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Bangkok goon meet tomorrow? Planning to go to an open mic comedy night. More info here. Edit: Should probably warn you that it might not be funny, at all. Or it might be so bad it becomes funny. Ringo R fucked around with this message at 12:26 on Nov 3, 2013 |
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Nov 3, 2013 12:21
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Guessing the latter.
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Nov 3, 2013 13:56
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A ferry from Koh Larn to Pattaya has capsized, and early reports don't look good. I suppose ferries might not be the safest way to travel the Kingdom, after all.
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Nov 3, 2013 14:58
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Saw that, yeah. When we hit the once-a-month rate of the Phils I'll get worried, heh.
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Nov 3, 2013 15:14
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That's comforting to know when you're currently in a place where you only can leave via ferry 
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Nov 4, 2013 00:30
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Ringo R posted:Bangkok goon meet tomorrow? Planning to go to an open mic comedy night. More info here. What time are you going?
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Nov 4, 2013 06:23
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Hey there long term SE Asia expats, just wanted to remind you about what you were missing back home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1-i8xW_1jo
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Nov 4, 2013 06:52
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Ganguro King posted:What time are you going? 8pm My number zero eight 221688 one zero Ringo R fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 07:29
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Senso posted:
I'm guessing Martin took this because we were sitting directly on that table to the left. The street was so full of motorbikes that it was almost impossible to cross. I had to resort to stiffarming motorbikes and climbing over them it was ridiculous. All the Vietnamese people were just cruising through on their bikes to gawk, although there wasn't much to gawk at and then the traffic came to a complete stop. Not really sure what they were trying to accomplish there, it was a pretty unspectacular night. And I took a tab of e but it was actually something else more hallucinogenic and somehow ended up at quiz night at the spotted cow which I failed spectacularly. All in all a good Halloween. oh yeah btw I'm still alive Play fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 09:35
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The ferry driver did what every commercial driver does after an accident in Thailand: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/11/04/terror-sea-thai-tourist-ferry-sinks
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Nov 4, 2013 10:01
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More protests in Bangkok. This is apparently Silom a few hours ago: 
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Nov 4, 2013 10:59
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Is this in response to yesterday's election?
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Nov 4, 2013 11:07
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Amnesty Bill passed the House and is headed to the Senate, it's the thing Thaksin's party have been trying to ram through since they got re-elected and it's basically a way to let him back into the country and into politics. The opposition are angry about it. There's some discussion (okay mostly me yammering) in the D&D thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3490581&pagenumber=28#post421232004 Takeaway for tourists, avoid taking taxis between about 07:00 and 20:00 for now, heh. Skytrains, Subways, Airport Links and boats - a good time to learn the canal boat routes. The protests are all over town, and school just started again, so traffic's a nightmare everywhere. EDIT: If you're not familiar, this is a good time to look into the Guy Fawkes mask protest organization here, which is just hilariously, awfully dumb irony when you look at it in context. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 11:57 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 11:21
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So am I gonna be screwed getting from mo chit (The bus station, not the BTS station) to silom on Wednesday afternoon? I was hoping there'd be some sort of bus to the skytrain. So I've spent almost two weeks in northern Thailand, here's some general impressions: I don't get why farang love Chiang Mai so much. The walled city is massively overdeveloped, and everything outside of it isn't unique or anything. Northern food is awesome though. If you haven't tried Burmese food, the swan(not far from Mike's Burger) is a good place to start; I had a good curry and a very good tea leaf salad. Not too far from wat phra singh, SP chicken has awesome isaan food: order the chicken (obviously), the beef salad, and the son tam (make sure they prepare it spicy). Despite the awful name, Diva guesthouse is probabaly now my favorite place to stay in Thailand. Really good staff, super cheap dorm rooms, and a great group of other travelers. Samy's is a great place to do a cooking class. 1,000 baht gets you an eight hour class, with a market tour, five or six courses, a siesta, and a cookbook. Everyone shared their food, so I ended up eating a ridiculous amount. Because I cook a lot of Thai at home, I was familiar with making most of the dishes. That said, I still had an awesome time, and this is a particularly awesome way to get your feet wet if you aren't super exposed to Thai cooking. It sucks I got sick and had to spend an extra few days in Pai. Aside from the scenery, it'd be hard to identify any redeeming qualities. If you're looking to hang out with foreigners all day, do outdoor activities, and eat western food, just go to Phi Phi or something. Despite being about 6 hours from Chiang mai (and maybe two and a half from pai) via minivan, Mae hong son is definitely worth a look. I originally went to go trekking, but I still wasn't feeling great, so In decided to give it a pass. I did hear, however, that it's probably one of the better places to do it in northern Thailand. Either way, I had a good time walking up to the wat on the hill, strolling around the lake, etc. Currently in Sukhothai. The despite the fact that the new city is a bit dreary, I like it purely because I haven't seen a single "organic vegetarian restaurant" or middle aged dreadlocked lady. Will visit the old city in the morning. All in all, a very mixed bag. Any Vietnam suggestions besides "don't get ripped off/harassed/run over"? I've got a flight in to Saigon, out of Hanoi, and not much in between. Literally any info would be cool. xcdude24 fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 14:40
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Play posted:I'm guessing Martin took this because we were sitting directly on that table to the left. The street was so full of motorbikes that it was almost impossible to cross. I had to resort to stiffarming motorbikes and climbing over them it was ridiculous. All the Vietnamese people were just cruising through on their bikes to gawk, although there wasn't much to gawk at and then the traffic came to a complete stop. Not really sure what they were trying to accomplish there, it was a pretty unspectacular night. And I took a tab of e but it was actually something else more hallucinogenic and somehow ended up at quiz night at the spotted cow which I failed spectacularly. All in all a good Halloween. oh yeah btw I'm still alive I think that's Martin in the black shirt, bottom left, he sent me the picture in any case. Good to know you're still alive and doing drugs.  That traffic thing happens on any foreign holiday, their idea of fun on a holiday celebrated by westerners is to go out and get stuck in the traffic. Christmas, New Year, don't take your bike to go downtown it's terrible.
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Nov 4, 2013 14:47
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I'm booking my flights soon. December can't come fast enough.
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Nov 4, 2013 15:19
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xcdude24 posted:So am I gonna be screwed getting from mo chit (The bus station, not the BTS station) to silom on Wednesday afternoon? I was hoping there'd be some sort of bus to the skytrain. xcdude24 posted:I don't get why farang love Chiang Mai so much. xcdude24 posted:Mae hong son is definitely worth a look. xcdude24 posted:Currently in Sukhothai. The despite the fact that the new city is a bit dreary, I like it purely because I haven't seen a single "organic vegetarian restaurant" or middle aged dreadlocked lady. Will visit the old city in the morning. eviljelly posted:I'm booking my flights soon. December can't come fast enough. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 15:24
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I don't wanna leave Bangkok.  Back to Luang Prabang tomorrow. e: The German girl says that smoking opium is not addictive, it's just processed stuff that's bad for you. Because, it's like, natural. And traditional. Pixelante fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 19:00
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Next, she will invite you to go do a cleanse with her, which is healthy because _________.
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Nov 5, 2013 03:45
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If I wanna find a place in Thailand where I can chill and go snorkeling and see pretty fish in the day and eat lots of local food as well what and where should I be looking at? Not being surrounded by hundreds of other tourists would be a moderate plus, but I'd rather have value and accessibility than solitude.
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Nov 5, 2013 06:12
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Pixelante posted:I don't wanna leave Bangkok. That is the best dumb thing I've ever heard. well if it's so good for you why doesn't whole foods sell opium huh
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Nov 5, 2013 06:21
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Pixelante posted:e: The German girl says that smoking opium is not addictive, it's just processed stuff that's bad for you. Because, it's like, natural. And traditional.
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Nov 5, 2013 06:22
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Eifert Posting posted:If I wanna find a place in Thailand where I can chill and go snorkeling and see pretty fish in the day and eat lots of local food as well what and where should I be looking at? Not being surrounded by hundreds of other tourists would be a moderate plus, but I'd rather have value and accessibility than solitude. Now, Finch and eviljelly, please come in and tear me a new one. \/\/\/ Ah, yeah, forgot about the food. SG is right, islands and beaches have the worst food, typically cooked by recently imported immigrant labor who understandably hate their jobs. It doesn't help that Southern Thai cuisine (where all this stuff is), while often excellent, is a pretty repetitive mix of seafood, coconut curries and heavily spicy/salty dishes. Maybe you could snorkel the khlongs in Bangkok, we have great food ^__^ Might find some nice watches and iPhones. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 06:32
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Most of the places with a lot of local food aren't big snorkeling / fish areas. Good snorkeling/diving attracts a lot of tourism and a lot of tourists disrupts the quality / price / authenticity of the food. Your desire to see fish is mutually exclusive to your desire to not be surrounded by oodles of tourists (except for maybe Koh Tarutao, but there are no accommodations there, you bring a tent and food and camp). Your desire to eat well interferes with your desire to see fish but not as strongly. Food is strongest in the least touristed provincial capitals. Khorat has several food courts (including the AC one in The Mall) that would dizzy you. The city is is a flat cattle/rice place though with not much else to do there, and the only fish are swimming in hot oil. Hat Yai has its stuff more spread out but it has excellent representations of various harder-to-find Southern Thai dishes and a strong ethnic Chinese population (best dim sum in Thailand is there probably) plus a Thai muslim population (no pork Thais lol). Since the fish are mostly in the south maybe you could alternate between the beach for a few fishy days and Hat Yai for a few to eat. Maybe rank fish, solitude, accessibility, food and whatever else in order of importance for us. I don't think you can have stunning food and stunning snorkeling in the same place (but every beach town does have a few okay places to eat, never a great one, never a lot of funky local ones). If you decide to go more on the fishy side just ask the Thai staff on the island where they eat. Usually around the hill and down toward the bog they'll show you to a little shanty area where all the staff at the resorts lives and there will be a few restaurants in there that make real Thai food (instead of a pineapple hollowed out with pad thai stuck in there). raton fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 06:35
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I had my first run in with a SE Asian deifying Hitler. An Indonesian history major, and I'm still waiting to find out it's a huge troll. Apparently the WW2 book their university used says how awesome he was and gives a very pro... Nazi? I guess not Axis because this person hates the Japanese because of atrocities, but the Nazi atrocities weren't atrocities and were in fact great deeds for mankind. Though this person was shocked to learn that it wasn't just Jews that were killed, that part wasn't so good apparently. Did i just meet a nutjob? The claim is that the entire department thinks this way. And "all Indonesians..." 
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Nov 5, 2013 07:21
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Other goons can tell you more, but the goofball fetish that Thais have for Nazi uniforms is a very different thing from the open anti-semitism you see down in the Muslim democracies to our South. The Thai people really just think it's cute and have no idea about Western history, while the Muslim countries to the South openly sell copies of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion at airport bookstores along with plenty of other HOW THE JEWS ARE STEALING ______ books and things. I have no idea if that's where this guy's Hitler fetish comes from, but given the whole syncretic anti-Chinese/Muslim/anti-Israel/anti-Semitic thing going on down there it wouldn't surprise me. Note: I am not suggesting that all of Malaysia and Indonesia are anti-Semitic or Hitler worshippers or whatever, just that it seems perfectly publicly acceptable there to openly express anti-Semitic viewpoints and publish stuff that blames the Jews for any old thing. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 07:32
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DontAskKant posted:I had my first run in with a SE Asian deifying Hitler. An Indonesian history major, and I'm still waiting to find out it's a huge troll. Apparently the WW2 book their university used says how awesome he was and gives a very pro... Nazi? I guess not Axis because this person hates the Japanese because of atrocities, but the Nazi atrocities weren't atrocities and were in fact great deeds for mankind. Though this person was shocked to learn that it wasn't just Jews that were killed, that part wasn't so good apparently. The other idea that's quietly around - remember kids, communism wants to wipe out Islam, and so do the Jewish. Who cares if a bunch of Jewish Communists got killed half a world away? Most of them know better than to bring it up around the Western teachers, but it leaks through occasionally and it's pretty loving horrifying. N.B. THIS THOUGHT PROCESS REPRESENTS FAR FROM A MAJORITY OF INDONESIANS, but it's certainly present. EDIT w/ clarification: only a minority hold these views, but there doesn't seem to be any major condemnation of them either, and that's how they seem to get a lot more traction in the discourse than they rightfully should, and probably why your man thinks everybody agrees with him. SurreptitiousMuffin fucked around with this message at 07:51 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 07:39
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Hah, that's some roundabout logic. They must really love America, then!
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Nov 5, 2013 08:02
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Pixelante posted:I don't wanna leave Bangkok. Stupid things said by travellers I've met:
* May have been said by me. Don't know why I believed that for almost fifteen years.
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Nov 5, 2013 08:21
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That last one sounds like something a Thai person told a backpacker, heh.
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Nov 5, 2013 09:11
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ReindeerF posted:Hah, that's some roundabout logic. They must really love America, then! America is bad because it pushes it's culture and steals Indonesian gold (Dutch are pretty alright though). This is a friend so I had quite a bit of  However i was asked to give them some books with 'correct' history. So, I'm looking for books that are pretty competent ESL friendly.
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Nov 5, 2013 09:48
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Senso posted:I think that's Martin in the black shirt, bottom left, he sent me the picture in any case. Good to know you're still alive and doing drugs. Hey it was Martin who gave it to me! But yeah I guess some things never change do they. You can change the place you live but that doesn't change the person you are! Which is lucky because I'm not sure im ready to become a vietnamese person
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Nov 5, 2013 09:54
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xcdude24 posted:Currently in Sukhothai. The despite the fact that the new city is a bit dreary, I like it purely because I haven't seen a single "organic vegetarian restaurant" or middle aged dreadlocked lady. Will visit the old city in the morning. At that rate you should've come over to Mae Sot, if only to eat Burmese food much better and cheaper than The Swan. I'm with you on the Chiang Mai thing, though. Good food, some cool sights, but not much else.
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Nov 5, 2013 09:56
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Indonesia kinda got hosed over by Suharto's reign, with regards to anti-communism.
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Nov 5, 2013 10:18
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OK followup which Thai city would I be most likely to run into goons who will cater to the fact that I am basically a walking swarm of locusts while on vacation and show me the good stuff?
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Nov 5, 2013 11:22
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I don't know what the locusts mean, but the greatest preponderance of us at any given time are in Bangkok. Mothra's up in the hills near Burma with his child army, Finch and eviljelly are sometimes on Koh Tao romancing Swedish tourists and Chair is in Hua Hin dodging sex pensioners on her scooter. I think that covers our entire population, which averages about 3, heh. EDIT: Ringo, Ganguro King and I are implicitly in Bangkok, which is where most of the goon tourists pass through. EDIT EDIT: spog is also around, but never posts here, and there seems to be one or two other goons who maybe live here that show up in the thread from time to time, but I've never been clear on that. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 12:28 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 12:15
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Is she horribly sheltered, or just crazy? I'm gonna go with a heaping dose of sheltered with a liberal splash of not-so-bright. She isn't going to get me to do a cleanse with her because she's too busy plotting to rescue a starving kitten and nurse it back to health on the porch of her guest house room. Oh god I should probably go tell her not to give it milk.
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Nov 5, 2013 14:46
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I'm currently in Kuala Lumpur teaching English, assuming the locust thing refers to food I'd be happy to show a goon around but I don't know if there's anyone else about here. Bangkok seems to be the happening hub. Also that German girl sounds like a really special kind of dumb/sheltered. I knew a guy like that who'd gone to Eaton and was pretty much first time really abroad who just seemed baffled by things being different. He wasn't ill intentioned in anything he just didn't seem to have absorbed any kind of facts about, I guess life. Deciding to rescue a cat while temporarily travelling around seems like something pretty doomed to failure and tears before bedtime.
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Nov 5, 2013 15:15
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quote:Did you know that ice cream is actually made of seaweed?* There is actually a thickener (alginate) made from seaweed used in milkshakes and cheaper ice cream, this may be where the confusion stems.
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Nov 5, 2013 15:34
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MrNemo posted:I'm currently in Kuala Lumpur teaching English, Bro, you're doing it wrong
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Nov 5, 2013 16:01
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