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Maxsmart posted:Overall, I've heard that Vietnam is fairly safe. Is it safer/less safe than Cebu and the Philippines? I ask because I'm solo all the time while traveling. Far far safer than Cebu. Maybe my hotel was in a bad area there, but with all the sketchy characters outside my hotel I almost didn't feel safe going to the 7-11 next door at night. Luckily both places had armed security at the door. No such problem in Vietnam. In Saigon I got pick pocketed by ladyboys on scooters once successfully twice unsuccessfully. They got my phone out of my jacket pocket because one hand was covering my wallet, one hand covering my dick, and they had four hands between the two of them. If you see those bitches on a white Vespa feel free to grab their purses and throw them on a roof for me. Still felt far safer in Vietnam despite that. Just two bad apples. Also, while Sapa is great, January is a really bad time to see it. If you will be back to Vietnam, do it another time. Horatius Bonar fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Nov 18, 2014 |
# ? Nov 18, 2014 17:47 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 20:05 |
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I think the order of dangerousness is basically Philippines is the most dangerous in SE Asia, followed by Indonesia and then Malaysian Borneo, then Vietnam and Myanmar, then Cambodia and Thailand, then Laos and then Malaysian main peninsula. Even so, probably safer as a tourist in most parts of SE Asia than as a local in many parts of the U.S.
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# ? Nov 18, 2014 17:58 |
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Horatius Bonar posted:In Saigon I got pick pocketed by ladyboys on scooters once successfully twice unsuccessfully. They got my phone out of my jacket pocket because one hand was covering my wallet, one hand covering my dick, and they had four hands between the two of them. If you see those bitches on a white Vespa feel free to grab their purses and throw them on a roof for me. Hahaha I met these two on Tran Hung Dao and around Bui Vien area all the time, when going home late at night, I remember the white Vespa. I always had my phone and my wallet in the same pocket in general, so I could protect dick + pocket. It took many sessions of screaming at them in Viet to go away and that I knew their deal before they eventually learned to leave me alone.
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# ? Nov 18, 2014 18:30 |
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I had a bike taxi guy hand me a helmet for the first time today. I was so impressed with that, I didn't argue about his price.
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# ? Nov 18, 2014 18:36 |
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Wait, what the hell do they do to your dick if you don't hold it? Also, I've been learning Vietnamese for a couple months and am curious about what you'd say to those jokers. Đứng chơi với cu anh? I'm probably way off since I've only been learning online and have no actual exposure to the language besides talking with Vietnamese people online.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 01:47 |
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Senso posted:Hahaha I met these two on Tran Hung Dao and around Bui Vien area all the time, when going home late at night, I remember the white Vespa. I always had my phone and my wallet in the same pocket in general, so I could protect dick + pocket. It took many sessions of screaming at them in Viet to go away and that I knew their deal before they eventually learned to leave me alone. I saw them one time after they got my phone. They actually got off their scooter and came towards me. I knew it was them right away and took three steps towards them. As soon as they recognized me - or saw the look on my face - they scrambled to get back on and sped off so fast that I was worried they'd wipe out. That was one time I wish I really knew Vietnamese so I could yell at them. I haven't found out what happens if you don't protect your dick. Always protect your dick.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 03:00 |
Cuatal posted:Wait, what the hell do they do to your dick if you don't hold it? Steal it, obviously.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 03:24 |
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Some of them are just trying to get in touch with their past.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 05:56 |
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Pnomh Penh now, almost got roofied by two Filipino guys and their sister or whoever she was. Got invited to lunch at the guys house which has happened to me before in other asian countries and with no problems, maybe this time was a little premature but i had no reason to say no, i wasn't going anywhere. Anyway the red flags started piling up at the house and with the first taste of the drink i knew something was wrong. Well within 1 minute i felt slightly off. I have a good feel for things like that and a lot of ingrained paranoia. She gave him a different drink than me for starters and I only took a sip at first cause im not a retard. Well its not paranoia if theyre actually out to get you. gently caress that. I excused myself and left. Watch your wallets, junk, and buttholes people.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 06:56 |
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The Filipino scam is pretty well known around here and has been hitting Phnom Penh for a couple of years, usually riverside. I'd have thought the guide books or web sites would warn about it by now, but you can read up on it on K440. They've got an ongoing thread of expats who've been approached and what not. The general rule I give visitors is to not talk to people who approach you first. It's not hard and fast, but it's usually solid. The problem with the Pinoys is that they pass for friendly fellow travelers or whatever their story is pretty well, so it's easy to let your guard down. I've heard multiple backstories, but usually one person is supposedly traveling while they have a cousin living there or something and eventually this ends up with a series of card games where you get fleeced.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 07:00 |
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Oh well i dunno..i didnt have a "they will kill me" vibe when i walked in the door so i just went with it. I dont think they ever wanted to play a card game though, that drink was loaded. Who knows. Yea im not like most people, if anyone talks to me i just go with it. So dont do what i did i guess. I dont know. Still a little sour about it. I still like cambodia a lot though. Its true, talking to people on the street who talk to you first is usually stupid. I got suckered at the border for twice as much for the ticket here and i knew it too but i didnt want to cause a scene or get off the bus that the guy put me on. (Edit this turned out not to be as true, my new guidebook says everyone gets fleeced in poipet) My guard is down overall, i wasnt like this on my previous trips. Dont do what i do. the worst thing is fucked around with this message at 11:20 on Nov 19, 2014 |
# ? Nov 19, 2014 07:11 |
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Also is the koh kong or whatever border closed? The southern one. I took a bus from pattaya and it took me to poipet. I was like north whyyyy and everyone assured me it was fine. Wrong border!!! I wanted to go to sihanoukville but here i am first.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 07:21 |
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ReindeerF posted:The general rule I give visitors is to not talk to people who approach you first. I dunno, I guess I can see it for visitors (particularly in the touristy areas) but one of my favourite things about the place is having random locals come up to you for a chat. I suppose once you've been here a while it's a bit easier to spot the scams. I admit I did get caught by Wild Turkey man way back when I was first on holiday here, but that was like $5 so whatever. Taut how long you in town for?
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 09:12 |
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Yeah, I mean only for visitors to tourist cities/areas . Your typical visitor is going to be in a touristy area and 90% of people who approach them except like in a guesthouse lobby hangout scene are going to be up to something. If you stay long enough to figure things out or of you're in a non-tourist sea, then definitely be very friendly.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 09:23 |
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It sucks that scammers everywhere are giving their people/country a bad name. I still talk to people who randomly approach me but once they start asking me to go somewhere with them, I'm out. That's a huge red card. Every time I've followed a random somewhere else, it was a scam. It never got violent but it's a waste of time and a drat shame.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 09:38 |
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You can play with people that approach you first but going to their house isn't wise. I've posted the time a group tried to rope me into the card game scam where I realized it was a scam early on and went along with it for kicks, however that could have just turned into a flat out robbery or beat down or worse, or I could have run into some scam where I don't have a good guess as to what is going on or whatever. Come with us to X or come meet my friend at X is a big red light. ===== In other news, I don't think I'll ever understand people's need for souvenirs: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/18/world/asia/thailand-infant-body-parts/ raton fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Nov 19, 2014 |
# ? Nov 19, 2014 09:55 |
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Tytan posted:I dunno, I guess I can see it for visitors (particularly in the touristy areas) but one of my favourite things about the place is having random locals come up to you for a chat. I suppose once you've been here a while it's a bit easier to spot the scams. I admit I did get caught by Wild Turkey man way back when I was first on holiday here, but that was like $5 so whatever. Looks like a few days now, wanna head to sihanoukville sooner rather than later. Not that i wanna talk about SA or anything but if you want to get a beer like tomorrow im down, i dont live near the river but i can head that way, i was just there today. Idk no biggy either way.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 10:11 |
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cent0r posted:It sucks that scammers everywhere are giving their people/country a bad name. I still talk to people who randomly approach me but once they start asking me to go somewhere with them, I'm out. That's a huge red card. Every time I've followed a random somewhere else, it was a scam. It never got violent but it's a waste of time and a drat shame. I agree but actually he made it sound at first like we would go to a restaurant for breakfast. But i dont need to try to paint myself out to be the most cautious guy, i just wanted to see what his deal was. If he took me to a quiet area i wouldnt have gone in but it was one of the busier parts of town. Anyway
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 10:19 |
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Tautologicus posted:Looks like a few days now, wanna head to sihanoukville sooner rather than later. Not that i wanna talk about SA or anything but if you want to get a beer like tomorrow im down, i dont live near the river but i can head that way, i was just there today. Idk no biggy either way. Sure, tomorrow night is actually pretty good if you're about. I'm not near the riverside either but happy to go wherever. Sent you a PM.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 10:53 |
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Yeah, I dunno. I can recall backpacking ending up hanging out with various groups of conglomerated backpackers and eventually ending up at the same hotel after a day together on a tour or something and that seemed normal, but if some loner approached me and started yapping then asked me to go back to his condo I'd be like BEEP BEEP ANYWAY. Live and learn. In the countryside, though, when I'm out trail running or biking or whatever I'm constantly invited in for food or water or I'm in some guy's plantation and he wants to talk about how his kids are waiting for him to die so they can sell it and buy condos and cars and so on. That stuff, meeting real people and getting invited to normal homes, is one of the great things about living here. Americans are - something you'll hear from foreigners who have traveled there - considerably more friendly than a lot of our Western counterparts, but it's nowhere near the level of friendliness of regular folks in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and what not. It's part of why I love living here. People have irrational fears, but they're pretty segmented, and society doesn't seem to be a whirlwind of fear the way it is back home.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 11:36 |
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Think I just met this guy: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293940-i9551-k4690257-Beware_of_Black_Jack_Scam-Phnom_Penh.html in Vientiane, Laos. Everything was the same: same watch, glasses, height, age accounting for 3 years on. Sister in law, worked on cruise ship Virgo Princess. Every single detail was identical, other than he said his daughter was going to study Nursing in Kensington, London. His card counting/magic card skills were pretty legit though. Had a really nice lunch, cool chat. I was pretty suspicious from the start, but had naive reservations that maybe it was just a nice guy. Then he started trying to recruit me play a rich foreigner type in a casino, and go play high stakes blackjack with his money while he dealt the cards and we split the winnings. So I just politely declined and there was no issue, and he dropped me near where I wanted to go. He then said he was out of petrol for his scooter and his poor wife was in hospital and could I give him 20 bucks, which felt like stooping pretty low. I gave him 5 anyway for a lunch and drop off at my destination. Best scam I think I've ever had, would do again, 10/10.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 15:19 |
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How can this possibly work? Heh.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 16:40 |
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Cuatal posted:Wait, what the hell do they do to your dick if you don't hold it? Well they just grab your package to surprise you, while their other hands go through your pockets. You wouldn't want them to suddenly squeeze HARD once you start getting angry. My Vietnamese is rusty since I left about a year ago (alas) but I guess I said something like that (can't be bothered to setup a tieng viet keyboard so gently caress the accents but you'll get it): Anh khong muon di voi em, anh biet em, em phai di mau len. Plus all the insults I know: dit con me, chet tu roi, du ma, du me mai, etc. drat I really forgot a lot. I had classes for two years, at least I still have my thick notebook I think I'll flip through it again tonight. Senso fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Nov 19, 2014 |
# ? Nov 19, 2014 17:09 |
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ReindeerF posted:How can this possibly work? Heh. In blackjack there are spots where you can split or double. This involves putting more money down. The bet is raised to a silly amount, a doubling or splitting opportunity arises, suddenly the foolproof system of your supposed conspirator being able to always deal you a winning hand breaks down and you lose. Credit was given by the "bank" because he supposedly trusted the game/you/whatever. Now that money is owed the conspirator doesn't have any and the bank gets unpleasant about it, perhaps brandishing a weapon, and you are taken to an ATM to help the host / save your own skin. When I played along I was initially asked if I knew how to play blackjack and said I didn't when I certainly did. The bet started at 100 and signals were given by the dealer / conspirator for what I was supposed to do (winks and gestures). The bet was 800 or 1600 when I was dealt a splitting hand which would have meant doubling the money out there and an outlay of 700 or 1500 in credit (the host "gives" you 100 to start things off). I ignored the signal and did the wrong play, which would end with me losing the hand at the current stake. There proceeded a hilarious pantomime show of the bank pretending not to notice the huge delay in the game and the ever increasingly cartoonish winks and eventually whispered hints from the host telling me to take a different action than I had already declared -- of course this would be prohibited in an actual game. They eventually gave up on me and the host gave a sob story about being out a hundred bucks. I guess they still thought I just didn't know what I was doing because they made sure I had contact information and asked me to call them once I had a phone so we could try it again. I tried to figure out their address so I could go to the police but there wasn't a street sign anywhere near there so I just walked around the neighborhood for a while before giving up and getting in a cab. The scam bit may actually work differently but the above is the only reason I can see for injecting the blackjack conceit to begin with. Blackjack is used because it's very easy to teach but does have a built in mechanism for bloating the bet as you play. There is generally a third person around, your supposed buddy and introduction to the host, so maybe the host blames you for not understanding his signal and you get two bad cops and one good cop instead of one and two when it comes to the shakedown. Now if you mean "how can anyone fall for this" then I'd just say there's a sucker born every minute and that there aren't too many jobs in Thailand where three guys can make 1500 bucks in a couple of hours, so even if it fails a few times one win and it's an okay income. This is the main reason we don't see more scams in the US -- it's actually not an easy way to earn good money and most people enterprising enough to go for it come up with better options. raton fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Nov 19, 2014 |
# ? Nov 19, 2014 20:03 |
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Yeah, searching for "blackjack scam" or similar brings up many blog posts by people who actually got ripped off. Like 419 email scams, you just need one or two people getting scammed to give hope to scammers and multiply.
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 20:41 |
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I need to move to more interesting part of SEA, the best I've managed is getting pickpocketed by a ladyboy while very drunk. On an unrelated note, I can strongly recommend going to Bar Lai to anyone visiting KL that wants an extremely well prepared fried breakfast. Perfectly cooked fried eggs and beautiful, beautiful bacon. It's actually the first time in 3 years in Asia I've had a moment of 'Oh God I really miss home food'. Fair warning: There is no signage for the place (which is at least deliberate rather than lazy) and if you get in the staff make regular SEA asia staff look a bit high energy. Cooking however is spot on, cocktails are generally good too (I either dislike Bloody Mary's or theirs has way too much lemon juice).
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# ? Nov 19, 2014 20:51 |
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My husband and I are spending our winter vacation in Cambodia. We're flying in and out of Siem Reap and know that we'd also like to see Phnomh Penh and Sihanoukville, possibly Battambang. We haven't booked anything yet besides the plane tickets, but we'll be in the country from January 17th to the 31st. I have a few questions I didn't see answers to (because this is a long-rear end thread and I only read the last 30 pages or so.) Apologies for any repeats or particularly dumb questions. 1. I was told by other friends who went last year that it's a good idea to book places on tours. We're not much on tours in general, but tend to do it in SEA. I assume it's easier to join tours when you're already in-country, right? 2. He wants to eat bugs at some bug restaurant he heard about, can't remember where. I'd say this is 100% a place to get tourists to pay exorbitant amounts of money for the privilege of eating vermin, and I'd personally rather eat a flaming bag of hair than a bug. Does anyone know anything about this kind of place and whether it's actually worth it? 3. Angkor Wat park passes- how many days does one need? 4. How exactly does one rent a tuk-tuk/driver for a day? You just go out and hail any guy, or are there organizations or something I should be contacting? Motorcycles are not an option for us. 5. Any goons in the area who want to hang would be cool! If you want stuff from Korea, we can help you out. Thanks, dudes.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 02:27 |
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1. gently caress tours don't need em don't want em 2. Country rear end SE Asians do eat bugs. Cambodians seem partial to tarantulas. Eat some bugs with your husband and don't be a whiner. The last time I was there I was offered a night cricket stirfry from farm caught crickets and turned it down and regret doing so. It's important to eat everything. 3. I think Angkor is amazing and recommend three which is convenient as you can either buy a one day pass or a three day pass or some other longer pass. You'll want at least two days even if you're a heehaw Kentucky hillperson. 4. You just go up to them and bargain. If this is too intimidating your guesthouse/hotel will find a guy for you for only slightly more money. It's stupidly cheap anyway so who cares. raton fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Nov 20, 2014 |
# ? Nov 20, 2014 02:31 |
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bringmyfishback posted:My husband and I are spending our winter vacation in Cambodia. We're flying in and out of Siem Reap and know that we'd also like to see Phnomh Penh and Sihanoukville, possibly Battambang. We haven't booked anything yet besides the plane tickets, but we'll be in the country from January 17th to the 31st. I have a few questions I didn't see answers to (because this is a long-rear end thread and I only read the last 30 pages or so.) Apologies for any repeats or particularly dumb questions. 1) Todays your lucky day! With a simple private message all the hassle can be taken away by booking everything through Duckmaster International Tours! Here at DIT we put the "easy" into SE Asia (because there's almost an easy but not quite!)! Hotels, excursions, dinner and more, and certainly not booked half an hour before you want to do something because I've forgotten about it. Probably not booked at all to be honest as I may be drunk. As I'm working as a semi-professional Santa Claus and don't seem to have many bookings in January for some reason I'll be happy to give you a completely incompetent tour of the local watering holes. Or you could book yourself, whatever. 2) There is a new one in Siem Reap that does proper sit down meals and they all contain bugs. It's probably a bit of a tourist trap meaning you'll pay $5 for a cockroach and I'm pretty sure they don't actually cost that much. Like everywhere else in Cambodia getting "scammed" usually means "paying $10 extra for something and not even noticing" so whatever. There are bug stalls on Pub Street that are obviously aimed at tourists and overpriced. They're probably not "authentic" but they're bugs ffs, how authentic can they be? You can go to the funfair as well, Route 30 or something? They have a market infront of it (it's open at night) which has all sorts of crazy poo poo. Be sure to ride the DEATHcoaster as well, someone literally died on it. 3) It's $20 for one day, I think $35 for two or $50 for three. When you hire a tuk-tuk driver for "the temples" it's basically $15 for the small tour which is roughly 4-5 hours. You'll get about five under your belt doing that. In the heat it becomes a bit of a struggle so if you're mad about temples do that three times and you'll get your fill (don't just do the small tour obviously, all the drivers have maps so just show him where you want to go). 4) Yeh literally walk up to them. A lot of guesthouses and hotels have their own drivers and their tuk tuks have the hotels name and colours on them. These ones usually (but not always) speak passable English and know their ways around. Note that they're not usually employed by the hotel, generally they'll pay the hotel for the right to sit outside and get customers coming out. If you find a driver you like get his phone number (he'll offer it to you before you actually ask) and just give him a call. You can pick up a cheap phone for like $15. Roughly agree on what you want to do and how long you want him for and haggle from there. $20/day is a reasonable price for tourists. 5) My rate is $10/hour, santa suit extra.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 02:51 |
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Sheep-Goats posted:2. Country rear end SE Asians do eat bugs. Cambodians seem partial to tarantulas. Eat some bugs with your husband and don't be a whiner. The last time I was there I was offered a night cricket stirfry from farm caught crickets and turned it down and regret doing so. It's important to eat everything. Sorry, I didn't think I was whining, just stating a preference. I actually have pretty bad arachnophobia, so just traveling in areas with big spiders is a leap for me. Just don't think I could eat one. No judgment on anyone who does- I actually find it pretty impressive.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:04 |
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You don't have to eat bugs as I can assure you, you will get nothing spiritually or otherwise from doing so. You won't be more connected to the native population or the Earth either.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:11 |
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JUST EAT A SPIDER EAT SPIDER CRAB OF THE LAND
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:12 |
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YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM! ...are you? oh god my reality
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:15 |
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Protip: You can enter the Angkor park area after 17:00 of the day before your ticket for free, so if you want to catch sundown around the temples for free (sort of!!!) after arriving late the day before you plan to hit the temples, there you go. Request from Korea: Tell everyone in Korea that the temples are a shrine to Japanese war criminals abd have Ebola so the Korean package tourists will stop coming. There are throngs of them clogging up traffic in giant buses and walkways in giant groups and haggling aggressively in markets. It's been this way ever since they took over from Japan as the patron.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:23 |
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bringmyfishback posted:My husband and I are spending our winter vacation in Cambodia. We're flying in and out of Siem Reap and know that we'd also like to see Phnomh Penh and Sihanoukville, possibly Battambang. We haven't booked anything yet besides the plane tickets, but we'll be in the country from January 17th to the 31st. I have a few questions I didn't see answers to (because this is a long-rear end thread and I only read the last 30 pages or so.) Apologies for any repeats or particularly dumb questions. Might as well throw in my 2 cents: 1. There's really no need for tours, but it you do decide on them, just book them through your hotel/guesthouse. This applies for transportation too (i.e. coaches etc, not local transport like tuk tuks) 2. I've never been but I believe Romdeng in Phnom Penh does fried tarantula if you want to try it in a touristy restaurant. Otherwise just head to a popular local place like Sovanna, they usually have girls walking round with baskets of bugs (go to Sovanna anyway, it's awesome). 3. You can do the major sights in one day, but it's pretty exhausting. 3 days let's you see them at a more relaxed pace, plus you get to see some of the less well-known places. But obviously it depends on whether you want to dedicate 3 days of your holiday to the temples. 4. As others have said, just go up and ask. Probably looking at $15 - $20 for the day. 5. I'm in Phnom Penh and am always up for meeting for beers and/or food As always I'll recommend seeing Kampot/Kep too if you've got time, but that's just my personal preference. XyrlocShammypants posted:You don't have to eat bugs as I can assure you, you will get nothing spiritually or otherwise from doing so. I dunno, a couple of my local friends said that eating spiders would give me spider-man powers. This was after a few beers though... Tytan fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Nov 20, 2014 |
# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:34 |
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Oh yeah, Tytan is right, I forgot that. Dump Sihanoukville from your itinerary and add Kampot/Kep. I also love Battambang, but there is not a shitload to do there, so you have to want to be there. Whatever you do, skip Sihanoukville.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 04:49 |
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bringmyfishback posted:YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM! I love you honey but anyone can lose five pounds with a little restraint.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 05:01 |
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Hey if you guys live in Korea there's beondegi so you can get your bug fix there. Actually all bugs taste pretty similar, just soggy pile of of protein. It matters more how you cook them
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 05:01 |
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ReindeerF posted:Oh yeah, Tytan is right, I forgot that. Dump Sihanoukville from your itinerary and add Kampot/Kep. I also love Battambang, but there is not a shitload to do there, so you have to want to be there. Why?? It's the only place in Cambodia with a beach. And theres upscale guesthouses there and on Koh Rong that are better for couples. Otherwise it's mostly for drunk partiers and some quiet retirees, it's true.
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 05:04 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 20:05 |
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I saw Thaitanium in Pattaya
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# ? Nov 20, 2014 05:05 |