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ReindeerF posted:Yeah, that's the other one I know.
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May 8, 2013 02:54
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| # ? Jun 12, 2024 12:08 |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFb0nLCKypg
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May 8, 2013 03:12
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Was just in Palawan for a week. It's awesome, and everyone should go.
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May 8, 2013 03:30
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ReindeerF posted: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. After looking up prices it looks like my cheapest option is to fly into Bangkok. Then get a $60 flight to airisia to Samui. Would there be anything funny with that? I'm also curious to know if there are scooter rental agencies that allow you to drop off scooters in different cities
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May 8, 2013 03:44
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Kommando posted: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. Do you mean those girls on motorbike that offer "boom boom massage" and quickly try to grab your dick (while trying to swipe your phone/wallet)? They are a plague in District 1 at night and the only "touts" I have to yell at in Vietnamese to get rid off. Ugh.
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May 8, 2013 04:09
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SE ASIA DENGUE FEVER TOUR May 31: Phnom Penh June 1: Siem Reap June 5: Phnom Penh June 7: Saigon, gently caress yes!
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May 8, 2013 04:35
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Oh awesome, marking that in my calendar. I saw them the last time they were in Phnom Penh and they were fantastic. If anyone else is around on those dates you should definitely check them out.
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May 8, 2013 05:35
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ReindeerF posted:Yeah, that's the other one I know. Cambodia too! Nyam bai hauwee ot?
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May 8, 2013 07:52
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I find it endlessly quaint that the south Vietnamese national dish is a cold cut sandwich. I'm alive and about 2 hrs out of Siam Reip. 
Negative Entropy fucked around with this message at 08:16 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 08:09
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mister ginger posted:After looking up prices it looks like my cheapest option is to fly into Bangkok. Then get a $60 flight to airisia to Samui. Would there be anything funny with that? I'm also curious to know if there are scooter rental agencies that allow you to drop off scooters in different cities Senso posted:SE ASIA DENGUE FEVER TOUR
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May 8, 2013 09:32
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I might try to make it to PP for the June 1st show, I'll have to plan that.
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May 8, 2013 09:35
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mister ginger posted:After looking up prices it looks like my cheapest option is to fly into Bangkok. Then get a $60 flight to airisia to Samui. Would there be anything funny with that? Air Asia don't fly to Samui. They'll fly you to Surat Thani, put you on a bus, then put you on a ferry. I have no idea how many hours that will take.
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May 8, 2013 09:35
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Finch! posted:Air Asia don't fly to Samui. They'll fly you to Surat Thani, put you on a bus, then put you on a ferry. I have no idea how many hours that will take.
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May 8, 2013 09:41
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Finch! posted:Air Asia don't fly to Samui. They'll fly you to Surat Thani, put you on a bus, then put you on a ferry. I have no idea how many hours that will take. Surat Thani airport to Donsak pier is about an hour bus ride and then it's about a 50 minute ferry ride to Koh Samui by Lomprayah or 1.5 hrs by Songserm. The whole thing runs pretty smoothly and is pretty painless.
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May 8, 2013 10:19
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ReindeerF posted:In how many countries is the stock greeting, "Have you eaten yet?" One of the stock greetings in Korean is this. Also, isn't the word for rice one of the words for meal in Thai? It is in Korean. EDIT: DOUBLE POST ._.
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May 8, 2013 10:27
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eviljelly posted:One of the stock greetings in Korean is this. Also, isn't the word for rice one of the words for meal in Thai? It is in Korean. EDIT: Yeah, "khao" is rice in Thai. Giin is eat, so "Giin khao ruu yung?" is "Have you eaten yet?" the stock greeting among people who already know one another. EDIT EDIT: When are you passing through town again? \/\/\/ Dead to me. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 18:15 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 10:30
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ReindeerF posted:EDIT EDIT: When are you passing through town again? I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm looking at all the flights and it's 5000 baht to fly out of KL vs. 10000 baht for Bangkok, so I may not end up going to Bangkok. I'll have to price out getting from Koh Tao to KL vs Koh Tao to Bangkok, though.
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May 8, 2013 10:46
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Smeef posted:Was just in Palawan for a week. It's awesome, and everyone should go. I went last August and I loved it. Did you stay in Puerto Princessa and El Nido? Back in America Update: 3 months in. gently caress this. Saw some article on Buzzfeed with a bunch of pictures of Thailand and Vietnam in it. Actively looking for jobs over there again.
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May 9, 2013 00:57
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Hey, so this fall I'll do the Transsiberian Railroad Moscow -> Beijing, and my plan is to continue to SEA from there with a 3-day Beijng->Hanoi sleeper train. This would then leave me 3-4 weeks going from Hanoi to Bangkok, from where I'll fly back to Europe. I've traveled a bit before (US, Eastern Europe/Balkans, South Africa), but the farthest I've ventured into Asia was using a ferry in Istanbul  . I'm traveling on my own, but I'm not on a self-finding journey or something, I just wanna spend a few weeks hanging out with random nice people in beautiful places before starting my PhD. I'm not sure what route I'm taking from Hanoi to Bangkok - the obvious choice seems to be following Vietnam's coast, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Bangkok. But Laos seems interesting as well, not least since everyone I know who's been there has nothing but praise for that country and its people. I'm of course looking through all kinds of travel guides at the moment, but figured I'd ask here as well to get more subjective recommendations. So, do you have any personal suggestions of where to go between Hanoi and Bangkok / which route to take? Also, does the general timeframe of 3-4 weeks for that part of my trip seem reasonable? Thanks!
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May 9, 2013 17:14
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You'll get 20 different answers, but, yeah, I'd say that if you miss Laos and Cambodia you're missing the best of SE Asia. If you stick to coastal Vietnam, you'll be seeing the worst of Vietnam. Of the people who like the country, or don't, the consensus is always that the interior is more friendly and authentic, but that's true everywhere. I did Bangkok to Beijing a decade ago this year and I did the Cambodia-Vietnam coast version. In retrospect, I'd have popped back from Cambodia into Laos and then up into Vietnam from there (and loving skipped Da Nang altogether). Others can advise on Vietnam, but the point is that you shouldn't miss Cambodia and Laos because, along with Burma, they're the most real places left.
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May 9, 2013 17:19
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It's true. Do Hanoi, Laos, Cambodia, Saigon (because it's cool and I'm here, even if it's not really on the way to Bangkok), you can safely skip central/coastal Vietnam if you want a broader picture of SE Asia. Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, etc. they're OK/meh places but all more of the same. At least you'd get a more varied experience by trying the other countries nearby.
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May 9, 2013 17:25
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Going straight to Hanoi you're going to miss out on the northern mountains in Vietnam, which are still my favourite part of the country. One possibility to see a little bit would be to see if you can jump off the train in Dong Dang/Lang Son after crossing the border then get up to Mau Son for a night - it's an old French resort/hill station on top of a big rear end mountain near Lang Son (and gets some of the coldest weather in VN). There's some cool old French hotels to stay in and great views if the weather is clear. It might be a bit creepy/boring if you're by yourself though. Also, for the Beijing - Vietnam train. If you want to break it up into two 1.5 day train trips with a day or two sight seeing in between, you can go down the coast and stop off at Fujian and see the Tuluos (you can stay in them overnight which is pretty cool). You might have to stop in Nanning before crossing into the Vietnam as well if you do that though (it's what we did).
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May 10, 2013 04:50
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Jumping in to tell you yes, go to Laos. I really enjoyed Laos and the people there were just lovely. I haven't made it to Cambodia yet for anything other than a visa run. I would like to visit, but all the problems I've had at the border, getting visas, dealing with the Cambodians on Koh Chang etc have soured me towards visiting the country. I've been told that once you get into the country it all smooths out, but I've not been willing to risk all the nonsense. Is it really so amazing, goons?
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May 10, 2013 10:26
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Yes. Go to Angkor. Go to Angkor go to Angkor goot agora kor goto Ang korgo. Go to Angkor.
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May 10, 2013 10:29
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Central Vietnam is cool, though.  Northern Laos is the best, but getting there from northern Vietnam would not be a fun bus ride. Then again, that's kinda true of all bus rides in Vietnam. Don't go to Vinh. I think there's a reason beyond geostrategy that it was so heavily bombed that there was only one building left from before the Vietnam War.
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May 10, 2013 11:00
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Chair Huxtable posted:Is it really so amazing, goons?
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May 10, 2013 15:43
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Chair Huxtable posted:Jumping in to tell you yes, go to Laos. I really enjoyed Laos and the people there were just lovely. I haven't made it to Cambodia yet for anything other than a visa run. I would like to visit, but all the problems I've had at the border, getting visas, dealing with the Cambodians on Koh Chang etc have soured me towards visiting the country. I've been told that once you get into the country it all smooths out, but I've not been willing to risk all the nonsense. Is it really so amazing, goons? Ignore the guys on the border, Cambodians are some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. And yeah, Angkor is definitely worth the trip.
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May 10, 2013 17:11
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Yeah, that particular border checkpoint down at Koh Kong is the single worst one I've ever been through. I've never had an experience like that anywhere else (I've spoken about this before). Definitely do not judge Cambodia based on that.
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May 10, 2013 17:56
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Hey, I'm going to spend about a month in Vietnam, and I'm trying to settle on my route from Saigon to Hanoi. Definitely want to see Angkor Wat, as well, but beyond that it is all a bit up in the air. Following the coast seems to make the most sense logistically, which would suggest Dalat, Nha trang, Hoi An, Hue and Ha Long bay, plus hopefully Sapa. Looks like that route might be a bit frowned upon in this thread, so I would like to see what other routes you all would recommend. Beyond that, any specific tips on nice hostels (or cheaper hotels) or food would be great. I'm pretty used to backpacking in China, where train was my preferred transport, but Vietnam seems a bit more bus-centric than I am used to. Any tips on the best ways to get from city to city? I should probably mention I will be traveling with my girlfriend, which seems to make double rooms almost as reasonable as dorm beds. Thanks!
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May 10, 2013 22:30
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Probably want to take a left somewhere around Saigon to make it by Angkor Wat on your way, heh.
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May 10, 2013 22:38
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I did that route, except I didn't go to Hue. Dalat is pretty weird, it's half alpine forest and half jungle. There's not really a lot there, though. There's not much reason to go the Nha Trang, either, unless you want to go to the water park. And go to Hanoi, it's awesome and Ha Long Bay is only maybe two hours away from it. I took overnight tourist buses and had no problems. They were pretty comfortable and the drivers were a lot more conservative than the cars, motos and local buses. There's also a train line that does basically that entire route but it's anywhere from 2-5x as expensive. (Or just fly, these are pretty huge distances. It's something like 20 hours between Hoi An and Hanoi.) if I were you I'd go to Cambodia from Saigon, then just fly to Hanoi and do the northern stuff. You won't really miss much in the middle of the country. duralict fucked around with this message at 22:47 on May 10, 2013 |
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May 10, 2013 22:42
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I enjoyed the coast for Hue and Hoi An, but yeah Nha Trang is nothing special unless you're desperate to do a beach town (Hoi An has beaches nearby anyway, and is much nicer despite being very touristy). Seconding that Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are awesome and worth a visit.Karma Rocket posted:I'm pretty used to backpacking in China, where train was my preferred transport, but Vietnam seems a bit more bus-centric than I am used to. Any tips on the best ways to get from city to city? I should probably mention I will be traveling with my girlfriend, which seems to make double rooms almost as reasonable as dorm beds. If you're used to getting the trains in China you'll find Vietnam/Cambodia much easier. I actually hated the night buses in Vietnam, but my experience was probably soured by a) travelling during Tet, and b) travelling the day after getting the worst food poisoning.
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May 11, 2013 03:48
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On that note, is that private consortium's train program back up and running again in Cambodia, Tytan? I was there when there was the big falling out, but I never heard what came of it.
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May 11, 2013 03:53
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 OK fish you're proved your point
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May 11, 2013 03:54
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looks a little bit like secret pinnacle at sail rock these days, if you squint hard enouh
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May 11, 2013 04:11
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ReindeerF posted:On that note, is that private consortium's train program back up and running again in Cambodia, Tytan? I was there when there was the big falling out, but I never heard what came of it. Haven't seen much about it recently to be honest, but last I heard it was still suspended. I think the only services that are running currently are the freight train to Kampot, and maybe the Sihanoukville one.
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May 11, 2013 05:25
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eviljelly posted:looks a little bit like secret pinnacle at sail rock these days, if you squint hard enouh That was my first thought. Sail Rock rules even if those damned whale sharks never show up.
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May 11, 2013 07:47
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MothraAttack posted:That was my first thought. Sail Rock rules even if those damned whale sharks never show up. were you there for bull sharks last year? loving glorious
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May 11, 2013 12:55
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So I now live in Kuala Lumpur (for the next year or so anyway). Goddamn I did not expect to end up somewhere in SEA where beer is expensive, I kind of hoped it was just because my work and where I'm currently staying is slap bang in the central business district and it was just downtown prices but work colleagues assure me it's all alcohol taxes. $6 for a Carlsberg is super steep  On the other hand once I've gotten settled into my job and found somewhere to live the plan is to head out and find somewhere nice to go diving. Sadly luggage allowance and the whole needing to take stuff to live meant most of my diving gear is not with me so I get to re-experience hire kit. Any recommendations for diving beyond the super nature reserve, book 6 months in advance places everyone here seems to have heard of? I am woefully ignorant when it comes to dive sites around here as my preference is wreck diving. Spending some time in warm water with pretty sea-life would be a welcome change from what I'm used to though.
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May 11, 2013 14:28
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| # ? Jun 12, 2024 12:08 |
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MrNemo posted:So I now live in Kuala Lumpur (for the next year or so anyway). Goddamn I did not expect to end up somewhere in SEA where beer is expensive, I kind of hoped it was just because my work and where I'm currently staying is slap bang in the central business district and it was just downtown prices but work colleagues assure me it's all alcohol taxes. $6 for a Carlsberg is super steep I've heard repeatedly that outside of the main cities, tourist areas and the border it's very hard to find beer in Malaysia. Not sure if that's true, I've always been in KL and Penang.
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May 11, 2013 14:41
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