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BigSuave posted:Sigh, another night making a dancing fool out of myself in BKK but it's hard to resist so what can I do, other than not drink a couple towers and make an idiot out of myself of course? I think this is how the old expats got started.
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Apr 5, 2011 18:15
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stupid question, but what is the Post Office situation like there? Specifically in Thailand.
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Apr 6, 2011 03:32
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What do you mean?
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Apr 6, 2011 03:45
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pitchshifty posted:stupid question, but what is the Post Office situation like there? Specifically in Thailand. It has worked fine for me. I've sent and received stuff overseas several times and never had any issues. Official post offices are red and white, you can't miss them. The Thai word for post office is "brai-sa-nee".
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Apr 6, 2011 04:41
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Thai post has been reliable for me too. If you're receiving something worth more than a couple hundred dollars from abroad, might have to pay duty on it. That wasn't fun, the Customs House was way out in bumblefuck Lad Phrao. Going through old directories of pics to dig up portfolio material, found some interesting SEA stuff that didn't make the "upload online" grade in my earlier culls. I can post up more when I do a more thorough go-through later if anyone's interested. 
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Apr 6, 2011 19:08
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pitchshifty: I am excpecting an int'l ex[ress mail form USPS this week so I will let you know how it goes soon. In the mean time Ringo R and his friends are waiting for me (just grabbing some more cash at my hotel) but I'll explain more late if I have internet service.... it's hit or miss at my guesthouse...
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Apr 6, 2011 19:09
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Is it easy/reliable to mail things from, say, Thailand to the United States? Friends are already requesting clothes that may or may not be fake labels and/or tread on copyright infringement so I guess what I'm really asking is how diligent customs is or if it even matters.
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Apr 6, 2011 23:27
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Phew. I just booked another cheap flight to Bangkok: $249 from Melbourne. If all goes to plan I'll be based on Koh Tao from November through to March, doing a divemaster internship. I'm not quite sure how I'll get home just yet...
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Apr 7, 2011 03:01
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pitchshifty posted:Is it easy/reliable to mail things from, say, Thailand to the United States? Friends are already requesting clothes that may or may not be fake labels and/or tread on copyright infringement so I guess what I'm really asking is how diligent customs is or if it even matters. Easy/reliable yes, dunno about counterfeit stuff though. You have to fill out a form stating what's in the package and its value, just be vague ("clothes") and maybe include some other routine stuff that someone traveling might send home, like a book or other random personal effect or two. I know Customs doesn't like bootleg stuff getting in (my sister gets quizzed about what she bought coming back from China), but dunno how much they check the mail. I would guess you're probably fine as long as it's not egregious: one of my former professor's brothers in Bangkok ran a side business selling that stuff on USA eBay and had no problems getting it to his customers, IIRC. Jatujak weekend market is awesome for shopping. Stay hydrated though. Steve. posted:Phew. I just booked another cheap flight to Bangkok: $249 from Melbourne. If all goes to plan I'll be based on Koh Tao from November through to March, doing a divemaster internship. You loving Aussies 
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Apr 7, 2011 03:11
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Steve. posted:Phew. I just booked another cheap flight to Bangkok: $249 from Melbourne. If all goes to plan I'll be based on Koh Tao from November through to March, doing a divemaster internship. Have you made your decision as to what shop to do your DM at yet?
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Apr 7, 2011 05:05
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Easy/reliable yes, dunno about counterfeit stuff though. You have to fill out a form stating what's in the package and its value, just be vague ("clothes") and maybe include some other routine stuff that someone traveling might send home, like a book or other random personal effect or two. I know Customs doesn't like bootleg stuff getting in (my sister gets quizzed about what she bought coming back from China), but dunno how much they check the mail. I would guess you're probably fine as long as it's not egregious: one of my former professor's brothers in Bangkok ran a side business selling that stuff on USA eBay and had no problems getting it to his customers, IIRC. Australia: Close to south-east Asia, loving far away from everywhere else.
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Apr 7, 2011 06:17
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Modus Operandi posted:Have you made your decision as to what shop to do your DM at yet? Yeah, at the moment I'll probably do it with Big Blue. I guess I'm a regular there - 2008, 2009, 2010/2011, and now I guess 2011/2012. Unless there's a better option, though. I want SSI Dive Controller and discounted tech courses, and trips over to Khao Lak... Finch! fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 07:38
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Steve. posted:Phew. I just booked another cheap flight to Bangkok: $249 from Melbourne. If all goes to plan I'll be based on Koh Tao from November through to March, doing a divemaster internship. Nice! Can't remember when I last posted in this thread, but my 2 months in SE Asia were awesome as hell. Randomly deciding to get an open water diving cert was one of the many highlights of the trip. By internship do you mean that you basically take groups out into the water as a dive instructor, get taught on the side, and get "paid" with the divemaster cert in the end? I've always wondered how people could afford to reach the top. Definitely need to get back over there and get some more dives under my belt. EDIT: hahaha, I'm not going to lie. Every time life gets a bit boring or low I start thinking about getting my rear end back to Thailand. Tempting as hell, that's for sure... moflika fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 09:02
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moflika posted:Nice! Nah, it's more of a learning process: do a lot of course work, make presentations and pass tests, follow and assist instructors and divemasters during courses or fun dives, learn a whole bunch of skills, as well as physical stuff like setting up the boats and moving tanks and equipment and operating the shop and so on. It's pretty full on. The initial cost is about $1000, but part of the attraction is that diving is more or less free. The biggest problem I'll have is balancing the end of one study period with the start of another - and working as much of my day job as I can from tropical paradise.
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Apr 7, 2011 09:10
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Sounds pretty drat cool. I'll have to keep it in mind if I get burned out on this "doing a baking apprenticeship in Germany" thing I'm currently on. Not that I have anywhere near enough diving exp for it, just planning escape plans like always. I'm definitely in need of more instruction. As much as I enjoyed it, my open water diver course was rushed as hell. I'd probably poo poo my pants if I had to dive without an instructor (still with a buddy of course)... :/
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Apr 7, 2011 09:37
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The only prerequisite to start a dive master or dive controller course is that one must be a "rescue diver" which (I think) requires one to have their advanced open water/advanced adventurer qualification. So, it's possible to begin a dive con/dive master course with about 20 dives. I don't really want to do the dive con because I'm looking for a new career, but because I'm reasonably young (26) and will be diving for many years - so having a high level of training makes sense. Plus, it's a good excuse to enjoy a great lifestyle for a few months 
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Apr 7, 2011 11:13
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gently caress, speaking of customs duties, my friend is shipping me a DVD from back home. I just talked to him and he said he declared a value of $10 on the customs form. It's not in my name, I'm just having it shipped to my guesthouse and told them to expect something from America for me. Does this mean I/they're going to get some slip of paper saying 'come to customs and give us money' or is that small enough that they'll just deliver it? I ask because a) I don't want to cause a hassle for the guesthouse and b) I'm kind of in a time crunch and am cutting it close with this letter so any delays like that could gently caress me over a bit. Anyone have any experience with such matters?
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Apr 7, 2011 12:19
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BigSuave posted:gently caress, speaking of customs duties, my friend is shipping me a DVD from back home. I just talked to him and he said he declared a value of $10 on the customs form. It's not in my name, I'm just having it shipped to my guesthouse and told them to expect something from America for me. Does this mean I/they're going to get some slip of paper saying 'come to customs and give us money' or is that small enough that they'll just deliver it? I ask because a) I don't want to cause a hassle for the guesthouse and b) I'm kind of in a time crunch and am cutting it close with this letter so any delays like that could gently caress me over a bit. $10 shouldn't be an issue, mine was like $250 of photography equipment (and I received photo stuff of less than $100 straight to my condo no problem).
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Apr 7, 2011 12:46
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You are less likely to get hit with customs if you use USPS or whatever the local EMS service is for your country. I bought an xbox from play-asia and only got hit with a 1100 baht charge, but I know people that did the same thing through fedex and got charged almost 6k. I saved about 5k from buying all my stuff through play-asia even with the small customs charge. Games are expensive in Thailand.
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Apr 7, 2011 13:03
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Steve. posted:Plus, it's a good excuse to enjoy a great lifestyle for a few months This is key! As far as I'm concerned, life is nothing but a collection of interesting experiences (some better than others...). Something like a dive master cert is never going to be seen as a bad thing. moflika fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 16:14
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so a friend of mine is booking his flight today to BKK, and he recently had a conversation with a person at one of the Thai embassies here in the states. The lady told him that even if he applied for and received a 60 or 90-day tourist visa that he would still have to do the 30-day border hop to renew it. He said that he double-checked that with her because it obviously sounds like it completely defeats the purpose of getting one of these longer-form visas. Anyone heard of this? chockomonkey fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 18:29
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So it's signed, I'm moving to Ho Chi Minh City with my wife and son, in June. So much things to do, it's unbelievable. If getting a visa tourist or even an extended one can be a pain, imagine getting a resident card and a work permit.
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Apr 7, 2011 19:44
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chockomonkey posted:so a friend of mine is booking his flight today to BKK, and he recently had a conversation with a person at one of the Thai embassies here in the states. The lady told him that even if he applied for and received a 60 or 90-day tourist visa that he would still have to do the 30-day border hop to renew it. Yeah pretty sure that's bullshit.
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Apr 7, 2011 22:15
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Senso posted:So it's signed, I'm moving to Ho Chi Minh City with my wife and son, in June. So much things to do, it's unbelievable. If getting a visa tourist or even an extended one can be a pain, imagine getting a resident card and a work permit. I'm not sure how representative my experience was, but the Vietnamese consulate in San Fransisco was ultra laid back. Paid an extra 10 dollars and had my visa in 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Apr 7, 2011 23:13
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I'm thinking of doing a yearlong combined Southeast Asia/India trip within the next two years, but am generally ignorant about either the regions. On the SE Asia front, can anyone recommend me a good, concise source of information that'll give me a decent idea about what's worth going to? I know most long-term travelers end up winging it for the majority of their time, but I'd at least like to have SOME information in hand before I go. I'm ideally looking for something that can at least give me budget information and a general itinerary. Lonely planet is the popular choice, but I feel like their books often keep you too tightly on the beaten path (IE, since everyone buys Lonely Planet, their destinations become the go-to destinations). For the record, I'll be traveling on a backpacker budget, so I'm looking for something that caters to my budget, and definitely NOT something that only looks at the region through a mid-range point of view.
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Apr 8, 2011 00:36
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This thread is full of good information...!
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Apr 8, 2011 00:50
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xcdude24 posted:I'm thinking of doing a yearlong combined Southeast Asia/India trip within the next two years, but am generally ignorant about either the regions. On the SE Asia front, can anyone recommend me a good, concise source of information that'll give me a decent idea about what's worth going to? I know most long-term travelers end up winging it for the majority of their time, but I'd at least like to have SOME information in hand before I go. I'm ideally looking for something that can at least give me budget information and a general itinerary. Lonely planet is the popular choice, but I feel like their books often keep you too tightly on the beaten path (IE, since everyone buys Lonely Planet, their destinations become the go-to destinations). For the record, I'll be traveling on a backpacker budget, so I'm looking for something that caters to my budget, and definitely NOT something that only looks at the region through a mid-range point of view. Dunno if you read the OP, but generally $1,000/month is considered a fairly safe number if you're on the cheap end. You can stretch this if you're exceptionally cheap, or staying in one place for extended periods of time (buses, cabs, etc aren't super expensive or anything, but it does add up if you're in a new place every other day), but call it $30/day is good average to expect for a basic room, local or low-end tourist food, sightseeing/entrance fees, transportation, and some drinking. Some places will be more expensive, others cheaper, but generally speaking it will average out to about that much if you don't have expensive tastes and don't need to get blackout drunk every night. Buy an up-to-date Lonely Planet (the "Southeast Asia" one is a bit barebones because of all the ground it has to cover, but can be a good jumping off point), get a rough idea of where you want to go, do some Googling beforehand of what catches your eye (especially check out travel blogs), and hit up other travelers for advice/recommendations once you're there. People rag on LP's because they're very popular, but they provide a lot of good information, especially with regard to scams, normal prices to expect, transportation routes, etc. Yeah, I generally give no fucks about what they have to say about top-end or mid-range accommodation, restaurants, and tours, but they're invaluable planning tools and have easily saved me several times what I've spent on them*. The way people get stuck "on rails" isn't because they have a Lonely Planet, it's generally because they're either lazy, not interested in doing anything but the highlights, or really strapped for time. I *do* find the "Lonely Planet Effect" can be annoying when it comes to finding good guesthouses, so I'm always asking people for recommendations not in the book. *In Cambodia, it's not uncommon to find bootleg books for sale. They're usually pretty good quality, although the maps can be a bit murky.
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Apr 8, 2011 01:11
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kalicki posted:I think this is how the old expats got started. gently caress, please don't tell me that. Pompous Rhombus posted:$10 shouldn't be an issue, mine was like $250 of photography equipment (and I received photo stuff of less than $100 straight to my condo no problem). Pockyless posted:You are less likely to get hit with customs if you use USPS or whatever the local EMS service is for your country. I bought an xbox from play-asia and only got hit with a 1100 baht charge, but I know people that did the same thing through fedex and got charged almost 6k. I saved about 5k from buying all my stuff through play-asia even with the small customs charge. Games are expensive in Thailand. Good to hear. I'm less worried about paying customs than the hassle and delays of having to go down there and deal with it because it should arrive today (Fri) but if only a customs slip comes and I have to go down to the post office or customs to get it that means I probably won't make it until Monday, which would kind of gently caress my plans up since I was planning on flying out on Sunday. Anyway, we'll see soon enough. I hope it gets here today though because that would give me a few days to pop down to Koh Chang with a new ladyfriend before I head up to CM for Songkran. Otherwise I'm stuck in BKK until it arrives. Time will tell. I'm just ready to get out of this place because Bangkok is really the only place where I party hard but those who know me can attest to my lack of self control and after being here two weeks it's beginning to wear on me. Oh well, I'm back home at 7:30 AM, which is relatively early for me this week so I'll take that as a minor moral victory. Got some sweet pics tonight with some police officers on KSR who were hanging out on their bikes smoking and drinking beer from the street bars in their uniforms while on duty so that was worth staying up for. Ringo: If you read this, I still have that whole bottle of Vodka from the place with the live music and will probably be down there doing my best to kill it 'tomorrow' (really tonight, Friday) so if you and whoever want to help me out that would probably be for the best. Dunno if you have to work or not but being Friday night I wouldn't expect so. Give me a ring/text and let me know though. Otherwise I might find myself doing regrettable things like dancing and general tomfoolery. Also, does anyone know if ReindeerF is still alive? I sent him an e-mail a week ago and a text a couple days ago and haven't heard back. I didn't want to bother him so I'm dropping it (because I'm assuming he's just busy with things like "a job", "a girlfriend", and "real life" like a sucker) but he hasn't posted in a while either so I hope everything's okay and (as I was warned about a few pages back) his Thai girlfriend didn't find out about his Cambodian mistress and Vietnamese wife and cut his throat or anything. In other news, I had my first shave with a straight-razor a day ago and it was pretty sweet. Probably the closest shave I've ever had and my jugular vein and carotid artery are still intact so I'll count that as a win. xcdude24 posted:I'm thinking of doing a yearlong combined Southeast Asia/India trip within the next two years, but am generally ignorant about either the regions. On the SE Asia front, can anyone recommend me a good, concise source of information that'll give me a decent idea about what's worth going to? LP is decent but everyone (and a lot of guesthouses) has one and they're big and heavy so maybe thumb through it at the library or something but I wouldn't necessarily bring it with. As PR pointed out, you can easily run into the 'Lonely Planet effect', especially if you rely on it as your only source of information. My best advice has come from other travelers, whom you'll meet plenty of, and of course this thread. For what it's worth, I've found a lot of good information and just about every place I've stayed from https://www.wikitravel.org. There's a lot of good up-to-date info there and they cover things for every budget and lifestyle. Also easy to just save/print the pages covering where you want to go and you're not carrying what amounts to a small textbook around but of course your mileage may vary. Edit: Also, where can a guy get some Nivea for Men face lotion that isn't whitening? loving everything here makes you whiter. I finally found some face-wash that (I think) isn't but all the face lotion at my local 7-11 is whitening. I was thinking of trying Tokyu @ MBK but that would be a bit of a trip for some girly-man products. BigSuave fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Apr 8, 2011 |
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Apr 8, 2011 01:39
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moflika posted:I'm not sure how representative my experience was, but the Vietnamese consulate in San Fransisco was ultra laid back. Paid an extra 10 dollars and had my visa in 30 minutes from start to finish. Good to know! The 3-months visa seem easy to obtain but my company sent me a PDF with two pages of papers to get, things to do in a specific order to eventually get residency cards. At least I got a corporation backing me up, I'm sure the process will be easier than if I was a poor Chinese or Thai trying to get in Vietnam.
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Apr 8, 2011 03:43
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chockomonkey posted:so a friend of mine is booking his flight today to BKK, and he recently had a conversation with a person at one of the Thai embassies here in the states. The lady told him that even if he applied for and received a 60 or 90-day tourist visa that he would still have to do the 30-day border hop to renew it. There's a 60 day tourist visa which you can get double entries which means after your first entry you can leave and come back for an additional 60 days. If you fly in normally without a visa you get 30 days on arrival. At land borders it's only 2 weeks or something.
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Apr 8, 2011 15:33
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Thanks for the input, guys. Will definitely be popping around from time to time with questions.
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Apr 8, 2011 17:54
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Well, I'm not heading back to Koh Tao for a few months towards the end of the year - I can't justify having gone back to university at age 25 only to take half a year off only a year and a bit later. I just want to finish already. Instead, I'm doing a ~14 day trip in July: 9 days in Thailand with friends, and then another 5 wherever the hell I want. I haven't been back to Penang since I lived there ten years ago, so I'm planning to spend three days in Penang. I'm a big fan of the Eating Asia food blog I've noticed that they are now running guided food walks in Penang: http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/eatingasia-private-kuala-lumpur-penang-culinary-tour-guide.html There's a two person minimum - if any goons are going to be in Penang around July 23, would you like to join in? It's 240 ringgit per person (around 75 Australian dollars, 80 US dollars) and it should be pretty awesome.
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Apr 9, 2011 06:19
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That's too bad about the diving update. At least you'll have an option if the job market isn't so hot after you graduate. Thanks for the blog link though, I've been on a huge asian food kick lately (for like that past 5 years straight hahaha). Running something like that seems like it would be a dream job.
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Apr 9, 2011 09:38
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Anyone been to Koh Tao lately? I was there a couple of weeks ago and it was raining like mad. Big Blue diving got pretty much destroyed and a few other places where the water decided to make it's river to the sea got hit pretty hard as well. I'm wondering how the island is now.
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Apr 9, 2011 10:52
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moflika posted:That's too bad about the diving update. At least you'll have an option if the job market isn't so hot after you graduate. It's inevitable that I'll be back - job prospects or not. I've got a great gig now that lets me disappear for a few months on a whim, I'm only studying to keep my brain ticking over... but I'm taking it more seriously than I took my last degree. The Eating Asia blog is great. I've been reading it for years. It prompted me to go to Taiwan last year without knowing anything about Taiwan or really ever having had any interest in going. I'm looking forward to getting my eat on in Penang... my lasting memory of that place is that it is delicious, and it was a great place to live for a while. Rojkir posted:Anyone been to Koh Tao lately? I was there a couple of weeks ago and it was raining like mad. Big Blue diving got pretty much destroyed and a few other places where the water decided to make it's river to the sea got hit pretty hard as well. I'm wondering how the island is now. I left Koh Tao in January, but a few friends are still there - at Big Blue. Apparently it's more or less back to normal now. Not sure if the damage has been repaired or if it's a work in progress. I wish I were still there 
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Apr 9, 2011 11:27
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My parent's were impressed by my tales from my trip to Vietnam last year and now they went there too! They made one big mistake however: they flew with Aeroflot (from Germany). 1. Their luggage was brought to Moscow while they went to Hanoi 2. Aeroflot was really sorry about that and gave them a 100$ cheque...which no bank accepted 3. Their luggage was finally brought to Vietnam...they can pick it up in Saigon 4. When they arrived in Saigon the airline was nice to enough to ship the luggage to their hotel...in Hanoi 5. Nobody answers the phone now. By now they just bought new suitcases and new clothes (apparently really nice stuff for very little money in Hoi An). Glad I used Vietnam Airlines for my trip 
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Apr 10, 2011 04:55
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Popelmon posted:Aeroflot People argue endlessly about which airline is nicer than the next but the only reliable facts are that all the budget airlines are about the same, all the midrange ones are about the same, you're wasting money if you fly British Air, and Aeroflot is some kind of horrible chimera of awfulness designed to make even the budget airlines look comfortable and safe.
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Apr 10, 2011 05:39
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Flying aeroflot domestically in Russia is tantamount to suicide. Their international line is just so-so not bad not good but it's nowhere near as horrendous as let's say Air India.
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Apr 10, 2011 05:45
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Trying to get everything in place for our trip through India/SEA in the fall. Does anyone have any advice w/r/t insurance? I have AMEX, but am looking at supplementary coverage- any particular vendors I should look at? edit: USA, but thanks Studebaker Hawk fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Apr 11, 2011 |
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Apr 10, 2011 22:37
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If you're Australian, Cover More is pretty good.
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Apr 11, 2011 00:49
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