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big boi posted:Doing two weeks in Vietnam in late January. Couple of questions: 1. I went during a late January to the north and it wasn't too bad. Yeah it did rain but not pouring moonsoon bad. Being based in a rainy area, I am probably biased enough. But it's SEA, everyone wears flip flops and casual tropical clothes unless you are gung-ho travel thread waiter shoes and travel dad pants. My stay in Vietnam was so-so, but if you really want I think you can clear the country in 2 weeks time without being too rushed. You can fly from HCMC to Hanoi, and then take an overnight train to Hue (ancient capital) and then fly back to HCMC through Jet star. 2. Motor cycle tours made sight seeing in HCMC easy. I just hop and stop to different places and be camera snappy. Fun times! If you are brisk you can clear major land marks in a day or 2. Perhaps that's why I didn't enjoy Vietnam as much (besides Chinatown  ) didn't know any cool local spots and the tourist land marks and the whole atmosphere was meh.3. Prices are not as crazy as a Pissed off AJUMMMMA  You make Korean Won  Seriously though, I got burned from the ticket agent when it charged me double for a jet star ticket. When the flight was cancelled, I only got half refund. So try to book online and buy bus/train/tour tickets directly. There's just this air of scamming atmosphere like old school broke rear end aggressive China back in the day  Cutting really really stupid corners. Perhaps I'm just too privileged, I don't know  Don't let this blurb put you down. Non money related, everyone's cool.4. NO SEX WITH MINORS, NO PING PONG SHOW, NO DRUGS OK? Aiii yaaaaa  read the thread and other travel guides la ok? There's the usual, cultural/sex tourist/hippie backpacker/cheap rear end/burnt out english teacher/etc/etc/etc/etc/etc/etc thing.Hope you have fun, if you ever have a lovely trip, keep on posting! I'm just turning into some SEA travel poser aggasis.
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Nov 9, 2012 20:40
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quote:but if you really want I think you can clear the country in 2 weeks time without being too rushed. I flew through Vietnam in 2-1/2 weeks and I still did not see half of what I would have liked. Two weeks will rush you through the big ticket items like Hanoi, Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An and HCMC. That's about it.
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Nov 9, 2012 21:25
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A little follow up, the immigration officer in jakarta didn't seem to give a gently caress. Just google a flight number for a return flight, fill that in and you'll be fine. Worry about the airline check in desk. Oh and yeah, also worry about the deep storm drains between bar 2 and 3. They give you a blood waterfall, four stitches, a tetanus shot and a lousy evening, but have the potential to be trip ending.
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Nov 9, 2012 22:06
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ReindeerF posted:
I'm also going to sell my condo in CA while i'm at it and probably buy something in Bangkok. I've been doing a lot of research for awhile now and it seems like a decent thing to do with the new skytrain routes planned. And no, I won't be putting a girlfriend's name on the deed.
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Nov 10, 2012 05:44
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Thanks for the replies! Probably gonna check out the north, if only for Ha Long Bay.
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Nov 10, 2012 16:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRErWjo809g I read an article about this today. Someone from the Toursim and Sporting Ministry was suggesting that this youtube video should be blocked in Thailand which makes little sense since its obviously intended for foreigners. They also planned to release a video to encourage tourism in Thailand. Seems like it would be better to just ignore the video because the only reason I saw this video was from the article. imnotinsane fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Nov 10, 2012 |
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Nov 10, 2012 18:29
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Speaking of Thailand, due to some scheduling SNAFU's, I'm going to be spending One Night in Bangkok on my way to New Zealand. Time will be flying as I arrive at approximately 9pm and will be flying out the next day at 6pm. I'm looking to get out into the Oriental settings as I think it would be a real drag, a bore and such a pity to waste the time there. Now I prefer to be a tourist whose every move's among the purest and rather the devil not be walking next to me. I would like to have you guys rating the kind of places I'm contemplating so the world can be my oyster while I'm there. Tea, girls, warm, sweet or whatever is recommended. Just to note again I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine
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Nov 10, 2012 19:22
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big boi posted:Thanks for the replies! Probably gonna check out the north, if only for Ha Long Bay. I did Hanoi and Halong Bay this April. It was pretty great, though I've never been to the south. The only thing is that bus ride to Halong Bay was awful. Consider paying a higher price and going with a more upscale company with a more comfortable bus. There's no highways between Hanoi and Halong Bay. Just a four hour drive through back roads and villages.
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Nov 11, 2012 07:22
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Edit: If you don't have anything nice to say...
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Nov 11, 2012 07:23
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Did any goons feel the earthquake this morning? Personally I slept through it (couldn't sleep till around 5am but once I got to sleep I didn't budge till around 12) but a friend in my condo said the whole building was moving and buddha fell off her cupboard :P Countdown till proper aftershocks - 156 hours...
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Nov 11, 2012 14:32
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Modus Operandi posted:And no, I won't be putting a girlfriend's name on the deed. Jonnymonster posted:but a friend in my condo said the whole building was moving and buddha fell off her cupboard
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Nov 12, 2012 00:51
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If anybody is in Saigon this week (like tonight) and wants to go out, let me know. I feel like drinking a few beers and meeting new people. Although I'm pretty sure I'm the only goon there.
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Nov 12, 2012 14:29
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I'm continuing my crusade to get some more indonesia in this thread. Just arrived at yogha with a pretty amazing train ride from jakarta, do it during the day if you can, the sights of the rice fields were amazing and about half way through you go through a huge valley, very nice. Found a place called andrea's hotel. Good value, about 150k of those trinkets they use here, place has only open been for three months so no mention of it in any travel guide, but that's gonna come. No idea what I'm going to do tomorrow, but should be fine, this feels to jakarta like chiang mai to bangkok.
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Nov 12, 2012 15:40
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I'm going to Thailand alone from 28-Nov to 5-Dec, no itinerary at this point. Wikitravel and the OP has been very helpful. I'm definitely into drinking but not so much into the backpacker/hippie scene. Any suggestions for a place to stay? I guess it would be great to have a place that's somewhat central, but sort of straddles the line between "social" and "quiet," if that's possible. Like a hotel (not hostel) that has a decently crowded bar, for example. And a pool would be good. My budget is flexible; definitely not interested in staying in a dorm. A few pages back it was decided that Full Moon Party isn't really worth the trip if I'm going for just that. So is there anything closer that's worth a trip from Bangkok? I would sort of like to spend a few days at the beach, since I live in a crowded Asian city already (Tokyo). I have 7 nights/8 days, so a decent amount of time but certainly not month-long like others in this thread. Am I best off just exploring a lot of Bangkok, screw the beach? edit: I am more sex tourist than hippie backpacker, in other words zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Nov 13, 2012 |
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Nov 13, 2012 09:09
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zmcnulty posted:edit: I am more sex tourist than hippie backpacker, in other words https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyGKBlaXCFw
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Nov 13, 2012 09:50
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Have I got the place for you! Pattaya is close to Bangkok, has a beach and is full of cheap hotels and quiet bars. Beaten like a non paying falang in a whore house
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Nov 13, 2012 09:52
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Koh Samet is the island Bangkok residents go to for a long weekend. It's pretty good! A few days in Bangkok, a few days on Koh Samet. Another option is visiting Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the river kwai) and the nearby Tiger Temple.
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Nov 13, 2012 14:13
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So Manila is a poo poo lovely to travel to but jeez is it nice to live in(For rich, entitled white people, eyyyoooo). Got next week off, so I decide to go to a beach. $200 for a week of accommodations and airfare. Being able to go "Eh, fuckit, flying to a beach" a week in advance and not have it murder your economy with a rusty shovel is sweet.
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Nov 13, 2012 17:22
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I'm graduating this semester and my graduation present is a round trip ticket to SEA. I'm planning to have about $4-5k saved up and I would like to travel until I'm either not having fun or I run out of money (potentially leaving SEA and traveling the world for years if I can earn money on the road or via online royalties). I'm getting a round trip ticket with a delayed return date so that I can change it to when I need it (and I actually decide to come home at some point) but I'm not sure which country would be most advantageous for me to fly in to (I was thinking Vietnam but I'd likely need a second visa if I returned as late as I'm expecting). Any insight would be appreciated. Also... is busking (street preforming) as big in Asia as it is in Europe. I don't remember seeing any performers when I was their as a teen. I'm a fire performer and I would love to be a wandering firespinner if it's possible and legal for me to do so. I'm rereading over this thread now and researching all I can but I'm sure I'll have more questions at some point. Thanks all!
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Nov 14, 2012 01:12
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imnotinsane posted:Have I got the place for you! Pattaya is close to Bangkok, has a beach and is full of cheap hotels and quiet bars. Sheep-Goats posted:Koh Samet is the island Bangkok residents go to for a long weekend. It's pretty good! Looks like I'll give Koh Samet a shot, thanks. That puts me in Bangkok 28-Nov to 2-Dec, then Koh Samet 2-Dec through 5-Dec. Pattaya sounds like Roppongi if you moved it to the beach, and I'll probably be tired of that after 4 nights in Bangkok? Who knows.
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Nov 14, 2012 04:00
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Onta vasa posted:I'm getting a round trip ticket with a delayed return date so that I can change it to when I need it (and I actually decide to come home at some point) but I'm not sure which country would be most advantageous for me to fly in to (I was thinking Vietnam but I'd likely need a second visa if I returned as late as I'm expecting). If you're from a country from which visitors do not need a visa for Malaysia or Singapore, I'd fly there rather than Vietnam. Doing so will eliminate the visa problems and give you easy access to an extensive network of flights or overland transport.
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Nov 14, 2012 04:22
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All you guys wondering about round trip tickets, my old standby of "pull up an itinerary, print it out, say it's your e-ticket" should probably still work just fine. Obviously I don't take any responsibility if it doesn't, but there's usually not a ton of oversight. eviljelly posted:Understatement of the century Outside the big cities they're pretty quiet. You have to watch out for wandering livestock but that's basically everywhere in SEA.
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Nov 14, 2012 04:48
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Onta vasa posted:Also... is busking (street preforming) as big in Asia as it is in Europe. I don't remember seeing any performers when I was their as a teen.
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Nov 14, 2012 14:18
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Yeah, it seems to be a beach/full moon/half moon/hippy permaculture farm party thing in asia. Don't get your hopes up making it an easy way to support your wandering. I'm sure it's possible, but it's not going to be a walk in the park. Mainly income wise, street performers just don't make the same (ridiculous) amounts of money you might make back home or in europe Edit: there is a reason most street performers in europe are travellers/foreigners and most in thailand are thai.
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Nov 14, 2012 14:50
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Thai buskers are the very elderly, blind or handicapped who play Issan music, sometimes surprisingly well, and get the equivalent of quarters and dimes from Thai passers by, usually because of pity due to their condition rather than admiration of their music. If you tried you set up in a foreigner area the police would send you on your way post haste due to it being an undesirable image. Also you would be sweating galactic balls the whole time because Thailand is a hot loving country. Outside of Bangkok the the people have much less money and you would get dimes and nickels instead of quarters and dimes, if you got anything, because farang have money and Thai people don't (so goes the rhetoric) and how would that make sense? Fire juggling is done exclusively by a group of a half dozen or so early 20s Thai males moving from beach to beach on a given island. They get minimal compensation from the beach bars and are there because they don't want to work and are enjoying the perks by which I mean British girls filling out their vacation checklist by having sex with at least one other tourist and one local. Work here, go there. When your money is done you get to come back to the US and find employment like every other hippie backpacker before you.
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Nov 14, 2012 15:17
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Welp, got most of the Thai consonants down and finally got a copy of the Thai for Beginners textbook. Started listening to where they compare similar words with different tones...  This is going to be fun! hahaha
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Nov 15, 2012 02:05
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I figured as much about the busking. I'll have my toys with me anyways and maybe I'll make some friends and get to spin in cool places.
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Nov 15, 2012 02:46
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moflika posted:Welp, got most of the Thai consonants down and finally got a copy of the Thai for Beginners textbook. Started listening to where they compare similar words with different tones... I've finally started making an effort to learn the Khmer alphabet. So far it's going... slowly.
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Nov 15, 2012 11:09
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imnotinsane posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRErWjo809g Sometimes they don't pay anything at all and are just let go for inexplicable reasons. If you get murdered or raped in Thailand chances are pretty good your embassy can't or won't do anything about it. Chances are pretty high the cops here will cover it up too. That's just how it is here and part of the risk in living in this region of the world.
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Nov 15, 2012 12:27
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I really wish I could move on. Some strange insect got me when I was sleeping and gave me an infection. Wish I knew what it was. Happened in my sleep and at first I figured it was a mosquito bite that I had scratched but no it just kept getting worse and worse. First time I went to hospital I left needing to take 16 tablets a day. I don't know why it was so many but what ever I just wanted it to work. Today after my second visit I now only need to take 12 tablets a day, plus I got some injection to help fight the infection and they cut out the abscess from my leg. Now I need to visit every day to get the dressing changed. On the plus side it's only cost me 30 bucks so far
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Nov 15, 2012 14:18
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That was probably a spider. Sorry about your bad luck but at least it isn't bankrupting you :/ Oh and also Thai doctors are always overly generous with their meds. Thai people kind of expect it. I got nasal-pharyngitis during my SCUBA lessons (not an uncommon thing to have happen, basically some bacteria got into the tissue inside of the back of my nose because I'm bad at equalizing and probably made a mess of the capillaries in there). You fix it with antibiotics but I also got a sleeping pill, a pain killer, a decongestant and two other pills I didn't exactly need. Because I have enough of a medical background to know what they all were I just threw everything out and only took the antibiotics, but in your case if you don't know what the pills are you should continue to take all of them as the doctor told you to. Your doctor means well at least. raton fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Nov 15, 2012 |
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Nov 15, 2012 15:44
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In a hypothetical situation where your life had hosed up dramatically and you needed a major break, how long could you survive in SEA (Thailand probably) on £5,000? I could literally sit on a beach slowly supping beers all day, provided I had wifi, and hopefully pulling some fellow tourists if it's as easy as you say it is.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:19
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Xeno posted:In a hypothetical situation where your life had hosed up dramatically and you needed a major break, how long could you survive in SEA (Thailand probably) on £5,000? I could literally sit on a beach slowly supping beers all day, provided I had wifi, and hopefully pulling some fellow tourists if it's as easy as you say it is. It depends on where you are but let's say around Ao Nang, Krabi. I'm sure you can stay at some mediocre place for 600-700 baht a night. If you're an alcoholic then you could buy at mini marts, eat at the backpacker joints, and spend around 30,000 baht a month. So it'll hypothetically last about 8 months if you stay in one location. You'll get to lay around on the beach all you want.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:28
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Xeno posted:In a hypothetical situation where your life had hosed up dramatically and you needed a major break, how long could you survive in SEA (Thailand probably) on £5,000? I could literally sit on a beach slowly supping beers all day, provided I had wifi, and hopefully pulling some fellow tourists if it's as easy as you say it is. With wifi about 10 months if you were being really frugal and had already paid for your ticket. With wifi and drinking like a Brit about 3 or 4 months. That second line is not being Mr. Jokerman, it's my actual estimate. Beer is expensive, places with wifi are quite a bit more than those without, especially on the islands.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:31
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Cheers for the input, I don't really drink that much. Spent some time on hostelworld and it looks like you can get a private rooms for like £3 a night that looks decent on Krabi, and that's before I turn up and say I want to rent a beach hut for a month, discount please. Is this just wrong, and when I turn up the price is going to be double or triple? (Makes a difference when you're staying for a length of time). Will also have a risidual income of about £400 per month, hopefully enough for pocket money.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:43
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How much is, say, a can of 500ml beer in a Thai convenience store? In Saigon, I'm paying max $1.50. Let's say it's not helping staying sober.
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Nov 15, 2012 18:21
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Senso posted:How much is, say, a can of 500ml beer in a Thai convenience store? In Saigon, I'm paying max $1.50. Let's say it's not helping staying sober. If I recall probably the same almost for one of those bigger bottles (710ml?) in 7-11. Depends on the brand, anywhere from 1.75-2.50 I think.
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Nov 15, 2012 18:32
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The three quid ones aren't on the beach, they're back up the hill in the jungle. Also they probably won't have wifi. No aircon. There are discounts for long stays. Senso posted:How much is, say, a can of 500ml beer in a Thai convenience store? In Saigon, I'm paying max $1.50. Let's say it's not helping staying sober. Yeah, but given that a meal is fifty cents or so if you have three or four beers a day (six or seven if British) you're going to go through your money at an incredible pace compared to just zoning out ona beach or whatever. raton fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Nov 15, 2012 |
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Nov 15, 2012 19:06
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^^^^^^ For the long haul, have you considered couch surfing? Probably not that cheap as you have a host and don't want to be too big of a leech zmcnulty posted:Looks like I'll give Koh Samet a shot, thanks. That puts me in Bangkok 28-Nov to 2-Dec, then Koh Samet 2-Dec through 5-Dec. Pattaya sounds like Roppongi if you moved it to the beach, and I'll probably be tired of that after 4 nights in Bangkok? Who knows. Even if in Bangkok you can give soi cowboy a tour, it's like Kabukicho on steroids. But for something classier to drink and party, RCA was a cool spot, not so sure if it's still around. For a place to stay, there's s-33 http://www.s33hotel.com/ It's like the Washington chain in Japan. Functional compact business with some complimentary business. Convenient location to hit the city centre, metro rides every where and a decent swanky place to bring someone back instead of the usual hostel. It's also near the silom business district so you might be able to find bars more suited for your taste. Even lub-d, the goon recommended gold star hostel is not as nice as this hotel. However, lub-d has private rooms so you can meet more people and seduce dorm hippies with your finance industry powers and Japanese skills. This might be up your alley, for curiosity sakes. The Thailand fishbowl.  www.sex141.com There's a Bangkok Thailand section.I have no opinions on Koh Samet, is it like Hua Hin? Anyways Thailand is super fun. And zmc, if you do go to the Grand palace and other main attractions of Bangkok, please stop by Khao San Road and tell us how you feel about. caberham fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Nov 16, 2012 |
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Nov 16, 2012 05:29
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Thanks for the suggestions... actually wish I checked this thread this morning, since I ended up booking this place: http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/bangkok/amora_neoluxe_suites.html Has a gym, pool, bar, free internet, isn't a hostel. Also in Sukhumvit and close to public transport and Soi Cowboy. 3700 yen per night includes breakfast, seems comically cheap to me, like a lot of prices I'm seeing. Surely there's a catch besides the dinky room, I guess I'll see how it is. From what I've read Soi Cowboy is a slightly more expensive, slightly more upscale, slightly more compact version of Khao San Road? Is that accurate? One of the wikitravel entries mentions beer being 150THB there and implies that's expensive, so I'll take their word for it. Some of these places have 4-hour happy hours... maybe I chose the wrong Asian country to live in. I looked at Lub-D but I wasn't blown away, maybe because it's a hostel and they charge per person. I REALLY wanted to stay here but apparently it's already booked up for those days: http://www.loylalong.com/ no biggie though since it's more expensive and sort of out of the way anyhow. I'll have to check your other link when I get home; at the office right now. Any opinions on these places? http://www.hotelmusebangkok.com/restaurants/speakeasy/ http://glowbkk.com/ http://bedsupperclub.com/ http://www.longtablebangkok.com/ http://www.facebars.com/en/bangkok/restaurant/Lanna-thai/ http://www.banyantree.com/en/bangkok/experience_the_resort/dining/vertigo_and_moon_bar http://www.qbarbangkok.com/ http://www.lebua.com/en/the-dome-dining/sky-bar-bangkok/ zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 09:13 on Nov 16, 2012 |
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Nov 16, 2012 09:05
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