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Has anybody taken the train from HCMC to Hanoi? We'll be spending a few days in and around each city and are considering taking the train to see some of the countryside instead of flying.
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Aug 4, 2013 10:52
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Yeah, I just said "to hell with it" and went anyway. Khao san was very khao san-y. MBK was still stuffed full of crap and the gravy at the Londoner is amazing. I really appreciate Bangkok a lot more when I don't live there.
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Aug 4, 2013 12:32
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Saint Fu posted:Has anybody taken the train from HCMC to Hanoi? We'll be spending a few days in and around each city and are considering taking the train to see some of the countryside instead of flying. I took the train from Dong Ha to Hanoi and it was pretty comfortable. It was night so I didn't get to see any sights but apparently there's stretches where the sights are amazing (Hoi An/Danang to Hue). I had a upper berth hard sleeper which was comfy enough for my purposes but not something that I'd book for a 3 day trip. Go with lower berth soft or hard sleepers so you'll get to see the sights. Or if you're pinching pennies, book at least one lower berth sleeper. Seat 61 has everything that you'll ever want to know about taking the train. And has anybody been to Brunei? I'm going to be flying over to Kuching and flying out of Kota Kinabalu so I'm going to end up crossing the border in between. Is it worth spending a night in Bandar Seri Begawan or somewhere else in Brunei? If not, I'm just going to zip past and get some cool stamps.
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Aug 4, 2013 15:20
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Just took the train from Hanoi to Hoi An this morning. Definitely go for a lower beet soft sleeper if you want to see the sights. The stretch around Hue to Da Nang is beautiful and I missed out. Duckmaster come meet me in HCM for fun party times. Failing that I'm thinking of hitting up Indonesia for a week. What are the must see places?
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Aug 4, 2013 17:33
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bergeoisie posted:I hope your train journey goes better than ours. I woke up from a nap to notice that the train was going backwards. Turns out the engine wasn't strong enough to pull us up a hill. We had to wait in the bustling metropolis of Mae Tan Noi for a while until another engine could come out to help. I can handle a 12 hour train ride, but 16 hours begins to try my patience. Could be worse though, one of the overnight trains Bangkok-Chiang Mai trains derailed the other night. Well, this supposed 23:30 Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai sleeper train is off to a rough start with things being said like 'no come' and 'delayed'. How will I enjoy my 13 hour train trip now???
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Aug 4, 2013 17:42
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Pickpocketing in Bangkok: we were in Chinatown today, and while we were walking in that long, narrow, cramped market street right in the middle of the district, my friend got his ID, driving license and some money taken from his pocket. Luckily, he had his passport and credit card not in his wallet but in another, more secure pocket, so it's not that bad: everything can be remade once we're back home, with minimal hassle. We wanted to go to the local police station to make a report, but the tourist police lady on the phone seemed to say that it was corrupt. So we went back to the hotel to ask for another police station, but it was late already so we still haven't reported the theft. The problem is, we have a plane to Krabi to catch tomorrow afternoon... So here i am again, seeking wisdom: do you guys think we'll have enough time to go to a police station tomorrow morning to get that drat report filled? Do you have one particular station to recommend or to avoid in the vicinity of Silom/Lumphini? Bonus silly question: is it possible to report the theft once in Krabi?
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Aug 4, 2013 17:43
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Brimmy posted:Just took the train from Hanoi to Hoi An this morning. Definitely go for a lower beet soft sleeper if you want to see the sights. The stretch around Hue to Da Nang is beautiful and I missed out. How long you in HCM for?? I am heading back to Siem Reap tomorrow but a jaunt to Vietnam might be fun. In other news since I hated Koh Samui etc is there anything similar to the Full Moon Party but not in south Thailand? I'm thinking Vietnam is my best bet? My experience with Koh Samui suggests I'm not going to enjoy it on those islands.
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Aug 4, 2013 18:28
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That's amazing. I've had one friend who was carrying his girlfriend's purse when it got snatched (it actually ends up being a funny story), but this is the only other random foreigner robbery I've heard of. I'm sorry it happened to you. You should probably file a police report just for purposes of any future claims that may arise (who knows), but I wouldn't expect much. The Tourist Police are like the boy scouts of the RTP and when it comes to theft I can't imagine they're particularly active - and especially with such easily transferable goods there's probably zero they can do. Maybe if you had a car stolen or something large and traceable. You should message Pompous Rhombus (sp) about this topic. He's a goon and has PMs. I am biting my tongue to ask if this happened in the Thieves Market area. I also hate people who Monday morning QB and I don't mean it like this, but even after living here so long, when I'm in heavily touristed areas I'll keep my hands in both front pockets while I walk just in case. It's no guarantee, but pickpocketing isn't all that advanced or common here typically. Again, very sorry this happened to you in our fair city. Like any good Thai resident I will blame some regional foreigner, regardless of whether it's true. EDIT: Filing a police report isn't all that hard. Takes maybe 15-30 minutes depending on how busy they are and whether they can speak English and it costs just a bit as I recall. I had to file one for a lost bank book. If you guys pass back through let me know, I'll come buy you dinner or something. This poo poo shouldn't happen here - sorry! ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Aug 4, 2013 |
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Aug 4, 2013 19:11
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duckmaster posted:How long you in HCM for?? I am heading back to Siem Reap tomorrow but a jaunt to Vietnam might be fun. Probably the Castaways Halong Bay tour with Hanoi Backpackers.
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Aug 5, 2013 02:51
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ReindeerF posted:That's amazing. I've had one friend who was carrying his girlfriend's purse when it got snatched (it actually ends up being a funny story), but this is the only other random foreigner robbery I've heard of. I'm sorry it happened to you. You should probably file a police report just for purposes of any future claims that may arise (who knows), but I wouldn't expect much. The Tourist Police are like the boy scouts of the RTP and when it comes to theft I can't imagine they're particularly active - and especially with such easily transferable goods there's probably zero they can do. Maybe if you had a car stolen or something large and traceable. No need to be sorry, nothing of real importance was snatched, so it won't ruin our trip. This could have happened in any street market just about anywhere else in the world. Actually, this is more a wound to the ego than anything else, and the only person i'm angered at is myself. I should have noticed that something odd was happening (you know, two women hindering your way seemingly on purpose in a very narrow and very crowded street, and another one behind you shouting because the flow is too slow...) but of course, i only did afterwards. The place was ideal for that kind of theft, so yes, i'll assume this must have been the Thieves Market area (the name of the street is Soi Wanit 1/Sampeng Lane). Thanks for the info about the police though, i was afraid it could take several hours but i'm relieved somewhat. We'll definitely come back to Thailand again, if only to visit the north of the country, so we'll be up for a drink or two when we do!
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Aug 5, 2013 03:26
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Has anyone used airbnb in general and specifically in Vietnam? Also, is the Mekong Delta area by Saigon a day trip?
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Aug 5, 2013 03:35
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In general, it's excellent. Bangkok was the first city it added in Asia for its neighborhood guides recently, so we have a lot of coverage. I wouldn't say it's great for grabbing bottom dollar deals in Southeast Asia, but if you want to stay somewhere interesting at a mid-range price I find it pretty handy.
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Aug 5, 2013 03:49
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I remember people talking about Halong Bay and someone saying the 2 day 1 night thing was too much and you really only need a day. I'm also wondering if the Mekong Delta tours (i guess those exist) can be done in a day. I'm not sure what I expect to be doing in the city, but it feels weird entrusting half my time to a tour.
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Aug 5, 2013 03:58
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DontAskKant posted:Also, is the Mekong Delta area by Saigon a day trip? There might be day trips, considering My Tho/Ben Tre are about 3 hours from Saigon. A lot of travel agencies are in the backpacker district. On a different note, last Saturday, a 5th friend got his phone robbed at GO2. Literally 2 minutes after I warned him about pickpockets, he had his phone in his breast pocket.
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Aug 5, 2013 04:37
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DontAskKant posted:I remember people talking about Halong Bay and someone saying the 2 day 1 night thing was too much and you really only need a day. I'm also wondering if the Mekong Delta tours (i guess those exist) can be done in a day. I'm not sure what I expect to be doing in the city, but it feels weird entrusting half my time to a tour. It is a 5 hour drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay so you'll probably end up spending more time in a crowded minibus than the cruise so... I did a 2 day/1 night cruise and really enjoyed it. I booked mine like a day using this site and ended up on Phoenix Luxury Cruiser after asking for a mid-range cruise around $130 total for a solo traveler.
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Aug 5, 2013 04:51
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Found/made a cool Hitler dog with tits avatar who wants it http://i.imgur.com/Z5aVgH7.png
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Aug 5, 2013 05:00
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Worth it? I'm almost thinking it might be better to do the nature stuff with a friend over a longer stay, I'd have to come down next year. Just not sure if either city has 4 days of stuff for someone not familiar with the area and non-fluent.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:00
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Tomato Soup posted:It is a 5 hour drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay so you'll probably end up spending more time in a crowded minibus than the cruise so...
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Aug 5, 2013 05:08
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^ Single Supplements are where you get a guaranteed room to yourself, instead of sharing with someone else. It's the fee they tack onto the base fare. (I'm gambling on being odd-one-out in my tours, and bringing earplugs to deal with annoying weirdos if that fails.) Any good air-travel tips? I haven't been on an intercontinental flight since I was 18, and I'm really dreading the 15 hour Vancouver -> Hong Kong haul. Also wondering if I'm gonna have any trouble finding my way through Hong Kong airport to my Hanoi flight. I have zero language skills other than English and enough French to get in trouble. e: Holy poo poo you guys answer fast. Pixelante fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 05:09
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Pixelante posted:^ Single Supplements are where you get a guaranteed room to yourself, instead of sharing with someone else. e: re:single supplements, thanks!
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Aug 5, 2013 05:10
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HK is an oasis of English language and also a very cosmopolitan city. HKIA and Changi are probably the two best airports I've ever had layovers in. You'll be fine. Hell, there's even Popeye's Chicken, heh. Note: Do not eat there, it is poo poo. EDIT EDIT: In Asia, Popeye's is a Muslim chicken joint. True story. Try explaining that back in America. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 05:10
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ReindeerF posted:Hell, there's even Popeye's Chicken, heh. Several friends who had tasted Popeye's in the US and I went to the opening of the first Popeye's franchise here in Manila several years ago. We immediately ordered a dozen biscuits since these were the things we missed the most. They tasted worse than Bisquick crap. That restaurant closed less than 8 months later.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:24
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You nailed my favorite part here: the biscuits. Yeah, I can't even figure out what they were thinking. The drat biscuits in the US, as deadly as they are, are the thing everyone remembers about Popeye's (aside from horrible service). How they hosed that up is beyon- oh wait, it's Southeast Asia. I freely admit to being a regular at Manila Chili's when I was there (also TGI Friday's), which I would never say back home. It's a sad state of affairs when the most generic America chain has some of the best chips & salsa in Asia.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:32
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For some reason, biscuits is the thing I miss the most from home. It's awful seeing KFCs everywhere and knowing that they don't sell biscuits  I don't even eat at KFC much but one of the first things I'm going to do when I get back to the states is to head to KFC and buy a bunch of biscuits, cover them in honey, devour it all.Saint Fu posted:That looks pretty nice, any idea what the $60 "2 Day/1 Night (Single Supplement)" is? An extra charge because they're not getting as much money from you compared to a two-person booking. It is the most annoying thing ever to deal with as a solo traveler but by emailing for a recommendation and giving a budget, I managed to get a better deal than shown even with the single supplement included. Probably helped that I was booking at the last minute too 
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Aug 5, 2013 05:35
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Well, it has a little bit of competition here in Manila for salsa: a Chipotle ripoff chain.  I swear, the Philippines has the most US chain ripoffs that actually come reasonably close to the original. Which just screws them over worse when the originals finally arrive.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:40
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We don't have the biscuits in Canada either. I still vividly remember how delicious the ones in California were, though.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:44
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I never thought of it that way, but that makes sense, heh. On the other hand, Jollibee manages to stand out among a world of poo poo chain burger joints (McDonald's, Wendy's, etc) as being the absolute most rancid. There's something in the (Luzon, at least) Pinoy palate I will never understand! "Here, try adobo - isn't that great?" :forced smile:
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Aug 5, 2013 05:46
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erobadapazzi posted:My husband and I are heading to the Philippines in a couple of days. We've already got flights booked to Manila, and from there to Puerto Princesa. We'll stay one night in Puerto Princesa (already booked a room) and then head to El Nido the next morning. We already have a room booked in Corong Corong, too. We'll be there for 5 nights. I'm having a difficult time figuring out how much cash we should take with us up to El Nido. We're not trying to do super budget, but we're not particularly extravagant, either. We enjoy eating nice food. We'll likely want to do a boat tour or two, some kayaking, and stuff like that while we're there (weather permitting). Does anybody have any advice for figuring out how much we might need? In case this got missed at the bottom of the page... Does anybody know anything? Also, to the guy asking about Brunei: A few years ago we drove from Kuching to KK (necessarily going through Brunei). Be prepared for a lot of border crossings. I want to say we got something like 11 stamps in a day from going in and out of Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei. We spent one night in Brunei, and I enjoyed it. We took a tour of the floating village from one of the water taxi guys and walked around looking at stuff.
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Aug 5, 2013 05:55
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ReindeerF posted:I never thought of it that way, but that makes sense, heh. On the other hand, Jollibee manages to stand out among a world of poo poo chain burger joints (McDonald's, Wendy's, etc) as being the absolute most rancid. There's something in the (Luzon, at least) Pinoy palate I will never understand! My bros think Jollibee's burgers and fries beat out McDo's anytime, and while I'd say it's more of a taste thing with the burgers, the clown's fries are the real winner here. Haven't had a non-chain burger and fries in a while though. When I get the time I'll finally hit that new In N' Out in Taguig since that stuff was amazing when I went to the States, though I've heard people complain it didn't live up to the original.
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Aug 5, 2013 06:51
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RE: Cash in Palawan It's better to be safe than sorry. There really are NO ATMs outside of Puerto Princesa. I ran into lots of people in El Nido who had to make the extremely uncomfortable, 12-hour roundtrip back to Puerto Princesa because they ran out of money. There's also a gas station in El Nido that will sometimes let you do a cash advance, but you have to tell them how much you want a day in advance and then show up early in the morning. If I recall correctly, I went through about $350 in 10 days despite not indulging much, and on the last day or two I was really worried about running out of cash.
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Aug 5, 2013 06:54
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I've tried the In N' Out. Definitely not as good as the original, but not necessarily bad per se. I think it really comes down to the quality of beef being different here.
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Aug 5, 2013 06:57
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duckmaster posted:How long you in HCM for?? I am heading back to Siem Reap tomorrow but a jaunt to Vietnam might be fun. I'm in Hoi An now at the moment. Probably going to Nha Thrang or Da Lat on Wednesday and back in HCM for Saturday. I've got another week after that before I have to head back to work so I can even be convinced to head somewhere (Indonesia) for a boozy week.
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Aug 5, 2013 12:09
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duckmaster posted:How long you in HCM for?? I am heading back to Siem Reap tomorrow but a jaunt to Vietnam might be fun. What did you hate about Koh Samui? I admit to not being a huge fan of Koh Samui but had fun at the FMP and still call Koh Tao my favorite island.
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Aug 5, 2013 13:23
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Aaw, I might not be in HCMC this Saturday, will most likely be in Nha Trang. Well, if the plan still works, I'm not so sure anymore.
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Aug 5, 2013 13:46
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Samui is a piece of the mainland they just happened to put on an island.
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Aug 5, 2013 13:46
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eviljelly posted:Samui is a piece of the mainland they just happened to put on an island. I usually call it Bangkok island. Phuket (specifically Patong) seems to be more like Koh Pattaya.
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Aug 5, 2013 13:50
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eviljelly comes out of loving nowhere! I used to loathe Samui, then I visited Phuket, Samet and some other places. I kind of agree with eviljelly's post, if you add the phrase "totally self-governed, lawless bizarro Thailand" before the word "piece." Some friends of a close friend lived down there in Lamai for like a year when I first moved here, though, and we got invited down for a week. After that visit, I actually really liked it. The loving characters down there are hilarious. Often tragic, but hilarious. Tony Samui arguing with his wife constantly, the strip of poo poo beer bars all named after the banks the owners ripped off before fleeing the UK and so on. It also manages to be pretty safe as Thailand's major international beach destinations go. The other two, Phuket and Pattaya, have a non-stop parade of taxi drivers beating up tourists, police shaking down tourists, jet ski scams and then local expat foreigners engaged in massive fraud, but Samui (while it of course has its share of problem types - hello biker gangs) somehow manages to stay fairly sane in the context of the totally insane bubble it exists in. EDIT: With all that said, I don't recommend it to tourists. I generally recommend Ao Nang or Koh Phangan or something if they ask. Still, living here, I find it kind of fascinating. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 13:52
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So is the Phuket / Krabi/Ko Phi Phi area tolerable to spend a good amount of time at if you're not one of the bros? I ask because I've just finished up the Laos/Cambodia run, and it seems like everything here is so drat pleasant and laid back that there's not too much to really do, other than trekking/tours to visit the local people, which I hate doing. And as much as I am not a part of the party crowd, my favorite so far has been Vang Vieng, since it was just so beautiful to sit and drink coffee staring out at those mountains, and then the rock climbing there was pretty great. So I was thinking of heading to the Krabi region, since it's the only other place I can really find that has rock climbing (other than Hanoi Bay) and it sounds pretty enough to justify lazing around reading while recovering for days. But the more I read the more I think it's not what I'm picturing in my head.
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Aug 5, 2013 14:51
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Ao Nang is very relaxing and offers all the rock climbing and diving and so on that you'll want - it's also just opposite Phuket, so you can reach most of the same day trips from there. It's not the single most exciting place ever and half of it closes down during low season, but it's actually quite fun and pretty and has all the amenities you'll need without the hassle of Phuket. It's currently just entering the last half of the low season in Ao Nang, which isn't the end of the world, but a lot of stuff really does shut down. Like half the restaurants and things just have "closed until August" signs, so they may be open now. On the plus side there are a lot of cheap deals and it's not crowded, but on the minus side a lot of the tours don't operate, which really irks me. I wanted to go cliff diving and no one could take me, they just basically stopped doing it until tourism picked up again toward November. I swear one of them said something about the water being low that time of year (maybe they meant low tide), but I got the feeling that may have been a cop out - it's the ocean after all, not a river. EDIT: Ao Nang is basically what people mean when they say "Krabi." Krabi Town in Krabi province is cool, but Ao Nang is the beach everyone goes to. Note: it's about a 30-45 minute ride from the airport, so schedule that in. Also, no need for an alarm clock if you stay up the hill from the beach as the mosque will handle wake-up duties for you.
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Aug 5, 2013 15:11
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ReindeerF posted:I wanted to go cliff diving and no one could take me, they just basically stopped doing it until tourism picked up again toward November. I swear one of them said something about the water being low that time of year (maybe they meant low tide), but I got the feeling that may have been a cop out - it's the ocean after all, not a river. From what I recall of living in the south, the water is actually really low this time of year. Of course I wasn't that far south, but all of the beaches doubled in size.
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Aug 5, 2013 15:15
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