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Tytan posted:I honestly don't remember being hassled that badly in Vietnam (probably only slightly worse than in Cambodia etc), but I don't doubt that it does happen. The only incident that stands out was more funny than annoying - a cyclo guy rode passed me and offered me a lift, which I declined. He then rode 20 metres down the road and stopped, waited for me to walk passed, and offered me a lift again. I declined, so he did exactly the same thing again. I guess he thought I might mistake him for a different guy, but unfortunately I saw through his master plan. EDIT: One of the reasons I like Battambang is that it's so peaceful and only just touristy enough to have amenities without the hordes of dirty old man tourists, touts and beggar pimps that infest SR and PP (it's a tradeoff, since here you get missionaries in droves instead). Still, today I was jogging out in the countryside and talking the twenty words of Khmer I know with locals and some little girl ran up and said "Som loy!" - which I assume means what it sounds like. Good on her for being polite enough to use "som," I guess. The little Thai rural kids just say "Sip Baht!" and stick out their hands. Not sure where they all learned it, but it's becoming ubiquitous. "Oh sure, I'm a farang, so of course I'm supposed to hand out money to anyone who utters the magic words!" I'm going to start carrying around fake bills with "555" printed on the back and handing them out to Thai kids who pull that stunt. Senso posted:He goes to a local all-viet daycare and when we jokingly speak in Vietnamese at home, he screams "francais!" (we speak French). ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 11:12 on Aug 13, 2012 |
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Aug 13, 2012 10:56
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ReindeerF posted:
I've yet to have any kids ask me for money directly, but I have had a ten year old advise me that my boobs are very nice. Usually I just end up with little girls trying to hug my legs screaming about farang.
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Aug 13, 2012 13:40
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Chair Huxtable posted:I've yet to have any kids ask me for money directly, but I have had a ten year old advise me that my boobs are very nice. Usually I just end up with little girls trying to hug my legs screaming about farang.  I love Asia. I had a waiter one time tell my 65+ year-old mother, "Oh you don't need to order anymore, you're fat enough already!" After accepting the superficialism of the US, I kind of enjoy hearing unvarnished thoughts, even if they're technically offensive. Cracks me up. EDIT: How about sitting somewhere and hearing, "White people stink a lot!" in Thai - one of my favorites. Or, "Oh no, your skin very dark already! No can have boyfriend!" in Thai in the office. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Aug 13, 2012 |
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Aug 13, 2012 14:31
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ReindeerF posted:Oh no, are you American? You can never go home or you will be put into re-education camp. Haha no, we're Quebecois. 
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Aug 13, 2012 14:50
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Senso posted:Haha no, we're Quebecois.
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Aug 13, 2012 14:56
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To be fair, white people do stink compared to Asians. Some of my kids have rancid breath but that's about it.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:03
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Toussaint Louverture posted:To be fair, white people do stink compared to Asians. Some of my kids have rancid breath but that's about it. EDIT: The "we" there referred to me and my smelly white brethren, not making any assumptions about your particular hereditary level of stink. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Aug 13, 2012 |
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Aug 13, 2012 15:11
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Seriously, I've seen Koreans who don't wear any sort of deodorant sweating like pigs and they are literally imperceptible. Meanwhile I can smell myself all rank at the end of a normal day without any sort of workout and plenty of deodorant. Iungeddit.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:36
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Asians actually have different levels of apocrine secretion (the kind that stinks and makes ear wax) and therefore stink less due to genetic factors. Why khek men maaaaak I don't know. Probably excessive goat curry intake.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:45
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GLANDS
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Aug 13, 2012 15:56
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Toussaint Louverture posted:Seriously, I've seen Koreans who don't wear any sort of deodorant sweating like pigs and they are literally imperceptible. It's true. I've been accused of sweating refreshing rain water.
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Aug 13, 2012 23:21
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SE Asia - I've been accused of sweating refreshing rain water
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Aug 14, 2012 03:37
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All spoken like a bunch of people who have never taught in a crowded Cambodian classroom in April... I can tell you, SE Asians most definitely can get B.O. and when none of your students (or co-teachers) use deodorant you find out very quickly. God, the pre-monsoon season was gross. Now, if it were a room full of 40 whities who hadn't used deodorant and were sweating up the place, I'm sure that it would have been way worse... but they're definitely not odorless.
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Aug 14, 2012 04:46
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My students earlier stank so bad I wanted to cancel class and send them home.
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Aug 14, 2012 04:48
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ReindeerF posted:Battambang I remember Battambang being one of my favorite stops in 2009. Just enough amenities that it doesn't feel like the rear end end of nowhere(not that there's anything wrong with that) without the hustling tourist vibe of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, etc. Do you know if that Australian guy is still running the place or did his wife mostly take over the business?
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Aug 14, 2012 06:46
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CronoGamer posted:All spoken like a bunch of people who have never taught in a crowded Cambodian classroom in April... I can tell you, SE Asians most definitely can get B.O. and when none of your students (or co-teachers) use deodorant you find out very quickly. God, the pre-monsoon season was gross. Now, if it were a room full of 40 whities who hadn't used deodorant and were sweating up the place, I'm sure that it would have been way worse... but they're definitely not odorless. Apocrine glands are particularly active during puberty. Teenage Asians can stink in a Caucasian fashion. SE Asia: Glandular stink chat itt
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Aug 14, 2012 08:00
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Can any other people in Singapore tell me the single best island wide place for teh tarik?
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Aug 14, 2012 08:01
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CaptainStag posted:Do you know if that Australian guy is still running the place or did his wife mostly take over the business? Sheep-Goats posted:Apocrine glands are particularly active during puberty. Teenage Asians can stink in a Caucasian fashion.
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Aug 14, 2012 08:12
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lol internet. posted:Nha Trang is the worse place I went to in all of SE Asia combined. Go for the hell of it if you have the time, and you'll understand. As for the rest of Vietnam, I thought it was okay, but they just gouge the gently caress out of you. Seconded. Nha Trang is the worst place I've been to in Asia. I enjoyed Hanoi, Ha Long and Sapa in Northern Vietnam. Hoi An was great too. There's stuff to see in Vietnam for sure.
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Aug 14, 2012 08:22
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Nah Trang just felt like a smaller version of Patong. With just as many Russians.
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Aug 14, 2012 10:53
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I'm in Phnom Penh. Where the happy pizza at?! I need the weed!!
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Aug 14, 2012 13:13
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Casual Yogurt posted:I'm in Phnom Penh. Where the happy pizza at?! I need the weed!!
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Aug 14, 2012 14:43
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Casual Yogurt posted:I'm in Phnom Penh. Where the happy pizza at?! I need the weed!! How to get things in Cambodia: 1) hail a motorcycle taxi 2) tell him what you want 3) if 2 fails use gestures
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Aug 14, 2012 14:54
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Koh Tao has changed, and I don't know if it's for the better or not... 
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Aug 15, 2012 04:23
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Finch! posted:Koh Tao has changed, and I don't know if it's for the better or not... Change on the Thai islands is almost never for the better.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:27
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ReindeerF posted:Go to the FCC. Walk out into the sidestreet next to it (not the riverside road, Sisowath). Face away from the river. Walk straight or right and find tons of happy pizza places with happy pizza in the name of the restaurant. Are there none on the actual river front anymore? I had heard that the landscape of the river front had changed a good deal over the past few years, have they been driven off? When I used to frequent PP, we would go eat at Pink Elephant a lot, and the restaurant right next door (the name escapes me) was where all of my friends went when they wanted to try happy shakes/pizza/anything.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:33
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Sorry, yeah, that's what I meant - if you're facing the FCC and walk straight down Street 178 there's one on your left just before the Pho place. If you turn right facing the FCC and walk down the riverside there are like 4-5 of them right there. I think there used to be a bunch down at Boeung Kok, but that shithole is gone now, heh.
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Aug 15, 2012 05:11
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When I was in PP all of those places were right along that one paved road next to the river. PP you done changed on me. Me missus. She says... :sob:
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Aug 15, 2012 05:17
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kru posted:Can any other people in Singapore tell me the single best island wide place for teh tarik? It looks like nobody's biting, but I would search through here to find something worthwhile: http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/Teh%20Tarik On that note, ieatishootipost is a GREAT website. I ate at a bunch of places that he recommended, and they never disappointed. Highlights included Nasi Padang at Hajjah Mona (Geylang Serai Market) and roti prata at a stall set up in Poh Ho Restaurant (Joo Chiat).
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Aug 15, 2012 07:25
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I missed the window to catch a taxi and ended up on a bus and I'm reminded again about the jaw-dropping ability of Southeast Asians to speak uninterrupted and without a break. Every once in a while I end up in a plane or bus with the hoi polloi and it always blows my mind. Some guy will start talking and won't stop for like two minutes. Then the next guy will say two word and go mmmm and guy number one will give a three minute answer. Just on and on for hours.
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Aug 15, 2012 09:26
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We missed our flight from KL to KK while in the GODDAMN AIRPORT because I didn't realize we had changed time zones after flying in to Thailand. Everything is fully booked because of Ramadan, and now we don't get to dive Sipadan  I am looking at some alternatives because I wanted to get some more diving in before we return home (KUL to Tokyo on 8/25 for a week of couchsurfing and then back to the US after a year of travel). Anyone have experience with either Redang or the Perhentian islands? Seems prohibitively expensive to fly to Indonesia and back on such short notice and with only 9 days.
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Aug 15, 2012 10:48
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Studebaker Hawk posted:We missed our flight from KL to KK while in the GODDAMN AIRPORT because I didn't realize we had changed time zones after flying in to Thailand. here.
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Aug 15, 2012 10:55
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Perhentians is ok, but it depends what you are looking for. A lot of 'backpackers' that party a lot. The diving is not the best, the visibility is poo poo and there's not much exciting stuff to look at (at least compared to the diving I did in Mexico). If you like partying and ok dive sites I'm sure it's fine. Most people I met there seemed to like the place though, but I'm not a big fan of those kind of places.
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Aug 15, 2012 11:34
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Finch! posted:Koh Tao has changed, and I don't know if it's for the better or not... Changed how?
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Aug 15, 2012 12:54
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xcdude24 posted:It looks like nobody's biting, but I would search through here to find something worthwhile: http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/Teh%20Tarik Awesome Cheers - might recruit the girlfriend if I have to high-tail it to Geylang though!
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Aug 15, 2012 13:01
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Most asians sure do smell less than most whites, but notable exceptions do exist. Ask me about my my 12 hr trainride from Bangkok to Chumphon anytime. Third class. Midapril. Songkran in two days which meant the train was filled at like 300% capacity plus 14 tons of extremely important cargo (DVD-players, foodstuffs, oversized hellokitty-dolls, booze etc.) heading for NANG SUEK or some other cosmopolitan place. Broken fans and flickering lights which added to the experience. _Everyone reeked_, the windows were blocked with cargo so no wind and 1.4 million bugs per compartment. Longest 12 hours I've ever had in my life. Of course that didn't stop most of the thais to just fall asleep in the middle of the row face down in some fried fish. They are worldclass when it comes to getting some shuteye. And one more observation of stink down there: What they lack in BO they more than make up for when it comes to lack of garbage disposal and sewer-infrastructure. Every breath you take vary. It's possible to have the full range from sweet mango to rancid dead gecko in just three steps. Edit: quote is not reply
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Aug 15, 2012 20:36
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Hey guys I'm thinking of going to Thailand in November. This will be the first time traveling by myself. I don't think I can stay there for too long - I think 2 weeks only because I'm also going to Hongkong and Australia. So far my plan is to land in Bangkok. Stay there for a bit to orient myself. Then I want to spend time exploring the beaches/islands. I want to do some motorcycling, sailing, snorkeling, surfing. Should I head East and go to Ko Samet, Koh Chang? Or go South? Is it doable to motorcycle to these places? Has anyone enrolled in any Mauy Thai gyms or seen any fights? Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
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Aug 15, 2012 22:12
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dogpower posted:Or go South? Is it doable to motorcycle to these places? Seen a fight in BKK, pretty sure I paid the rip off tourist fee. It was meh, bored pretty quick. I'd suggest head south for the beaches. As much as a tourist trap Ko Phi Phi is, it's worth checking it out (and maya bay) Although, don't die mysteriously.
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Aug 15, 2012 23:15
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If anyone is interested the website for the Myanmar Visa is now online, unfortunately you can not actually lodge any requests at the moment, I guess the web developers are still getting all the bugs out of the application process. This is really annoying because I saw the website working on Saturday and the application process was up and running but I didn't go through with applying for the visa because it was late and I couldn't be bothered. My flight to Yangoon leaves on the 22nd of October so hopefully it will be fixed by then and save me the hassle of having to deal with getting a visa in Malaysia.
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Aug 16, 2012 05:39
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MA-Horus posted:Changed how? I guess this is the absolute busiest time of year so my view may be a little warped but it's crowded, hot as hell, there's a chronic water shortage (there hasn't been meaningful rain in 18 months), the garbage situation is worse than ever and there are about fifty million idiots roaming around the place. Hopefully things will change once the busy season ends...
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Aug 16, 2012 05:53
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