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Oracle posted:Hey, it's called 'blue-blooded' and at certain points in history it was a sign of nobility! (Some of us were just born translucent ok) Although imagine the lost in translation issues telling a Thai they were blue-blooded. "No na ka, I very white skin na ka. Not blue people ka."
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May 6, 2013 02:34
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| # ? Jun 12, 2024 00:30 |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobility#Other_terms Yup. No heathen Moorish blood here.
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May 6, 2013 03:06
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Whenever we see one of those super pale girls out at the market or something, my boyfriend always points and says "Baby, zombie!  "
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May 6, 2013 08:32
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Chair Huxtable posted:Whenever we see one of those super pale girls out at the market or something, my boyfriend always points and says "Baby, zombie! On an unrelated note, apparently I'm supposed to tip the police officer in Jakarta for writing a police report for me. Is tipping the police A Thing anywhere else? e: It wasn't a bribe, my translator gave him the $2.70 after he handed us the report as we were walking out the door.
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May 6, 2013 08:44
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Going to the airport now. This time tomorrow, i'll be in Bangkok. Really looking forward to Returning to asia again!
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May 6, 2013 11:12
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Saint Fu posted:On an unrelated note, apparently I'm supposed to tip the police officer in Jakarta for writing a police report for me. Is tipping the police A Thing anywhere else? Sounds like baksheesh. It's basically a semi-standardized micro-bribe but everyone thinks of it as a cross between an unpublished administrative fee and a tip for bureaucrats. It's really common in Arab countries and India too. People don't consider baksheesh a "real" bribe (even though it totally is) because you're usually paying them to do something they were theoretically supposed to do anyway (like tipping, except that it's also usually technically illegal and/or against the official policies).
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May 6, 2013 11:55
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Yeah, we usually say tea money here, but same thing. Sometimes it's a legit fee, often it's not. I had to file a police report recently over a lost bank book (this passbook poo poo is so stupid) and they didn't charge me. Still, my impression is that if it's at all complicated there's something involved - especially if you want them to handle a neighborhood issue or investigate some crime. Thai people usually ask some variation of "chui noi" (meaning help a little) when they know they're supposed to try to bribe the officer, but I think the noun for referring to it is "sin bon." Sin bon is like actually saying "bribe," though, which is way too in-your-face, so you always ask if they can "help you a little" or whatever. I've only ever had to pay one once I think, I forget. I've been in the car for a couple. I love the politics of it here. You have to ask to make the bribe, then a negotiation ensues after which you may actually get change from the officer. In Mexico we just got a shotgun to the face and the amount was whatever's in your wallet, heh. I prefer Thailand. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 12:13 on May 6, 2013 |
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May 6, 2013 12:00
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Saigon, you must try ...hum vegetarian restaurant. gently caress me drunk. That was amazing. I'm in Au Parc, and it also looks amazing. Why is my home country so bereft of good inexpensive food. Negative Entropy fucked around with this message at 13:54 on May 6, 2013 |
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May 6, 2013 13:35
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The small stalls on Tran Dinh Xu near the canal?
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May 6, 2013 13:38
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Senso posted:The small stalls on Tran Dinh Xu near the canal? I'll check it out today, last day in Saigon before a night bus to Siam reap.
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May 7, 2013 02:19
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Kommando posted:a night bus.
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May 7, 2013 03:20
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Kommando posted:I'll check it out today, last day in Saigon before a night bus to Siam reap. Wow so you'll do the 10-ish hours in one go after all? Good luck! You're leaving tonight at what time? I have a salsa class tonight, don't know when I'll be free. The vegetarian noodles (and other stuff) are here, usually at night (I don't know if they're open in the day): 
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May 7, 2013 04:10
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Lay down bus to phenom Penh with a 5 hour sleep at the border. Then a sit down bus from pp to sr. 12-14 on road. 17ish hours total. Admittedly I voted for a day bus but the rest of my contingent wanted to sleep most of the way. We leave at 11pm. Getting in at "4pm" tomorrow. I'm going to explore down the canal today, someone told me there was a huge junk there. Find a post office and send some goonmail. Dancing? Interesting.
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May 7, 2013 04:27
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I have some friends flying into Bangkok tomorrow from Canada. I'm planning on leaving may 12 to meet up with them. By then their plan is to be near Ko Pha-ngan. Am I better off flying into Phuket rather than Bangkok? Will there be any issues with a visa?
mister ginger fucked around with this message at 09:33 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 08:03
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No on visa issues. Transportation's more hosed up in Phuket, so get ready for that. I haven't heard of Ka Pao, so I'm not sure. Tried googling it and it appears to be somewhere in the World of Warcraft, which roughly resembles Phuket's tuk tuk and taxi queues.
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May 7, 2013 08:23
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ReindeerF posted:No on visa issues. Transportation's more hosed up in Phuket, so get ready for that. I haven't heard of Ka Pao, so I'm not sure. Tried googling it and it appears to be somewhere in the World of Warcraft, which roughly resembles Phuket's tuk tuk and taxi queues. Boy do I ever feel emberassed, i meant Ko Pha-ngan
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May 7, 2013 09:33
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Oh, hmm. Are you flying from Canada? There are a number of Asian carriers that fly direct to Koh Samui from outside of Thailand (I think Korean and Cathay, among others). It's flights inside of Thailand to Samui that are expensive as gently caress. If you're flying in internationally, if you could find a typical connecting flight through Seoul or HK or somewhere with a connection to Samui instead of Bangkok or Phuket you'd save a lot of time. Probably more expensive, but if you land in Phuket you'll have a pretty long bus ride to Surat Thani, then a 45 minute ride to the ferry, then a ferry ride. In all it's going to make for a full day of travel, basically, that you could cut out by landing in Samui and taking a ferry straight over to KPG. Samui, Phangan and Tao are in the same island group in the Gulf of Thailand while Phuket's over on the Andaman side.
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May 7, 2013 10:08
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Samui airport is the weirdest. I flew from there because I found a flight connection from there to London that was just shy of $200 cheaper than flying out of Bangkok instead. It had a layover in BKK. Airfares 
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May 7, 2013 10:32
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The old Samui airport was awesome, but it just couldn't support the traffic and the massive jumbojets they wanted to land. It was voted the top airport in the world by travelers at least once. Sure, it was a completely corrupt enterprise of Bangkok Airways (as Trat, Sukhothai and several others still are), but it was quaint as gently caress, heh. This new one's okay, just lacks the character of bamboo trolleys running around and bit tropical lawns next to Thai cabanas cooking cheap local food.
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May 7, 2013 10:38
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The new one is like stepping through a portal to a yuppie California suburb's commercial strip. It's kind of surreal. e: it's still one of the nicest airports I've ever been in, especially considering how tiny it is. duralict fucked around with this message at 11:03 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 11:00
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The new international gate there is completely stupid  . It's a fan cooled, poorly ventilated enclosed building with lots of glass and hundreds of people inside. It's hot as gently caress. Even if it's hot as gently caress outside, it's still cooler than inside the glasshouse.
Finch! fucked around with this message at 13:46 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 13:41
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duralict posted:The new one is like stepping through a portal to a yuppie California suburb's commercial strip. It's kind of surreal. I was terribly annoyed that the taxi to the ferry terminal cost me 400 baht for a 2 min drive
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May 7, 2013 14:05
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It would be charitable to libertarians to say that "market forces" are not at work in the islands. I loving hate going there specifically for that fact, but we're spoiled in Bangkok, which may have the mot absurdly feasible taxi service in the world. Still, Samui's a smiling scam at this point. Phuket is not. Phuket is a mafia shithole full of dickhead brutes who beat down old people for refusing their 500 Baht fares. I still go to the Gulf Islands. Andaman, not so much. There's a comfortable corruption in the Gulf still.
ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 15:03 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 14:57
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Agreed, gently caress Phuket. Go Bangkok. E: goodbye Sài Gòn, you were lovely, even in your curious chaotic traffic snarls and your alarming penis grabbing masseuses. It was cute in a way. Negative Entropy fucked around with this message at 16:36 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 16:33
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Rated PG-34 posted:I was terribly annoyed that the taxi to the ferry terminal cost me 400 baht for a 2 min drive Any Way to avoid this? Whats everyones favourite must try thai dish? We had a few today where the pad thai was crowned as the winner. There are a few thai places in Denmark, but for some reason few of Them serve pad thai and the like and all go instead for the Rice and curry dishes.
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May 7, 2013 16:56
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Thai cuisine is complex, but anything can be you favorite. Ga pow (chicken with basil), fried rice and phad Thai are usually tourist favorites along with chicken with cashew nuts (gai phad med mamuang). Tom Yum Goong and Som Tam are close seconds along with green curry (gaeng kiaw wan). For a lesser known favorite among furriners I'd recommend Prik Phao Moo ("prick pow moo"). Among the Isaan dishes, nam tok moo/neuer is excellent. Also, the word for salad is "yum" - so yum neuer yung, um takai and others are excellent. It's a super long list. Late at night order Khao Tom or Khao Phad Nam Riep. Seriously, it's endless and depends on where you're eating. I routinely have to order for tables of 20 to 30 and never run out of poo poo to order. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 22:19 on May 7, 2013 |
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May 7, 2013 17:10
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quote:Whats everyones favourite must try thai dish? We had a few today where the pad thai was crowned as the winner. There are a few thai places in Denmark, but for some reason few of Them serve pad thai and the like and all go instead for the Rice and curry dishes. Massaman gai is definitely my favorite. I could eat that for every meal and be happy.
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May 7, 2013 21:58
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If you're in SA Asia you should eat everything and if you eat something you don't like then you should probably realize you're wrong. Except that salty rear end fish curry goop they love so much in Surat Thani province. Try not to order the same thing over and over is what I'm saying. Just pick something else. If you choose wrong OH NO you're out 75 cents and will have to just go around the block and order something else. The only think I always get when I'm back is the stewed cabbage and mushroom thing that Tukta makes at the food stall I mentioned in my Outer Silom post (linked to in the OP or the almost-OP).
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May 7, 2013 23:14
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I have a problem in that I hate cooked seafood, innards and boiled eggs. Eating Thai can be tough when you have some picky food issues. Like when I say "mai sai talay" for no seafood and they put freshwater crab in it because not come from sea na krab. The best part is the Thai reaction. WHAT? HE DOESN'T EAT FISH? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? OH JUST COOKED FISH? WHAT? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? It can be a real pain at a table of 20 family members all trying to accommodate their perception of your picky food issues, heh. Sheep-Goats is right, really. If you don't have any picky food issues, just order poo poo and stuff it down your throat.
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May 7, 2013 23:28
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As a guy who is allergic to shellfish, I feel your pain.
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May 7, 2013 23:32
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The best thai dish I ever ate was roast duck curry with potatoes and nan bread. I ordered it in some smelly shack in Ko Mak, and it was hearty and delicious. When I went to dinner with my friend in Bangkok he would order ~8 different dishes for the two of us, and one of them was always fried morning glory. It tastes like asparagus' pleasant nephew. I sure miss it.
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May 7, 2013 23:36
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Oh yeah, Pak Boon Fai Daeng is the rough transliteration of the morning glory thing. That is a fantastic dish because of the oyster sauce (I think?), chilis and garlic, though after a few years you will eventually miss vegetable plates that don't involve a flower stalk, heh. I'm like a potato-seeking missile these days. IS THAT AN EAR OF CORN? HOW MUCH? I WILL GIVE YOU 1,000. One distinction that's coming up and not being talked about is regionalism. Central Thai has its own dishes, but is a mish mash. "roast duck curry with potatoes and nan bread" That's very Southern Thai with Muslim Malay influence. Papaya salad and nam tok - the super-spicy poo poo really - are Northeastern Thai (Laos) inspired. Sausages and dips and a few other dishes like khao soy are Northern. It all varies around quite a bit and each province or city can have its own specialties. Chanthaburi is famous for moo chamuang (pork in this fruit tree leaf) and kwayteow moo liang, for example, while in Nakhon Ratchasima they're famous for some kind of fish and curry puffs (awful Thai version of samosas). As Sheep-Goats says, wherever you are, just start eating. Also, look for night markets. They won't speak English, but that's where the best food often is. If you can learn the phrase "TEE [city name] arai aroy TEE-soot" roughly transliterated as "in this city what's the most delicious food?" (okay it's not proper Thai but close enough and easy) and say it to any nearby motorbike, taxi or tuk tuk guys when in provinces that aren't massively touristed you'll end up with some good food. Thai peepun are very proud (rightfully) of their food and many folks - especially in the provinces - will take it upon themselves to personally escort you to some place that they think has the best whatever. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 00:09 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 00:03
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Vogler posted:The best thai dish I ever ate was roast duck curry with potatoes and nan bread. I ordered it in some smelly shack in Ko Mak, and it was hearty and delicious. Pak boong fai daeng is always something I order if I'm having Thai food at a solid Thai restaurant with more than two people. E^ Yeah it almost invariably has oyster sauce and garlic in it Chap pak chap pak chap pak -- gin pak gin pak gin pak lk vaoieiojf oija;foijaoi MK raton fucked around with this message at 00:12 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 00:07
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Sheep-Goats posted:E^ Yeah it almost invariably has oyster sauce and garlic in it ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 00:14 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 00:11
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ReindeerF posted:In how many countries is the stock greeting, "Have you eaten yet?" It's like North Africa with the "How's your Uncle?" poo poo. China has literally the same way of saying hello, didn't realise they had it in Thailand too.
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May 8, 2013 01:01
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MrNemo posted:China has literally the same way of saying hello, didn't realise they had it in Thailand too.
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May 8, 2013 01:24
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ReindeerF posted:That's two. I'm sure there are more. I only know of one. Laos. Of course.
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May 8, 2013 02:01
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Sheep-Goats posted:Laos. Of course.
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May 8, 2013 02:05
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Thanks for all these. We do just go into the street kitchens and order different things and lucikly we're not all that picky, but knowing a few favourites is great for us, because sometimes the entire menu is in thai, you're hot and hungry and you don't wanna walk around pointing into the bowls of other people while flapping your arms trying to convey Duck rather than chicken. Pad thai was nice, i'm Aware of it being like an amerikan Takeaway favourite but somehow i'd never had it before. I'll definately attempt that for lunch when i'm back Home. Speaking of which, has anyone done any of the zillion cooking schools?
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May 8, 2013 02:22
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If you fail to eat a Som Tam I don't want to know you ok.
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May 8, 2013 02:38
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