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ReindeerF posted:Today's other backpacker tip: DO NOT TAKE PILLS FROM RANDOM PEOPLE ON THE BUS. Especially when its the bus from Vang Vieng...
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Nov 16, 2011 18:47
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Especially when its the bus from Vang Vieng... AKA Pinkeye Express.
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Nov 16, 2011 19:34
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I'd like to ask some general advice on flights. I've never booked an international flight before so pardon my ignorance, and also anything that it seems like I should have gotten in 10 seconds from a travel website, because this is new territory for me. I'm going to try to make a 3 week-ish trip somewhere between January 1 and mid February. I've been using kayak (because my friend told me to) and it seems like its a little cheaper to wait a couple weeks after new years. Right now I'm looking at doing a round trip from Raleigh to Bangkok. Would it be better to fly into Bangkok and out of another city in terms of cost. I'm planning on definitely visiting Thailand and Vietnam so maybe it would make more sense to make my way from one to the other and then fly out of there, rather than return to Bangkok. If anyone has some advice on how to get the cheapest flights I would really appreciate. Is there another website thats better? And is that Priceline name your own price thing any good? Also I'd like to do some diving while I'm there. I'm a PADI AOW diver if that helps, but I'm assuming a lot of the diving is shallower reef diving anyway. I've heard Nha Trang is awesome. Is there anything to look out for when checking out dive operations there? Does anyone have a particular site, or dive operation they really recommend? I'm planning on just figuring out what to do once I get there, but planning some dives would help me put a little structure to my trip. Thanks
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Nov 17, 2011 01:25
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ReindeerF posted:I've got some expat friends in Vientiane, but not LP. The only general things I hear are that it's a bit controlled in some ways, like there's a curfew in LP and there are goofball laws throughout Laos surrounding relationships (most of which shouldn't affect you). The community there is pretty artsy fartsy, though, and is sort of famous for being interesting. The key things I'd ask about are visa particulars, rent costs, utility costs, taxes, power stability, DSL/net access, 3G and so on. I know other things like food won't be an issue. My guess would be that LP's probably fine on all counts. Thanks, this was helpful. There were a ton of westerners crawling around in Luang Prabang when I was there, but I couldn't tell who was an expat and who was just passing through. Nice to know there's some sort of community there.
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Nov 17, 2011 02:16
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=====I've been using kayak (because my friend told me to) Good, listen to your friend. =====and it seems like its a little cheaper to wait a couple weeks after new years. That will change. Prices fluctuate depending on a lot of factors. A ticket that is cheaper just after new years now next week could be a bit more expensive instead. Be willing to spend a bit more to get the flight you want -- if the cheapest flight is X dollars consider spending at least 20% of X if it knocks out a layover or gets you a few extra days somewhere or has less "getting to the airport hassle" or whatever. =====Right now I'm looking at doing a round trip from Raleigh to Bangkok. Would it be better to fly into Bangkok and out of another city in terms of cost. How are you going to get to Another City and how are you going to get home after you return? How many extra days of vacation are you losing (probably at least two, one there and one back) and how many hours are you adding on to your 30 hour transpacific ordeal by doing that? This stuff is almost never worth it. Fly out of the city you live in in 99% of all possible circumstances. =====I'm planning on definitely visiting Thailand and Vietnam so maybe it would make more sense to make my way from one to the other and then fly out of there No, you should unplan that. Pick one or the other. Three weeks isn't enough time to do both of those countries. Four weeks might be. Trust me on this. You could, however, do Thailand and Cambodia or Vietnam and Cambodia, but getting from Thailand to Vietnam is like getting from Miami to Seattle except upon arrival you've got a lot more to see in each place than dolphins and flannel. Also the tickets where you arrive in one city and then depart from another can't really be booked through Kayak, what you do is get the prices off of Kayak and then go to a local travel agent to see if they can book that "open jaw" ticket for you. Be warned, though, that just because a round trip from Raliegh to BKK is, I don't know, a thousand dollars or whatever that doesn't mean a one way will be 500 and then half of your one way from Saigon will be another 500. One ways are like 4/5ths the cost of round trip tickets (and with surprising frequency they're actually more expensive...). Most airlines look at open jaw bookings as basically being two one ways so the price on them is outrageous compared to a normal one way. A few airlines also offer "round the world" tickets, which are also expensive and more suited to year long travel itineraries where you basically have a series of really long layovers as you work your way from place to place. The dominance of internet booking has really eroded the number, quality and affordability of these offerings, though and these days you mostly just bite the bullet and get a round trip and just don't use the other half if it's not applicable (or pay a fee to change it or something like that). It's a mess. =====rather than return to Bangkok. If anyone has some advice on how to get the cheapest flights I would really appreciate. Is there another website thats better? And is that Priceline name your own price thing any good? Just use Kayak and don't be a plonker. Give Kayak two to three days of leeway on your departure and return dates if you're bargain starved. Priceline is a pain in the rear end and not a major saver over Kayak. =====Also I'd like to do some diving while I'm there. I'm a PADI AOW diver if that helps, but I'm assuming a lot of the diving is shallower reef diving anyway. I've heard Nha Trang is awesome. Is there anything to look out for when checking out dive operations there? Does anyone have a particular site, or dive operation they really recommend? I'm planning on just figuring out what to do once I get there, but planning some dives would help me put a little structure to my trip. I don't know that much but I took an open water course on Koh Phi Phi with Aquanauts (because a Thai friend of mine is one of the like 32 owners). It was pretty good. Don't have any specific Vietnam diving advice, sorry. tl;dr: Do an overtime shift and use that pay for a better start/finish to your vacation (and possibly buy you another 36-72 hours abroad). raton fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 03:43
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Sheep-Goats posted:words Awesome advice. In light of this I'll think I will focus on Thailand and maybe pop over to Cambodia. Also I think I'll try to do a round trip to bangkok, and extend my trip to 4 weeks to get more out of my time there. I'm also going to pay more attention to the stop overs ect in order to squeeze as much time as I can out of this trip. And I'll spring for a more expensive flight in order to make things less painful. I've done the transpacific flight thing before, and it can really, really suck. I checked out the Aquanauts Scuba thing too. http://www.aquanauts-scuba.com/en/home.html It looks legit. I work in a dive shop so I'm real particular about how dive shops and boats are run ect, because even in the States you have some shady operations. I will definitely try to work this into my trip. Now to go actually make some money and live like a monk so I can actually afford this trip. While I'm over there, I need to be able to check my email and bank account online. I'd prefer not to travel with my laptop, so are there easy ways to do that stuff over there aka internet cafes and hotel lobby computers?
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Nov 17, 2011 04:29
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Vaya con Dios posted:While I'm over there, I need to be able to check my email and bank account online. I'd prefer not to travel with my laptop, so are there easy ways to do that stuff over there aka internet cafes and hotel lobby computers? Internet cafes abound in SE Asia and are cheap. I would often spend an hour or so in one when I was feeling put out by the heat, drinking a fresh squeezed OJ, watching some stupid videos, Googling for stuff to do, heading back out. Things I suggest you not miss out on in the Thailand/Cambo loop: 1) Angkor Wat (two days is enough but it's so drat awesome I say why not three) 2) A hilltribe trek. Do it out of Mae Hong Son if possible, which is a short 80 dollar flight from Chiang Mai and you'll probably go to Chiang Mai anyway. Again, book a three or four day thing here. This is often the highlight of many people's SE Asia trips. 3) A beach. You're already diving so you'll be fine here. Also I loving love Bangkok but it's a bit hard to figure out at first (and blazing loving hot) so a lot of tourists poo poo on it. It's one of the world's truly great international cities except instead of having misanthropic or socially withdrawn local residents it's all friendly people who will talk to you and crack jokes. If you have four weeks you can easily spend some time in upper Malaysia and Laos too. Might as well, Malaysia is kinda weird but it's cool. Laos is fairly similar to Thailand but somehow even more laid back and has cool scenery and stuff. Some other posts I made that maybe you want to read: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3260679&pagenumber=63#post394107980 http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3260679&pagenumber=62#post393768744 http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3415334 raton fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 04:42
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A Pair of Slacks posted:Thanks, this was helpful. There were a ton of westerners crawling around in Luang Prabang when I was there, but I couldn't tell who was an expat and who was just passing through. Nice to know there's some sort of community there. http://www.orientexpat.com/forum/country/11-laos-forum/ You'll find that spending a couple of days reading these expat forums will have a few results: 1) You will become amazed at how much is going on and how interesting it sounds. 2) You will start to become afraid of various things based on the constant fear-mongering of jackass (mostly British) expats [to curb this, don't read any posts that contain the words "methinks" or "me missus"]. 3) You will start to wonder of maybe this country is actually an awful place to live because about half the people in forums seem to be complaining about things and another chunk spend their time talking about "the women" in a given place in creepy ways. 4) You will eventually live there and discover that the only thing these forums are good for is hard facts about things like "Where is the local immigration office located?" and "Is 3G available in my city?" and so on. So, basically, read for concrete facts then Google around to find a secondary source somewhere else, heh. Ignore the actual people, because, like on forums everywhere, they're mostly cunts.
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Nov 17, 2011 10:36
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Vaya con Dios posted:Does anyone have a particular site, or dive operation they really recommend? Koh Tao is in the Gulf of Thailand and easily accessible. It's a scuba certification hub and thousands of people learn to dive there every year. Nonetheless there's still some decent diving. Max depths are 60-ish metres if you're with the tech guys but 40 is doable at some sites. On the other side of the country, on the Andaman sea, is Khao Lak. It's a couple of hours drive north of Phuket. There is some epic diving there although conditions can be a bit tricky - strong currents and so on. There are some fairly deep sites there. If you go to either or both places, dive with Big Blue Diving: http://www.bigbluediving.com/ I can't recommend them highly enough. They're not a factory, they're large enough to have awesome facilities and gear but they still have small groups. Their Koh Tao location is the best on the island. I've done all my training with them and I'm going back to do a dive master course with them in a year or so.
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Nov 17, 2011 11:31
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ReindeerF posted:Heya, I forgot to mention expat forums. Every country around here has a number of expat forums (often warring with one another, heh). I don't know what the big Laos one is, but OrientExpat is big enough to have some good info and will probably contain mentions of any other forums. You could start there: Yeah, I live in Korea now so I'm unfortunately quite familiar with the douchebag expat syndrome. I don't think I've found one helpful thing on any Korea-related forum except for visa and immigration info. It's too bad...it seems like everywhere you go, the good expats stay hidden (or at least don't use the internet much). Edit: HA! As predicted, the first two threads on the Laos forum were creepy posts about Lao women. A Pair of Slacks fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 13:16
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Steve. posted:Koh Tao is in the Gulf of Thailand and easily accessible. It's a scuba certification hub and thousands of people learn to dive there every year. Nonetheless there's still some decent diving. Max depths are 60-ish metres if you're with the tech guys but 40 is doable at some sites. I will definitly check this out if I'm in the area, thanks. I read your links Goats, I think what I'll do is map out a few destinations in a loose circuit around Thailand so I start and end up in Bangkok. I'm going to lurk this thread and do some more research then I'll throw up an itinerary and maybe a map. I'm planning on a month long trip and I'm wondering what to budget myself. I've heard $30 a day is a good baseline, but I feel like I'm going to inevitably run over that and want to plan for contingencies anyway. What do you reckon I'll need to budget myself (airfare aside) for a month long trip. I plan on staying at decent mid range accommodations if available (fan at least, ac is possible), but not springing for nicer hotels very often. I also would like to scuba diving at least twice while I'm there, and possibly doing some other adventure style stuff which will probably cost more too. I'll probably do some heavy drinking too, but not every night. So in short: month long trip, living decent, doing some diving, drinking- rough estimate?
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Nov 17, 2011 16:14
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Around $60-70 a day, diving is expensive even when it's in cheap places like Koh Tao. This amount is also very dependent on the amount of flights you take instead of cheap buses.
Rojkir fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 16:41
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30 a day is super basic accommodation and being quite careful with food, and only occasionally partying -- to be fair though it's possible to get by on as little as 10 a day if you'r willing to suffer for it. About 60 a day is "do what you want every day within reason" plus a more than basic room (eg: with air con and your own shower). In Bangkok I could easily spend a thousand in a day, too. I don't think there's but a handful of other cities with such a huge possible casual expenditure range.
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Nov 17, 2011 17:41
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I got my OW and AOW in Koh Tao. Koh Tao is probably the cheapest place in Thailand to dive, but it's honestly not that great. It's 800 baht or so per dive, but if you're not so focused on prices, I'd say go to the Andaman coast. I had way better diving in Koh Lanta, although 3 dives cost me over 4000 baht. If you're into diving, I'd say your better bet is Indonesia, Philippines or the Malaysian Borneo - cheaper and way better diving out there. I'm out in Dumagete right now, just got back from a 3-dive day-trip to Apo Island for 3000 pesos and it was way nicer than Koh Tao or Koh Lanta. In terms of budget, about 1000 baht a day is pretty much the minimum for hotel + food, and if you want to do anything else (e.g. rent a motorcycle), it'll be extra on top of that. Of course, you CAN do less than 1000 baht a day (I've stayed at a 150 baht/night place, for instance, with ~50-100 baht/meal places nearby), but 1000 is a good rough estimate of the minimum. Thailand is way over-traveled, so very expensive nowadays. Honestly, if you're a diver, I'd say US$2000-3000/month is probably a more realistic budget, depending on how much you dive.
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Nov 17, 2011 17:52
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ReindeerF posted:Today's other backpacker tip: DO NOT TAKE PILLS FROM RANDOM PEOPLE ON THE BUS. Know your pills! If you can't tell xanax from roofies then yeah. MonkeeKong fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 18, 2011 04:40
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A friend and I are heading to Saigon tomorrow to buy motorcycles for a month long ride up to hanoi. I've read through the awesome guide posted early on in the thread, but does anyone know a good way to find bikes for sale? Is there a Craigslist equivalent or are there bikes for sale posted in guest houses?
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Nov 18, 2011 05:52
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Bulging Nipples posted:A friend and I are heading to Saigon tomorrow to buy motorcycles for a month long ride up to hanoi. I've read through the awesome guide posted early on in the thread, but does anyone know a good way to find bikes for sale? Is there a Craigslist equivalent or are there bikes for sale posted in guest houses? You can check guesthouses, cafes, etc, or with bike shops themselves (if you e-mail Flamingo Travel in Hanoi, I know they have a sister shop in Saigon they partner with who would likely have a few bikes available). Hanoi has The New Hanoian for online classifieds, I'm sure there's a bigger one in HCMC. Craigslist is another option. You are much, much better off buying a bike from an expat or local person than you are a backpacker, who has likely flogged it to death and had no idea how to maintain it. You can often score some good deals from people who are desperate to sell before they leave, but getting a more reliable bike is probably worth the extra $100-200 in time/hassle saved. I bought basically the most creampuff Minsk you could get (owned by a foreign lawyer, only ridden on the weekends, meticulously maintained by a good shop, plus a going-over by said shop on purchase) and I still had some issues with mine on my 7-week trip. You could also consider renting if you're only staying in Vietnam; for me the cutoff where buying starts to make more sense than renting is around 3 weeks, other factors (like how flexible you are with staying in Hanoi looking for a buyer) do apply though. Renting for a month (likely at a reduced rate from 30/31x the daily) and sending the bikes back down on the train might be more expensive than buying, but it does take a lot of hassle and guesswork out of the end of your trip. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 18, 2011 06:00
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I'm going to Cambodia and Thailand next summer with a big volunteer group. All of our activities are going to be scheduled, but they don't control the flights and I can always extend my trip if I feel like it. Reading this thread has given me lots of ideas about what I would want to do if I stayed on a few extra days, namely the Tiger Temple holy poo poo. However, I'm a huge travel noob and have no idea what to do. I'm also going to be traveling alone if I stayed on without my group. Bullet list of questions: - Where should I look to stay just for a few nights that is somewhat cheap but individual room? - Getting around. Taxis? My sense of direction is AWFUL I could never just gently caress off on a bike. - Is this a horrible idea in general? I'm 20, female, white and very non-threatening looking. I've heard plenty of good things about Bankok but I don't know about anywhere else.
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Nov 19, 2011 02:23
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PutinOnTheRitz posted:- Where should I look to stay just for a few nights that is somewhat cheap but individual room? 1. Check out hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com if you want to arrange stuff in advance, otherwise just walk around when you get there. 2. Taxis are alright in Bangkok. The drivers will use the meter more often than not (at least in my experience) but they'll take you on a fairly convoluted journey to pad out their earnings. Don't sweat the couple of extra dollars it'll cost you, though. 3. It's not a horrible idea at all. If you really must go to a "Tiger Temple" do some research first. You might change your mind. Finch! fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Nov 19, 2011 |
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Nov 19, 2011 04:10
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Korean winter vacation is coming... I've got January 12th-29th off and am looking at tickets to fun places. I'm kicking around the idea of visiting Malaysia this year as I made some friends last August, but was told that January is at the tail end of the rainy season. Is this true? Tickets are loving cheap, like $380 r/t, I even found some in February for $280 from Seoul. Thailand was fun last year, and I'm thinking I can get a cheap flight from Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai or somewhere south cheap. Is Bangkok a flooded wasteland still? Will it be back to it's old glory in 2 months? Just looking for a beach to read on.
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Nov 19, 2011 09:03
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PutinOnTheRitz posted:- Where should I look to stay just for a few nights that is somewhat cheap but individual room? If you're going to Bangkok, I would recommend lub d hostel (like everyone else in this thread). You can get your own room if you want but I would not recommend it, since you're cutting yourself off from the easiest way to meet people. I'm pretty sure Lub D groups women and men into separate rooms by default. I'was just there 2 days ago. Seriously the nicest hostel I've ever seen. 2. Practically ever guesthouse/hostel/hotel has a basic map of the city. Just ask them. Also every city pretty much has it's own way of getting around. Wikitravel always has an explanation. 3. Hell no it is not. Thailand is completely safe. Cambodia might be a bit less so as it is kind of a wild west of southeast asia (from what I read and heard, have not been there). If you live in a large American or European city you are much more likely to get into trouble.
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Nov 19, 2011 15:03
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On her third point I'd say that she probably has more to worry about from her fellow travelers than locals. Still, a 20 year old girl should use a little caution. Avoid situations that are too good to be true, those that you didn't initiate, and if you want to do something a little risky it shouldn't be hard to solicit a white knight to go with you from the day before. Most people are far too risk adverse when they travel. When you're new to it you should be a little more cautious just because you brain won't listen to your bullshit detector like it should, but after your first major trip you'll be good to go.
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Nov 19, 2011 18:16
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PutinOnTheRitz posted:- Where should I look to stay just for a few nights that is somewhat cheap but individual room? Agreed with Rapsey that dorms are the best way to meet new people. If you go to Phnom Penh then I would very highly recommend The Mad Monkey Hostel on Rue 302. The staff is absolutely awesome, the rooms are great value and it's close to the palace and all that. I believe you can get private rooms there as well and just meet new people in the bar at the top. I'm currently staying in WE Bangkok in Bangkok and must say I like the vibe so far. Taxis are the best way to get around in Bangkok unless you just want to go from metro station to metro station or skytrain station to skytrain station. Generally avoid tuktuks though. Motos are the best way to get around in Phnom Penh. It might be wise to get a helmet and make sure to always negotiate the price in advance. Use a tuktuk if you're not by yourself or if you carry a lot of gear. It's a pretty great idea I would say. Phnom Penh might be a bit dodgy if you go out clubbing by yourself: nouveau riche, horny Khmer and drunk farrang are seldom a very good combination so bring some friends. Besides that, Thailand and Cambodia are both safe as long as you use your common sense. Don't go on tuktuks or motos alone in the night and if a monk gets a bit too close, get the hell away from him (hint: real monks may never touch women). Guess which idiot just walked from Soi Koah San to Soi Sathorn in the middle of the day because he was to cheap to get a taxi and too dumb to look up where his guesthouse was? EDIT: Thinking about it I actually ended up saving 550 baht by walking from Koah San. 100 for not taking a taxi from there to my hostel and 450 for booking my trip to Ko Phangan directly through an agency, so I guess it wasn't such a bad deal after all. Also it was pretty fun to see sides of Bangkok that I probably wouldn't have seen from a cab. Lessons: always book stuff by yourself (if possible) and always take at least one long, random walk on foot in whatever city you're in. MonkeeKong fucked around with this message at 11:30 on Nov 20, 2011 |
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Nov 20, 2011 08:55
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MonkeeKong posted:Agreed with Rapsey that dorms are the best way to meet new people. If you go to Phnom Penh then I would very highly recommend The Mad Monkey Hostel on Rue 302. The staff is absolutely awesome, the rooms are great value and it's close to the palace and all that. I believe you can get private rooms there as well and just meet new people in the bar at the top. I'm currently staying in WE Bangkok in Bangkok and must say I like the vibe so far. I'm heading to Phnom Penh in a few weeks and I'm going to book my room soon. The only catch is my flight lands at something like 22:30, so by the time I get to the city hostels might be closed. I know for some they close their doors by a certain time and you have to have checked in earlier in the day to get your key. So I'm thinking I'm going to spend my first two nights at the Phnom Penh City Hotel just to get settled in and have time to find a cheaper hostel and check in there. Good idea / Bad idea? It's not any more expensive than, say, the Mad Monkey.
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Nov 21, 2011 01:08
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stratdax posted:I'm heading to Phnom Penh in a few weeks and I'm going to book my room soon. The only catch is my flight lands at something like 22:30, so by the time I get to the city hostels might be closed. I know for some they close their doors by a certain time and you have to have checked in earlier in the day to get your key. MM close their doors at 12 I think, so if you haven't checked in before that then you won't be able to get in. It depends on what you're after really, most places in Phnom Penh are guesthouses with private rooms that lack communal space so if you're fine with that then I think you would be able to find cheaper accommodation than Phnom Penh City Hotel. If you want to meet people and don't mind spending a bit extra for great atmosphere and staff then I think MM is probably the best place. Besides it, I've heard good things about a place called 'Encounters' that seems to lack curfew and is only 4,50 per night for a dorm but I never stayed their myself. Most cheap guesthouses are centered around the Capitol guesthouse next to the Orussey Market. The first time I was in Phnom Penh I stayed in two different ones in this area: the Capitol which was very clean and had nice staff but had all the charm of a prison and the Narin 2 where I was terrorized by a crowing rooster every morning at five and which really housed some really strange people. They're both about half an hours walk or one dollars motoride from the riverside. Another area that traditionally has been known for cheap accommodation is around the Boeng Kak lake, but I never stayed there myself and I believe many of the old ramshackle guesthouses around the lake are being torn down right now to make place for more upscale hotels. But yeah, Mad Monkey was the best stay I've done so far so I can really recommend it. MonkeeKong fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Nov 21, 2011 |
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Nov 21, 2011 02:50
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We finally went to Apocalypse Now in Saigon and my god, it's the worst bar I've been to here. Filled with white people on vacations and prostitutes, expensive drinks, super lovely loud music.
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Nov 21, 2011 03:42
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Senso posted:We finally went to Apocalypse Now in Saigon and my god, it's the worst bar I've been to here. Filled with white people on vacations and prostitutes, expensive drinks, super lovely loud music. I kinda like people-watching in places like that. Spicy Disco in Bangkok was a delightful intersection of generally clueless tourists brought there by touts, and freelance hookers.
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Nov 21, 2011 05:47
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How's the flooding in Bangkok right now? I'm in a Southern province and will be leaving the country soon. Is getting from Hua lamphong to Suvarnabhumi do-able at the moment?
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Nov 21, 2011 06:51
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PutinOnTheRitz posted:- Is this a horrible idea in general? I'm 20, female, white and very non-threatening looking. I've heard plenty of good things about Bankok but I don't know about anywhere else. With regards to Phnom Penh, I agree with what MonkeeKong said, you just need to take the same care you would in any city at night (I assume you would probably be out in a group anyway). It has a bit of a bad reputation from a few years back, but it's actually pretty safe now - the most dangerous thing is probably the traffic! For places to stay, I'll throw out a recommendation for Okay Guesthouse. Individual rooms with a good communal area that's always busy, short walk to the palace/riverside, and the family that run the place are really great. MonkeeKong posted:Another area that traditionally has been known for cheap accommodation is around the Boeng Kak lake, but I never stayed there myself and I believe many of the old ramshackle guesthouses around the lake are being torn down right now to make place for more upscale hotels. Yeah the lakeside area is basically gone now, as is most of the lake itself.
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Nov 21, 2011 07:26
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DreadLlama posted:How's the flooding in Bangkok right now? I'm in a Southern province and will be leaving the country soon. Is getting from Hua lamphong to Suvarnabhumi do-able at the moment? I'm in downtown Bangkok right now and the only thing I've seen of the flood was that the riverboats aren't going and some water was running down one street in Chinatown right by the river. I can't for my life understand how it would be a problem to get from Hua Lamphong to Suvarnabhumi unless you aren't taking the expressways. Maybe a real Bangkok goon can verify this.
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Nov 21, 2011 07:53
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DreadLlama posted:How's the flooding in Bangkok right now? I'm in a Southern province and will be leaving the country soon. Is getting from Hua lamphong to Suvarnabhumi do-able at the moment? If you're coming from the south, you will be fine.
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Nov 21, 2011 08:53
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Tytan posted:With regards to Phnom Penh, I agree with what MonkeeKong said, you just need to take the same care you would in any city at night (I assume you would probably be out in a group anyway). Well for the majority of the trip I'll be with a group. What I'm debating is a few days entirely on my own. A generic white person "finding yourself"(tm) trip.
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Nov 22, 2011 00:26
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MonkeeKong posted:Another area that traditionally has been known for cheap accommodation is around the Boeng Kak lake, but I never stayed there myself and I believe many of the old ramshackle guesthouses around the lake are being torn down right now to make place for more upscale hotels. DreadLlama posted:How's the flooding in Bangkok right now? I'm in a Southern province and will be leaving the country soon. Is getting from Hua lamphong to Suvarnabhumi do-able at the moment? EDIT: Lest I be accused of playing old school on PP, my friends where there back in the 1990s when it was under UNTAC and their stories are much crazier.
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Nov 23, 2011 01:49
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Popping in to say I'm flying to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon and plan on being in Thailand/SE Asia for the next four months. This thread has been a lot of help, thanks everybody.
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Nov 23, 2011 02:36
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ReindeerF posted:I had read they all got plowed, but that was on an unreliable backpacker forum a while back so it's unverified. I stayed in Boeung Kok on my first trip to Phnom Penh in 2003 and it was easily THE shittiest, shadiest place I ever stayed. I was there in late 2004, and it was pretty dodgy, but not as flat-out seedy as some of the towns in Borneo I wound up in. Highlights included an old Italian dude banging his Cambodian hooker: the partitions between the rooms didn't go all the way up to the ceiling... yeah. It kinda liked the ramshackle nature of the place though, the aforementioned Italian was probably the worst person there, and he ran out of money to keep paying the hooker after a day or two anyways.
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Nov 23, 2011 02:48
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Question for all you ex-pat folks: Lets say I wanted to move over to Thailand/Singapore for 1-2 years. I'm a licensed electrical power engineer with ample experience and soon to be my MBA, so I am assuming it would be somewhat easy to find a job and visa. What I am unsure about is everything else. How hard is it to get settled, find a group of friends, etc. If you are in a position like that, how is the language barrier?
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Nov 23, 2011 03:50
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I was there in late 2004, and it was pretty dodgy, but not as flat-out seedy as some of the towns in Borneo I wound up in. Highlights included an old Italian dude banging his Cambodian hooker: the partitions between the rooms didn't go all the way up to the ceiling... yeah. I was in PP in 2005 or so and while sitting at a guesthouse bar had a guy walk up to me and introduce himself as: "Hey, my name's Frank -- I'm a pedophile." Liked Phnom Phen a lot in spite of that, though. Oh also my mototaxi driver / self appointed tour guide for the prison and killing fields tour had been in a wreck the day before, had a bad limp because of it, and while showing me the open graves at the killing fields (which mostly involved pointing and then pantomiming horrible deaths) waved me ahead at one point so he could take a piss. Into one of the graves. That city's outrageous, usually in highly commendable ways. Cheesemaster200 posted:What I am unsure about is everything else. How hard is it to get settled, find a group of friends, etc. If you are in a position like that, how is the language barrier? That stuff varies a lot from expat to expat. On your first point I'd say it's much easier to make friends as an expat than it is at home -- at least with other expats. Both of you will have a similar adventurous spirit at least to start out with, other differences can of course wash way over that but hey. Make sure you have a local cell number and call people up to invite them along for stuff a lot and they'll reciprocate pretty readily. Locals can be harder. The language barrier isn't nearly as bad as you think because if you try at all you generally get huge points for it. Also, your ability to get important info across with limited language itself will make huge improvements. Friends with locals is tricky, though. A lot of them will be homebodies or terminally plain, their foreigness is at first interesting but later can often be irksome (particularly if you happen to be a Brit pensioner) -- for example Thai people are perpetually late and always easy going but that means meeting up with you Thai friends is always a giant hassle compared to your expat friends, etc. I dunno, this is pretty big topic really. raton fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Nov 23, 2011 |
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Nov 23, 2011 04:44
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Question for all you ex-pat folks: Employed foreigners in Thailand are mostly self employed or English teachers. Now on my third week here in Thailand I'm really starting to understand why so many people move here. I'm guessing by next week I will start making plans to move here eventually.
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Nov 23, 2011 04:58
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Manchester biker who rode with boy, 3, 'a disgrace', say police http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-15275884 Somchai: Why did he only take one boy? There is enough room for 3 more! Sheep-Goats: Did he think you were a fellow pedo? Can't imagine why anyone would introduce themselves like that.
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Nov 23, 2011 06:27
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Seriously, I don't see anything in that (short) article to indicate that he was doing anything unsafe. I guess maybe I've been in SE Asia too long...
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Nov 23, 2011 06:57
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