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I dunno, that sounds like typical Somchai behavior. "Oh poo poo there's a problem" :panic without thinking: Still more will come out about what actually happened - or not. This is, after all, Thailand, heh. Any press that could affect tourism is heavily suppressed.
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Nov 16, 2013 21:34
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The shop owner responded on Thaivisa http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/682032-boat-captain-abandons-novice-us-divers-in-middle-of-the-ocean-in-thailand/page-6 quote:I've just joined this forum to post a reply. I am the owner of this dive company this story is about. I don't believe for a second that they have "strict set procedure in place" for something like this but the rest of it rings pretty true to me. Anyway although it was a pretty bad thing that these people were out in the middle of the ocean without knowing what the hell was happening, dive equipment includes a BCD, which keeps you fully buoyant on the surface, so it's hardly a problem to stay afloat for a half hour (or even several hours). The whole shark thing is really ridiculous - like this guy says, blacktip reef sharks are not dangerous at all.
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Nov 16, 2013 21:59
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I just read about this somewhere else and a comment said it was a longtail iirc so it's not definitely a case of miscounting.
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Nov 16, 2013 22:13
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Yeah, they were in a bit of a weird situation, but everyone has to be Indiana Jones back home for some reason. I can buy that.
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Nov 17, 2013 04:41
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So, last year my travel plans went a little screwy and I ended up doing an extremely abbreviated trip to Cambodia; like one evening and morning in Phnom Penh, the better part of a day spent in travel to Siem Reap, and then I think like 2.5 days biking around Angkor Wat. This year, I'm trying to decide if I want to shoot down to Bangkok and see Thailand for the first time, or if I want to go back to Cambodia and try and see/do the stuff I missed. I've got about 3 weeks of vacation, and I'm traveling solo so I can be pretty efficient/flexible about what I do and where I go. I'm not too worried about packing in a world of sights/activities/etc. I just want to go somewhere warm, eat some good food, blow off some steam, maybe get down to the ocean. Any thoughts?
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Nov 17, 2013 05:33
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Well, yesterday was one of those "that sucked, but could have been a lot worse" type days. Lots of flooding here in central Vietnam, and a 9 hour train ride took over 20. Meanwhile, hoi an (my next destination) got about 2 feet of flooding. Remarkably, things look pretty much back to normal here. In a way, I'm glad I did arrive super late, as I pretty much avoided any hassles with the flood
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Nov 17, 2013 05:49
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How is southern Vietnam in December? Trying to figure out how many days I should give myself in Vietnam before my flight and I don't want to get stuck somewhere by flooding and not get to Saigon by the 11th  I'd like to go up to Hoi An/Danang too before I leave but if it gets a lot of flooding, I'll pass on that.
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Nov 17, 2013 06:43
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Anyone have a decent list of places that are lovely to visit right now because of Haiyan damage?
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Nov 17, 2013 14:05
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Dear Malaysia: I do not want to hear a small choir singing silent night in a shopping mall in mid-November. Also Santa Claus probably shouldn't be listening to Auld Lang Syne. In mid-bloody November.
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Nov 17, 2013 14:15
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Apparently you've never been to the US. The last time I was there, the "Christmas creep" seeped into some stores before Halloween, even.
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Nov 17, 2013 14:17
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Christmas season in the Philippines starts at the "-ber" months, and sometimes even before. It's subtle at first: old-timey Christmas songs on the radio, etc. And then suddenly you're in a sea of green, red, and white.
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Nov 17, 2013 14:44
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Most big box stores in the US put out Christmas lawn poo poo along with Halloween poo poo now. The aisle will be 3/4ths Halloween and 1/4 Christmas and in New York there might be some Hanukkah kitsch stuck in there too.
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Nov 17, 2013 16:38
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Tomato Soup posted:How is southern Vietnam in December? Trying to figure out how many days I should give myself in Vietnam before my flight and I don't want to get stuck somewhere by flooding and not get to Saigon by the 11th Flooding shouldnt be a problem in december- a fair few of the streets are flooded in hoi an at the moment, and it's more of a spectacle than a nuisance. According to the locals, the monsoon is almost over. I've been pretty firmly on the tourist trail here in SE Asia, but Hoi An has to be the most touristy of them all; I'd say the best way to describe it is like the SE Asian Colonial Williamsburg. Despite the fact that I almost always hate places like this, I'm actually having a decent time. Hoi An is less of a place where you go to see what life in vietnam is like, and more of a place where you can take pictures of cool stuff and see really nice architecture. If you end up in hoi an, go to bale well restaurant. It has a bit more of a local vibe than most places in the town center, although there were definitely tourists quite a few tourists eating there. That being said, the ladies working there were awesome, and the food was great. Like a lot of Vietnamese food, it's a bit DIY: you take grilled pork, mixed greens, banh xeo (its a crepe that I think is made out rice flour?), and fried shrimp rolls, wrap it in rice paper, you dip it in mystery sauce. All the foreigners suck at making the rolls, so the ladies at the restaurant sit there and help you out. A bit pricey (100k not including drinks), but worth it given the staff and the huge portions- they WILL make you finish it. As for other places north of Saigon, Mui ne wasn't great: the beach was so-so, and the crowd was mostly honeymooners and Russian families. I kind of liked nha trang, which says a lot considering the fact that it was raining the whole time. I really like vietnam so far, maybe because the tourist trail is a bit less developed than Thailand? Or it's easier to get off the beaten path? Don't know how much time you have in vietnam, but transport is slow here, and flights are a bit pricey. The scenery on the train was by far the most stunning I've seen thus far. Compared to a bus, the price is a fair bit steeper, but it's a lot less hair raising, and you have unlimited food/bathroom access. About 90% of the foreigners here get around via open tour bus, so the vibe is much more local. I did nha trang-danang; there's a bus you can take to hoi an that leaves near the train station, although due to the delays caused by the floods, we got in too late to catch it. So yeah, probably way more info than you wanted.
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Nov 17, 2013 17:34
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If you're still in Hoi An do yourself a favour and go to Cafe 43. It's by far the best food I've ever had anywhere and some of the cheapest. They do a cooking course and I swear I've never eaten as well as I have there. duckmaster posted:There is a bar in Siem Reap called Tuk Tuk Bar which is basically just a tuk tuk converted into a bar. Original. There was a bar where I used to live here in Korea that was just a bus on some cinder blocks called "Bus bar". If you can't get a railway carraige that'd probably be cheaper as long as you don't mind getting sued for copyright infringement. 
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Nov 18, 2013 01:05
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That's a big trendy thing here in Bangkok. Like little VW buses with a window in the side that cranks open and there's a bar inside. They tend to leave the wheels on, which is helpful as you can just put the stools inside and drive it off at the end of the night.
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Nov 18, 2013 04:36
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drat, 31+ dead in central Vietnam and almost 100,000 houses flooded in Hoi An. Hopefully that's the last of this crazy rain season.
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Nov 18, 2013 05:37
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Escalatorchat: Imagine when they introduce these in South East Asia
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Nov 18, 2013 11:25
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Fairly sure there's some like that in the BKK airport. They scared me a bit, not gonna lie. The ones that allowed carts were pretty cool, why can't we have nice things like that in the states?  And I've been teaching people more insults, always fun when I see them out somewhere and they greet me by pointing at their buddy and signing the insult which confuses the buddy so they have to tell them what they just said then seeing the buddy's reaction is great. The insult of the day was idiot - people kept asking me how to sign stuff like fat, beard, etc then immediately calling someone that + idiot  On my boat today: bearded idiot, mustache idiot, fat/bald idiot, and prawn. I love being able to insult people underwater 
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Nov 18, 2013 12:01
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Jeoh posted:Escalatorchat: Imagine when they introduce these in South East Asia
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Nov 18, 2013 12:57
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This week on The Real World: Luang Prabang-- The party-crowd at Cold River Guesthouse has been sneaking back later and later past curfew, often smuggling moderately attractive (yet hygienically questionable) backpacker boys over the wall. Teachers were miffed when the new girl kept them awake three nights in a row with three different men, but now the neighbours are miffed with the racket on their quiet street. Police may become involved, and the program may get evicted from the house. I'm really hoping this isn't as big a deal as it looks right now (I just got the balcony room I wanted) but I saw someone from staff and he's practically vibrating with stress. He isn't even angry, just panicked. The curfew isn't taken super-seriously usually, but I guess the town is a bit cranky over high-season starting.
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Nov 18, 2013 14:10
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I really don't know how things work there, and Vientiane is governed differently, but my friend who is married up there swears that they take all those dinky regulations about curfews and cohabiting and what not more seriously in Laos than in Thailand or Cambodia. The impression I got was that everything was managed on a block/neighborhood basis. Anyway, I dunno, he's not a fraidy kat ThaiViser type so I assumed he meant it.
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Nov 18, 2013 14:27
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ReindeerF posted:I really don't know how things work there, and Vientiane is governed differently, but my friend who is married up there swears that they take all those dinky regulations about curfews and cohabiting and what not more seriously in Laos than in Thailand or Cambodia. The impression I got was that everything was managed on a block/neighborhood basis. Anyway, I dunno, he's not a fraidy kat ThaiViser type so I assumed he meant it. This bears out what I'm seeing. It wasn't a problem at all until the neighbours raised a fuss; now it's a Big Goddamn Deal in the space of a few words. Sounds like their fuss was pretty reasonable, though. My room is at the back, so I don't hear poo poo, but apparently some of the girls who started two weeks ago have been hopping the fence every single night and not being very quiet about it. The neighbours don't like having strangers on their street after midnight, especially giggling ones who wake up the dogs. The dogs are all there in a guard-capacity, so when they start barking, people get stressed.
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Nov 18, 2013 14:43
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Just booked and will be in the region (arriving/departing from Bangkok) Dec 18 - Jan 4. Not sure if you guys make plans/meets, but am game to attend whatever.
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Nov 18, 2013 19:14
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Can anyone recommend a shopping mall in hanoi with a decent selection of western brands that aren't outrageously upmarket? Soecifically, I'm looking to buy a new pair of sneakers. I'm headed home in a week, but my shoes are in such bad condition that I'm starting to feel like I'm part of the beer Chang singlet set
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Nov 19, 2013 09:33
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Anyone know if it's possible to cross into Laos from China? I wanna go in overland from Yunnan, but I don't see much on this. I know you can go Yunnan -> Vietnam -> Laos, but I'd prefer not to spend $65 on a Vietnamese visa when I'd just be passing through. I'm gonna have about 7 weeks to do whatever during Chinese New Year, and everyone has suggested getting out. I might even try getting into northern Burma from China.Brimmy posted:There was a bar where I used to live here in Korea that was just a bus on some cinder blocks called "Bus bar". If you can't get a railway carraige that'd probably be cheaper as long as you don't mind getting sued for copyright infringement. Vintage vehicles are expensive as gently caress in Thailand these days because they've gotten so popular (as has all vintage poo poo) and a lot of them are basically capital investments since they're turned into bars, etc. Old VW campers were going for $30k+ last time I looked, and Beetles for $10k. Smeef fucked around with this message at 11:53 on Nov 19, 2013 |
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Nov 19, 2013 11:48
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Smeef posted:Anyone know if it's possible to cross into Laos from China? I wanna go in overland from Yunnan, but I don't see much on this. I know you can go Yunnan -> Vietnam -> Laos, but I'd prefer not to spend $65 on a Vietnamese visa when I'd just be passing through. I'm gonna have about 7 weeks to do whatever during Chinese New Year, and everyone has suggested getting out. I might even try getting into northern Burma from China. Go to Xishuangbanna and check out China's piece of Southeast Asia, then catch a bus from Jinghong to Laos. Visas are available on arrival. The first city you stop in Laos will probably be Oudomxay or Luang Namtha. Oudomxay seemed boring but Luang Namtha is a nice little town with good trekking in the area. I don't know anything about getting into Burma from China but I recommend spending at least a couple of days in Hsipaw. The train ride down to Pyin Oo Lwin is slow but a great experience. Burmese train rides are both interesting and exhausting.
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Nov 19, 2013 12:54
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Hey Finch, Ian wanted me to pass this message on to you. "Twat" Also a guy who I've been calling ladyboy for ages thought it was a sign for something nice he only just found out tonight what it actually meant. I swear I will get a video up soon of how to sign it.
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Nov 20, 2013 15:45
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I booked tickets into/out of Bangkok Jan 18-26. It's a short trip but it's all I had time for. Would it be reasonable to spend a night or two in Bangkok, make it down to Phuket and spend a few days there, and get back to Bangkok? This thread is massively overwhelming. What are a few must see/eat/dos?
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Nov 21, 2013 02:01
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I have an 8 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, any recommendations for one meal/dish that I should have and where to get it?
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Nov 21, 2013 02:47
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Laksa. I don't really know a good place in KL for it though But go eat all the street food you can find, Malay food is loving amazing. What time will you be in KL? Because it was sorta quiet during the day food-wise all of the street food places popped up at night but I was there during Ramadan though.
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Nov 21, 2013 02:55
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Let me ask a lurker goon in KL. He's cool but can be a bit shy.
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Nov 21, 2013 02:59
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My easily tourist-accessible recommendation would be Jalan Alor, the street food market in Bukit Bintang. Order curry laksa and nasi lemak. Of course someone who actually lives there probably knows the best ________ location in a hawker mall somewhere else, heh. The food down there's more limited in scope once you take out the Chinese and Indian food that's non-native. Still, it can be pretty interesting. Much closer to Indonesian or Filipino food in style, though much better than Filipino cuisine which is generally awful. A lot of the popular dishes that come recommended in KL, like roti cenai or mee or whatever aren't Malay, so it depends on whether you want indigenous food or Chinese and Indian food as well, both of which are very good in KL. Granted, curry laksa is a tad fusion, but I believe it's indigenous - and very good.
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Nov 21, 2013 03:19
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Jslan Alor is a good call if you want Chinese food (though more Cantonese style than mainland). If you want Indian and Bukit Bintang seems easy to get to Nagasari does some pretty good tandoori, decent naan and quite good Malay dishes. If you're scared of eating outside in plastic chairs there's Lot 10 hutong, which is basically a food court in the basement of the Lot 10 shopping mall. The stuff there isn't bad and it's certainly easy if you're not sure what you want as you've got a load of places in front of you. If you want a slightly more Hawker experience, heading out the other side of Bukit Bintang station takes you to Sungei Wang mall, there's a hawker centre on the 4th floor with some decent stalls, by the back there's an almost restaurant type place that usually has a pretty good selection of Malay dishes but be aware it's a buffet with no menu so you can pick and choose (and then be charged depending on what you've taken) but probably won't know what half the stuff you've picked is. Away from Bukit Bintang area, an option that could be fairly good/easy is Sri Nirwana in Bangsar. It's probably the most popular banana leaf restaurant in KL (basically everything is served on banana leaves rather than plates) and does some Malay dishes as well. If you're anywhere near lunch or dinner time there will be a queue but service is pretty fast so it shouldn't take that long. There's another one called Devi Corner quite nearby that is apparently just as good and a bit bigger. Both Bukit Bintang and Bangsar are quite short trips from KL Sentral which you can get the airport express into in about 35-40 minutes. If there's 2 or 3 of you it might be easier and about as cheap (cheaper actually if there's more than 3) to get a taxi to take you directly to the place you choose though. If you're going to try Malay food and only have time for one thing I'd probably recommend Nasi Lemak (basically rice cooked in coconut oil with sambal, prawns, dried anchovies and a boiled egg, usually) but people here regard Indian and Chinese food as pretty much equally Malaysian as Malay food so feel free to enjoy curry and roti if you want.
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Nov 21, 2013 03:58
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Awesome Post MrNemo, are you still based in KL right now? I am tempted to visit you for a food tour over the weekend, we can do a mini goooooon meet. Oh and where do you think is the best Beef Rendang? If I can have a everyday cheap hawker version and upscale food snob version that would be super awesome.
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Nov 21, 2013 04:03
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I will definitely be in Bangkok on Tuesday 26th on Khao San with my little brother. His first time in Asia so there will be beer galore. Who's in?
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Nov 21, 2013 04:08
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There we go, from someone who actually knows the city. Ringo, add this poo poo to the OP!
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Nov 21, 2013 04:21
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Thanks everyone, especially reindeer and MrNemo! We have a place nearby here that does a (I'm sure terribly inauthentic) mee goreng and laksa so I can't wait to try something hopefully a little more authentic. I will be there for lunch / late lunch. I will also be in Singapore and Hong Kong so i would definitely like to try these Malay dishes while I am there. My plan is to head into town via KLIA Express and then use a taxi to maximize time to get places. There are 2 of us and usually I'm a much bigger fan of walking and exploring but with such short time I will maximize it via taxi. Can't wait. Connecting and not staying longer will probably be a mistake once I am there! Edit: definitely not scared of eating and sitting in plastic chairs. Everything I've read is that getting sick really isn't anything to worry about compared to other places I've traveled in South America. That's all true, yeah? sellouts fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 04:46
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^^^ yeah, I've only gotten sick in SEA so far once and that was me being an idiot and drinking the water in Vietnam. Compared to multiple times when I went to South America. Go to the busy stalls where you can see the food being cooked if you're worried about it. Ice isn't a problem here, the locals know to not use the water for ice. Singapore water is safe to drink though! I'll probably be in Bangkok on Tuesday but I don't know if I'll survive a night out with duckmaster  How are you two getting back to Siem Reap? I have to get out of Thailand by the 28th and I want to go directly to SR and I was thinking taking the government bus and getting an e-visa for a hassle free trip. But I just looked at Kayak and flights from BKK to SR are around $140, BKK-PNH around $115 which is tempting. Less than a month until I go back home. I dreamed about eating a double-double at In-n-Out last night. I don't really want to go back but at the same time, I can't wait because double-doubles. Tomato Soup fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 05:09
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sellouts posted:Edit: definitely not scared of eating and sitting in plastic chairs. Everything I've read is that getting sick really isn't anything to worry about compared to other places I've traveled in South America. That's all true, yeah? The rule about eating somewhere that looks busy is generally a good one, not just because it's probably better, but because the food has less time to sit around and/or come in contact with poop. You'll be fine - eat the ice! ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 05:18
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ReindeerF posted:My easily tourist-accessible recommendation would be Jalan Alor, the street food market in Bukit Bintang. Order curry laksa and nasi lemak. KL food is a bit like Singaporean food: they've taken food from various immigrant groups and adapted it to their tastes. Roti canai(or prata in Singapore) is awesome, especially if you can find someone that makes their own dough xcdude24 fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 05:20
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