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A MIRACLE posted:Booked a flight to SEA! Going with a buddy and his sister for a few weeks. Flying in through Singapore and jumping over to Thailand. How's this itinerary look? If you keep Jakarta let me know and we can get a beer or something. But yeah, skip Jakarta and go to Angkor.
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Mar 6, 2013 02:30
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Sukhothai might have 1/100th the crowd of Angkor but it is also about 1/100th as impressive.
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Mar 6, 2013 04:44
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So, after perusing promo fares for a few weeks, we've decided that the next family vacation is going to be this May, in and around the Hanoi area for 3-4 days. Just a couple questions for goons who have been around that area as we plan our itinerary: 1) My dad's a pretty husky guy and also has a bum knee, so we'd like to avoid doing anything that will involve a lot of walking if possible. Any suggestions for sights or activities that will have a lot of sitting down (like in a cruise or boat tour or something) or at least allow frequent breaks for him to take some weight off his knee? 2) We might need to do some navigating to get around, so I plan on taking my GSM smartphone there. Any recommendations for a decent prepaid carrier with good coverage that will allow me to load enough credits for a few days' worth of 3G browsing? Where would I be able to pick up a SIM card from such a carrier?
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Mar 6, 2013 14:30
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So my girlfriend and I are looking into going to Laos for our next big trip (somewhere in June/August this year). I've been looking around a bit and noticed that a lot of people recommend hiring a car and driver to get around. We're not too keen on doing that, it seems as if we'd be loosing a lot of freedom if we're dependable on some guy with a car. Is it really not recommended hiring your own car in Laos and driving yourself? We don't mind a bit of adventure and I really like driving myself on trips.
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Mar 6, 2013 15:00
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Valiant Pudding posted:Is it really not recommended hiring your own car in Laos and driving yourself? We don't mind a bit of adventure and I really like driving myself on trips. Unless they have improved the roads mightily since 2009, they are really treacherous, and Laotian drivers are.....not great. The main roads are paved (sorta) but as soon as you get off into the villages its all dirt and rocks. During the rainy season, I imagine that some are impassible. I like what the UK foreign office says: quote:Road travel TheLizard fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Mar 6, 2013 |
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Mar 6, 2013 15:42
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anakha posted:1) My dad's a pretty husky guy and also has a bum knee, so we'd like to avoid doing anything that will involve a lot of walking if possible. Any suggestions for sights or activities that will have a lot of sitting down (like in a cruise or boat tour or something) or at least allow frequent breaks for him to take some weight off his knee? They probably still have those hands free restaurants in Bangkok where you sit there with your hands in your lap and a hooker puts your food into your mouth for you (so the opposite of the usually goon hands free dining experience) and yet Vietnam still doesn't have a service where two or three 90lb hookers carry your chub-dad around on their backs for the duration of his vacation. I mean, not formally. This post brought to you by the Not Exactly Being Helpful Corporation.
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Mar 6, 2013 17:27
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The serious answer is probably Halong Bay, as it's like right there anyway and the only thing to do there is cruise around on a boat looking at the awesome karst cliffs. Just book with an actual operator (no travel agencies or tour desks!) because all the bookings from people who don't run their own boats get thrown into the same general milieu for boat assignment and it's a total crapshoot whether you end up with a good boat or a horrible one. I heard good things about the one run by Kangaroo Cafe.
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Mar 6, 2013 23:59
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anakha posted:2) We might need to do some navigating to get around, so I plan on taking my GSM smartphone there. Any recommendations for a decent prepaid carrier with good coverage that will allow me to load enough credits for a few days' worth of 3G browsing? Where would I be able to pick up a SIM card from such a carrier? You will be able to find SIM cards everywhere. Look for signs saying "Ban card" (Selling cards), "MOBI", "VIETTEL", etc. They're about 100,000d ($5). To setup 3G for cheap, follow this blog post. Personally, I use Mobifone and it costs me 40,000d ($2) per month to have unlimited 3G data. It's not fast or super reliable but it's loving cheap.
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Mar 7, 2013 04:25
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Any goons in KL this weekend? If I can get the loving Air Asia website to load, I might book a last minute weekend getaway to Malaysia with a friend.
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Mar 7, 2013 08:42
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I'll be there next week Tues-Sun
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Mar 7, 2013 08:58
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Many thanks Senso and duralict. That was a big help.
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Mar 7, 2013 11:15
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I'm in KL until I fly out Sunday evening. (Off to Siem Reap then)
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Mar 7, 2013 17:44
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G-Hawk posted:I'm in KL until I fly out Sunday evening. (Off to Siem Reap then) Sweet, we fly out on Sunday evening too. We're two Canadians working in Saigon, let me know if you want to meet. Email is sensoz at gmail.
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Mar 8, 2013 03:12
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Jesus, I hope nothing comes out of the North Korea/South Korea issues. My flights into SEA is at the end of this month with Korean Air via Seoul
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Mar 8, 2013 04:18
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lol internet. posted:Jesus, I hope nothing comes out of the North Korea/South Korea issues. My flights into SEA is at the end of this month with Korean Air via Seoul
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Mar 8, 2013 05:18
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North Korea always flexes its muscles when it wants some more food aid.
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Mar 8, 2013 05:50
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Let's play another round of "GUESS WHICH CITY?" Here's your clue: quote:A 57-year-old Israeli tourist died in a hotel room bed on Soi Bukhao next to a beer bar girl... http://bit.ly/12yJnQ4
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Mar 8, 2013 06:47
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quote:After their initial investigation, the police assumed that Mr. Dan might have had heart failure and died immediately. However, because it was a foreigner who died, the Thai police have a special concern for the safety of foreigners, because they are afraid of getting a bad image of Pattaya as a tourism town. Haha, I love how this is phrased... god forbid that Pattaya gets a bad reputation!
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Mar 8, 2013 07:14
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Tytan posted:Haha, I love how this is phrased... god forbid that Pattaya gets a bad reputation!
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Mar 8, 2013 07:52
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One of the divemaster trainees here went to Pattaya with his dad when he was 19. For some reason his dad left him a babysitter. Guess what the babysitter did: a. watched tv with him b. baked a cake for him c. blew him
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Mar 9, 2013 04:01
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eviljelly posted:One of the divemaster trainees here went to Pattaya with his dad when he was 19. For some reason his dad left him a babysitter. Guess what the babysitter did: Dad knew exactly what he was doing.
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Mar 9, 2013 05:16
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dad of the year award
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Mar 9, 2013 05:32
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Stealth dad lets the babysitter win the babysitter of the year award in his place.
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Mar 9, 2013 05:54
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I'll take "Things that happen less often in America" for $1,000 Alex. EDIT: Also, I bet the cake sucked even harder than sh- oh nevermind. EDIT EDIT: Thai people, generally speaking, can't bake for poo poo, see... ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 9, 2013 14:29
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This poo poo is new ok, they never had it when I was there.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEJwsJqNtWw A Thai dessert that isn't poo poo?! (That bean on ice with coconut milk thing never impressed me) raton fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Mar 11, 2013 |
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Mar 11, 2013 02:34
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Just put in my resignation on Friday, I was super stressed about it. I'm pretty horrible at resigning. Flying out on the March 31st with my wife, returning September 1st. Looking to hit up Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and perhaps wherever else on a whim. Been following this thread for the last 4 or 5 months taking notes of places to stay and things to do. We're pretty familiar with Laos so we should be okay on that. Anyone care to recommend some guesthouses/hotels/must do things? I know there's tons in every place, but my wife probably does not want to just show up and just walk around carrying our luggage looking for a place each time. I know there's sites like Agoda and such, but I'd rather take goon recommendations over them. We are mainly looking for private, safe & clean rooms with warm water. No bells & whistles needed. Here's a list of places we're going. Not necessarily trying to escape the crowds and tourists spots. Any "central" areas would be fine and dandy. Especially if it's walkable to main sites and attractions. Thailand - Chiang Rai (White temple) - Chiang Mai (Planning on taking a cooking class here, undecided on which one I should take) - Sukhothai (Unesco Site) - Bangkok (Lucky House by Khao San) - Hua Hin (Looking for budget accommodation close to beachfront. Spending time with relatives there, willing to pay a lot higher.) - Ko Phi Phi - Ao Nang (Never been here, any recommendations for sites or place to stay would be good) - Ko Pha Ngan (Seaview Sunrise for FMP - recommended by Reindeer many few pages back) - Phuket (I realize this is a poo poo hole, but most likely flying out of of Thailand from here, and I prefer to spend at least one night as I don't want to feel like I'm strapped on time.) Cambodia - Simp Reap ('ve gone alone and taken a motortaxi alone, since this time, we're in a group of two. I assume i need a Tuk Tuk all day, how much should I expect to pay for one day?) Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur - Penang (Eat lots of food) Singapore - Decided on the Inn Crowd so far, as it's where I stayed the last time and it seemed pretty central. But open to recommendations. I know Singapore will cost more then other countries regardless. Vietnam - Hanoi (Gonna do the Halong Bay tour with Kangaroo tour. Do you recommend 2 or 3 days?) - Hue Indonesia - Bali - Yogyakarta Also doing a 12hour layover in Seoul. I know this is SEA, but I asked the Korean thread and they all shunned me  I should have about 8hours. Probably planning on getting a day pass for the rail, but looking for the must-do things there. Not interested in any cuisine though. Just sights and no hiking.
lol internet. fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Mar 11, 2013 |
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Mar 11, 2013 04:04
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It's worth spending a day or two in Hanoi, there are some really interesting things to see there and it's right by Halong Bay anyway. IMO a two day cruise is fine - Halong Bay is an amazing place but you won't really see anything different in three days, just more of it. Do it if you really want to stretch out, I suppose. In Bali, Ubud sounds like the place you're looking for. Bali is very heavily touristed but outside Kuta (or really, Denpasar in general) anywhere you stay or eat is going to be high-quality and well-priced. Ubud's also a good place to splash out for a bit because a very small amount of extra money gets you quite a lot more there.
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Mar 11, 2013 05:34
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No myanmar?
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Mar 11, 2013 08:46
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lol internet. posted:
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Mar 11, 2013 10:43
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ReindeerF posted:I haven't done Tuk Tuks for the park before, but I swear it's something like $15? Depends on what temples you go to. The main ones should be $15-25 for the day and Banteay Srei and Beng Melea will have additional charges. I went AC sedan instead of tuk tuk, which was worth it to me.
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Mar 11, 2013 12:51
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Personally - and I know this won't work for many people - I'd do it on a mountain bike if I were going to do it again, but that's my preference. Once you realize you can go drat near anywhere you please it's fun tooling around.
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Mar 11, 2013 13:16
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Bali advice: unless you like drunk Australians and jacked-up prices, stay out of Denpasar. I thought Singaraja was really lovely but you really can't go wrong with NOT DENPASAR.
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Mar 11, 2013 14:37
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Rapsey posted:No myanmar? Thanks, I've been adding all of my travel notes to evernote. I plan on bringing my crappy old blackberry which will allow me to have access to the notes all the time. This will actually save me tons of time since I won't have to do much research-prep before I move onto the next spot. Also Ao Nang Goodwill looks awesome for what you pay during low season. TheLizard posted:Depends on what temples you go to. The main ones should be $15-25 for the day and Banteay Srei and Beng Melea will have additional charges. I went AC sedan instead of tuk tuk, which was worth it to me. SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Bali advice: unless you like drunk Australians and jacked-up prices, stay out of Denpasar. I thought Singaraja was really lovely but you really can't go wrong with NOT DENPASAR. lol internet. fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 01:43
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Just adding a few changes, and remember to hit up the goons in town!lol internet. posted:Especially if it's walkable to main sites and attractions. The whole area opposite of Phuket is nice. I personally would take my wife to Railay. It's a longtail ride away from Ao Nang, but there's fun rock climbing and the "James bond beach". The sunset there is really really nice and the beach is adjacent to those fancy hotels so it's very very clean. quote:- Phuket (I realize this is a poo poo hole, but most likely flying out of of Thailand from here, and I prefer to spend at least one night as I don't want to feel like I'm strapped on time.) Since you are traveling for so drat long on budget places, I think you should opt for a 5 star resort before you go home. Yes it's pricey but compared back home it's a lot cheaper. quote:Cambodia Motortaxi can fit 3 in SEA! 2 is still ok, even with bags. Tuk Tuk are everywhere in Siem Reap though. For the ruins, I paid 10 USD a day for 3 days (2 years ago). I don't know why Cambodia just makes me super stingy  Prices would definitely rise a bit. Honestly, pay as much as you are willing to pay and don't look back. Everyone is scammy. If you really want to know the market average though, just cross reference with different vendors and people. Everyone knows how to put their work face on but off work most people are pretty chill.quote:Malaysia Hostel situation in Malaysia is so-so. But food beats Thai food. Thai food is overated  quote:Singapore Say hi to Singapore goons. They know good food. quote:Vietnam Not much of a hostel scene in Vietnam at all. Just bargain for a simple hotel room for 10 usd or whatever price a day. Hue had nice historical tombs, but you can finish the tomb sights in 1 days. Really small town. quote:Also doing a 12hour layover in Seoul. I know this is SEA, but I asked the Korean thread and they all shunned me Korean goons, shunning outsiders? I don't believe this. They are an awesome crowd. Going to Seoul takes a good 45 minutes at least on the airport rail. But for a short stop Seoul is a fun place. Get a cheap sim card for a day and enjoy LTE speeds everywhere! Buy a bunch of random herbs, and spices and announce to the Korean goons that you are bringing some supplies. Korea is a weird country, being so rich yet so insular and hard to get supplies. DontAskKant, lummox and other goons will surely come out to greet you. Tell them that caberham requests the Korean welcome committee. Be prepared to do a lot of drinking. A lot.
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Mar 12, 2013 02:09
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Hit up Hoi An in Vietnam too. It is right next to Hue and you can fly out of Da Nang to HCMC if you have the budget.
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Mar 12, 2013 03:24
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Yeah, Hue can be visited in a day. I much preferred Hoi An, personally.
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Mar 12, 2013 03:50
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caberham posted:Not much of a hostel scene in Vietnam at all. Just bargain for a simple hotel room for 10 usd or whatever price a day. Hue had nice historical tombs, but you can finish the tomb sights in 1 days. Really small town.
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Mar 12, 2013 06:19
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Rapsey posted:Hoi An does not unless one sprung up in the last two years. Dunno, Google brings up a couple of cheap links. Can't say if they're reliable though.
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Mar 12, 2013 07:40
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lol internet. posted:- Phuket (I realize this is a poo poo hole, but most likely flying out of of Thailand from here, and I prefer to spend at least one night as I don't want to feel like I'm strapped on time.) Is there any reason you want to fly from Thailand from Phuket? It's like... right next to Malaysia (kinda). From Phuket you can get to Koh Lipe after a long and convoluted boat experience, and from Lipe it's easy to get to Penang via Langkawi. Otherwise, if you're only using Phuket as a transit point you might want to investigate getting a boat from Phangan to Surat Thani, then a train from Surat Thani to Penang.... unless you really want to spend ages criss-crossing the country and/or the entire continent rather than doing things in a relatively linear fashion. caberham posted:Hostel situation in Malaysia is so-so. But food beats Thai food. Thai food is overated I found some pretty awesome hostels in Malaysia - particularly in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. I agree entirely re: food, though. Finch! fucked around with this message at 10:53 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 10:26
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Senso posted:Dunno, Google brings up a couple of cheap links. Can't say if they're reliable though.
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Mar 12, 2013 12:47
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