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Toilet paper isn't really a thing here huh? Now that I think of it I didn't see any in the convenience stores.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:39
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Ringo R posted:Lolol thanks for that, I was about to jump from my balcony (number one cause of death among expats in Thailand) but now I'm heading over to the China thread instead. Page 130 on normal post settings, starts a few posts down with 'What happened when you held your baby up to poo poo in the trash can?' but I'll quote some choice tidbits: synertia posted:Last week, after work, I went into the bathroom to take a leak before driving home and the fully grown security guard had his pants around his ankles peeing like a child into the urinal. I thought I was losing it. GuestBob posted:A friend of mine once saw a a kid piss on a table in KFC; a three year old kid, encouraged by the grandmother. KFC person came along after the family left and sort of pushed a paper napkin about to clean it. goldboilermark posted:I saw an old man take a huge poo poo outside of Starbucks one time, which kind of blew me away, considering Starbucks has nice bathrooms and taking a poo poo on the sidewalk just does not seem all that appealing to me.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:42
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Toussaint Louverture posted:Hey guys did you know it rains a lot in Southeast Asia? Invisible Handjob posted:I want to come back
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Aug 1, 2012 12:44
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I'm going to need a better umbrella.
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Toussaint Louverture posted:The convenience store for soju Grand Fromage posted:
Hahaha, that explains a lot. That is the only way you guys could possibly deal with the amount of absurdity going on.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:44
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Sheep-Goats posted:Did you get that cabbage thing? I love that cabbage thing. Not yet.  I got Idunnowhat with noodles and mushrooms and some fried sort of veggies on top. It was really good. I tried asking for basil chicken but I guess they didn't have it or I was just wasn't saying it right. Also, for all the Thai goons, this may be a weird question: where the gently caress do you find batteries in this country? I've exhausted most of the tourist spots of Bangkok, so I want to sign up for some day trips elsewhere, but they all leave at 6:00 AM from my hostel and my alarm clock's out of batteries. I'm not looking for anything special, just a D battery, but I've been into 7-11s and pharmacies and haven't found poo poo.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:49
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ReindeerF posted:This is so awesome that I nearly spit beer all over my laptop - not exaggerating. Holy poo poo that's funny. The worst part was, she was sitting in the back of the bus and could have just done it there out of the way, but she hauls rear end up to where we're at so everybody who wants to get on or off the bus has to step through the shitpiss. No, that's not the worst part, the worst part is just how used to it you become. My fiancee sees the kid coming, and goes 'get ready for it', and I'm just like, jesus christ not again. I mean you can tell what is going to happen just by how they are running with the kid.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:49
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The thing about Korea is that it legitimately is pretty comfortable 90% of the time. I go to work, I go to a restaurant, I go work out than kill time on the forums, just like back in the states. The problems are twofold: there are a lot of people who resent or refuse to acknowledge foreigners and there isn't much to do beyond get drunk and/or climb a big hill. Most days in Korea are comfortable if boring, we just like to bitch.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:51
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The best part of all I feel is that everyone here looks down on Thai people as uncivilized savages. Every time I tell anyone we just got back from Thailand, nobody could understand why, they act like it's some war torn part of Africa. Or they just say it's so poor and ask why would we go there. They ask if you were careful with the food and the water because it's so dirty and dangerous there. Chinese people are way worse than Americans even for ignorance about the rest of the world.
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Aug 1, 2012 12:53
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Pinball posted:but I've been into 7-11s and pharmacies and haven't found poo poo. Invisible Handjob posted:The worst part was, she was sitting in the back of the bus and could have just done it there out of the way, but she hauls rear end up to where we're at so everybody who wants to get on or off the bus has to step through the shitpiss. Invisible Handjob posted:The best part of all I feel is that everyone here looks down on Thai people as uncivilized savages. Every time I tell anyone we just got back from Thailand, nobody could understand why, they act like it's some war torn part of Africa. Or they just say it's so poor and ask why would we go there. They ask if you were careful with the food and the water because it's so dirty and dangerous there. I can say that Thai people don't particularly look up to China itself. Korea and Japan, yeah, but China's more like, "Oh, I bought a radiator made there. It broke a month later. They make poo poo." ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Aug 1, 2012 |
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Aug 1, 2012 12:54
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Toussaint Louverture posted:The thing about Korea is that it legitimately is pretty comfortable 90% of the time. I go to work, I go to a restaurant, I go work out than kill time on the forums, just like back in the states. The problems are twofold: there are a lot of people who resent or refuse to acknowledge foreigners and there isn't much to do beyond get drunk and/or climb a big hill. I think that is why I feel China is not so bad compared to Koreans, foreigners are somewhat accepted. You have the same poo poo you get all over Asia but I've never been made to feel quite as much like an outsider / beast / whatever you want to call it as you guys seem to in Korea. ReindeerF posted:Hahahaha, Jesus Christ. Please post these stories ongoing. They will *never* get old, I promise. I'll save the best of the best for you guys, nobody in the China megathread is impressed by them anymore. I can't post them all though or it'll derail the whole thread for pages. Like I said, I only find the indoor stories noteworthy. I was waiting outside the police station to renew my Orwellian foreigner registration card today (I was waiting outside beause the entire police station went out for lunch and they didn't even lock up anything, after walking around the secure area for 5 minutes shouting for someone I decided it was better to just wait outside), some kid walks by, whips out his willy and just randomly takes a piss in front of me so the piss dripped down to my feet forcing me to move. After he is done, he looks at my legs, slowly starts looking up to my face, and yells 'SO WHITE!!! WHAT IS IT??' then runs off. I laughed pretty hard. Invisible Handjob fucked around with this message at 13:04 on Aug 1, 2012 |
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Aug 1, 2012 12:57
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Hahahah STOP STOP SOTOSP S TOP hahahaha.
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Aug 1, 2012 13:08
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If someone showed me a Saigon teaching contract right now I like to think I'd read it before signing it. I mean, I probably would. Holy poo poo, can I get a stomach stapling but like, in reverse? It's Turkey all over again.
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Aug 1, 2012 14:40
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Didn't like Vietnam too much compared to other SEA countries. But loved Bahn mi, and the food. Any country you go, there's always some awesome food! I use to be really really angry because I really hate fuckers who piss and poo poo everywhere. When I pass through in Shenzhen, aka New Jersey I use to pick fights with people who poo poo in malls and trash cans or whatever. Point to the bathroom or tell them off. People get really humiliated and defensive but if courtesy doesn't help then it's time for something else. Nowadays the shock doesn't get to me and I just take pictures of them and put it on the internet. For instance this little girl in Hong Kong, when there was a freaking Macdonalds right next to her.  As crazy as the poo poo/pee stories sound, I cross my fingers and hope that year after year things get better.
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Aug 1, 2012 15:02
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Holy poo poo, in HONG KONG? I'm surprised they let it go on. Must be mainland tourists, right?
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Aug 1, 2012 15:09
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img-cryingmainlander
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Aug 1, 2012 15:16
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Yeah, they had to be loving mainlanders. Hong Kong was the cleaneset major city I've ever been in anywhere. West or East. I didn't even see a goddamn cigarette butt the whole day I was there and we walked all over. Nothing floating in the harbor even. They keep that poo poo Disneyland clean.
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Aug 1, 2012 16:23
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Oracle posted:Yeah, they had to be loving mainlanders. Hong Kong was the cleaneset major city I've ever been in anywhere. West or East. I didn't even see a goddamn cigarette butt the whole day I was there and we walked all over. Nothing floating in the harbor even. They keep that poo poo Disneyland clean. Hong Kong was nowhere near as clean as Singapore but I admit I didn't see a single person poopin' or peein' anywhere. Then again, I should clarify that I live about 3 hours outside of a 2nd tier city in the middle of goddamn nowhere in China. You see the piss and poo poo everywhere you go, but you can only get stories like I get out here in the boonies. It's so much worse in terms of public defecation. I have never seen ANYONE relieve themselves on a bus anywhere else in China, but I have seen it several times here now.
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Aug 1, 2012 16:56
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I was walking back from ordering a Bahn Mi and as I was eating some old guy threw some garbage at a dumpster nearby, missed, and nearly nailed me with his trash. What happened next wouldn't have happened in Korea. He seemed honestly concerned and said sorry a couple of times. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up and said "No worries, you missed." He let loose a belly laugh, said "OK" and went back inside. In Korea you'll maybe get a sorry half the time probably, but it will be a gravid, serious sorry, not the friendly sort of exchange I had tonight. This is normal adults, the old men probably wouldn't even notice or care. That said, the kids generally have a sense of humor and are genuinely friendly once they warm up. I'm not sure it's a foreigner thing either in Korea. I think other Koreans would get the same treatment if they didn't know each other. I'm not sure it's a bad thing and I'm sure many people prefer people being more formal and serious but I drat sure don't. TL:DR Vietnamese throw garbage at foreigners like this (dee dee dee dee) and Koreans throw garbage at foreigners like this (doo doo doo doo). Koreans aren't all robots or inhuman monsters, and I think they get a bad rap or all get lumped in with the bad eggs a lot of the time. It's more that I appreciate an informal atmosphere rather than the typical extremely impersonal, reserved Korean trend. VVVVV Eifert Posting fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Aug 1, 2012 |
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Aug 1, 2012 17:01
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Toussaint Louverture posted:I was walking back from ordering a Bahn Mi and as I was eating some old guy threw some garbage at a dumpster nearby, missed, and nearly nailed me with his trash. What happened next wouldn't have happened in Korea. He seemed honestly concerned and said sorry a couple of times. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up and said "No worries, you missed." He let loose a belly laugh, said "OK" and went back inside. Jesus yeah add this to the list of reasons I'd never live in Korea. You are like simply amazed that you had a genuine basic human interaction. Glad you're enjoying Vietnam, I got scared away by this thread but I still kind of want to go some day.
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Aug 1, 2012 17:08
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Looking for the fastest and cheapest way out of Vientiane to a beach. Traveling with 80+ year old people so long haul drives are out of question. Any suggestions? I've only come up with VTE -> BKK -> Bus to Cha Am (but that is a 2h~ drive.) Less drive would be more ideal.
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Aug 1, 2012 18:53
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lol internet. posted:Looking for the fastest and cheapest way out of Vientiane to a beach. Traveling with 80+ year old people so long haul drives are out of question. Easiest: Fly VTE->BKK->USM Cheapest: Overnight train from Nong Khai to Bangkok Half day in Bangkok Overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani or what not Most practical: Overnight train from Nong Khai to Bangkok Fly to Ko Samui or what not
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Aug 1, 2012 21:31
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Easiest: Problem with this is Flights to Samui (and Phuket) seem to be relatively expensive for the distance they cover. It would kind of break the bank for me. I think I checked Thai Airways\Air Asia. Any other recommendations on Airlines?
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Aug 1, 2012 23:24
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Easiest for you will be flying direct from Udon to Phuket on Air Asia. Of course that means staying in Phuket and I hate Phuket, but it is the most direct and cost effective trip.
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Aug 1, 2012 23:37
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Invisible Handjob posted:Jesus yeah add this to the list of reasons I'd never live in Korea. You are like simply amazed that you had a genuine basic human interaction. I saw a guy being affectionate with his wife and playing with his kid once. He also looked happy. Never seen anything like it before or since. Koreans (especially old people, gently caress old Koreans) basically treat strangers as if they don't exist. Standing in front of something the old woman wants at the store? She shoves you out of the way as if you were just a shopping cart left there. They treat each other the same way, has nothing to do with whitey.
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Aug 2, 2012 00:01
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In China one time an old lady started punching me in the rear end, apparently because I wasn't boarding the bus quickly enough. I could have turned around and just pushed her back and all that would have happened is she would have made a cow sound and stopped punching me in the rear end. I was a pro at hauling old ladies out of the line from in front of me by the time I left. Old Chinese ladies 
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Aug 2, 2012 00:26
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There's also a huge generational gap so I think/hope Korea will be different in the future. People who grew up mid-80s and earlier are much different. I assume because Korea was still basically a third world dictatorship hellhole.
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Aug 2, 2012 00:55
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Sheep-Goats posted:In China one time an old lady started punching me in the rear end, apparently because I wasn't boarding the bus quickly enough. I could have turned around and just pushed her back and all that would have happened is she would have made a cow sound and stopped punching me in the rear end. It's true, there is this huge thought of watching out for you and yours and gently caress anyone else. My fiancee's grandmother we are living with is like the sweetest woman in the world, everything you think of when you think of a nice old grandmother, but as soon as you get her out into public she turns like completely heartless towards anyone else. Invisible Handjob fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Aug 2, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 05:50
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My friend who lived in Taiwan for like twenty years has a story that I thought was pretty illustrative of just how thoughtlessly self-absorbed mainlanders can be (apparently). He was on a coastal highway in Taiwan when a massive downpour hit. It was apparently really noteworthy and caused huge mudslides that took out the highway in front of and behind him (something he figured out by driving back and forth). He stayed in his car for a night and when he got up he drove to the nearest gap in the road. A number of stranded motorists had gathered there along with a bus full of mainland tourists. The Taiwanese military had arrived at some point and were busy rigging up a way for people to traverse the gap on foot, but of course it involved climbing across a narrow net or something - I forget. Just picture something out of a rescue movie I guess. There were a few mitigating issues. One, the way out required you to be pretty lightweight and flexible, so you couldn't drag all your poo poo with you. Two, it was next to a gas tanker truck that had fallen halfway into the hole left by the mudslide and was leaking petrol. So, naturally, the rescue workers and military told everyone the two things you usually hear in situations like this - no smoking and you can't bring your belongings, but don't worry, we'll keep an eye on them. The mainland tour guide was translating everything and when she got to all this, of course all the mainlanders ran back to the bus to grab their poo poo. They adamantly refused to cross without it and eventually forced their way into trying to cross with it. This failed miserably and none of them could even begin to cross with their rolling bags and shopping bags hanging off all their arms, but they kept trying. Eventually some people started to get across and as soon as they did, my friend looks over and what are they doing? Lighting up their cigarettes and smoking like chimneys. He just got back in his car and drove off a bit and napped for a while. Anyhow, I love that story because it's an honest to God life or death situation and they're like pfffttt whatever don't loving tell ME what to do! I'll smoke and take my poo poo wherever I want. He had some other stories from the same event, but I thought that one was the most illustrative. EDIT: Actually I may have imagined the translating part now that I re-read that, but there was a tour guide trying to corral them, which was impossible. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Aug 2, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 06:18
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That sounds pretty accurate, it really does just come down to a 'gently caress you I'm doing my own thing' and completely ignoring that the people around you are actually people. I was in Taiwan for 6 months too, and it's just so weird man. You have everyone on here complaining about mainlanders, but in Taiwan I met some of the nicest people on the planet. To be honest I think they were way more friendly, generous,open and kind than the people were in Thailand even. Total opposite of China despite being basically the same people seperated by 50 years or so.
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Aug 2, 2012 06:26
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Toussaint Louverture posted:Saigon jaywalking isn't as terrifying as people make out. Pretty much same logic as anywhere else. Yep! It's way overrated.
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Aug 2, 2012 06:45
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It reminds of crossing the street anywhere in Southeast Asia, except admittedly the swarm of motorbikes is much larger. Also, Vietnamese drivers are incredibly aggressive, but on foot that never really affected me. When in a car I would just try to not watch the road at all. I'm sure there are crazier drivers in some place like India, but Goddamn.
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Aug 2, 2012 06:53
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Toussaint Louverture posted:If someone showed me a Saigon teaching contract right now I like to think I'd read it before signing it. I mean, I probably would. Would you like to become a videogame producer (no experience required) for a worldwide iphone/mobile game company with 4 offices in VN? Beats teaching in Korea!
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Aug 2, 2012 07:23
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Uh I know literally nothing about programing but I suppose if someone wants to pay me to learn I wouldn't mind. Holy hell is food cheap here. I feel like a fool now for paying what I do for similar stuff in America.
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Aug 2, 2012 12:27
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Haha is this the norm? Will have to keep my eye out when I am in Vietnam
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Aug 2, 2012 13:29
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Hey, someone asked this a bit earlier but I'm not sure if they got an answer. What shoes should I bring for going round northern Vietnam this time of year? Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hue etc. We'll be backpacking and staying in hostels. e: ok maybe a dumb question. I'll be bringing sandles, but was wondering whether hiking boots as well would be a really dumb idea (for Sapa etc.) El Grillo fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Aug 2, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 14:07
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Invisible Handjob posted:That sounds pretty accurate, it really does just come down to a 'gently caress you I'm doing my own thing' and completely ignoring that the people around you are actually people. Yeah man, Taiwan is a totally different deal. People are nice and considerate and funny there. Even in public with strangers.
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Aug 2, 2012 14:22
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If I could rename this thread, it would be: Southeast Asia - What Shoes Should I Bring? EDIT: I now have a long story to share about what happens when your old professor friend dies in Thailand with no will and no appointed executor and no next of kin in country and assets consisting of a bunch of poo poo in your room, a million Baht in your bank account and a tea tin of gold coins and a relatively poor and uneducated girlfriend/caretaker of 17 years with no legal connection who thinks she will naturally inherit it all on the one hand and family who will naturally inherit it all on the other and police who will entrepreneurially inherit a few things on their own first on the other other hand and a body in a morgue racking up bills that the family has to claim and she will not listen! I will share this in the future when there's a conclusion and I'm no longer helping to deal with it, but holy frustration, Batman. Foreigner death is like one of two things that you can't just paper over here in Thailand with some greased palms (the other is insulting You Know Who of course). Please to take care your death soon you arrive ka. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Aug 3, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 22:31
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Dude should have consulted your avatar. I have seen the Lunch Lady. and it was good.
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Aug 3, 2012 09:28
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Senso posted:Great! I assume you're in district one? If you want to get drunk, my wife and I should be free on Saturday. Maybe tonight but we'll be outside, don't know if you have a phone working here. Just a heads up, I'm meeting up with an old friend so I'll be busy tonight. If you want to chill Sunday Afternoon I'll be free. Do y'all know of an ATM or bank that's likely to deal with Korean accounts? I've got an "international" card through KEB that's proving to be less international than I expected.
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Aug 4, 2012 08:07
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Toussaint Louverture posted:Dude should have consulted your avatar. I used to live around the corner from there and thought 'she' (there are a lot of people who work there) was terribly overrated. In fact, I always got a laugh out of the fact that Anthony Bourdain, self-acclaimed bad-rear end non-tourist man of the people, didn't go to any places in Saigon farther than about a 10-minute walk from the Hyatt and maybe 5 minutes from one another, and the pho place he chose (admittedly it's good) was a Hanoi-style pho joint.
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Aug 5, 2012 11:54
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