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Sheep-Goats posted:It's like it doesn't matter how many times we say don't take malaria pills, goons take them anyway. Eh, I've been enough in the sticks that I feel like it's been worth it, but I also haven't had any serious side effects. Also, Laos is really beautiful and much more laid-back than the countries surrounding, if that appeals to you then I heavily recommend it. Amazing scenery.
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Sep 24, 2011 16:57
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Chiming in with the Singapore nerds, I move over on Dec 1 - pints anyone?
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Sep 24, 2011 17:26
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This thread's going to be even more fun once it's Bangkokians and Singaporeans talking poo poo about each other's cities, heh. Perfunctory nothing-but-malls-and-theme-parks jab goes here.
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Sep 25, 2011 08:47
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Can you smoke on your own property in Singapore? Just wondering...
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Sep 25, 2011 09:18
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Yes
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Sep 25, 2011 11:40
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Ringo, the OP pictures are all broken. I am making a Burma post as we speak. I will hopefully post it a bit later.
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Sep 26, 2011 00:34
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Burma write up. Fix the photos in the OP and I will make one for this post as well. Burma Unlike the other countries in Southeast Asia, Burma can definitely be considered the backpacker frontier. Unlike its neighbors, you will not find backpacker ghettos, a western party scene or widely availible tourist infrastructure. While sometimes annoying, this fact definitely makes the country extremely appealing for anyone looking to get away from the rampant commercialization and faux Asian culture to the east. The country has a very prominenty Indian influence, and can best be described as a "Buddhist India or Bangladesh". That being said though, the country is not nearly as hectic or aggressive as its Hindu neighbors. What to do: Most tourism in Burma is generally centered around the "big four attractons of Rangoon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. This is mainly due to the fact that the Burmese government makes it extremely difficult to roam freely around much of the country. In addition, attractions and towns not near these areas are very hard to get to, much less get by in. Rangoon: The colonial captial of Burma, Rangoon boasts some of the country's biggest attractions as well as the base for most of it's tourist infrastructure. Subsequently, it is also practically the only port of entry and exit from the country. While in Rangoon, make sure to hit up the Swedagon Paya, the Sule Paya and some of the old colonial architecture half in ruins throughout the city. For food, make sure to try out the quasi-Indian quarter around Sule Paya. You can get some delicios cheap eats there for around 500 kyat. If you are looking for accomodation, I would recommend the Okinama guesthouse located on a alley street adjacent to Sule Paya. As you can tell, the Sule Paya is a nice little place to base yourself out of. To get around town (and from the airport), you will need to use an un-metered taxi. Don't worry, there are no meters anywhere so don't feel too bad when the taxi cartel at the airport scams you for a flat $10 transfer to downtown. If you are looking for a day trip, hit up Bago outside the city a bit. Mandalay: Up along the Irriwaddy river in the North of Burma, Mandalay drums up visions of the quintiscential ancient Asian city in the middle of the jungle. In reality though, it is neither ancient, in the jungle or representative of a southeast asian city. However, this doesn' mean that it isn't worth a visit. Mandalay can be a very nice city to just explore. Its location up north makes it a good break from the monsoon if you just spent 3 days getting soaked in Rangoon, trust me. Key highlights are walking up Mandalay Hill (don't loving cheat), and visiting the various monestaries and payas littered throughout the city. Mandalay is also a base point should you want to get adventerous in the far north of the Burma. I stayed at the Royal Guesthouse when I was there, and it had decent and cheap accomodation. However, they did fleece me on my boat ticket down to Bagan. Don't hit up the palace if the fact that it was made with forced labor bothers you. Bagan: The jewel of Burma, Bagan is the equivalent to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but with less tourists and more structures to explore. You can base yourself out of three towns in the area; Old Bagan, New Bagan or Nyang U. I would recommend Nyang U as it has less government owned property and more backpacker infrastructure than the other towns. Once again, be ready to deal with taxi mafias and extortionary flat rates to/from the ferry pier or the airport. To get around the temples you can either hire a horse cart and driver (prices based on demand) or rent a bike for 1500 kyat. I recommend the later since you have a lot more freedom, just be wary of flat tires though and drink lots of water. It isn't too hot here, but its still Southeast Asia. You can easilt spend 3-4 days here, depending on what your tolerance for bike riding, painting touting and somewhat generic temple architecture is. Inle Lake: Never been to Inle Lake, but I here it is one of the most touristed places in the country. It is also used as a base for trekking for most trekkers in Burma. You can do some nice 3-4 day treks around the countryside here and see some off the beaten track stuff. In addition, you can also go around the late and see the floating villiages, fisherman, etc. etc. Its on the eastern side of the country, so kind of out of the way from Mandalay and Bagan (which is why I didn't go). Again, these are just the main attractions. If you really want to get away from it all and depart western culture entirely, I would suggest getting a permit for the far north or heading down to Mrauk U in the Southwest of the country. I hear those are both very adventerous places to go. Recommended Budget: The US and Euro governments have a financial services embargo on the entire country. Therefore, You will need to bring in the required amount of USD to cover your entire trip. There are no ATM's and most places don't covert Baht or other regional currencies. That being said, you MIGHT be able to get a wire transfer through singapore through some of the upmarket hotels in Rangoon for an astronomical commission (~30%). You probably don't want to do this. Expect accomodation to be $5-10 a night minimum, depending on where you are and how busy it is. This will usually get a private room with shared bathrooms. Look for about $15-20 for bus rides, $2-40 for boat rides (depending on the route and time of year), $70 for flights and $10-50 for trains. Food is extremely cheap, look for a max of 4000 kyat at any Burmese restaurant, though it can get higher at expat and tourist places. Note that the trains, some airlines, some boats, and some hotels are owned by the government. If supporting the military junta is something you wish to avoid, then be wary with what hotels and transportation methods you patronize. Recommended Food: Burma doesn't really have the reputation for cuisine as Thailand or Vietnam do, and in fact I found most of the food kind of mediocre. The curries here can best be described as Indian, but chunkier and a little less flavorful. As with any Southeast Asian country, noodle soup is in abundance and you can more than get by on that. What you will find is that the Indian food is extremely good. In Rangoon, Bagan, and Mandalay you will find a large variety of Indian restaurants which serve up cheap and delicious meals. I would strongly recommend trying it out. Drinking and Smoking Myanmar Beer is everywhere. You can find Mandalay beer up north a bit, but most of the time you will be drinking out of large recycled bottles of Mandalay. There are a few Tiger Beer drinking stations around the major cities (such as Mandalay), but for the most part their presence is not very big. Smoking isn't that big in Burma, but they do love their betel nut. Thats not blood all over the sidewalk and that guy you just passed is not a zombie. The ubiquous red betel nut is chewed and spit by almost all men. I thought it was disgusting and didn't try it. Feel free to try it I guess... Beware of: Burma is a rather isolated country run by an authoritarian military government. That being said, the country is extremely safe for travelers. You should have no trouble walking alone at night by yourseld in Rangoon or Mandalay. That being said, don't be a dumbass and use common sense regardless. The biggest problem you will have are people trying to scam the poo poo out of you. The most obvious of these scams are the taxi mafias which you will more than likely come into contact with. Anyplace where you are sort of stuck away from where you are going with no other transport but taxis will yield you a bunch of taxi drivers offering the same extortionary price with nothing you can do about it. It sucks, but what are you going to do. Also, watch where you walk. The Burmese sewer system is not what I would call very advanced or well maintained. Finally, don't be a dumbass and try to stir up a revolution or something. Keep your politics to yourself and don't do anything stupid. I met some guy in Rangoon during my first night in Burma, and he was planning on "stopping by Aung San Suu Kyi's house to make an appointment and talk with her". I would not recommend such things if you don't feel like being deported or detained. Frequently Asked Questions: Q: Should I go, and how should I spend my money? A: The biggest question that seems to go through everyone's head in regards to Burma. From a personal safety perspective, you are perfectly safe. The government will crucify anyone fucks with a tourist so you have nothing to worry about in that regard. However, the dollars that you spend in country will eventually end up in the hands of a rather barbaric military junta with a long history of human righs violations. I have outlined areas where you can limit your exposure to this sort of spending, but ultimately you will not be able to fully isolate yourself from it. Other factors which go into this are your personal schedule and beliefs. If you are tight on time or don't like staying in lovely guesthouses, you might feel the need to possibly put more money in the goverment purse. The choice of whether to go, how much to spend, and where is your choice and your choice alone. Weigh the issues, your situation and make a decision based upon that. I have always felt that Lonely Planet and lots of other publications like to pressure people with guilt trips about traveling in the country. However, I have always found this hypocritical for obvious reasons. Decide on your priorities and make your own choice. In my opinion, you should go. There are very few places in the world where you can see the level of authentic culture as you can in Burma. It is in many way untouched by the tourist trail which plagues so many other countries, but at the same time has enough infrastructure to not be completely ridiculous. In addition, the Burmese people are the ones who will need to rise up and change their world. They will never do that if they are kept isolated from the rest of the world. If you go, make sure to interact with the locals and try to find and share with the "real Burma". I think that will do much more good than any type of travel boycott. Q: Why are all the men wearing skirts? A: It's not a skirt, its a Lungi, or South Asian version of a sarong. Unlike most other SE Asian countries, this traditional dress is still worn by most of the population. Q: What is the best way to get around? A: The easiest, but most expensive way to get around is by air. However, note that Burmese airlines don't have the best safety record and a couple of them are owned by the government. However, not ALL of them are owned by the government, so don't rule air travel out entirely. Buying tickets is easy from any travel agency or guesthouse. All airfare must be paid for it dollars, by law. Busses are long and uncomfortable, but ultimately the cheapest and all owned by private companies. Expect at least 12 hours from Rangoon to Mandalay. Boats are a fun and scenic way of seeing the country, though their times are irregular and dependent on water levels and the season. I would recommend the trip from Mandalay to Bagan if you can fit it in your schedule, it was quite nice. Q: What about visas? A. You will need a visa from either your home country or from a Burmese consolate abroad. It's comparitively cheap (especially for an American), but they can be picky if you put down an occupation or purpose which is not in line with the government's ideaology. That is, don't put down journalist, freedom fighter, LF poster, etc. as your occupation if you don't want your visa denied. Cheesemaster200 fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Sep 26, 2011 |
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Sep 26, 2011 01:54
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 Sucks about the taxi mafia, but what can you do  I've fixed the op. Might be a bit boring now but it's easier to manage. Can you please unquote your write up? I lose all the formatting otherwise.If anyone is into UrbEx and happens to be in Bangkok, check out the abandoned building close to the Saphan Thaksin BTS station. There are no guards or anything so you can walk right in. The view from the top is pretty good too.   
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Sep 26, 2011 11:41
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No marauding army of undead soi dogs?
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Sep 26, 2011 11:43
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Unquoted the write up
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Sep 26, 2011 15:12
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Currently in Mandalay! It is scorching hot and there isn't much shade while walking around. Also, the common blackouts force me to desert my room with its now-usless fan! From the Yangon/Rangoon airport, I walked down the main road and caught a bus. Didn't have any kyat yet, so I just gave the guy a dollar. Took me right to the Sule Pagoda, which has three guesthouses nearby. Stayed at a dorm room in Osaka for $6 a night with free breakfast. Every place so far in Burma has had great breakfasts! The boat ride at Inle Lake is a great deal if you can get a group together (max 6 people). Our group of four paid 3500 kyat apiece for eight hours out on the lake and its villages. Cool litle towns on stilts above the water, with people traveling around town by canoe. Probably my favorite day so far in Burma. I also rented a bike and rode about 75 km along the lake, but the roads are very rocky and near the lake I was dragging the bike for a mile with mud sometimes up to my knees. I would recommend coming between November through February, when it's not either raining or oppressively hot (or both). An interesting experience was the 11 hour train ride from Inle Lake to Thazi. Even on the upper class seats, people and bags of food are packed into the aisle! The best part was the long station stops, where women carrying baskets on their heads will sell you bananas and stuff. The actual train ride only had some decent mountain scenery and it's not the quickest way to travel 60 miles, but you meet plenty of the locals. Was going to take the boat to Bagan, but the fast boat (8-10 hours?) is not running, and the slow boat is over 12 hours. There may be a private express boat (5 hours) for $40. The bus is 8 hours and during the day, which is surprisingly long since it's not far and not mountainous terrain. If you want to escape the oppressive heat of Mandalay, it's only four hours by train or two by pick-up to Pyin Oo Lwin, a colonial hill town. From there you can continue by train for a seven hour ride to Hsipaw, which passes over the Gokteik Viaduct. Mandalay is an interesting town with good eats, but the blistering sun and the incredibly load Buddhist chanting coming from Eindawya Pagoda near the hotel (AD1 Hotel) is forcing me into the hills tomorrow. The loadspeaker is on a tree outside of the pagoda, pointing directly towards the hotel!
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Sep 26, 2011 15:42
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Myanmar also got a new flag Ringo, you have the old one 
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Sep 26, 2011 20:49
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kenner116 posted:
Pyin U Lwin (formerly Maymyo) is a gem. I wasn't that impressed with Mandalay, and quickly left for Pyin U Lwin. Unfortunately, it's also really popular with the Burmese military, who had completely taken over Da Shanghai Hotel while I was there.
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Sep 27, 2011 00:01
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Would be exceedingly grateful for any meaningful advice on flat hunting in Singapore. Looking to room in a shared condo with expats if possible. Am I dreaming? How long did it take the expats to get a place? I have zero friends or contacts in the city to live with while I house hunt. Edit: my reason for choosing to live with expats is that I'm hoping to ease the culture shock a bit by at least surrounding myself with people going through similar life stages. Moving to a country you'd barely considered, with no support networks, is a big step as it is without feeling completely isolated in my living environment miss_chaos fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Sep 27, 2011 |
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Sep 27, 2011 09:36
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miss_chaos posted:Would be exceedingly grateful for any meaningful advice on flat hunting in Singapore. Looking to room in a shared condo with expats if possible. Am I dreaming? How long did it take the expats to get a place? I have zero friends or contacts in the city to live with while I house hunt. http://singapore.craigslist.com.sg/roo/ If Bangkok's any indication this will be full of rooms that you could find cheaper by checking neighborhood bulletin boards and such. I would note that if you're coming in under one of the Ministry of Manpower programs you might get some kind of favorable subsidy. Singapore really lays out the red carpet for qualified foreigners in positions it deems of national interest. Subsidized loans, fast-track PR, the works. I sat in on a meeting the other day with a rep from a sub-program of the MOM the other day and they're even recruiting high-end Thai graduates now.
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Sep 27, 2011 11:18
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I havent arrived yet (dec) but gumtree is also a good bet for leads, as far as I can see. Give me a shout with where you are renting!
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Sep 27, 2011 18:44
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I wouldn't be too worried about culture shock. In Singapore/Malaysia most of the younger generation of middle class locals speak fluent English and have often been to university in the UK/US/Australia. There isn't a barrier between locals and expats to any great extent. The hardcore of the expat crowd is probably more off-putting, pampered rich families who want to live in a little gated world and shut themselves off from their surroundings.
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Sep 28, 2011 08:46
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Yeah, of all the cities in Asia, I'd say an American would have the least culture shock coming to Singapore. I seriously would not worry about that. Not that there's no cultural difference, but it's the least shocking place culturally of all the big Asian cities that I've seen.
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Sep 28, 2011 16:24
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/28/world/asia/thailand-nazi-parade/ I love sports day!
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Sep 29, 2011 02:07
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Some people on my Facebook feed here were actually disgusted. I dunno, for me it was like "Yeah, Asians and Westerners. It's funny, but nothing to get all bothered about." Every time some Asian decides it's cute to play nazi I can't help but find it all humorous, because they apply all the usual kawaii style behavior to it. Running around making peace signs and posing with giant smiles and jumping in the air simultaneously and so on.
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Sep 29, 2011 02:36
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ReindeerF posted:I'm sure there's a local alternative as the online marketing crowd in Singapore's very advanced, but you could always start with craigslist as it's pretty well-populated: Nope, public sector organisation with a branch in Singapore.
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Sep 29, 2011 04:10
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miss_chaos posted:Nope, public sector organisation with a branch in Singapore. WHO MAKE DA MONEY LAH? SOMEONE MAKE DA MONEY. WHO MAKE DA MONEY?
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Sep 29, 2011 12:27
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Ringo R posted:
Awesome. I know what I'm doing tomorrow!
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Sep 29, 2011 14:48
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Hi all! I'm looking at living and working in Taiwan starting next Fall and I want to (ideally) back pack throughout all of Southeast Asia and possibly South Asia as well. I lived in Dharamsala and northern India for three months last year on a school program and would like to travel between India and Pakistan in the west to Vietnam and the east to Indonesia and Malaysia in the south. On a more realistic budget and time-scale, I'd at least want to travel through Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. That said, what kind of a budget and time-scale am I looking at for thorough back packing through Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia? What about for three months (one month in each country)? Also, would it be a completely bad idea to enter Burma as a foreigner?
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Sep 29, 2011 21:32
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Well in my opionion thorough backpacking would be 3 months in Thailand alone, then maybe one in Cambodia and atleast two in Vietnam. But your definition of thorough backpacking may differ. If you want to go cheap you can. I've met people (smelling hippy crusties) who were on a 2 euro a day budget for a week and they pulled that off (in Cambodia). Of course that is not recommendable, but just to give you an idea of what is possible. I personally did it on a 45-50 euro a day budget, but 25-30 euro a day is totally feasible if you leave out dive courses and hostels with pools and aircon.
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Sep 29, 2011 21:53
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Rojkir posted:Well in my opionion thorough backpacking would be 3 months in Thailand alone, then maybe one in Cambodia and atleast two in Vietnam. But your definition of thorough backpacking may differ. What about couch surfing? Also, should I generally try to budget out 6 straight months with 80 US dollars per day in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia? What is the cheapest way to get from Taiwan to Thailand? Could I get across the Taiwan Strait to mainland China and then backpack my way down into Thailand, cross through Cambodia and Vietnam back into China, and then cross back into Taiwan (this sounds awesome to me) within 6-7 months? Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Sep 29, 2011 |
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Sep 29, 2011 22:08
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OrangeGuy posted:Also, would it be a completely bad idea to enter Burma as a foreigner? Scroll up a bit to read Cheesemaster's Burma write up.
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Sep 30, 2011 03:23
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Ringo R posted:Scroll up a bit to read Cheesemaster's Burma write up. Oh! I'm a dumb-rear end.  I apologize.
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Sep 30, 2011 03:31
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OrangeGuy posted:Hi all! Burma is probably one of the safest and most rewarding countries in the region to visit. Just don't be stupid, keep an open mind, and you will be fine.
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Sep 30, 2011 03:40
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Burma is probably one of the safest and most rewarding countries in the region to visit. Just don't be stupid, keep an open mind, and you will be fine. Alrighty. How long would a good visit through Burma be? How much money? Would 1-2 weeks be enough? Also, how would I be able to get into Bhutan and Nepal, for example? I'm interested in someday going there as well (although that's more South Asian than anything).
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Sep 30, 2011 06:51
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OrangeGuy posted:Also, how would I be able to get into Bhutan and Nepal, for example? IIRC Bhutan only allows tourists in on fairly high end tour packages($200 a night if wikitravel is to be believed), part of their policy of limiting contact with the outside world and not being overwhelmed by outside influences.
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Sep 30, 2011 08:30
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Ebethron posted:IIRC Bhutan only allows tourists in on fairly high end tour packages($200 a night if wikitravel is to be believed), part of their policy of limiting contact with the outside world and not being overwhelmed by outside influences. I guess I'll have to put that on the backburner or save it for a really short time/more savings, then.
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Sep 30, 2011 12:39
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OrangeGuy posted:Alrighty. 1-2 weeks would be fine, depending on what you want to do and how you want to get around. Money is dependent on how long you are there, but for 2 weeks you could be quite comfortable with $1000, though you can get by with less. Almost all flights are going to go through Bangkok out of Rangoon. To get to Nepal, fly back to BKK and then on to KTM. To get to you Bhutan you will need to fly into CCU, take a bus/train to the border and go by land if I remember correctly. Keep in mind that Bhutan is expensive and hard to get to/around.
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Sep 30, 2011 14:11
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OrangeGuy posted:How long would a good visit through Burma be? How much money? Would 1-2 weeks be enough?
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Sep 30, 2011 15:59
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kenner116 posted:and even getting to the Rangoon bus station from downtown can take over an hour. I have taken some crazy car rides before, but that one took the cake...
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Sep 30, 2011 19:20
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I also have horrible luck with the USDTHB exchange rate...
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Sep 30, 2011 19:25
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Going off to Thailand next week, we have 4 days in Bangkok and another 5 days to kill down south on the beaches (within ferry distance of phuket). Any suggestions for a couple that just wants to relax on the beach, eat good thai food and generally be left alone?
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Sep 30, 2011 22:47
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Is a day trip to Phi Phi worth it even if it's pissing rain? I've only got a few days in the region, and it looks like there's going to be solid storms.
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Oct 3, 2011 03:38
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Jenkin posted:Is a day trip to Phi Phi worth it even if it's pissing rain? I've only got a few days in the region, and it looks like there's going to be solid storms. No, rain pretty much invalidates Phi Phi.
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Oct 3, 2011 04:14
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I figured as much, and the surprisingly honest tour booking desk at my current hostel said that she didn't think it was worth it either. Oh well. Phuket is kind of a shithole, but at least the people-watching is entertaining.
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Oct 3, 2011 07:59
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