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MothraAttack posted:Welp, moving to Bangkok next month for an assignment. Looking forward to hummus, Goon meets and Beerlao. \/\/\/ I'm just going to believe that, spread it as rumor and use it to sneer at Vietnam either way! ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Apr 19, 2014 |
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Apr 19, 2014 07:45
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I heard that they've started charging people 120,000VND to stroll around the ancient town in Hoi An and that officials will physically block anyone who doesn't pay from entering.
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Apr 19, 2014 07:52
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Poutine guy? I feel like I've heard about this before but didn't have any idea where to go. I want poutine. I want it a lot. Anyway, I actually came here to post about the thaivisa lounge in Hua Hin. I went there with a friend last night, as we were pissass drunk and thought it would be like a live action thaivisa forum. It was full of white families. It was all really confusing. Though I found out that they get their food from the restaurant down the street. I wish I could make up stuff this funny.
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Apr 19, 2014 09:21
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Hi SEA thread! I'm flying into Bangkok on the 24th July, and leaving from there on the 18th of August this year. I've backpacked a lot before but never been to south east Asia, I'm more interested in seeing beautiful and interesting things than partying hard (but will probably do a bit of that as well). I'd also like to do some rock climbing, and have been in contact with a place in Cambodia for this. What I've roughly got planned is to make my way over to Cambodia, see some stuff there for a week and a bit, then make my way to Vietnam, spend a week and a bit there, probably in the north, before realising I've not left myself enough time and having a huge panic attack trying to make it back to Bangkok for my return flight. I know it's the monsoon season but having read up on that, think it should be ok. Does this sound roughly feasible? Is there anything I should definitely see or do in these areas and in that time? Thanks!
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Apr 19, 2014 09:51
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I'd skip Vietnam and focus on just Thailand and Cambodia because you don't have too much time. The Krabi area has some great rock climbing, someone who knows more than me will post more information soon.
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Apr 19, 2014 11:56
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MothraAttack posted:I hate bees too. Malaysia sounds scary as hell. ^ What a pair of assholes. I'm in Krabi now and I'd say Malaysia was less scary, judging from a comprehensive 2 day probing of Thailand. 98/100 of Malaysians speak English, maybe 3/10 Thais do thus far. I've been reading up on stuff to do here & yeah as the previous poster stated, the Rai Leh area is supposedly quite well known for rock climbing. I'd do some but I'm fat and afraid of heights.
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Apr 19, 2014 12:07
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Cambodia and northern Vietnam is a bit of a disjointed trip, unless you're flying some. Honestly stick to Cambodia and Thailand. And yeah, the poutine place is worth checking out if you're near Khao San. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snack-Bar-Bkk/327020427425451
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Apr 19, 2014 12:54
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I did some rock climbing in Railay in January. The views from the cliffs are great, there are lots of routes, the rock itself is kind of weird - sharp in places where it hasn't been touched much, but it seems to get smoothed down quickly. I don't do much outdoor climbing so I can't comment on how it compares to other outdoor areas, I'm mostly a gym climber. When I was on one cliff, two or three monkeys came climbing along laterally above me. I kept going after they passed, and a minute or two later another monkey came along, with a infant clinging to its underbelly, and actually climbed underneath me. I had no idea that monkeys would climb on bare cliffs, but clearly they do. I have lots of pictures of cliffs, not many of the actual climbing due to me being afraid to carry my camera as I climbed. If you want to see some, I'll be happy to post them. I would recommend staying in Ao Nang rather than on Railay itself, though. The peninsula is beautiful, but it's very small, not many options for places to eat and such, and you're paying an island-like premium on everything because there's no land route to the inhabited area due to the cliffs. Even though the longtail boat operators who will get you to and from are just as fine and upstanding as your average taxi driver, if I were to go there again I would stay in the town and just go out to Railay during the day.
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Apr 19, 2014 13:00
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Hey SE goons. I moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand about two weeks ago; any goons around here? I'm not super busy and I'd like to make friends and find stuff to do. I'm planning to be here about 3 more months. Any cool stuff to see or do here? Thanks goons!
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Apr 19, 2014 14:21
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Hey, thanks for the replies guys! My original plan was actually to just do Cambodia and Vietnam, and flying into Thailand simply because it worked out way cheaper - I hoped to be able to get into Cambodia pretty quickly after arriving. I'm not 100% sure why I wanted to visit those 2 countries specifically, rather than Thailand, they just look really beautiful and interesting I guess? My rough itinerary so far is something like: 24th July: Arrive in Bangkok (about 6AM) 25th: Get to Siem Reap - visit Angkor Wat and other ruins, check out the area for ~3 days 28th: Travel to Phnom Penh - check out the area for a day or 2 Then a week or so more of traveling around Cambodia. 4th August: Get into Vietnam - see some cool poo poo. Visit the Mekong Delta by the 18th August, have made my way back to Bangkok to fly home. Not averse to booking an internal flight if it were cheap enough but would rather travel overland over 2-3 days to get back. This is just all off the top of my head right now - to get some feedback if this seems at all feasible. Might this be too much traveling about for that time period? I like to chill out and avoid just spending the whole holiday on lengthy bus journeys, I think that might be a trap I'm falling into there. Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Kylaer posted:I have lots of pictures of cliffs, not many of the actual climbing due to me being afraid to carry my camera as I climbed. If you want to see some, I'll be happy to post them. I'd love to see them!
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Apr 19, 2014 15:31
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In  now. It's just not the same   Have fun in SE Asia, everyone!
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Apr 19, 2014 19:36
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Chris! posted:Hey, thanks for the replies guys! The problem of overlanding it back to Bangkok from Vietnam is that if you go into north Vietnam, you have to cross into Laos and pay for a visa and deal with the lovely roads and possible delays there. My Hanoi - Luang Prabang bus broke down but it was just a flat tire or something and they replaced it in 30 minutes but from what I've heard, delays on this route isn't too unusual. Flying out of Vietnam to Bangkok isn't really much better because Vietnam Airlines is notorious for cancellations and changes (but it's pretty cheap). If you're set on returning by land, I'd fly into Hanoi from Cambodia and work your way down then zoom back to Bangkok from Saigon/Mekong Delta area (and get a new Cambodia visa). The Vietnam visa is a lot easier to deal with it you fly in too. Or just fly to Vietnam right away when you get in Bangkok and work your way back  Vietnam and Cambodia are great countries but you want to be pretty drat sure that you'll be back in Bangkok in time to catch your flight home. And holy poo poo, that poutine place looks great.
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Apr 20, 2014 00:31
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Not really SEA, but since we discuss the abominable SEA pizzas here...this is what Pizza Hut India came up with. 
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Apr 20, 2014 06:04
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Ringo R posted:In
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Apr 20, 2014 06:36
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Chris! posted:This is just all off the top of my head right now - to get some feedback if this seems at all feasible. Might this be too much traveling about for that time period? I like to chill out and avoid just spending the whole holiday on lengthy bus journeys, I think that might be a trap I'm falling into there. Book in advance and Air Asia can be dirt cheap for Bangkok > Siem Reap and back and are completely reliable. Cambodia Angkor Air do Siem Reap > PP but my god are they a rip off. There's a night bus between SR and PP called the Ibis Night Bus which everyone raves about, think it's about $10? Or a day mini bus will be about $10 as well and takes maybe 6-7 hours (but could be up to 9). The only bad thing about Air Asia is they fly from Bangkoks Small lovely Airport and not the Big lovely Airport. I'm pretty sure there are shuttle buses and I can't see a taxi costing more than 300baht anyway. Your other alternative for BKK > SR is overland. 5 hours to the border then you have to cross - if your ticket is for the whole journey you obviously have to wait for everyone to cross which could take 1-2 hours. You could get a government bus to Arantharaperett (or whatever its called), a tuk tuk to the border (about 150baht) and cross yourself, then get a taxi or bus from any of the ten thousand touts who will approach you on the Cambodian side. Getting to SR will take 3-4 hours; you can get a taxi to yourself for $30 or the front seat with people in the back for about $10, but that will take longer as it will make stops. A bus will cost about $5 and is poo poo. Pay the extra for the taxi if at all possible. But like I said you can avoid all that bullshit by paying $50 for a plane ticket and doing it all in an hour and a half. The airport is pretty tightly run so they don't do scams or bribes (except the $1 "fee" for "forgetting" your passport photo), unlike Poipet. hi I'm duckmaster and I loving love airports
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Apr 20, 2014 10:44
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Air asias Bangkok > Siem Reap is indeed easy and cheap. I think we paid like 60 dollars for the flight. We also did Siem Reap > Sihnaukville by plane becouse gently caress minibusses. Siem Reaps visa on arrival is also super fast and easy. Just make sure you have one extra passport picture with you.
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Apr 20, 2014 11:33
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Thank you for the replies guys, really appreciate it. I usually like to overland, but it sounds like on our limited time budget, flying might be the way to go. Is it as easy / cheap to fly to Vietnam directly from Bangkok (rather than changing at Siem Reap as duckmaster suggested)?
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Apr 20, 2014 16:10
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Chris! posted:
 The cliffs at the south end of Railay West beach.  And at the north end of Railay West.  South end of Railay East (which isn't a beach, but rather a mud flat)  Random shot of an unknown climber. Looking at the rock he's on, I guess Railay really has quite a variety of rock, that section is quite smoothed down, whereas the places I climbed were mostly rough and broken.  A shot across the Railay peninsula from one of the southeast outcroppings. Getting here was a scramble, not a vertical climb.
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Apr 20, 2014 20:47
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That looks really beautiful, thanks for posting them. Did you rent gear on site, or did you bring stuff with you? Did you climb with a guide or alone? How were you climbing?
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Apr 20, 2014 20:55
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I was traveling with just a carry-on luggage, so I brought my shoes but left everything else behind. There are multiple climbing guides available for hire who will supply gear, and I did hire one. I climbed mostly top-rope and a little bit of lead, which was actually my first lead experience. For top-roping, the guide climbed up first and then removed his quickdraws on the way back down. I wasn't prepared for how stretchy a lead rope is compared with a standard gym top-rope, and was a bit surprised when I fell and dropped a good six or eight feet 
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Apr 20, 2014 21:09
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That's awesome. I'm used to top roping indoors, and outdoors a few times, but have only climbed lead a couple of times indoors. This seems like a great opportunity to try. There's a place called Climbodia which looks pretty cool, there's also lots of options for climbing in Vietnam. I'm hoping to kayak in Vietnam as well.
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Apr 20, 2014 22:24
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Saw my first accident in Thailand, how long did it take? 3 days. I think either one or both men are dead. One was unconscious covered in blood. Other guy was hemorrhaging also covered in blood, probably ruptured an organ.
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Apr 21, 2014 06:58
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That's some bad luck. In 1.5 years in SE Asia I've only seen two nasty accidents. Wear your helmets/seat belts.
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Apr 21, 2014 07:25
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cent0r posted:Saw my first accident in Thailand, how long did it take? 3 days. I think either one or both men are dead. One was unconscious covered in blood. Other guy was hemorrhaging also covered in blood, probably ruptured an organ. I saw a mangled corpse on the side of the road outside of my hotel on my first day in India. Cab driver was kind enough to point it out too. The best part was that immediately after getting out of the cab a motorcycle accident took place down the block. Guy went flying but was mostly OK, thankfully.
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Apr 21, 2014 09:01
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The ones that happen because people are looking at a previous crash are also fantastic. People already have their cameras out so every detail is captured. [edit] To be clear, by fantastic I mean really hosed up.
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Apr 21, 2014 09:04
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I lived in Bangkok for two years and in that time saw two accidents in front of my face. In China I saw one literally every week for the three months I was there. Thais do drive faster than any other people in SE Asia so the accidents there are often fairly dramatic. The extra speed is partly because every Somchai involved is pumped up for the impromptu footrace into the jungle that breaks out afterward. raton fucked around with this message at 09:36 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 09:28
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I guess crashes don't happen that often - just bad luck. Guess what I did afterwards? I hired a scooter because my hotel is quite far from the beaches. Oh yeah, I've never driven a scooter before. Then I drove back in rush hour. That was quite an experience.
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Apr 21, 2014 12:44
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cent0r posted:I guess crashes don't happen that often - just bad luck.
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Apr 21, 2014 12:54
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ReindeerF posted:They happen constantly. Thailand's one of the more dangerous countries to drive in statistically because of various factors. I still take moto taxis of course, but it's not a smart thing to do. In Thailand, night buses and any airline owned by Orient Thai are the only things I strictly will not do. Right - no night buses or flights on Orient Thai affiliates. People drive like loving maniacs over here, all traffic rules are merely guidelines. Reminds me of the traffic in China except not quite as bad - most Thais actually stop on red lights. Maybe it's Asia on the whole.
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Apr 21, 2014 15:36
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Sheep-Goats posted:Thais do drive faster than any other people in SE Asia so the accidents there are often fairly dramatic. The extra speed is partly because every Somchai involved is pumped up for the impromptu footrace into the jungle that breaks out afterward. Somchai's mad dash into the forest is my favorite meme of this whole thread
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Apr 21, 2014 15:43
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I've already seen two motorbike accidents in two weeks in Cambodia. One that looked dead to me on my way to Kampot and another one today from Phnom Penh to Battambang that seemed just badly injured. Any way, I enjoyed Kampot a lot for what it was. Kep not so much because it was full of Khmers dumping garbage on the beach and it smelled like poo poo. The seafood is not as good as I was expecting, but that godly pepper makes everything taste delicious. The countryside and the fishing villages were awesome, though, but I really need to learn how to ride a motorbike because bikes are pretty inconvenient. Cambodian bikes are too small for me and I always end up exhausted with my butt hurting from not having the full range of motion.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:02
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tzz posted:I've already seen two motorbike accidents in two weeks in Cambodia. One that looked dead to me on my way to Kampot and another one today from Phnom Penh to Battambang that seemed just badly injured. Kep beach itself is poo poo, I think I heard they had to import all the sand from Sville anyway? If you're at Kep and wanna go to the beach you have to go out to Rabbit Island
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Apr 21, 2014 17:22
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tzz posted:The seafood is not as good as I was expecting, but that godly pepper makes everything taste delicious. Ha, I can't get enough of the seafood whenever I'm down that way. Maybe it's from living in PP so long. You're right though, the pepper is goddamn amazing, I put that stuff in everything.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:39
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The crabs are good but I have never had better squid than I had in Kep with the little green peppercorns still on the stalk.
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Apr 21, 2014 19:31
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CronoGamer posted:Kep beach itself is poo poo, I think I heard they had to import all the sand from Sville anyway? If you're at Kep and wanna go to the beach you have to go out to Rabbit Island Yeah, they told me Kep's sand is not even white, so they bring some trucks from Sihanoukville every few weeks hoping to make it an attractive tourist destination. I think they should focus on keeping it clean first.  I didn't go to Rabbit Island because I didn't feel like waking up early, but I biked to Angkoul beach and spent a whole day lying on a hammock, reading and eating shrimps. The beach itself was decent enough (albeit dirty) and the way there along the shore and the salt fields is amazing if you want to see some fishing villages and local farmers. Tytan posted:Ha, I can't get enough of the seafood whenever I'm down that way. Maybe it's from living in PP so long. It wasn't bad by any means and it was worth trying it. I'm a bit spoiled with seafood and maybe I was expecting too much because everybody was telling me it was the best in SE Asia. That reminds me I forgot to buy some Kampot pepper to bring back home 
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Apr 21, 2014 19:34
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Are you still in Cambodia? You might still be able to pick some up, depending on where you're going to be passing through.
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Apr 22, 2014 03:09
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The TSA won't be thrilled about you trying to bring an agricultural product in.
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Apr 22, 2014 04:56
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I guess I'm out of luck because I'm in Battambang right now and I doubt I'll be going to the South again. I'll probably stay around here and Siem Reap a couple more weeks and then I'll take a flight to Chiang Mai. The TSA is not an issue for me, getting it into Istanbul should be easy. PS: I now feel the pain of your avatar 
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Apr 22, 2014 09:05
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You'll definitely be able to get it in the markets in Siem Reap. There's also literally a Kampot Pepper shop a few blocks up from Pub Street if you want to be sure you're getting the genuine stuff (probably a bit more expensive though).
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Apr 22, 2014 09:37
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Got back from Cameron Highlands. Drive was super easy, Malaysians are relatively decent drivers - saw nothing worse than I would see in DC. I wouldn't let the old road scare you too much if the weather is OK, I rather enjoyed it. It's the kind of road that would be an excellent choice for the Top Gear guys to race supercars on. Overall, I probably wouldn't bother with it if I were coming from across the ocean, but it's a nice getaway for regional travelers - very picturesque, good climate, great food, and friendly people. Cheap accommodation, too - plenty of nice guesthouses to choose from. Lots of great trekking opportunities although be prepared for mud. In terms of food Ferm Nyonya in Tanah Rata has awesome Peranakan food and there is also an excellent kopitiam called Uncle Chow's on the outskirts of town. Good Indian food, too, and even a Starbucks. There don't seem to be any especially good drinking options, though - although BYOB in your guesthouse is always an option... The Boh tea plantation is indeed awesome as long as you go when the traffic isn't bad. Skip the strawberry farm though, total tourist trap. And don't even think of driving to the night market in Brinchang, I had to put that off for next time due to the ridiculous traffic. Having a car is nice because it frees you from being stuck to a tour itinerary, but it's definitely not necessary. I will probably take a bus next time (and would have this time if the Singapore buses weren't all fully booked.)
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Apr 22, 2014 10:02
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