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nelson posted:Headed to Vietnam tomorrow. 4 nights in HCMC, 4 in Hoi An, 3 in Hue, 5 in Hanoi. Any advice/comments for a first timer? lemonadesweetheart posted:I will be heading to hanoi/halong tomorrow. Eat bun cha in Hanoi. Eat all the bun cha.
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Oct 3, 2014 14:49
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Profondo Rosso posted:Seconding lots of 40 cent Bahn mi but the iced coffee is grossly sweet. Also 333 is my favorite se asian beer so drink a shitload of it for me cafe da khong duong = black coffee no sugar. Horatius Bonar posted:Be wary of taxi drivers. I never took a cab in Hanoi or elsewhere, but in Saigon, only Vinasun and one other company I forget were reputable. Mai Linh is the other generally honest taxi company. Also eat a lot of hu tieu and bun bo hue! Is Bui Vien still very busy at night? A few months ago the cops raided it and forbid all chairs, so tourists were sitting on cardboards. Also I second that fruit place in the alley. You can't miss it, it's always full of locals and tourists. A lot of bars on Bui Vien and De Tham are hooker bars, always be careful with your wallet and cellphone, even when just walking around that area. Have fun!
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Oct 3, 2014 15:59
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This thread is awesome. Been reading it the last couple days and working my way from the beginning as well. I have a couple simple questions for now. I'm interested in planning a trip to Thailand or Vietnam or both for about a 2-3 week period. I was thinking maybe right after NYE in January, if that is a good time. What would just be an estimated budget for this?
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Oct 3, 2014 19:08
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My wife is Chinese American (Taiwanese specifically). No accent but speaks Mandarin pretty well. I'm white American. Think we'll be harassed at all on our trip? Doing Saigon, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh. I got a little concerned when I read some of the thread.
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Oct 3, 2014 19:12
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You will be harassed your entire trip. They will not know she exists.
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Oct 3, 2014 20:19
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goodness posted:This thread is awesome. Been reading it the last couple days and working my way from the beginning as well. Depends what kind of accommodation you're wanting to stay in and if you're willing to eat street food. A good backpacking budget is $50/day. Or you can live like a boss at $100/day staying in boutique hotels and eating at restaurants. With 3 weeks I'd just do a thorough tour of 1 country rather than both.
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Oct 3, 2014 21:02
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Thank you both for the responses. I don't intend on overstaying any visas, just extending in places I can if I'd like. I've seen a lot of chat about Burma lately in this thread and hadn't considered it in my original itinerary. Will definitely have to reconsider. Gotta save some more drat money and see it all.
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Oct 3, 2014 23:13
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Started following this thread a few months ago when we booked our tickets for Thailand. Been pretty impressed with the cultural and travel/tourism knowledge of SEA goons so hoping to get your opinions now that it's getting closer to our departure date (less than a month!!!). Our schedule is pretty much set (a few days in Bangkok and a week in Sam Roi Yot outside Hua Hin) so my questions are really specific (instead of the usual generic questions about exchange rates of infinity pools to spouses): First, wedding gift suggestions for Chinese-Thai bride/groom of wealthy families? I'm not close with the happy couple or their families so have no idea what to gift them. When I attend acquaintances' weddings in the U.S., I usually just give a cash gift ~double what I think we cost them by our wedding attendance or the equivalent off their wedding registry. In this case, both the families of the bride and groom are well-to-do and I don't think we can gift them enough cash (or equivalent) to even make up what we cost them (Chinese tea ceremony/lunch followed by banquet + two nights stay at the Mandarin Oriental). When I got married, elders in the bride's family gave me gold necklaces/jewelry. I'm hesitant to do the same because I don't know anything about buying jewelry and (again) I doubt I could afford the amount of gold necessary to be adequate. Bride's Facebook page is just photos of food. Any general suggestions for acceptable wedding gifts for rich Thai kids? Alternatively, I thought about putting together a package of regional items from the San Francisco bay area (ex., case of wine). Is there anything local to northern California that's not readily available in Bangkok? I'd feel stupid showing up with something that's sold at 7-11 or Fresh Mart. Second, while we're in Sam Roi Yot, I'd really like to visit the Phraya Nakhon cave. This portion of our trip will include 4 adults (mid- to late-30s), 2 elderly people (late-60s/early-70s) with old-people leg issues, and 3 kids (3- and 1-year olds and a 7-month old). I figured we'd take a boat from the village to the beach/foot of the mountain but internet research says that it's a strenuous hike to the cave on steep, uneven, and slippery steps. If we make the cave hike an all-day event with lots of water, insect repellent, and rest stops, will it be doable with this group? If too tough for my parents, is there any place on the beach for them to hang-out/rest while the rest of us attempt the hike? (One site says there's a restaurant on the beach--is it still open? Anything else?) Would you even recommend the hike with 3 little kids? I also have the option of ditching the old folks and the kids at the hotel (or skipping this hike altogether). If this seems incredibly nit-picky and stressful, it is! My dad can be  . My husband's a  . Baby seems to like traveling but doesn't like to be hot (such a SF Bay Area kid) and I've only known her a year. My mom will be charming and helpful but she's also a hovering Chinese mom and  over her treasured grandbaby. I'm freaking out a little about keeping everybody happy and safe, and trying to minimize meltdowns by my dad, husband, baby, or mom (in order of likeliness of throwing a tantrum). I'm alternating between bounce-out-of-my-seat excitement and panic. My goal is to finish all  before we leave and ignore everything that happens once I board the plane to BKK.
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Oct 3, 2014 23:53
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goodness posted:This thread is awesome. Been reading it the last couple days and working my way from the beginning as well. February is a great time to go. The tourist bonanza of December/January is done, it's cold where you live and not crazy hot there. If you can wait until a couple weeks into January do that, but so long as you arrive after the first it's fine. Comb Your Beard posted:My wife is Chinese American (Taiwanese specifically). No accent but speaks Mandarin pretty well. I'm white American. Think we'll be harassed at all on our trip? Doing Saigon, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh. I got a little concerned when I read some of the thread. No you don't really have anything to worry about. Most of what you read recently was jokes. If you hold hands with her or kiss in public maybe someone will quietly snigger to their buddy about hookers. Nobody is going to approach you and hoot. PennoyerNeff posted:Started following this thread a few months ago when we booked our tickets for Thailand. Been pretty impressed with the cultural and travel/tourism knowledge of SEA goons so hoping to get your opinions now that it's getting closer to our departure date (less than a month!!!). Our schedule is pretty much set (a few days in Bangkok and a week in Sam Roi Yot outside Hua Hin) so my questions are really specific (instead of the usual generic questions about exchange rates of infinity pools to spouses): Leave the kids with the olds and go enjoy the cave with your husband or houseboy on your own. Maybe make one of the olds plan something for this time, it can be as simple as a boat trip to another beach or snorkeling or some kind of shell collecting thing I don't know. Delegate that poo poo so you can have some vacation time on your vacation. Mom can plan now but if I were you I'd let her know that it's her responsibility to plan something for that time slot for everyone but you and your husband on the plane -- remind her of this on the ferry/bus and she'll surely find something by the time she reaches the hotel -- there will be lots of options for her to pick from. My suggestions for wedding gifts usually focus on name brand stuff. Branded items are more expensive in Thailand and more likely to be counterfeit. Being that they're wealthy Thai-Chinese they likely already have most of that that they want but I've yet to meet a Thai woman who didn't want another Coach or Louie Vuitton purse, or a guy who didn't want another pair of Raybans (keep in mind the general shape of Asian noses when buying them -- but it sounds like I don't need to tell you that). Also in my experience the safe color for gift purses in Thailand is white or white with patterns, not black. Watches are possible for the y too but anything name-brand-nice had exploded in price in the last ten years so they're probably too much if you're spending like 2k on each person then I can make some suggestions for that. Wine is also an option -- the issue with this though is that few Thais have a taste for wine so err on the white and sweet side -- a couple nice Oregon reislings. You'll have to check the bottles so it's a hassle that way but you can be sure to get them something they can't get in Thailand this way. If those things are a no go you can go to Chinatown in Bangkok and just buy gold in return. It's sold by weight, a little googling should enable you to find a place that won't cheat you. Just don't let a taxi driver choose it for you and you should okay. Money is fine too of course. I don't think there's a young newly married couple on Earth that would honestly prefer anything else. raton fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 02:15
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Comb Your Beard posted:My wife is Chinese American (Taiwanese specifically). No accent but speaks Mandarin pretty well. I'm white American. Think we'll be harassed at all on our trip? Doing Saigon, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh. I got a little concerned when I read some of the thread. Well I'm the one who said Vietnamese people hate the Chinese, so I feel like this is my fault. It's more about country of origin rather than ethnicity. Beijing-born Chinese, you won't get hassled on the street, but people won't do anything nice for you either. Or say anything nice about you. American-born Taiwanese? You're fine. You two might get the occasional stink eye from passersby on the street outside of tourist areas, but that's just part of the package of being a mixed-race couple. No one is going to throw rocks at you. Or her alone. The worst that I ever saw happen was when I was out in Saigon with a girl from Beijing. The Vietnamese lady running an outdoor bar on Bui Vien told us the bar was full, and also they didn't have any beer for us, and to essentially gently caress off even though the bar was not close to full, and in fact we had chairs and beers. It was all directed at my Chinese friend. So we got up, left, and then we went 5 steps to the next bar. Uh I don't know if that made things better. Let's just say I spent 6 months in Vietnam and travelled the whole country, and 1 month in Chiang Mai, walked around alone with Vietnamese women, Thais, Japanese, Chinese, ABCs, Indians, oh and white girls, and that's the worst thing I recall being a part of. I don't know. The whole racism/miscegenation in SEA subject sounds a lot worse when people try to talk about it. It's fine, you'll be fine, she'll be fine, SEA is great, enjoy the poo poo out of it. As far as the Thai attitude to Taiwanese, my Taiwanese friend said, "I got a tan in the south and then Thai people didn't say 'hello' to me anymore, they started saying 'sawadee ka'!" Horatius Bonar fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 04:30
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No one can give you crap for what you gifted because you flew in from the other side of the world. For Chinese families, don't ever give gold/necklace/jewlery/name brand poo poo  EVER. It's tacky as gently caress. Especially when you guys are not that close as friends. A nice gift wrapped bottle of wine would be nice with a card and red envelope. Flying in a whole family is already a big expense and nice gesture! So just gift enough for one dinner. Sheep-Goats posted:Leave the kids with the olds and go enjoy the cave with your husband or houseboy on your own. Maybe make one of the olds plan something for this time, it can be as simple as a boat trip to another beach or snorkeling or some kind of shell collecting thing I don't know. Delegate that poo poo so you can have some vacation time on your vacation. Mom can plan now but if I were you I'd let her know that it's her responsibility to plan something for that time slot for everyone but you and your husband on the plane -- remind her of this on the ferry/bus and she'll surely find something by the time she reaches the hotel -- there will be lots of options for her to pick from. Yeah, having grand mom and dad watch over the kids in the playground or kids pool is good too. Nothing to strenuous and just quality time with the kids during vacation is nice.
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Oct 4, 2014 05:01
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PennoyerNeff posted:First, wedding gift suggestions for Chinese-Thai bride/groom of wealthy families? Often, the tea ceremony will be attended by fewer people and closer relatives and friends. During this ceremony, if you're family or very close friends, you'll be invited up (in order of some formula of proximity/age/importance), to sit before the bride and groom and have tea. They'll be kneeling. They'll ask if you want tea and you say yes and they pour you some and then you place a small envelope with your cash gift in a nice envelope (card inside optional) on the tray. If you're not family or close friends then you can attend, but won't be asked up to offer anything. At the reception/party, there will be a box or something near the door for you to place a small envelope full of cash in. If you already gave money at the ceremony, you don't need to give it here. The appropriate amount depends on how close you are. Since you're a not-close friend, you can stick 2,000-3,000 Baht in the envelope. They might expect a bit more from a rich Westerner coming in from overseas, but this is the standard amount given by random invitees at Thai-Chinese weddings. Basically, you're paying for yourself as a minimum. Gatherings in Thai-Chinese culture in general are about, huge surprise, the decadent and flagrant flaunting of money, money and money, so if you bring a normal gift they're going to be like "what." If they're internationalized they'll understand why, but you'll basically be odd for doing it. Just bring money. My wife is Thai-Chinese, her parents are both born to 100% Chinese immigrants here in Thailand and I just went through all this nonsense about a year ago this month. At the ceremony, the very first part of it's kind of funny where they bring out some lady to yell like a freaking lemur. That is not a racist characterization, that's the local insult for husband calling because of the sound they make, but there's basically a family procession of the groom's side with a bunch of people carrying jungle crap like fruits, flowers and one dude with an entire banana stalk (unlucky bastard) lead by someone trilling out this embarrassing call. At the end of that, the groom stops at some area where the bride will be sort of locked upstairs. Often it's a gazebo constructed for this purpose. Groom is supposed to call our her name and keep asking her to come down and he'll have a bunch of envelopes of money that he has to give to successive sets of relatives to buy them off and get past them. After this, the tea part ensues, which is interminably boring and a big chance for the Chinese to flash as much cash as possible in front of one another and ooo and aah about it - skip this part if you can without causing a scene, it's boring and, frankly, embarrassing if you're a Westerner who isn't from a weird European heritage (i.e. mafia family). The party/reception will usually be just that. Note, any given wedding may have a completely different structure than this, especially modern weddings or weddings where one of the people is Christian or something, so my advice on structure may not apply, but the advice on the gift will be accurate unless they tell you specifically not to bring anything. I am not an rear end in a top hat, so I told every single person who flew in that the expense of flying in was way more than enough and not to give any money. If they're both Thai-Chinese then this courtesy wouldn't be seen as a courtesy and wouldn't be extended, but they also wouldn't freak out if you didn't give any cash at the reception either - no one finds out and counts it until later. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 05:55 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 05:53
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quote:After this, the tea part ensues, which is interminably boring and a big chance for the Chinese to flash as much cash as possible in front of one another and ooo and aah about it - skip this part if you can without causing a scene, it's boring and, frankly, embarrassing if you're a Westerner who isn't from a weird European heritage (i.e. mafia family). Wait what? Thai Chinese flash cash? They don't use red lucky packets? Is it like a game show? Jesus Christ that's horrible, isn't it a loss of face for everyone involved? Did you play any door games or challenges like to push ups or have groomsmen do the challenges for you? I guess it's a bit of running joke about Chinese families/culture in South East Asia: Campy as gently caress. And for the tea ceremony, the bride and groom shouldn't kneel to you guys when you are not elders. Heck you are not related, why would they pour tea for you too? So how are Thai Chinese customs different from Thai Wedding? Can you elaborate on a typical Thai wedding?
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Oct 4, 2014 06:06
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The close family and friends part, many will give the cash openly or give a bank check or something so the amount can be seen and the tray sort of waved around. Probably most will use an envelope, that's true, but the thickness of the envelope gets ooed and aahed at too. The whole affair is about piling up shitloads of fiat currency in front of each other to anger the Paulgod. As for the tea ceremony, I said that if they're not close friends or family they won't be invited up, so that's covered. That said, people typically come up in groups, which means that you'll rarely have any group where there's not someone older than you (unless you're getting married at like 60 or something, heh). The kids come with mom and dad and so on. As I pointed out, they'll likely only need to give money at the reception, if they want. After spending thousands of dollars to fly across the world I wouldn't give a thing, personally, and I didn't expect people to, but that's down to the person. Yeah, door games and all that nonsense were sort of involved. I basically told them I wouldn't be doing any of the hide-your-shoes, hurf durf crap that's designed to ensure the groom gets to play ATM with the younger relatives, so I avoided that, but the part I described about buying your wife out of the gazebo or whatever is unavoidable, so I had to do that. It's the one where you get from door to door by buying people off and answering challenges. I just used the microphone to make fun of her the entire time and handed over the envelopes as quickly as possible to get it over with, which seemed to have the desired effect. As you can tell, I find these particular cultural traditions unseemly and embarrassing. Thai (non-Chinese) weddings, to the extent that I know anything, vary by social class, but I believe should be more of a party. If they're Christian it'll be Christian, of course. Anyway, yeah, you have to stick the sin sod (dowry) on the plate and show it off and there's the parade at the beginning and all that, but after a brief deal with some monks it should just devolve into a drunken party with everyone eating shitloads of good food - especially if it's a rural Thai wedding, then the whole village will turn out and get shitcanned. It's much less formal. Chinese wedding food is typically embarrassingly bad in my limited experience and it's all ceremonial with that dumbass "don't eat the rice!" thing at the end. Drinks are spotty and usually just that poo poo whiskey and soda deal. I avoided this by ensuring we rented out two very multi-cultural restaurants at a large hotel for the post-tea ceremony lunch/dinner and for the reception and party. Beer on tap, brought in plenty of wine, open bar and so on. There's an amusing story here about the taste test of the Chinese chef's Chinese food with the Chinese family after which I got my way (basically, they're all big eaters and eat Chinese a lot and have lived in or traveled there tons, so they know Chinese food - the chef sucked, even I could tell, and they kept bringing him into the room and making fun of his food). I admittedly have very little experience with Mainland Chinese, but I believe they pretty much invented garishness and their obsession with showing off money, gold and luxury items with gigantic brands on them is pretty well known, so I think the motherland is where all of this comes from - I mean I don't think the local diaspora Chinese here are somehow more garish. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 06:25
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What I want to know is what does "anger the Paulgod" mean and why does it mean that.  The god of Paul the apostle? Paul don't like money? raton fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 06:33
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ReindeerF posted:The close family and friends part, many will give the cash openly or give a bank check or something so the amount can be seen and the tray sort of waved around. The whole affair is about piling up shitloads of fiat currency in front of each other to anger the Paulgod. That sounds like television donation drive for another earth quake or something  Mainland Chinese have differences too depending on the region. I'm from Hong Kong so things are subtle more here. Weddings in my mom's generation use to be downing bottles of expensive cognac, and decorated with bracelets like a horse shoe pit etc. But then again, people use to be super poor back then and weddings was a way to show off that one time of your life. Yeah, people don't need to front as much.
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Oct 4, 2014 06:33
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Sheep-Goats posted:What I want to know is what does "anger the Paulgod" mean and why does it mean that. caberham posted:That sounds like television donation drive for another earth quake or something ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 06:34
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Send the Irish home from Bangkok
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Oct 4, 2014 06:36
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ReindeerF posted:Ron Paul hates fiat currency and wants to return to the gold standard. I was just weaving in some Ron Paul reLOVEution hujmor there, heh. Debate & Discussion invented garishness
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Oct 4, 2014 06:37
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Sheep-Goats posted:Debate & Discussion invented garishness
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Oct 4, 2014 06:40
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Chantilly Say posted:Send the Irish home from Bangkok This page of the thread is where Sheep-Goats asks people to explain their goddamn jokes.
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Oct 4, 2014 06:41
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Sheep-Goats posted:This page of the thread is where Sheep-Goats asks people to explain their goddamn jokes.
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Oct 4, 2014 06:44
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ReindeerF posted:Ron Paul hates fiat currency and wants to return to the gold standard. I was just weaving in some Ron Paul reLOVEution hujmor there, heh. It's not really British or westernization but more along of modernization and wealth. Which happens to be in tune with westernization. If you look at the Japanese they are super duper subtle with their wedding customs and handling of money. Not because they are the sacred anime descendants of yamato. Poverty and the huge income is still prevalent in this part of the world. To really be controversial look at BALLER CULTURE and hood rich (ie, black people) 
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Oct 4, 2014 06:46
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Wow, thanks everybody for their advice. To clarify wedding stuff (if it helps determine an appropriate gift), we bought our own plane tickets. Bride's parents are taking care of our transportation, housing, and entertainment the weekend of the wedding. We're distant relatives and attending the Chinese tea ceremony the morning of the banquet. I'm closer in age to the bride and groom, but rank with her parents in terms of familial hierarchy. I'll have red bags prepared with crisp/new bills of the correct denomination. My (white) husband has attended enough of my family's Chinese tea ceremonies to know how to take the cup with both hands and to wish the couple a happy life and lots of fat babies. I re-checked and bride's parents gave me $600 and some elephant statues for my wedding. (Gold necklaces were from someone else in bride's family.) I guess I thought maybe Thai-Chinese had different traditions than what I'm used to (Americanized Chinese), but it sounds the same. I'm likely overthinking this but at the same time, I think some of you know it's not an exaggeration how "particular" Chinese parents can be about wedding gifts. I'm more concerned about how my gift makes my parents appear to bride's family. Right now, I'm leaning toward a few bottles of CA wine and maybe a $500 Michael Kors purse. (Bride "likes" Michael Kors on Facebook.) ReindeerF, thanks for reminding me that we'll be long gone before they can open our gifts and figure out whether or not we shorted them. 
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Oct 4, 2014 06:49
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caberham posted:It's not really British or westernization but more along of modernization and wealth. Which happens to be in tune with westernization. If you look at the Japanese they are super duper subtle with their wedding customs and handling of money. Not because they are the sacred anime descendants of yamato. PennoyerNeff posted:ReindeerF, thanks for reminding me that we'll be long gone before they can open our gifts and figure out whether or not we shorted them.
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Oct 4, 2014 06:49
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Also limit yourself to two bottles of wine. Mostly just because they're a pain in the loving rear end to pack.caberham posted:To really be controversial look at BALLER CULTURE and hood rich (ie, black people) My grandpa used to pay his workers on Monday for last week's work Ron Paul
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Oct 4, 2014 07:03
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ReindeerF posted:Wedding = Cash Holds up to a Canadian/Chinese wedding I went to. All the people connected to the Chinese side of the family were giving envelops with mad cash. I used to be really close to the married couple, lived with them for awhile, so I'm pretty certain they cleared a six figures. Some of that was because the groom's father had passed away, and he was from the line with money, and all the money he'd lent to family over the years came back to his line that day. I got the impression that weddings were a discrete and polite way to handle stuff like that without anyone losing face. The whole thing was hysterical because the couple getting married met in the Society for Creative Anachronism, so the room was half extremely dignified Chinese relatives and half Canadian nerds going WOO OPEN BAR! The DJ played Rasputin and all the SCAers spontaneously launched into some kind of medieval wedding dance they all knew from eventing. I was floored (I fell into the table's-worth of gaming nerds they invited) but the looks on the faces of the extended family is something that still makes me chuckle. That night was two cultures existing at the same event and never actually meshing. That was one loving expensive wedding, though.
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Oct 4, 2014 08:21
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I'm Chinese and the correct gift etiquette for a wedding is cash in a red packet.
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Oct 4, 2014 09:24
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In non-marriage non-Math Debater news from a poster who isn't even part Chinese Cambodia has won its first gold medal in over 40 years for ladies taekwondo in the Asian Games. Korea is also cheating like gently caress and Thai people are mad about bad officiating on a soccer match and an Indian boxer refused her bronze medal at the podium as she had clearly whipped the gold medal winning Korean. But anyway go Cambodia. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/sport/pure-gold-44-year-medal-drought-broken raton fucked around with this message at 09:29 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 09:27
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Sheep-Goats posted:In non-marriage non-Math Debater news from a poster who isn't even part Chinese Cambodia has won its first gold medal in over 40 years for ladies taekwondo in the Asian Games. Everyone in Asia hates Korea.
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Oct 4, 2014 09:37
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Also important Bangkok note: I've heard rumors that  Wat Khek is having its huge crazy rear end celebration tonight -- if it's like the one I chanced across years ago you should absolutely not miss it! It was like a deranged Thai-Indian block party with religious floats, fire handing and body piercing. I might be wrong but if you can go to Silom tonight and tell the cabbie "bai wat khek khap." (Silom Soi 20 if he doesn't know where that is.)
raton fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 09:38
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ReindeerF posted:If you take the earliest bus from Mo Chit to Rongkluea Market (the border market at Poipet) around 05:45 then you can be at the border by about 09:00, give or take, as you'll miss all the Bangkok traffic. Depending on conditions, it can take from 15 minutes to 2 hours to cross the border, but figure on about 30 minutes. Once across, you can catch another bus to Phnom Penh that will take about 7-8 hours with a couple of stops. I find Cambodian buses to be unbearable for more than a couple of hours, so I'd get a taxi. So I went the route you suggested to Battambang (didn't stop in Pailin) but it was surprisingly uneventful and lacked any ripoff opportunities. I also haven't seen another westerner since the middle of Bangkok. Thanks for the advice, this is exactly what I was looking for. Any specific recommendations here in Battambang - eating, drinking, or sightseeing? I only plan on staying two nights but I could stay longer if I want. Thanks again.
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Oct 4, 2014 09:45
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Great! I've always found that to be the calmest, most ripoff-free way to go as well - also pretty. On eats, I'm usually looking for Western food, so my Khmer recommendations aren't too hot, but I usually go to White Rose, which is in the middle of town. It's got a good cross-section of Khmer standards like loc lac, amok and other things. I also recommend the lemongrass chicken. Outside of there, I sometimes go eat stir fried noodles at the old market in the morning (dry, not wet). It's a more authentic experience, heh (you'll see). Also, Khmer BBQ will be good wherever you get it - mix the pepper and dried rice powder with fresh squeezed lime and go to town. Aside from Khmer food, there are these really good spiced up cheese wontons (YES, I KNOW) at Gecko Cafe in the middle of town. Most of their stuff is good, but give the burger a miss. The Huevos Rancheros at Cafe Eden on the riverside are the bomb, as is much of their other food. There's a new place on TripAdvisor that's shot to #1 called Jaan Bai - haven't been, maybe give that a try and report back? I almost forgot to mention Patrice's places, Madison Corner and Pomme d'Amour. The latter is trying to be upscale and ends up feeling kind of corny and is a bit overpriced for what you get, but he's such a character that I usually go once anyway. Madison Corner, on the other hand, is a great place for breakfast, fries and sandwiches (and late night beer). Many of the Western places are run by missionaries (Gecko, etc) and Patrice will proudly tell you if you talk to him long enough that his restaurants are atheist (or something similar) which cracks me up. Other than that, just explore! As for sightseeing, the Killing Caves is a bit dreary and your typical poorly guided tragedy tourism in Cambodia. It's a very interesting thing to see because of the old temple and the gun emplacements with monkeys crawling all over them - also, it's on top of a hill so you get a great view of the countryside. The bamboo train is gimmicky, but worth doing once. Don't make the mistake I made and start your tours in the afternoon and then end up coming back down dark, dusty farm roads in the cold rain way past sunset. There are also some art galleries where they train local artists and then sell their stuff and those are sometimes pretty cool. Once place also sells old Khmer antique signs and posters and things they've found, pretty interesting stuff. Mostly I just go jog around the countryside and check out the people and places. It's a very quaint old colonial capital on the Western side where the old town is. Other side's kind of newer and forgettable. Have fun! EDIT: Please try this place and let me know! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g303666-d6712221-Reviews-Red_Chili_Mexican_Grill-Battambang_Battambang_Province.html I love Mexican food ^__^ ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 10:25 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 10:16
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So it turns out that Wat Khek's crazy celebration was last night and if any of you were in Bangkok and didn't go you missed something cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyYa_eYpvLg (Found that on Reddit)
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Oct 4, 2014 18:54
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Motherfucker they are still going at it. I went out for a massage yesterday afternoon, and when I strolled back to my hotel an hour later they had shut down Silom road and whipped up a huge Hindu festival. I woke up just now at 4:30 AM to what sounds like some horribly loud Indian corps music.
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Oct 4, 2014 22:48
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Go out there you dumbshit that's one of the coolest regular events in Bangkok.
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Oct 4, 2014 22:55
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I did. Now they're carrying plates with fruits and flaming pots on them to the shrine you saw in the video.
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Oct 4, 2014 23:13
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If there is one thing that Thai people know how to do it's party. Till all hours in the morning, loudly! When I went out in 2010 I found myself in the middle of a huge three day party on Koh Lipe. I think it was either May or April but the Moken people or Sea Gypsies all came to Koh Lipe to have an awesome time. They built a stage and set up lots of BBQs and soup/noodle stalls. On the third day of the party (literally, these guys did not stop, 24 hour music. booze and food!) I wondered across to the north side of the island and met an Italian chick. I got her to come back across later for some food, she was a bit worried about eating offal, but I'd reassured her I knew a stall that did just a chicken noodle type broth. A bit later we were sat and chilling and then got something to eat. Half way through her noodles she fishes out a chicken foot. Haha. I didn't get laid, but the noodles were good. Here's a picture of a guy that had come down from BKK, I've forgotten his name now, but he told me he was a Thai Boxer. I spent a few days with him and his wife, his mum had a small hut/house in the village that was in the south of the island.  Looking at that photo, I forget how hard that guy was. I would not have hosed with him for all the tea in china. Ted Ed Fred fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 23:55
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Found a few other photos from then: Despite what S-G says, I often drank the cheap water bottles you see here, never got sick!   This guy was so drunk he was struggling to get on the stage. Eventually three dudes helped him up and he mumbled something into the mike they had on stage. Dude had some serious wet patches.  Sunset on Koh Lipe
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Oct 5, 2014 00:27
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| # ? May 9, 2024 00:18 |
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Koh Lipe is cool (when it's not overrun) but sea gypsies aren't exactly Thai. They speak a dialect of Malay with some Thai vocab and are likely ethnically Malaysian in origin (no one in SEA bothered to write anything down until about eighty years ago and every group in the region (except maybe the Ngor) is a relentless interbreeder so it's hard to say these things with certainty). Not that anything you said in general about Thai people was wrong there. You will probably not get sick from drinking the cheap waters but after I saw that lady filling them up in a tub in an alley and recapping them I somehow managed to find an extra ten baht in my pocket when I was thirsty from then on. raton fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Oct 5, 2014 |
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Oct 5, 2014 01:10
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