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Seconding ReindeerF on getting quality goods. Not just clothing too, but electronics and other nice things. I want my amazon free shipping and price search engines  Speaking of clothes, laundry places are dirt cheap in SEA so if you are in the major tourist or some hostel then you are probably guaranteed to find a
So you can just bring your normal clothes or whatever you want. The biggest problem for me was how to look good. Sure it's easy to just wear flip flops and a beer chang tshirt and look like a traveling [/s]high class bum[/s] backpacker. But do you really want to do that when you are in the Royal Thai Palace and be all unshaven? Wearing those ugly purple pants? It's like going to NYC or DC with a oversized Hawaiian tshirt and being a slow clueless obnoxious tourist. Sorry if I'm ranting too much, I'm just living in a city with too many tourists  It's the drinking which will add up all the extra weight to your body. Everyone just drinks all the time at night. Or the snacking. Drinking lots of sodas and eating street food sweets will pack in too much energy easily. I envy you guys who lose weight when traveling because I am the reverse. But then again, I don't really bar hop but I do food/restaurant hop.
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May 29, 2011 20:52
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The way to solve this dilemma is to go to a decent tailor (this is mine) and buy a few long-sleeve button down shirts and have them ironed when you're planning a nice night out. In Thailand everyone irons everything, so all those laundry joints *should* be able to press your shirts for your with no problems for an extra 10-20 Baht.
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May 29, 2011 21:11
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caberham posted:It's the drinking which will add up all the extra weight to your body. Everyone just drinks all the time at night. Or the snacking. Drinking lots of sodas and eating street food sweets will pack in too much energy easily. I envy you guys who lose weight when traveling because I am the reverse. But then again, I don't really bar hop but I do food/restaurant hop. I lost like 5 pounds in 30 days in Cambodia alone, but mostly because the food was so sucky (it's gotten a lot better since 04/05). ReindeerF posted:The way to solve this dilemma is to go to a decent tailor (this is mine) and buy a few long-sleeve button down shirts and have them ironed when you're planning a nice night out. In Thailand everyone irons everything, so all those laundry joints *should* be able to press your shirts for your with no problems for an extra 10-20 Baht. I used to have a cloth laundry bag and 3 out of 4 times it would come back ironed and folded along with the laundry 
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May 29, 2011 21:23
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tzz posted:Yes, that's the thing, thanks! I guess I should have searched for sour, not bitter. A lot of Asian supermarkets carry it actually. Vietnamese eat it too so you often find it in the Veit section. I live in a super Asian part of Queens and off the top of my head there are three places I could buy that stuff within a ten minute walk of here, not counting the two restaurants that have it on the menu. ReindeerF posted:The way to solve this dilemma is to go to a decent tailor (this is mine) and buy a few long-sleeve button down shirts and have them ironed when you're planning a nice night out. In Thailand everyone irons everything, so all those laundry joints *should* be able to press your shirts for your with no problems for an extra 10-20 Baht. If you learn how to bundle pack you don't even need to get them ironed unless you have them all made out of linen or something. The minimal wrinkles added by bundling will fall out in an hour or so of wearing the shirt usually.
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May 29, 2011 21:30
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Sheep-Goats posted:A lot of Asian supermarkets carry it actually. Vietnamese eat it too so you often find it in the Veit section. I live in a super Asian part of Queens and off the top of my head there are three places I could buy that stuff within a ten minute walk of here, not counting the two restaurants that have it on the menu. I've been looking for recipes and it looks like it's easy to make and doesn't require any special ingredients. I don't think I've ever seen pig skin being sold, but it shouldn't be hard to find. Any way, I'm currently living in Turkey, so I'll have to wait until I move to a place with Asian supermarkets, pork and appreciation for foreign cuisine.
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May 29, 2011 22:22
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tzz posted:I've been looking for recipes and it looks like it's easy to make and doesn't require any special ingredients. I don't think I've ever seen pig skin being sold, but it shouldn't be hard to find. I'm pretty sure you could substitute the pork skin for chicken skin if you can't find pork skin. Should be able to, though, if you're in place where there's pork that is.
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May 30, 2011 04:05
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I'll be going to Hanoi in a few weeks for the first time for 11 days. I have planned a few days in Hanoi, probably a 3 day- 2 night trip on Halong Bay (too long?, I love photography and it seems a cool place to just read books on the boat and take pictures), then hit Nihn Bihn for some caves and Tam Coc. Anything I'm missing out on? Not planning to go to Sapa, hiking isn't my thing, neither is the large waterfall on the Chinese-Vietnam border. Any suggestion or things I didn't consider?
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May 30, 2011 14:28
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Miike posted:I'll be going to Hanoi in a few weeks for the first time for 11 days. I have planned a few days in Hanoi, probably a 3 day- 2 night trip on Halong Bay (too long?, I love photography and it seems a cool place to just read books on the boat and take pictures), then hit Nihn Bihn for some caves and Tam Coc. Anything I'm missing out on? Not planning to go to Sapa, hiking isn't my thing, neither is the large waterfall on the Chinese-Vietnam border. Any suggestion or things I didn't consider? I did a 2 day/1 night tour of Halong; there could have been more to it but I didn't feel like I needed more time. The first day we went out on the boat, did some kayaking, swam, ate dinner and went to bed earlyish, then the next morning we stopped at a big cave and checked that out, was back in Hanoi that evening. With the 3 day package I think the rest of the time would have been spent on an island/at the beach, which I wasn't super-interested in. The place I booked through (Ocean Tours in Hanoi) was great, if a little more expensive than some of the other options, but it had the most consistently positive reviews. I don't recommend just showing up at the jetty and trying to DIY it, I saw some backpackers who were attempting that and it looked like they were getting fleeced. Personally I had an awesome time doing a loop through the Northwest on a motorcycle, but you need like 7-8 days for that. You're not missing much by skipping Sapa, scenery is nice (as it is elsewhere in northern Vietnam) but ugh what a lovely tourist-trap of a town. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 14:51 on May 30, 2011 |
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May 30, 2011 14:48
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Thanks. I'll book the Halong tour ahead when I get to Hanoi. The 3 day trip does include an overnight at the larger island I believe.
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May 30, 2011 15:37
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Miike posted:I'll be going to Hanoi in a few weeks for the first time for 11 days. I have planned a few days in Hanoi, probably a 3 day- 2 night trip on Halong Bay (too long?, I love photography and it seems a cool place to just read books on the boat and take pictures), then hit Nihn Bihn for some caves and Tam Coc. Anything I'm missing out on? Not planning to go to Sapa, hiking isn't my thing, neither is the large waterfall on the Chinese-Vietnam border. Any suggestion or things I didn't consider? One thing I did was stay two nights on Cat Ba island. Most bay tours will drop you off at Cat Ba Town and it is well off the beaten backpacker trail. We rented scooters and spent a day exploring the island. Aside from a few villages and folks heading to the national park, you have the entire island to yourself, complete with all the karst scenery (though on land!)
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May 30, 2011 16:50
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I did a 2 day/1 night tour of Halong; there could have been more to it but I didn't feel like I needed more time. The first day we went out on the boat, did some kayaking, swam, ate dinner and went to bed earlyish, then the next morning we stopped at a big cave and checked that out, was back in Hanoi that evening. With the 3 day package I think the rest of the time would have been spent on an island/at the beach, which I wasn't super-interested in. The place I booked through (Ocean Tours in Hanoi) was great, if a little more expensive than some of the other options, but it had the most consistently positive reviews. I don't recommend just showing up at the jetty and trying to DIY it, I saw some backpackers who were attempting that and it looked like they were getting fleeced.
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May 31, 2011 06:04
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ReindeerF posted:My friend's kids nicknamed it "'How Long?' Bay" because after the first day the novelty wears off and you're basically just sitting on a boat forever. The long boat ride from Chau Doc -- > Phnom Phen takes forever! It was a 7 hour boat trip along a very very ride river. Not much to see really. I paid for a fast boat yet they booked me for a slow one
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May 31, 2011 09:59
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I don't mind sitting on a boat forever. I've been working too long and this will be a nice break to read some books and do some writing. I remember being on a boat for 3 days in the Sundarbans in India looking for tigers. Off course we didn't see a tiger but the food was good and we got to completely chill out.
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May 31, 2011 10:35
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Miike posted:I'll be going to Hanoi in a few weeks for the first time for 11 days. I have planned a few days in Hanoi, probably a 3 day- 2 night trip on Halong Bay (too long?, I love photography and it seems a cool place to just read books on the boat and take pictures), then hit Nihn Bihn for some caves and Tam Coc. Anything I'm missing out on? Not planning to go to Sapa, hiking isn't my thing, neither is the large waterfall on the Chinese-Vietnam border. Any suggestion or things I didn't consider? I agree that a 2 day / 1 night trip is all that you really need. The area is gorgeous, but we had our fill and plenty of other things that we wanted to spend our time seeing. Talk to other backpackers and hostels about trips. We ended up staying at the Drift (http://www.thedriftbackpackershostel.com/), and it was fantastic. $5 a night for the room, and we were charged less than the other people we talked to on the Halong Bay boat we were on. I am planning on doing a month and a half trip from Kuala Lumpur to HCMC, and I was wondering if anyone had some blog or website suggestions for me to research through. Specifically, I want to see the best plan of attack for transportation. I am not worried about finding things to do along the way, I just want to make sure that I can get to HCMC in time to make my flight. Speaking of, what do you all think about buying tickets in advance or last minute. I want to fly to India from HCMC, and I have a general week long time period around late October that I would like to depart. Would you all suggest buying now, or attempting to buy last minute?
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Jun 1, 2011 08:49
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What's the cheapest way to leave Thailand that I can book on the internet? I'm trying to get a 60 day tourist visa for Thailand. One of the things they want me to have is a ticket/itinerary to leave Thailand at the end of my visa. Obviously I plan to cancel the ticket and apply for a visa extension once I'm in the country, but I need the paperwork now to show to the consulate. What's the best way to do this?
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Jun 2, 2011 04:15
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DreadLlama posted:What's the cheapest way to leave Thailand that I can book on the internet? Biman Bangladesh to Yangon was for a long time the cheapest way to fly out of Thailand. I paid $90 return several years ago, although I'm not sure if their fares are refundable. Malaysia Air has conveniently refundable fares - I used a ticket from Medan to Penang as proof of onward travel to get into Indonesia, and had the ticket fully refunded.
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Jun 2, 2011 04:25
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OK so my final draft for my itinerary is: Fly into BKK, stay for 3 days Hop on over to Chiang Mai for 3 days. 4 days on the Mae Hong Son Loop Chiang Mai to Phnom Penh, stay here for 2 days (want to see the Killing Fields) Phnom Penh to Siem Reap via bus stay here for 2 days Siem Riep to Krabi stay here for 3 days Krabi to BKK stay here for 3 days Does that seem like a good enough time in those places? My problem is getting from Chiang Mai to Phnom Penh and From Siem Reap to BKK since Air Asia doesn't seem to fly these routes and Bangkok Air charges out the rear end. Anyone know a fast cheap way to get between those places?
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Jun 2, 2011 04:48
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Macunaima posted:Biman Bangladesh to Yangon was for a long time the cheapest way to fly out of Thailand. I paid $90 return several years ago, although I'm not sure if their fares are refundable. Malaysia Air has conveniently refundable fares - I used a ticket from Medan to Penang as proof of onward travel to get into Indonesia, and had the ticket fully refunded. When did you book a flight with Malaysia Air? I'm looking at their website now and their flights don't look refundable. Malaysia Air posted:
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Jun 2, 2011 10:04
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DreadLlama posted:What's the cheapest way to leave Thailand that I can book on the internet? Fake an e-ticket itinerary. Tuff Ghost posted:OK so my final draft for my itinerary is: Cheapest way is to use buses to make your connections: you can take a night bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then catch an early flight to Phnom Penh from there, and bus it back from Siam Reap to Phnom Penh to fly back to Bangkok (4-5 hours on a decent highway, IIRC). Dunno if it'd be worth it to go Siam Reap to Bangkok overland, it depends on the state of the road. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Jun 2, 2011 |
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Jun 2, 2011 12:23
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That's funny. It never occurred to me, but I wonder if you can use an international bus ticket as your proof of onward travel, heh. They're like THB 200 at Mo Chit Bus station depending on where you want to go. EDIT: Maybe I could make a fortune having staff buy bus tickets for onward travel proof for people and scanning them and emailing them.
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Jun 2, 2011 14:52
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Do they actually sell international tickets at Mo Chit? I thought they just sold them to whatever Thai border town it was that you were crossing at.
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Jun 2, 2011 16:09
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Fake an e-ticket itinerary. You mean they don't check? ReindeerF posted:EDIT: Maybe I could make a fortune having staff buy bus tickets for onward travel proof for people and scanning them and emailing them. I'd buy one.
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Jun 2, 2011 16:11
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If you have a return ticket from a neighboring country, that will probably suffice.
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Jun 2, 2011 16:36
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So apparently the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has concluded that I am not an enemy to the state and they granted me a visa. That means I will probably be headed there for 4-6 days to check out Yangon and Bagan. Anyone have any tips or tricks for traveling there? Places to stay in Yangon? My biggest concern is carrying around all the cash I will need while there due to my country's brilliant ways of dealing with people who don't agree with them...
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Jun 2, 2011 19:25
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Cheesemaster200 posted:So apparently the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has concluded that I am not an enemy to the state and they granted me a visa. That means I will probably be headed there for 4-6 days to check out Yangon and Bagan. Myanmar is really safe, and the people are awesome. White House in Yangon is a typical guesthouse with the best breakfast I've ever had. 4-6 days isn't much time for Yangon and Bagan, considering the bus is at least 15 hours each way. I think there's a boat too, but that won't be any faster. Closer to Yangon, Kyaiktoyo and Bago are worth checking out. You really need at least two weeks for the standard trip through the Yangon-Inle Lake-Mandalay-Bagan (Nyaung U) quadrangle.
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Jun 2, 2011 19:40
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Macunaima posted:Myanmar is really safe, and the people are awesome. White House in Yangon is a typical guesthouse with the best breakfast I've ever had. 4-6 days isn't much time for Yangon and Bagan, considering the bus is at least 15 hours each way. I think there's a boat too, but that won't be any faster. Closer to Yangon, Kyaiktoyo and Bago are worth checking out. You really need at least two weeks for the standard trip through the Yangon-Inle Lake-Mandalay-Bagan (Nyaung U) quadrangle. I was considering flying into Nyaung U. How much time do you think would be good for Yangon? I have heard anywhere from "you only need a day" to "you can spend 4-5 days there".
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Jun 2, 2011 19:59
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Cheesemaster200 posted:I was considering flying into Nyaung U. How much time do you think would be good for Yangon? I have heard anywhere from "you only need a day" to "you can spend 4-5 days there". All flights and long-distance boats and trains are run by the government monopoly, and a source of hard currency for one of the most abominable regimes in the world. Buses are private. Yangon is a cool city, with a lot of decaying Raj-era (Burma was administered by the British as part of India) buildings. You need most of a day for Shwedagon. The city is really atmospheric, and great to wander. Give yourself at least two days at Bagan. Some of the government reconstructions are awful. Just the same, you can't wrap your mind around how vast and empty the site is until you get there. This is rainy season, so be prepared.
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Jun 2, 2011 20:12
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Tuff Ghost posted:OK so my final draft for my itinerary is: If you don't have the money to fly direct (and yeah I know that BKK Air's monopoly routes are expensive++) then I'd suggest cutting down on your itinerary, because travelling overland takes a long time and is a pain in the rear end. Ie. any day you need to travel overland, cut a day out of your itinerary.
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Jun 2, 2011 21:58
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So I have been rethinking my time in Laos about potentially skipping out of the few days of Vientiane (I can do with less drugs and drunk Australians), flying out of Luang Prabang to Pakse and then doing Bolvean Plateau and Champasak on a motorbike for a few days. Finally, flying out of Ubon Ratchathani. Anyone ever been to the Pakse/Champasak region that can give some insight? Worth it?
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Jun 5, 2011 19:20
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Hi guys, just watched hangover 2. It's an alright formulaic mindless fun movie. Sure it's a bit over the top but I still like the chromatography. When you see the scenes of soi cowboy, Chinatown or the streets of Khaosan does it bring a smile to you? And does anyone know where that resort is based on? Also, seeing the ladyboy reminds me of Ringo R taking me to different sketchy areas to talk to katooeys!
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Jun 6, 2011 04:48
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I've just recently gotten back from Turkey, and the next plan is to perhaps go live in Thailand for a while. I have some questions for you awesome goons who are already there, however. (In particular Steve, I think you've done what I want to do). Where can I get a bungalow on the beach, thats quietish so I can avoid any party related drunken faggotry, and not pay a fortune? Having asked that, how bad is the drunken faggotry? Is it really just down to where you hang out? I dont mind a good time, but by god some of the australian and english bogans/chavs respectively are intolerable. Is reasonably fast internet to your home something thats achievable? I'm a programmer so I'd probably want to do some work while over there, internet is fairly necessary. What is the TESOL work like? They sound like the turkish, cheating little buggers :P Would my TESOL Cert get me in to jobs or would I need something more? I'd really only do it as something to do, get involved in the community. I've heard talk of martial arts / muay thai training camps, where you live on campus and train 3 times a day. Is this a real thing, has anyone done it? It sounds like an amazing thing to do. I'm considering doing my dive masters, with currently only snorkelling experience. I've garnered that the answer to this is probably obvious, but to ask anyway: Is Thailand a good place to do this? Having said all this, If I didn't earn a dime while over there, how much to live for a year? I've heard talk of $5k from smelly hippy backpackers, so $10-15k seems like it would cover it well? (Thats USD/AUD, they're close enough)
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Jun 6, 2011 05:32
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caberham posted:Hi guys, just watched hangover 2. It's an alright formulaic mindless fun movie. Sure it's a bit over the top but I still like the chromatography. When you see the scenes of soi cowboy, Chinatown or the streets of Khaosan does it bring a smile to you? And does anyone know where that resort is based on? It's a miracle to me that the film board granted permission for the movie to be made here, it's notorious for being super-strict on what films are allowed (Brokedown Palace wasn't allowed, for example, and The King And I is still banned - though I think depiction of royalty is the problem in both cases). Still, I've heard that they're really pushing Thailand as a filming location, so maybe this was part of a general easing. Overall, hilarious first 30 minutes, slow as gently caress in the middle and pretty funny last 15 minutes.
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Jun 6, 2011 06:18
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devians posted:I've just recently gotten back from Turkey, and the next plan is to perhaps go live in Thailand for a while. I have some questions for you awesome goons who are already there, however. (In particular Steve, I think you've done what I want to do). Ha! I had an apartment on Koh Tao for a couple of months. It wasn't on the beach but it was only about a ten minute walk away. In late 2012 I hope to be in a position to spend six to twelve months on Koh Tao... but life is kinda getting in the way at the moment. have to concentrate on short trips instead. quote:Where can I get a bungalow on the beach, thats quietish so I can avoid any party related drunken faggotry, and not pay a fortune? My experience is fairly limited. You'd be able to get bungalows near the beach on Koh Tao and at Khao Lak, and numerous other places and islands that I haven't been to. Koh Tao can be hit and miss. You probably won't like Sairee, as it's party central, but there are some quieter beaches that still give access to big giant messy party when the mood strikes. Koh Phangan and Koh Samui are probably good for this, too. quote:Having asked that, how bad is the drunken faggotry? Is it really just down to where you hang out? I dont mind a good time, but by god some of the australian and english bogans/chavs respectively are intolerable. I think it has a lot to do with exactly where you go, yeah. My apartment was ten minutes walk up the hill from Sairee Beach on Koh Tao. Honestly, it could be as big party or as quiet life as I wanted. I could stay at home for a couple of days and eat from nearby restaurants and not go near a bar, or I could stay out drinking until tomorrow afternoon if I walked just a little further. Other beaches are a lot quieter. There will still be people drinking lots of beer and a few buckets but there won't be enormous beach parties, and there will be only a couple of nights a week where there are big parties in general (rather than every night). As an Australian (but not a bogan) I know what you mean. I generally don't enjoy hanging out with other Australians because the vast majority are bogans. There are exceptions, though. I first visited Koh Tao about three years ago, and it's changed a lot since then. It's not quite as ultra relaxed as it was - there's more hustle in general, but it's nowhere near overwhelming. Nowhere near Bangkok or Chiang Mai or Koh Samui or even Karon. Somewhere like Khao Lak is a lot quieter (whist still being a fairly civilised place), and there are very quiet beaches on Koh Phangan. quote:Is reasonably fast internet to your home something thats achievable? I'm a programmer so I'd probably want to do some work while over there, internet is fairly necessary. ADSL and wifi delivered Internet are fairly ubiquitous in reasonably populated places, and this extends to tourist places, too. Reliability may be an issue. I had wifi included as part of monthly rental of my apartment, but it was slow and useless inside - I had to go outside to my balcony to use it properly. A friend had an apartment nearby and his wifi was awesome. His neighbour was a programmer who was enjoying cheap rent and an interesting lifestyle. He had a pretty killer computer set up and was loving life: work for x days, dive/party/relax for 2x days. It takes a bit of discipline, though. quote:I've heard talk of martial arts / muay thai training camps, where you live on campus and train 3 times a day. Is this a real thing, has anyone done it? It sounds like an amazing thing to do. Real, but I haven't done it. The boxing gym/stadium on Sairee was pretty popular - a lot of people went there just to work out once or twice a day. Try to get an apartment that isn't effectively in the stadium like mine was... ugh. quote:I'm considering doing my dive masters, with currently only snorkelling experience. I've garnered that the answer to this is probably obvious, but to ask anyway: Is Thailand a good place to do this? Yes! Koh Tao and Khao Lak are both great places. Both can be as relaxed about timing (I know a girl who took 3 years to do her DM) or as intense (I know another girl who did it in 2 weeks) as you want. [quote]Having said all this, If I didn't earn a dime while over there, how much to live for a year? I've heard talk of $5k from smelly hippy backpackers, so $10-15k seems like it would cover it well? (Thats USD/AUD, they're close enough) [/quote You're probably looking at about $250 to $350 per month rent for a nice place with wifi, aircon, hot water, clean, including bills, etc, etc. After that, the only other living expenses are food, activities, beer (a hidden budget killer), and random expenses. I'd budget another $500 per month for all of them, so up to $850/month to live very comfortably. Of course, if your beer consumption sky rockets in the warm and humid climate you'll spend a lot more if you drink at bars rather than buy cases of beer for your fridge, diving gear isn't cheap, and you'll need regular visa runs by air (for 30 days) or land (for 15). Fifteen grand should be enough though, and if you're working it should be plenty. When I go for 12 months I'm hoping to take twenty grand and a regular weekly income, but I'll be doing a lot of diving courses and I like beer and good food and I always like to over budget. I'm sure there are people here with much more experience at things like this than I have. Alternatively, there's definitely people hanging out in the Travelfish Thailand forum that do have more experience (particularly on Koh Tao). Good luck, and let us know what you're planning 
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Jun 6, 2011 10:23
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Cheesemaster200 posted:So I have been rethinking my time in Laos about potentially skipping out of the few days of Vientiane (I can do with less drugs and drunk Australians), flying out of Luang Prabang to Pakse and then doing Bolvean Plateau and Champasak on a motorbike for a few days. Finally, flying out of Ubon Ratchathani. Yeah, I liked it, and you should be able to rent an XR250 for $25/day from the big hotel in Pakse. Ringo R can probably give you a better write-up than I can, my trips there were somewhat brief. ReindeerF posted:Resort's in Krabi, I read. We went on opening night with a group of Thais and expats and the consensus opinion was that it was over the top in general plot, but that it was actually a bit tame compared to what it could've been. Naturally the local media are having a "This is bad for tourism! How could they portray Bangkok like this?" moment. The stuff with the monk would have been unbelievably offensive to Thai people, but I think they skirted it by having him wear a different colored robe (in Thailand they wear orange) and referring to him as Burmese.
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Jun 6, 2011 12:29
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Steve. posted:Ha! I had an apartment on Koh Tao for a couple of months. It wasn't on the beach but it was only about a ten minute walk away. God I miss Koh Tao Haven't been there in about 2.5 years, gotta get there sometime this year I think. If only it wasn't such a pain in the rear end to get to, but then again, an airport on the island would make it far more touristy than it already is. When you say it's changed a bit, how do you mean? Is it more built up these days? More clubs/bars/shops around Sairee?
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Jun 6, 2011 21:43
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brendanwor posted:God I miss Koh Tao Koh Tao now compared to the last time I was there (five years ago) is absolutely mental -- it's a second Khao San as far as I could tell. Even on Koh Phangan the whole road from Tong Sala to Had Rin has shops and bars and stuff along both sides of it, when I was there last that stuff stopped and you drove through jungle most of the way down -- though at least on Koh Phanagan once you got past the roadside you were back into jungle again. devians posted:1) Where can I get a bungalow on the beach, thats quietish so I can avoid any party related drunken faggotry, and not pay a fortune? I've heard Turkey referred to as the Thailand of Europe so there you go, enjoy that meaningless nugget. 1) Most islands you can do this, maybe not the smallest ones (Koh Tao, Kho Phi Phi). On Koh Phangan, for example, if you stay on Had Rin you're going to have a party out your door most nights, but if you stay on any of the northern beaches, or especially the North-Eastern beaches that are only accessible by boat you're going to have quiet in your bungalow. You also need to understand, however, that if you're planning to set your laptop up and work in there your conception of a Thai beach bungalow might be a fair bit luxurious. I've never seen one with a desk, maybe there's one outlet, and a bed. Some have aircon, some have a fan, some just have a mattress on a floor. 2) Depends on what part of the island you're on. It's completely avoidable in SE Asia anywhere other than the places you'd expect it not to be (Vang Vien in Laos, Phuket / Pattaya in Thailand). These aren't the Greek isles, Thailand's distance from everyone but the Aussies keeps most parts of it from ever being totally overrun. And while drunken Aussies get tiresome, they are, as a group, much more tolerable drunks than the British. (Americans are usually good drunks too unless you're talking American Brosephs then they're loudest, most aggressive and nasty ones of the bunch.) 3) Yes and no. On most islands you can get good internet speeds, but not actually in most bungalows. You could try calling around for a place that has a bungalow near the office area and asking if they could set up a wifi port for you (maybe you'd have to bring it) so you could glom onto the office wifi from your bungalow, they'd probably want some reasonable monthly fee for this. On other islands the internet is spotty. In Bangkok you can fairly easily get a good internet connection to your house these days -- they even often have passable English support, good enough to get your connection up, anyway. 4) You could probably get work just being white, but most better jobs want a BA these days and you might have visa issues these days without a BA in order to secure you a solid job. I had a BA and a bit of EFL experience when I went there and my first job paid me about 38kB a month (little less than a 1000USD at the exchange rate when I went there, about 1200USD now), my second job was 58kB a month (about 1400USD / 2000USD) and on the upper end of what non-international school teachers earn in Bangkok. Again, though, visas are the issue right now -- when I worked there (five years ago) lots of people lived there who had been on "tourist" visas for years, just leaving and coming back every 90 days using short trips across the border. They don't let people do that any more, and unless you fly in and out you can't even get the 90 day visas. 5) It's absolutely a real thing. I was an amateur kickboxing champion in the US (my record is 9-2 with 2 knock outs) and really wanted to do this while in Thailand, but it's priced at foreigners-coming-here to do it prices and the times for that conflicted with my times for travel. Also the amount of jogging vs. fighting you do was off putting to me -- I was always big on sparring and hated jogging and the like (not that this is a good attitude to have, it's just the way I am). There are several schools in Bangkok that offer these kinds of camps and also many on the islands -- my research on them is a few years old now and I don't remember any details for you, however I will say that the best, real-deal ones are in Bangkok. They cater to people of all skill levels so don't feel put off about going there if you have the money/time. It's not expensive either, just a little bit much for me when I lived there with the other goals I had at the time. 6) Thailand is an extremely affordable place to get dive certifications and offers a lot of pretty solid to great dive sites. On my last trip there I got my open water certification. I would very heavily reccomend you do the following course instead of going right for dive master. Day one: book all day snorkeling trip. Day two: Go on a "fun dive" which has an instructor teach you a few basic rebreather skills and then you follow him around in the water for two hour long dives -- this takes up the day (7AM to 4PM). These are real-deal dives and you see great stuff on them, you're just limited to how deep you can go because of your lack of training (mostly it's the equalizing that you need to figure out), but the depth of your dive has nothing to do with its quality, the dive site determines its quality for the most part. He sets up the gear for you and everything for the fun dives, so it's a great way to try SCUBA without making a huge time/money investment. Day three: Second fun dive, or, optionally, go for your open water certificate (which is a three day thing). Once you have that basic certificate you need to build up a certain amount (five) of more challenging dives (there's a choice of several types -- wreck dive, night dive, deep dive, nitrox dive, etc) before you can move on to the next step, but it's important you really experience diving rather than go for certs IMO. Diving is cheap in Thailand compared to most places, but for what you do in Thailand it's relatively expensive compared to most other activities (maybe coke and hookers beats it out, I'm not sure). A day long snorkeling trip is about 1200B, a fun dive is 4000 to 5000B, and the open water certs run between 9000 and 14000B depending mostly on the island you do them on -- you'll need to pay for your own room and board during this time, too, of course. Koh Tao has the cheapest courses and okay diving but literally everyone and their uncle goes to Koh Tao for their diving cert. Koh Phi Phi is probably the number two location and while it's more expensive it's also on the Andaman coast and that gives you a shot at seeing bigger fish thanks to that coast facing the Indian sea (I saw a big rear end leopard shark -- whale sharks are few and far between there but they're out there too. Lots of turtles and cool octupuses and things like that, poo poo ton of tropical fish, little sharks, colorful urchins and eels and even a couple of sea snakes). Also, when you dive or snorkel, ALWAYS rent a digital camera from the dive operation for the day. It costs about 1000B but they set it up for you, it takes much better pictures than the disposable shits (which have development costs associated with them anyway), and if you use their camera you don't have to worry about water getting in and killing it and you can just enjoy your dive. After you get some upper cert you can think about buying a dive housing for your camera, but until then just rent. 7) About $1000 a month will let you live a good, varied lifestyle. Aircon room, going out every third or fourth day and drinking reasonably, hanging out and reading / relaxing / seeing the sights the other days. Sometimes taking the plane, usually taking the bus for longer trips, almost always taking a taxi or the skytrain in the city. 2000 a month will let you live in a state of perpetual high times so long as you stay in reasonable hotels / rooms and aren't supporting another person (whether she's your girlfriend or, um, a rental). On the other end of things, for about 6000B a month (200 bucks!) I could actually survive in a non-aircon room in Bangkok, eating only local food, only occasionally drinking take home beers from 7-11, using busses for transport -- but then I know the city fairly well, too. This should give you an idea of where your money goes when in Thailand. raton fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Jun 7, 2011 |
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Jun 6, 2011 22:11
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Hey guys, done a bunch of reading here (and other places). I'm turning 29 this November, so I gotta get my backpacking in. I haven't done any before (though I've been travelling), so I'm planning to start with a pretty straightforward loop. I figure I'll have about $6000-7000 CAD, and I'm budgeting about $50 a day. I know that's a lot of some places, but I figure it's better to err on the side of caution. Anything I don't spend out of that daily budget will go towards extending my trip. I planned on leaving in Mid-November to March or so, and it turns out that's when the good weather is, so that's lucky. That budget doesn't include travel within Southeast asia, so I'll have a seperate budget for that and figure that out as I go. Anyway, I plan on doing what is probably a popular loop - Thailand, going South to North. Then through North Laos, which I know is hard to get to, but not impossible. I read that south Laos is kind of bleh, but if you can get to the North the mountain tribes are pretty unique. Through north Laos into Vietnam, down Vietnam, through Cambodia. Then to Malaysia and Indonesia afterwards. I'd also like to go trough the Philippines, but I'm not sure where I would slot that in. After Indonesia, maybe? I'm planning on doing some adventure-type stuff as well - I'm already an experienced Scuba diver, so I'm definitely going to do that, and I'd like to do some cave spelunking if possible as well. I think I'm also going to get a work Visa for Australia and see if I can get a job there after my backpacking, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I may as well, as that option is expires after you turn 30. I would like to get to Tibet, Nepal, and India (hell even up Western China into Mongolia), but that's just not feasible this trip. It'll have to be another year and a seperate loop, I think. Before I go, I'll going to figure out exactly where I'm going and what I'm doing for the first week or two, then leave it open after that to stay flexible. I'll just figure out the sites I want to see / the things I want to do before I go, but stay flexible as to when I see them. So, wish me luck / any thoughts? stratdax fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Jun 7, 2011 |
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Jun 7, 2011 00:35
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Must do SE Asia, IMO: -Angkor Wat -Bangkok (but that's a given) -Hilltribe trek in NW Thailand (very preferably out of Mae Hong Son) -An island or two, possibly with SCUBA diving depending mostly on if you're on a shoestring budget or not There's lots of other great stuff to see, but missing out on any of these on a longer (month plus) trip is weird.
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Jun 7, 2011 00:42
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brendanwor posted:God I miss Koh Tao I first visited fairly recently, in 2008. I went back in 2009, and 2010/2011. There was only 9 months between my 2008 and 2009 visits, and I thought it had changed a lot but it was probably just the difference between low season and regular season. It's not quite as relaxed as it was. More of everything around Sairee. I think there's even a girlie bar - at least, it looks and acts almost like one. That said, other beaches haven't changed much at all. Most of the action is happening around Sairee, but as I said it's easy enough to escape for a while. There's still a lot of partying and some fairly serious beach parties (Christmas and New Years eves were insane - barely room to move the entire length of Sairee) but it just seems a bit... busier, louder, less chilled out, I guess. It's not all bad, though. There's an abundance of good food - it's possible to get a steak that doesn't suck, confit duck leg, good burgers, and of course there's a plethora of good Thai eating options, both cheap and expensive and in restaurants or from the side of the road. One company offers wifi island wide (though reception is patchy - contact the cable/satellite TV guys for access I think), electricity works more often than not, and there's even a dentist. It would be awesome if they had a reliable and efficient garbage disposal service, rather than street side putrification, though. It's a little easier to get to now. I'm trying out Lomprayah's new fly-to-Chumpon-ferry-to-Koh-Tao service in a few weeks: http://www.lomprayah.com/E/route_solar.htm I love the ferry ride... there's nothing like sitting outside on the top deck on a nice day, watching the islands slip past before arriving on Koh Tao. It's such a good feeling. Here's a friend demonstrating how cool it is.  Sheep-Goats posted:Koh Tao now compared to the last time I was there (five years ago) is absolutely mental -- it's a second Khao San as far as I could tell. It's heading that way, yeah. Typical South East Asian over development at the expense of natural beauty - at least on Sairee. Even Chalok Baan Kao is a lot better. Places like Ao Leuk or Ao Thian Ok haven't been hit so hard by the development craze. Ao Leuk is beautiful and well worth visiting, even if only a day trip. Ao Hin Wong is even nicer.
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Jun 7, 2011 03:28
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Yup, as I understand even the turtles that give the island it's name won't come to shore anymore because the beaches are to full now. I've also met quite some marine biologists when I was there, they weren't happy :'(
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Jun 7, 2011 08:37
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