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Bloodnose posted:Well, at least there's that. And there's at least some history and museums and stuff to see, according to wikitravel. I'm only there for five days, so it won't be too bad. There's a really good hole in the wall chinese place right across the street, Tao's? i think. Has shark fin soup and everything, if you're interested. Barring that you can just walk down Mabini or Adriacto blvd (the intersection) and see one of a bout a hundred KTV joints. For the other poster, Gary, while smelling bad, isn't really anything. Manila is closer to the bad parts of Detroit, if that helps. With all honesty, Avoid Jeepney's epecially at night. I know they look cool. Day time you may be fine down south in Cebu. (not in Manila) I'd also advise against taking the metro manila train. Pickpocketing there is at an all-time high. Taxis you can swear by, just expect to get ripped off. If you can make peace with paying what amounts to $1 to $3 USD more (40 to 120 peso), then you will be in good hands. At those rates, (again, a cab ride shouldn't run you more than $5-10); why even bother risking a jeepney?
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Dec 28, 2012 05:08
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Summary for those who just tuned in: Going to the Philippines? DON'T! In the USA I loved every Filipino I met. It's totally different over here. In Korea the only Filipinos I met/see are sex workers or working in the adjacent areas. Then there is this thread. Now I know why my friend's mother wouldn't let her visit.
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Dec 28, 2012 06:00
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That's not really fair. The Philippines, like America, is a really beautiful country unlike no other. Sadly, we have Detroit and they have Manila. Also, don't plan on visiting in August. that's the typhoon/monsoon/rainy season. When it rains, it doesn't let up.
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Dec 28, 2012 06:43
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One thing I do if I find an honest taxi driver in Manila is I'll get their cell phone number if I need to take a long trip during a busy time of the day. Some of them seem to appreciate it if you give them repeat business. I'm a bit of a talker, though, dunno how you are with strangers. I'm going to be there for 2 and a half weeks starting Feb 13th. Anyone tried that place Ziggurat in Makati? I am jonesing for some middle eastern food and Manila is the closest I get to a multicultural area outside of Kauai.
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Dec 28, 2012 07:16
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Yeah, the Shwarma in Manila is real good. Looks shady as hell, but it's safe - and delicious - to eat. Kauai's a funny place, too..
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Dec 28, 2012 07:37
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Skandiaavity posted:Yeah, the Shwarma in Manila is real good. Looks shady as hell, but it's safe - and delicious - to eat. My favorite Shwarma place in Singapore opened up near me: 1 shwarma == $15 USD  Thankfully, I know the owner of the original cart so he hooks me up at realistic prices.
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Dec 28, 2012 07:45
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I loved the Phillipines but I knew better than to go to cities, except Dumaguette. That place was alright.
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Dec 28, 2012 08:05
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Tomorrow I'm doing laundry in the freezing NY cold while it rains on me and I get ready for three 12s in a row. If any of your Manila motherfuckers wants to swap let me know 
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Dec 28, 2012 08:21
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DontAskKant posted:Summary for those who just tuned in: Going to the Philippines? DON'T!
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Dec 28, 2012 10:47
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superwofl posted:Philippines is the best country I've been to out of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia..... but but but all of the ^^^^ ? I need you guys to have a unanimous opinion on this country.
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Dec 28, 2012 10:56
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Sounds like a scam
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Dec 28, 2012 11:04
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I just came to this thread to visit my cousin, he is married and has been living here for the last 5 years. He works at the local casino. Would you like to come back to my cousins house for a traditional meal?
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Dec 28, 2012 11:14
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Where's eviljelly? We can start bitching about Vietnam again to air things out a bit. loving Vietnam!
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Dec 28, 2012 11:28
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ReindeerF posted:Where's eviljelly? We can start bitching about Vietnam again to air things out a bit. loving Vietnam! Don't you dare! EDIT: Ok you can bitch but only about the North.
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Dec 28, 2012 12:00
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God, Bangkok is the the worst city to get around ever. How do you guys who live there cope?
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Dec 28, 2012 16:32
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Oh. My. Zeus. posted:God, Bangkok is the the worst city to get around ever. How do you guys who live there cope? It's not, you figure out how to get it done piece by piece and then it becomes a reasonable city to get around in. The key to the kingdom is speaking enough Thai to be able to hire a motorcycle taxi when needed. There's little in the way of transport that a motosai can't fix. The motosai guys are also excellent fixers. It's also easier once you're used to the heat, which for me took about a year. If you're from Texas probably it takes less time. Especially if you have a portion of your body especially predisposed to losing heat efficiently. raton fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Dec 28, 2012 |
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Dec 28, 2012 16:51
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I have a simple question that has probably been answered somewhere in this thread already. Together with a couple of friends, I want to take a trip to Vietnam and Cambodja sometime next year. We are contemplating to either go on an organised tour or go our own merry way. I am leaning towards organising a trip ourselves; I already did some research and have a vague idea on how to get around using trains/buses/boats etc. Regarding hotels, I don't really know how this should be handled. Do you need to plan hotels in advance or do you just arrive somewhere and start looking around? My idea was to take the Lonely Planet with me, buy a prepaid phone and phone hotels/lodges from the guide wherever we end up.
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Dec 28, 2012 17:32
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Oh. My. Zeus. posted:God, Bangkok is the the worst city to get around ever. How do you guys who live there cope? Fly to Jakarta or Manilla Fly back to Bangkok Enjoy the relatively normal traffic
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Dec 28, 2012 17:34
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Rojkir posted:Fly to Jakarta or Manilla Ah yes, the traffic equivalent of running around in the snow to make your living room seem warm. I think I'll take your word for it and not actually to to Manila. Sheep-Goats posted:It's not, you figure out how to get it done piece by piece and then it becomes a reasonable city to get around in. The key to the kingdom is speaking enough Thai to be able to hire a motorcycle taxi when needed. There's little in the way of transport that a motosai can't fix. The motosai guys are also excellent fixers. This is true.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:00
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Rojkir posted:Fly to Jakarta or Manilla What Sheep-Goats said is about right. Once you figure out the range of options and how to use them it's great. If you add in your own bicycle (or motorbike I guess), even better. I zip all over the loving place on boats, motorbikes, my bike, trains, subways, skytrains, buses, taxis, sawngtaews, rot capong and so on. The key component outside of your own bike, though, is probably figuring out motorbikes or having your own bike, when it makes sense. As with most truly massive cities, zipping by someone on a bike or motorbike is a special kind of satisfaction.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:34
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JasH posted:Regarding hotels, I don't really know how this should be handled.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:34
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JasH posted:Regarding hotels, I don't really know how this should be handled.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:36
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JasH posted:I have a simple question that has probably been answered somewhere in this thread already. You should absolutely roll your own. Far better experience and travel in the region is so easy that it's almost impossible to gently caress it up. If your friends insist on a package then leave them behind and by the end of the trip they'll be green with envy (you'll be able to contact them as you wish along the way). For hotels in the region you literally just show up and ask a taxi driver or someone to take you to a hotel. Or on the way to somewhere ask another tourist where they're staying and follow them there. Or go to wikitravel before you leave and write down the name/address of the place. Or show up and hey there's four little cabs here with brochures for their hotels just trying to skim patrons off the flight. If you don't like your place on the first day by the second you'll know where you want to stay in the city and can just shuttle over there. The hotels are rarely full and if they are full the one next door isn't. After you're in the region for a couple of days you'll see that everything above I've written isn't braggadocio but in fact true. Just rock out with your cock out bud, everything will work out great.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:46
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Oh. My. Zeus. posted:God, Bangkok is the the worst city to get around ever. How do you guys who live there cope? I drove my g/f's car in bangkok and hit the curb lane divider and ended up with a flat once. Never again. With that being said I hate driving in the U.S. now too. Screw paying for insurance and gas. I'd prefer riding a bicycle like real G's do.
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Dec 28, 2012 18:49
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Modus Operandi posted:With that being said I hate driving in the U.S. now too. Screw paying for insurance and gas. I'd prefer riding a bicycle like real G's do.
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Dec 28, 2012 19:32
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Welp, I done hosed up. Sent a personal check instead of cashiers/money order for the visa application. Had to send a money order just now, except due to the holidays it'll arrive next Wednesday, exactly 7 days before I'm supposed to board the plane to Thailand. I spoke to a women at the embassy if that would be enough time to process and send everything back and she said "No promises you shouldn't have waited so long". I have next day delivery on the return envelope for my passport, but that means they'll need to process and send my passport back almost immediately. gently caress gently caress gently caress.
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Dec 28, 2012 20:04
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How long does the Christmas break last in SE Asia? I'm asking because I had a pretty vigorous back-and-forth going with a few potential employers, then they all stopped emailing at the same time (around the 18th) and haven't gotten back since. I got an automail with this:quote:I'm on a vacation from December 18, 2012 until Christmas holidays
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Dec 29, 2012 00:15
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Paper Diamonds posted:gently caress gently caress gently caress. Hmmm, I would say that it's time to push your flight back a bit. If I remember correctly, this is high season time. My app took 3 weeks and I sent it to the consulate in LA (from N. CA), not the embassy. That was with money order and express envelopes for there and back included. Who knows, maybe embassies have their poo poo together  Then again, the embassy is technically on Thai soil, so... "This is [still] Thailand" 
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Dec 29, 2012 00:47
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moflika posted:Hmmm, I would say that it's time to push your flight back a bit. If I remember correctly, this is high season time. My app took 3 weeks and I sent it to the consulate in LA (from N. CA), not the embassy. That was with money order and express envelopes for there and back included. Who knows, maybe embassies have their poo poo together Paper Diamonds fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 29, 2012 01:02
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:in it but I don't know what time 'Christmas holidays' covers. This is for Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Paper Diamonds posted:I'm going to call them on Wednesday when they have re-open after new years and see what's going on. The website said you could do an overnight application in person and pick it up the next day, I'm hoping if I beg enough they can do the same and mail it back to me in time. If not? I hope my insurance covers pushing the flight back a week. The phone line for the embassy said they were closed today, so I'm hoping the woman that called me about the check was some sort of support staff member that won't actually be processing the app. Their support email never got back to me either so I'm REALLY hoping the main embassy was closed and she has no idea what was she talking about. Maybe Wednesday I'll speak with someone who can give me a better answer than "No promises"
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Dec 29, 2012 04:02
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ReindeerF posted:Christmas holidays in Malaysia? Are these Western employers who happen to be living here? I've never heard of any country but the Philippines going on break for what they call "Holy Week" here, which tends to run into New Year took and create a massive break. Outside of the Philippines, only a Western company run and staffed by Westerners might do that kind of thing to my knowledge.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:28
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Sorry, I should clarify this is ESL teaching through Western organisations.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:38
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ReindeerF posted:Assuming all your postal stuff works out, you should get it. This time of year that's a pretty big assumption, though. If anything goes wrong, is there some reason you absolutely need a visa? I'm assuming you're from one of the countries that can just stamp in and go get a visa in a neighboring country later if necessary. I decided that if they can't get it to me, I'll just file a claim with travel insurance and eat whatever cost to delay my flight by a week or so. Grandma passed a few weeks ago and left me $3k, she was a world traveler in her younger days so blowing that cash on some travel poo poo doesn't seem inappropriate. You've definitely eased my mind a bit though, and the postal poo poo BETTER work out. I pre-paid something like $60 to get it overnighted back to me.
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Dec 29, 2012 07:31
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Paper Diamonds posted:Have plane tickets that put me in Thailand for 59 days. So yes I do need the visa. Either way they still have my passport. The only thing I'd do is tell them that if they haven't gotten the money order by whatever day they need to mail the passport by before you leave, have them send it back the day before and go on your merry way. The minimum $150-250 that the airline will probably charge you to make the change will more than pay for travel, Thai visa & accommodation on a nice trip to Phnom Penh, Vientiane or Savannakhet. That's what I'd do - change my trip a bit. Make lemonade, unless you're bound to some itinerary by an organization or something. Whatever you do, enjoy your trip and look up the local goons when you're in town  EDIT: Also, check out this Thai DJ who has apparently made it big in Germany too: https://soundcloud.com/nakadia ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 29, 2012 08:19
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Made it into Bangkok, got a pay as you go SIM, went to some malls, drank some cheap beer, getting a massage.. Asia owns.
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Dec 29, 2012 08:58
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ReindeerF, You run in Bangkok, right? I don't run but my travel companions do. If you are interested in going on a run with some company they'd probably love to come along whatever route you take. We're here til Jan 1st and don't really have much specifically planned between now and then.
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Dec 29, 2012 09:10
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Ooner posted:ReindeerF, If they don't mind a boat ride, I can take them on a pretty local trail of either 5-7K this afternoon around 16:30 (probably not do-able) or tomorrow either in the morning or evening. Shoot me a PM or an email to reindeerf@outlook.com and I'll get it as I'm around working. Be more than happy to take them for a nice little run this afternoon or tomorrow EDIT: Tell them it looks like this here - takes about 35 minutes on the boat from Khao San: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Run-My-City/278529342268922 ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 29, 2012 09:15
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Awesome, I'll see if they want to tomorrow and let you know
Ooner fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 29, 2012 09:25
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ReindeerF posted:Where's eviljelly? We can start bitching about Vietnam again to air things out a bit. loving Vietnam! sorry im late. im in a bus station in croatia at the moment seething cuz there is no 8:09am bus as the official bus company website said. the next bus is at 10:30. i miss thailand. loving vietnam etc
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Dec 29, 2012 10:00
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gently caress El Nido in high season. I dont understand how anywhere in the phillipines can get away with charging like 2500 pesos a night for a mediocre room near the beach. Thats like three times the price of anything in thailand with half the amenities. There is nothing affordable around besides bread at the bakeries and fruit, its a pain in the rear end to get to, and most prices are extortionate. 90USD for a fun dive? Its beautiful but not worth it, in my opinion. Even Koh Phi Phi was much cheaper. I guess because there is more competition. Also, Manila is a sketchy shithole. Also, Phillipino food is poo poo. Its just junk food. Just go to Thailand, Imo. So much more to offer.
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Dec 30, 2012 08:09
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