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ReindeerF posted:This is the part where eviljelly and I say something about how we've never had a motorbike stolen in Thailand or Cambodia or Laos Haha turns out the bar had just taken it inside before closing. Whew. I anger-bought a whiskey bottle in the seediest bar because of this.  And yes I am moving to France in 3-4 months. Didn't want to have to buy a new bike just for that time.Edit: Basically, this is just a normal crazy night here, like almost every night. I really need to leave I think. Senso fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Mar 22, 2013 |
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Mar 22, 2013 07:28
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but I won't do that! Sorry you had your motorbike stolen, dude. Aren't you planning on leaving soon, though?
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Well, poo poo. Of all the things to get stolen in SEA. I think that most motorbike thefts on Koh Tao are just drunk people forgetting which bar they left their bike at. ... most motorbike accidents involve drunk people deciding to drive home rather than losing their bike five bars ago.
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Mar 22, 2013 09:26
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ReindeerF posted:SG nailed HiSo. You'll notice an abundant overuse of the word Society in Thailand. The copywriter and brand developer inside me screams with rage when I see some loving word with Society tagged on the end for no apparent reason. Samsung Mobile Society, Coffee Society, etc. It works because Society is interpreted as referring to High Society and also because words that end in T and a hard-E sound are easy/fun for Thai people to pronounce. SocieTEEEEEEEE. Cheers, I'm still not sure how hiso/lowso is different from rich/poor, but yes its my first time hearing those words. Yeah I now live near to mochit and I'll definitely check out Thong Lo because that's nice and easy to go to from here. I still haven't been out with this girl, we had to reschedule for tomorrow and I've already decided on going to some river barb. It looks pretty chill but its going to be a pain to get to, not sure what else is nearby either. I cant imagine what it was like living here before the BTS went up. By the way I had my first tuk tuk experience today, it was one of the most fun and frightening experiences I've had so far. Twice the driver had to slam on his brakes so we came to a screeching halt inches from a car in front, I was cowering in the back while he just carried on like normal. nugzseeker 2 fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Mar 22, 2013 |
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Mar 22, 2013 16:42
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nugzseeker 2 posted:I cant imagine what it was like living here before the BTS went up.
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Mar 22, 2013 16:43
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Nothing beats sitting on the back of your moto laughing nervously as your driver decides to cross over to the wrong side of the road to get in front of all the cars stopped at the red light then just cutting through the intersection regardless of the red light and on coming traffic because as long as you kinda slow down and honk your horn it'll be all right. Some times its not possible to cross on to the other side of the road to get in front of the traffic in that case just cutting on to the footpath is acceptable all you need to do is slow down a little bit, but not by too much. I also need to remember for my own sanity that if I tell a moto to go down a road he will regardless of the fact that it may be a one way road and we may be going down that road in the wrong direction.
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Mar 22, 2013 20:25
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imnotinsane posted:Nothing beats sitting on the back of your moto laughing nervously as your driver decides to cross over to the wrong side of the road to get in front of all the cars stopped at the red light then just cutting through the intersection regardless of the red light and on coming traffic because as long as you kinda slow down and honk your horn it'll be all right. Some times its not possible to cross on to the other side of the road to get in front of the traffic in that case just cutting on to the footpath is acceptable all you need to do is slow down a little bit, but not by too much. Or being on the other side of this in a cab in Jakarta with your driver sighing "life is cheap in the big durian", while punching the pedal some more. Loved the cabby though, he spoke excellent English for a jakartan cabby, explained that he picked it up while driving. I asked: "you mean from tourists", "no from the radio" (which was blasting some generic american pop song at the time), "I sing the songs and when I don't know a word I look it up" and he pulled a dictionary out of his door.
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Mar 22, 2013 20:53
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Phnomenal Penh still has the most bizarre traffic I've ever seen in a city that actually has traffic. I mean, yeah, nothing compares to Jakarta and Manila for sheer traffic density, but for bizarre behavior in traffic you have to turn to the Khmer people, who each devise their own best way to operate a vehicle from point A to point B. What's this? A blinker? Oh, you should probably use that to indicate to people that they should pass on that side. Oh I need to turn right up ahead. I should just veer directly into oncoming traffic and then drive along the opposite side of the road for the last 50 meters. Makes sense.
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Mar 23, 2013 03:23
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Tytan posted:Hey, I have family visiting from 29th March but if you're over before that then yeah I'll definitely be up for some beers. PM me or shoot me an email when you know what dates you'll be in Phnom Penh: myusername SA @gmail Hey, sorry I took so long to follow up on this-- I'm getting in on the 28th, but my host family wants to have me over for dinner that night so it looks like we'll just miss each other. Oh well. Have fun with your family!
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Mar 23, 2013 05:28
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Ah that's a shame. I'll still be in town until the 5th though, so might still be able to grab a quick beer one night if you're about? Do any Hanoi goons post here? I'm going to be over there for a few days next month if anyone else is around.
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Mar 23, 2013 06:23
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ReindeerF posted:Phnomenal Penh still has the most bizarre traffic I've ever seen in a city that actually has traffic. I mean, yeah, nothing compares to Jakarta and Manila for sheer traffic density, but for bizarre behavior in traffic you have to turn to the Khmer people, who each devise their own best way to operate a vehicle from point A to point B. What's this? A blinker? Oh, you should probably use that to indicate to people that they should pass on that side. Oh I need to turn right up ahead. I should just veer directly into oncoming traffic and then drive along the opposite side of the road for the last 50 meters. Makes sense. Thrilled to find out this isn't just Siem Reap, but all of Cambodia. Love guessing what the blinker means. Also, god drat it is hot right now.
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Mar 23, 2013 07:28
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Tytan posted:Ah that's a shame. I'll still be in town until the 5th though, so might still be able to grab a quick beer one night if you're about? Wondering this as well. I'll be in Hanoi for a few days in May.
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Mar 23, 2013 07:45
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Tytan posted:Ah that's a shame. I'll still be in town until the 5th though, so might still be able to grab a quick beer one night if you're about? I'll be heading down to Kampot and Kep, but I should be back up in PP on the 3rd? Flying out at like 11 PM on the 4th. Also, do you know a tailor in PP who can make suits? I know people who go to Hoi An and other places in Vietnam often get suits made there but it occurred to me it might be doable in Cambodia. I had a shirt or two made there when I was on Peace Corps a few years ago, but never looked into a suit, do you think that's something one of the shops could handle?
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Mar 23, 2013 07:58
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I'll be in kampot/kep/Phnom Penh over the next 3 weeks (currently Sihanoukville) but I don't know the timeline except PP like April 4-10
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Mar 23, 2013 09:56
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CronoGamer posted:I'll be heading down to Kampot and Kep, but I should be back up in PP on the 3rd? Flying out at like 11 PM on the 4th. Let me know when you're back on the 3rd and maybe we can sort something out then. Not too sure about tailors but funnily enough I'll probably be looking for the same thing myself soon. I've heard good things about Tom & Alice's behind Lucky supermarket on Sihanouk Boulevard, but I think they're a little pricier than most places. We got some company shirts made up a while back from Khmer Angkor Tailors who did a decent job, no idea what their suits would be like though. G-Hawk posted:Also, god drat it is hot right now. Yeah and they're really struggling to keep up with the electricity demand this year it seems. My apartment has been without power for about 4 hours every day recently.
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Mar 23, 2013 10:07
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So what's going on with this huge Furby obsession in Thailand now? A VIP nightbus had a 15-minute video devoted to them, including a surreal scene in which children lowered themelves into Furby-decorated coffins with monks performing rituals above.
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Mar 23, 2013 12:27
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ReindeerF posted:Phnomenal Penh still has the most bizarre traffic I've ever seen in a city that actually has traffic. I mean, yeah, nothing compares to Jakarta and Manila for sheer traffic density, but for bizarre behavior in traffic you have to turn to the Khmer people, who each devise their own best way to operate a vehicle from point A to point B. What's this? A blinker? Oh, you should probably use that to indicate to people that they should pass on that side. Oh I need to turn right up ahead. I should just veer directly into oncoming traffic and then drive along the opposite side of the road for the last 50 meters. Makes sense. And don't forget the horn. Clearly that is for indicating that you're driving. I also love how they are seemingly terrified of traffic lights.
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Mar 24, 2013 00:49
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I'm thinking of hitting up Borneo and Indonesia next year, and wanted to know if anyone had gone to the Komodo National park. A lot of the info I'm reading says it's best to fly from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo and from there you can get a boat to the island/pay a guide to show you around. Has anyone experienced this before?
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Mar 24, 2013 01:40
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TheLizard posted:And don't forget the horn. Clearly that is for indicating that you're driving.
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Mar 24, 2013 01:42
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How crazy is 2 weeks on Penang Island? It's time for a visa run in Thailand, and instead of doing the Burma or Laos thing, I'm thinking of Penang. Definitely deciding with my stomach on that one. I'm more about posting up at a spot and slowly exploring and eating myself to death. 2 weeks seems like a bit much, but since I most likely will be heading home earlier than planned I just want to chill, save money, eat, and head over to Singapore when it's fly time. Am I going to die of boredom??
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Mar 24, 2013 09:42
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Probably, yes. I stayed four days and ran out of stuff to do, and I spent one of those days entirely at the movie theater in Georgetown. But you don't really need to worry about that because transit options in Malaysia are excellent. You can pretty much just turn up in Penang and when/if you get bored, go pop down to KL or Malacca for a couple of days.
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Mar 24, 2013 10:29
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Yeah I tell people Penang is fun but no more than 3 days. KL is a $10 bus ride away.
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Mar 24, 2013 11:12
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I spent a week in Penang on a visa run and was bored when I left but I didn't take advantage of the various little day trips available from there. I was also under the weather and pretty skint as I was awaiting my first English teaching pay check at the time. Cool mosques, good little India, I also liked the borderline deserted art museum.
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Mar 24, 2013 14:14
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Penang has incredible food (make sure you hit up Red Garden) and a lot of interesting old buildings to wander around and gawp at, but I can't imagine wanting to spend more than two or three nights there. I guess you could use it as a base and take a mini-trip or two to Langkawi if you run out of stuff to do.
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Mar 24, 2013 14:34
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G-Hawk posted:Yeah I tell people Penang is fun but no more than 3 days. KL is a $10 bus ride away.
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Mar 24, 2013 17:28
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4 days tops for penang.
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Mar 24, 2013 23:32
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^^^^^^ yeah. Four days is enough time to get a visa, eat some tasty deliciousness (go to Tek Sen restaurant and eat all the double roasted pork they have), and see some sights. It's a cool island to explore but most accommodation and sights are in Georgetown and the rest of the island is more or less just a giant fishing village and durian farm. Thankfully, Penang is close to the Cameron Highlands, Taman Negara, Langkawi, and KL.
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Mar 25, 2013 00:58
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Good stuff. I'll make sure to at least throw KL into the mix.
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Mar 25, 2013 02:16
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You could spend more then 3-4 days in Penang if you branch out of Georgetown a bit. The island has a lot to explore.
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Mar 25, 2013 03:42
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I don't think I've seen such a consensus in this thread. I'll have to try Penang for a weekend soon.
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Mar 25, 2013 03:49
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Does anyone have any recommendations for a google map or website that has the best/authentic street food in Bangkok? I'll be there this thursday for a few days and I want to take my first timer friend on a tour. Is there a good street with a concentration of good food stalls? I remember being on a soi near Sukhimvit with some great street food. I've been all over the city but I was mostly drunk and don't remember a lot of the awesome places.
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Mar 25, 2013 05:42
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There aren't many bad ones to be honest. Greatest concentrations are always around Thai markets or transit centers. Outside of universities is often good too. My Thai friends in Bangkok would probably tell you to just go to the big food court in MBK. There are at least two dozen major conversations of street food vendors off of Sukhumvit as well. In my Silom guide in the OP I have directions to my overall favorite stall, run by a lady named Tukta and her family. raton fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Mar 25, 2013 |
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Mar 25, 2013 06:02
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Cheesemaster200 posted:You could spend more then 3-4 days in Penang if you branch out of Georgetown a bit. The island has a lot to explore. O, when I mentioned 2 weeks, that definiely included side trips on the island. I'm not expecting much out of the national park, but it should fill up a day.
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Mar 25, 2013 06:42
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B-Rad posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for a google map or website that has the best/authentic street food in Bangkok? If you want the most austere, old school street food you really need to hit Chinatown and Rattanakosin (the "island" where the Grand Palace and Khao San and all that are). These are the oldest parts of town with the most established places that all old school Bangkokians would recognize as the "best" moo daeng place or the "best" khao kaeh moo place or whatever. Unfortunately, I don't know of a single source that maps each of the most authentic, you'd really need to be able to read Pantip.com for that probably. As well, there's great street food all over town, so whether you're hitting Soi 38 night market or some alley off the main street in China town or just plopping down near a university or major transit center you're going to find some good stuff. Stick Gold Bay Leaves on your itinerary, though, and make sure to order across the spectrum, from phad prik gang to fettuccine penang to eggplant salad to au gratin and so on. Dude does amazing work. Here, some shots - this is the sidewalk food prep and kitchen area:  
ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Mar 25, 2013 |
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Mar 25, 2013 06:54
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Thanks for the awesome responses. Gold bay leaves it is! I've actually never been to Chinatown in my 6+ times to Bangkok, so I should check it out.
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Mar 25, 2013 07:35
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moflika posted:O, when I mentioned 2 weeks, that definiely included side trips on the island. I'm not expecting much out of the national park, but it should fill up a day. Yeah, it does. Some nice hiking trails and it has an excellent bus connection to get there.
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Mar 25, 2013 09:14
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I may be moving to Kuala Lumpur for work in a few months, are there any good places online to look at rentals there or even recommended agencies? Rents seem high on the places I've looked so far so wondering if I'm looking in the wrong places or of it's just that expensive.
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Mar 26, 2013 02:15
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Double post, stupid phone posting.
MrNemo fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Mar 26, 2013 |
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Mar 26, 2013 02:15
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Twin towers posting style. Prices will be very high online because they're trying to catch dumb rich foreigners who are having rents paid by their companies. Once you're there you'll be able to stay in a decent hotel very cheaply while you look locally for a place. Probably through a realtor, but I found my apartments in Bangkok by cold calling and/or bribing info from motosai guys.
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Mar 26, 2013 02:25
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Sheep-Goats posted:Prices will be very high online because they're trying to catch dumb rich foreigners who are having rents paid by their companies. Kind of what I figured, would prefer to have somewhat sorted out at least have a few places to view before I went but I guess it's going to be best to do it when I get there. Thanks!
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Mar 26, 2013 03:28
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I don't know KL, but usually there will be an expat forum that's a little better on prices and realism (like Expat Advisor in Phnom Penh or whatever). It's not guaranteed, but always better than the condo finder sites.
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Mar 26, 2013 06:00
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