattanakosin Island, Democracy Monument or any of the traditional government areas. East of here, though, the city's burning and being looted. So much poo poo is burning across town that I can smell the acrid tire smoke coming in my window from probably 10 miles away. I'd have to say that at this point Bangkok's arguably "safe" as a transit point and *probably* (though the situation changes rapidly) to stay in Khao San but I couldn't swear to anything.
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May 19, 2010 14:44
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ReindeerF posted:Manila's the worst I've dealt with in SE Asia on taxis. If you're not a Pinoy it doesn't matter who you are or if you speak the language, unless you get the yellow cab from the airport. It's a little pricier, but they're honest on the meter. Everywhere else it's nonstop fuckery. Bangkok is actually fantastic in this respect. It's easily the most honest bunch of taxi people in a major developing world city that I've seen, though there's a big caveat of "unless you're hailing a cab in front of: patpong, grand palace, soi cowboy, khao san road, nana, anywhere on lower sukhimvit and sometimes at the airport." Heh. When I flew from Puerto Princesa to Manila I came out at this small terminal though, and a taxi driver followed out of the airport trying to get me to take his taxi, so I did. Ended up having a really old taxi with a really fast meter though so I told him to stop and just got out. So don't take a taxi from someone offering ya one as they're prolly dodgy, just hail one down or find a guy parked in one. (this wasn't a yellow airport taxi btw) Tip: If you fly into Manila, don't take the yellow cabs from the airport unless you're rich. They cost about 3 times as much. Go to the arrival drop-off and catch a white taxi dropping someone off. In KL there are certain places you just cannot get a metered taxi from for some reason (Chinatown is one of these). It's just the way it is, even for locals.
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May 20, 2010 15:02
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Yeah, I spent about six months total in Manila and didn't take a huge gently caress ton of taxis, but probably took 40 or 50? I had pretty constant problems, it never failed. Sounds like you had better luck than me, but getting an honest taxi driver was a rare and welcome event. I used to tip the gently caress out of them and thank them for not cheating me. The bickering over what amounts to an extra $2 or $3 is a little silly, in reality, but when you spend enough time somewhere that you feel a bit local you do sort of start to say, "Hey, this is ridiculous man - don't gouge the gently caress out of me while I'm standing in the rain with a suitcase rear end in a top hat, I actually know what this should cost and how far it is and I'm already a good tipper!" So, if you're a tourist, just pay the extra $2 to $3 and don't sweat it, you'll be gone soon enough and it's chump change, heh. I've spent several years in Bangkok, though, and the treatment is entirely different. I should have clarified maybe - I never had problems with the *yellow* airport taxis. Can't speak for any others, but the newer yellow meters - while more expensive than local taxis - don't jack up the meter rate.
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May 20, 2010 19:14
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In Taiwan recently I took a taxi from Taichung high speed rail station to central Taichung. I was interested to see the difference in price between the legit taxis and the guys finding dumb white guys like me and fixing a price. Taxi - fixed price - from the station to the Holiday Inn Express was - and I'm picking a figure out of the air here - about $500. A taxi, using the meter, pretty much the reverse of the route we took, from the Holiday Inn Express back to the station was $700. Sometimes they're not always out to rip people off
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May 21, 2010 01:15
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A few random observations from Thailand: Thais seem to skip queues. Maybe I'm all rigid and British in my queuing habits, but on four separate occasions, Thais have just waltzed in front of me as if I'm completely invisible (all 7-11s) for no reason that I can see other than to suppose that either Thais don't give a gently caress about queues, or I'm ignorant of some queuing etiquette.  Thais throw poo poo fits if you have to burst a 1000 baht note. It's not my fault that it's all the ATMs fart out, and if it's any consolation, I do dread having to crack open a new 1000 when I don't have the bill to justify it. Koh Tao apparently has more motorbikes than people. Holy poo poo, for such a small island with so few (two-wheel navigable) roads, it seems that everyone is buzzing about the footpaths on their Yamaha Wave or some other lovely bike, and this is the only place where I genuinely haven't seen a single helmet. And while we're on the subject of taxis, this is one place where I can completely rationalise being gouged, because despite the short distances, holy poo poo, the state of some of those roads.
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May 21, 2010 02:36
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Thais seem to skip queues. Maybe I'm all rigid and British in my queuing habits, but on four separate occasions, Thais have just waltzed in front of me as if I'm completely invisible (all 7-11s) for no reason that I can see other than to suppose that either Thais don't give a gently caress about queues, or I'm ignorant of some queuing etiquette. You have to push to the front! If there's 10cm gap between you and the person ahead of you, you are not considered part of the queue. So hump the person infront of you. Thais throw poo poo fits if you have to burst a 1000 baht note. It's not my fault that it's all the ATMs fart out, and if it's any consolation, I do dread having to crack open a new 1000 when I don't have the bill to justify it. I almost always break 1000 notes at 7-11, they never seem to mind. Koh Tao apparently has more motorbikes than people. Holy poo poo, for such a small island with so few (two-wheel navigable) roads, it seems that everyone is buzzing about the footpaths on their Yamaha Wave or some other lovely bike, and this is the only place where I genuinely haven't seen a single helmet. Thais don't like to walk 
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May 21, 2010 06:07
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Ringo R posted:You have to push to the front! If there's 10cm gap between you and the person ahead of you, you are not considered part of the queue. So hump the person infront of you. IMO Thailand is better than most of Asia with the whole "staying in line" concept, which is somewhat surprising to me because of mai pen rai. That doesn't mean I didn't have to tap people on the shoulder and smile and let them know they should go behind me in the line occasionally.
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May 21, 2010 16:25
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Sheep-Goats posted:IMO Thailand is better than most of Asia with the whole "staying in line" concept, which is somewhat surprising to me because of mai pen rai. That doesn't mean I didn't have to tap people on the shoulder and smile and let them know they should go behind me in the line occasionally. There actually is an ethic here and a phrase or word that people use to describe the whole cutting thing (and any aggressive behavior of that specific type), but I can't remember the word. It's something between you snooze you lose and have to fight for what you can get. It was idiomatic, so I didn't recall it well. Still, yeah, your garden variety Thai person seems almost unfailingly polite in your average situation, so it is pretty surprising the first few times it happens. Ringo R posted:Thais don't like to walk
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May 22, 2010 02:36
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So according to my girlfriend's parents the Thai military is really starting to lay into the protesters; I guess they burned down the biggest department store in the city so all bets are off or something. They think everything will be back to normal soon.
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May 22, 2010 06:52
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Just got back from Krabi in Thailand and it was a good time. I went to Phuket for a few days because my traveling companion is convinced he is going to become some badass Muay Thai figther and wanted to check out a school there. I probably would have just stayed in Krabi the whole time if it was up to me though. The evaluations of Phuket on here were spot on. It really is awful and I am convinced I saw more old orange Europeans (sometimes with young Thai girls) than actual Thai people while there. I only drove through Patong during the morning on my way to a boat trip and even with everything closed it looked like a dump. Krabi is good though, I would recommend it and might even visit again in the future. It is a good spot to jump off from to go to some of the other islands. Also if anyone has been to Railay beach and knows about Dum Dum the dog, I am trying to find his facebook page, but I'm not having any luck. Can anyone provide a link or something? madcow fucked around with this message at 10:32 on May 22, 2010 |
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May 22, 2010 10:29
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anybody have any leads on nice(r) apartments/real estate folks in phnom penh? i've been looking around on the internet but it seems like there isn't a big real estate database or anything.
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May 22, 2010 17:00
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| # ? May 9, 2024 04:44 |
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I'd be very interested in that as well. The hostel scene there seems kind of to suck, and I'm going to be there for almost 2 months, so something more permanent might be nice.
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May 22, 2010 17:56
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