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DontAskKant posted:Does anyone have good leads on beginning SCUBA certification in the Philippines? Looking for some place cheap with beaches, gf has been to Thailand 3 times already so looking for places that aren't that. Get your certification in a pool US side so you can actually go have fun when you go on vacation.
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Dec 4, 2014 05:20
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DontAskKant posted:Does anyone have good leads on beginning SCUBA certification in the Philippines? Looking for some place cheap with beaches, gf has been to Thailand 3 times already so looking for places that aren't that. I can't vouch for prices or anything but I really loved El Nido when I went with my girlfriend. There is both great diving and nice beaches there. Palawan in general is pretty cool. You could also head to the area around Bohol/Dumaguete/etc., in the central Visayas. I did a little diving off of Dumaguete at Apo Island, which was really nice, but we were there in monsoon season and the waters were pretty choppy and a lot of stuff got churned up. It was a great place though. You run a chance of seeing turtles around the island, and there are whale sharks in the area (although as far as I know they just chill out around Oslob because they get fed there so tourists can come snorkel all around them). The added bonus is that there is a lot of really cool non-diving to be done as well. Good beaches, Dumaguete is a nice little town with some old colonial feel in parts, and you can pop over to Bohol for the Chocolate Hills, which I regret never making it to. Also you can head to Siquijor, the island of witches where they still practice white and black magic.
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Dec 4, 2014 05:32
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What are the electrical outlets like in Thailand? Same shape as in the U.S. but 220v?
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Dec 4, 2014 05:51
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C-Euro posted:What are the electrical outlets like in Thailand? Same shape as in the U.S. but 220v? Most outlets are 220v US/European hybrids. Sometimes you have to push a little harder than you'd expect. If you're unlucky, you may run into an outlet that only accepts European-style round prongs.
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Dec 4, 2014 08:22
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One note on that, if you use anything with a three-prong plug then be sure to pick up a two-prong male adapter with a three-prong female input as many cheaper restaurants and guesthouses and coffee shops and things will only have two-prong jacks. You can get them here at any mom and pop hardware joint, but it's handy to have with you already.
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Dec 4, 2014 08:27
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Also depending on the place the plugs may not be grounded, so for stuff like a laptop you may need a plug adapter. E: beaten by Reindeer, clearly.
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Dec 4, 2014 08:27
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C-Euro posted:What are the electrical outlets like in Thailand? Same shape as in the U.S. but 220v? http://bit.ly/1I2Jrtf
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Dec 4, 2014 08:27
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If I had the money for US prices and was in in the US I would, but I'm in Korea and the Philippines are the cheapest warm beach place. Good notes on other things to see. How do people get around, lots of small flights? Like it's cheaper to fly to Manila, but nobody wants to be there and everything cool is closer to Cebu. How do people even get to Palawan?
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Dec 4, 2014 09:43
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goodness posted:Get your certification in a pool US side so you can actually go have fun when you go on vacation. Buy the PADI book and read it before you go and then it's basically just three days of diving. You probably don't even have to learn the stuff in the book to pass the tests but maybe you do I don't remember any more. C-Euro posted:What are the electrical outlets like in Thailand? Same shape as in the U.S. but 220v? code:code:
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Dec 4, 2014 11:43
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My Vita TV came with three narrow rectangles on the plug head. loving hell.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:32
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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. A little late to this, but having just done this like 3 weeks ago I figured I'll help out. 1. Do you mean sightseeing tours? I'd pass on that and just do everything on your own EXCEPT for seeing Angkor Wat. I guess I'll touch on that in #4. 2. He most likely meant Bugs Cafe, which is like a bug tapas bar. They even have a website you can check out. It's definitely a tourist trap, and you'll be paying like $5 for a scorpion salad, or other bug-infused dishes. $8'ish for tarantula donuts or whatever the heck. But what the hell, might as well do it and take photos for Facebook or whatever. You can also just get a small bag of bugs in street stalls for like $1. I'd say it's worth it since your husband really wants to check it out, just keep in mind it'll probably be the most expensive food you'll spend on in the city. 3. I definitely recommend 3 days. 1 day just isn't enough, well, it is if you only wanna see the biggest temples but you're short-changing yourself if you do that. 3 days should be $40. If you go after 5pm when you get the pass, then they only start counting on the next day so you can get a free sunset at any of the sunset spots. 4. I highly recommend you hire a tuk-tuk driver from your hotel/guesthouse and just not grab a random one from the streets. You'll be approached by a thousand tuk tuk drivers on the streets, but there's a better chance that you actually get a decent tuk-tuk driver from your accommodation. The driver we got from our guesthouse was super sweet and awesome, I miss that old dude. They cost only a couple of dollars more and most places have a set temple tour/circuits that the tuk-tuk drivers follow and there's plenty of options. Honestly, these are pretty much the same order you'll end up doing if you use a guidebook and hire your own driver. So just save yourself the hassle and enjoy the temples without worrying about all the logistics of hiring a random tuk-tuk driver and planning which next temple you should to go to, you'll thank me later. I suggest doing at least one of the sunrises and all the sunsets, but definitely always go for an early start so you avoid most of the tourists.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:06
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DontAskKant posted:If I had the money for US prices and was in in the US I would, but I'm in Korea and the Philippines are the cheapest warm beach place. Speaking as a Filipino who lives in Manila, you really don't want to use Manila as anything other than a hub to get to the other places in the Philippines. Check out Cebu Pacific and Air Asia for cheap flights from Manila to Palawan/Cebu.
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Dec 5, 2014 02:29
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I just recently got back from a big swing of SE Asian countries. Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I loved every stop and can't really choose a favorite. Cambodia had the most mixed emotions for me. Incredibly poor, incredibly sad at times, but also some of the friendliest people on my trip and an interesting mix of travelers outside of Siem Reap once I got beyond getting hassled for tuk tuks, ladies, and weed every 5 steps. To contribute: pretty much agreed on everything Constellation just said about Siem Reap. I hired a driver through my hotel. He was great and super reliable. You might get a good one off the street, but it is a bigger risk. 3 days seemed perfect for me there. I could have easily spent a few more days and checked out some even farther areas, but I saw all I wanted to see and then some in 3 days. I was ready to get away from the throngs of tourists after that. I'd highly recommend getting up early every day if you can muster it for sunrise. Not just for sunrise itself (I don't really care about that) but because it is dramatically cooler from 6-9am and, even more importantly, you'll often have the temples completely to yourself (with the exception of Angkor Wat). One morning I went straight to Angkor Thom / Bayon at sunrise and had the entire complex literally to myself until about 8am. I usually went sightseeing from 530am-10am, went back to my hotel for breakfast/swimming/sleeping, and then would meet up with my driver again around 330 to see some more before the sun went down. Phnom Krom is also a place I'd recommend for sunset if you are up for going a little out of the way. It's about 15 KM south of Siem Reap and involves some hiking. You hike up to the top of this small mountain with a temple on top and have great views over the Tonle Sap lake. There were just 10 other people or so up there for sunset on the day I went.
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Dec 5, 2014 06:54
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DontAskKant posted:Does anyone have good leads on beginning SCUBA certification in the Philippines? Looking for some place cheap with beaches, gf has been to Thailand 3 times already so looking for places that aren't that. Oh I was going to ask the same question, but I'm in Thailand and was wondering where the best places to go are here. Alternatively, would I be better just going somewhere else nearby like Malaysia?
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Dec 5, 2014 11:06
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Koh Tao is the best place to learn to dive because of the (relatively) high quality of instruction and rock bottom prices. The Andaman coast is considered the best place to dive but it depends what you want to see - Andaman coast has better 'special' stuff but Koh Tao has more big schools of fish. I've heard mixed reviews about learning to dive in Malaysia, although there's definitely some amazing diving in the Borneo - Sipadan is legendary among SE Asia divers.
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Dec 5, 2014 11:18
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Tao is the cheapest and probably the top of the pile for SCUBA newbs in Thailand. Phi Phi is probably the second most popular diving center but it's more expensive to learn there (the prices are fixed between schools on an island, I think Tao is like 9500B and Phi Phi is 13000 but I don't remember). Dive sites on Tao will be more crowded (you'll see people and fish) but you aren't exactly getting things to yourself on Phi Phi either. Tao probably has a stronger nightlife but if you're diving you get up early as poo poo so unless you're a bigger man than me you either party or dive, not both. Diving is fairly taxing until you get used to it anyway. Tao also has cool murders and all Phi Phi has is that tsunami but that was like ten years ago so who cares
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Dec 5, 2014 13:16
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Agree on Cambodia. It really slaps you in the face if it's your first brush with the truly poor developing world, but it's the coolest country in Southeast Asia to spend time in. I'm not personally partial to Siem Reap, but Angkor is not to be missed, so it's a must. I live Battambang and Phnom Penh, personally. Wherever you go (aside from Poipet and Sihanoukville) it's an amazing experience, though. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 13:20
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I loved Cambodia. More so than Thailand. I had a full tear on my left shoulder at the time but it was great.
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Dec 5, 2014 13:35
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What do y'all think of this? NYTimes 36 Hours in Phnom Penh. Kinda thought they'd mention Foreign Correspondents Club. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/travel/things-to-do-in-36-hours-in-phnom-penh.html Gonna be in Phnom Penh mid January for 3 days, really psyched. Comb Your Beard fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 18:29
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Okay, booked everything for my vietnam trip. Should this work? Jan 4-8 Saigon Jan 8-10 Mekong home stay Jan 10 Rest day in Saigon Fly to Da Lat Jan 11-13 Da Lat Fly to Hoi An (Da Nang) Jan 13-15 Hoi An Jan 15-17 Hue Jan 17-19 Dong Hoi Train for these 3 Jan 19-20 Travel to Hanoi and rest (Fly) Jan 20-22 Ha Long Bay cruise Jan 22-26 Hanoi (Old quarter, lake, food, French things, temples)
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Dec 5, 2014 19:39
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That looks nice to me. Other than Hanoi and Saigon, which are huge, a single day or two is usually enough to se everything. Where is the Mekong homestay, do you know? Ca Mau or Can Tho? Riding on the highways from Saigon to remote Mekong locations are amongst my best memories of the place.
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Dec 5, 2014 20:20
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That's the first time anyone has ever posted a sane itinerary. I'm speechless.
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Dec 5, 2014 21:12
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Comb Your Beard posted:What do y'all think of this? NYTimes 36 Hours in Phnom Penh. Kinda thought they'd mention Foreign Correspondents Club. quote:At the black-and-white-themed dive bar Zeppelin Cafe, order a $2 gin and tonic and dumplings while rocking out to the Taiwanese owner’s vinyl rock ‘n’ roll collection. quote:Take a sunset cruise along the Tonle Sap River, which runs parallel to the tourist area called “the Riverside.” Private boats whisk you away for two-hour jaunts near the intersection of Street 100 and Sisowath Quay. Prices start at around $25 for a two-level wooden vessel; splurging for an operator like Crocodile Cruise — from $50 for two hours — will get you comfortable sofas, an acceptable toilet and the option of food and drink. Tytan would have better suggestions, but here are some things I'd add from the top of my head: 1) Ribs at Lone Star Saloon (okay, I'm from Texas). 2) Take the Naga Ferry from over by the casino/Diamond Island (South end of the Riverside) for like 500 Riel and go jogging or biking around the villages and through the rustic wats and lemongrass fields. You can rent a Giant mountain bike across from the FCC or rent a lovely bike across the river after the ferry. 3) Head across the Chroy Changva bridge (North end of the Riverside) to Chroy Changva and relax at one of the bamboo hut restaurants (Tytan tipped me off to this). 4) Take the cyclo tour of historic Indochinese architecture organized by the Khmer Architecture Tour guys. 5) Go to whatever new place Aussie Tom has launched, he's the Ashley Sutton of Phnom Penh and an affable character. Last I was there it was The Exchange. 6) Drinks at the FCC. Yeah, it's cliche these days, but it's still the FCC. 7) Go to the old railroad depot out by the former Boueng Kok lake bed (now filled) and sneak inside to check out the colonial era locomotives and things. 8) Burgers & Beer Friday nights at Cambodia Brewery/Leopard Capital. 10) French with pastis at Resto Au Coin I'm sure there's more, but it's late and I'm exhausted. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Dec 7, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 21:17
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Ya, Phnom Penh was probably my favorite stop in SE Asia. I just had 2 nights/3days there and really wish I had more. So many great restaurants and bars and interesting people to meet and just a laid back vibe. Also incredibly affordable. Good suggestions on things to check out there. I'm saving it to a file as I hope to make it back and explore Cambodia in more depth next time. FCC is kind of touristy but definitely worth a stop. Happy hour was 2 drinks for the price of one so you can catch sunset and get two mojitos or something for 5 dollars.
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Dec 6, 2014 03:28
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DontAskKant posted:If I had the money for US prices and was in in the US I would, but I'm in Korea and the Philippines are the cheapest warm beach place. Definitely flights. Long trips overland in the Philippines... you get what you pay for. I went from Manila to Banaue on an overnight bus. 10 hour trip, but I was assured by my friend booking the tickets that "It's cool, we'll have our own minibus, you can sleep on the way up". Instead it was basically a Greyhound, packed the way they can only do in SE Asia. As in, once all the seats were filled, some at double occupancy with naked babies or livestock on laps, then they took out a stack of plastic chairs which they placed down the aisle, and sat people in them all the way up to the front. Cramped, hot and dirty for ten hours. But like I said, you get what you pay for. Unless you're okay going the budget backpacker route, which I've grown tired of in my 30s, avoid buses. For Palawan, you fly, of course. You can go right to Puerto Princesa that way. For El Nido, you have two choices, basically. Take the Cebu Pacific flight into Puerto Princesa, then take a van or hire a private car to drive you up to El Nido. This will take you around 5ish hours. Not the most comfortable ride ever, but I imagine especially in a private car, tolerable. Your other choice is to fly directly into El Nido. This is difficult to do, though, and involves a lot more money via an airline called ITI. If you filter my posts in this thread, back in 2012 you'll see I made this trip too... What I did was, my gf and I flew Cebu Pacific (about $40 iirc) to Puerto, then took the $10 van. It was dusty and long and meh, but easy to tolerate because we knew the payoff would be great. On the way back though, we really weren't looking forward to a van ride just to get onto a plane in order to get onto another plane, so we decided to do the ITI flight, which is around $100 each way (or was, back then), but bypasses the van part directly-- they take you to the tiny landing strip 20 minutes outside of El Nido. The problem with going through ITI and doing the easier flight is that all of the seats are standby, because they're reserved for patrons of the fancy 5 star resorts on the private islands. So you can't really book them until a few days ahead of time, and only then by going and talking to a rep. To fly back to Manila, we actually had to split up and take two separate flights on the same day because we each got the last seat on our flight, and were lucky to get it. This may all have changed; ITI might offer more flights now. I'm pretty sure Cebu Pacific can't fly to El Nido though, because this was just a prop plane on a tiny airstrip with a thatch bungalow next to it, not their style.
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Dec 6, 2014 03:49
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I need to find somewhere relatively chill/ laid-back to go on NYE in Bangkok. Have been invited to KU DE TA but even the name sounds like pretentious wank and I don't like hiso wannabes. I'm thinking RCA somewhere will have a better normal people:backpackers:tossers ratio.
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Dec 6, 2014 10:15
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Sheep-Goats posted:That's the first time anyone has ever posted a sane itinerary. I'm speechless. Agreed. Korean goons tend to be pretty well grounded though.
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Dec 6, 2014 10:18
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caberham posted:Agreed. Korean goons tend to be pretty well grounded though. Huh. I suppose it's all the suffering.
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Dec 6, 2014 10:31
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Anyone have any experience with Singapore? I mean longer-term living rather than visiting. My experiences there amount to the airport and then working my dickhole off at the Pan Pacific Singapore until I took a redeye out a few times. I have a strange but lucrative opportunity there but I am not sure about the location.
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Dec 7, 2014 02:50
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THere's the singapore thread
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Dec 7, 2014 05:19
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caberham posted:THere's the singapore thread Didn't even realize
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Dec 7, 2014 05:57
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Imagine if Disney imagineers tried to create a safe and Western-friendly Hong Kong with absolutely zero historical character. If you're a finance our consulting douche you'll love it, because you can spend lots of money on overpriced consumer items that are largely forgettable.
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Dec 7, 2014 06:07
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Singapore's a nice enough place to live, you can get everything you might want as long as you have the money.
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Dec 7, 2014 06:08
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caberham posted:THere's the singapore thread Thread lacks authenticity, unlike this thread, much like its posters/residents, aye yoooooo ReindeerF posted:Imagine if Disney imagineers tried to create a safe and Western-friendly Hong Kong with absolutely zero historical character. If you're a finance our consulting douche you'll love it, because you can spend lots of money on overpriced consumer items that are largely forgettable. Gail Wynand posted:Singapore's a nice enough place to live, you can get everything you might want as long as you have the money. These posts go together like cigars and old leather, troodle oodle ooo raton fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Dec 7, 2014 |
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Dec 7, 2014 06:09
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I've heard Singapore is one of the best places in the world for amazing food.
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Dec 7, 2014 06:12
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ReindeerF posted:9) Turkish food next to Sundance Saloon It closed  Dude next time you're in town (come back dammit!) check out Larry's place on 110, opposite garage bar. Nice little bar and really great western food. It's pretty much become my new regular hangout. Tytan fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Dec 7, 2014 |
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Dec 7, 2014 07:21
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D'oh! Any word on why? Did the Turkish guy blow all his money on his missus and end up running off? I'll definitely check out Larry's, and I'll meet up with you of course. I'm thinking of dropping through around New Year, maybe. I haven't left Thailand in 14 months now (!!!) and I need to GTFO, heh. Any other major bar and restaurant news from One Of The Many Former Parises Of The Orient?
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Dec 7, 2014 07:48
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Comb Your Beard posted:What do y'all think of this? NYTimes 36 Hours in Phnom Penh. Kinda thought they'd mention Foreign Correspondents Club. A few good suggestions in there. They mentioned Malis which is definitely worth a visit if you have the money - it's probably my favourite "up-market" restaurant here. For awesome and cheap Cambodian food head to Sovanna restaurant near the independence monument. Recommend the spicy raw beef salad and pretty much anything from the grill. Sito bar is kinda cool but very, very smokey. It's modelled after a speakeasy, so basically no windows at all. Street 51 is the main late night area. Zeppelin bar is definitely worth a visit. If you like clubbing but don't want to end up in the typical foreigner clubs (pontoon/heart of darkness), Dusk till Dawn is a nice little rooftop bar with a DJ. Or if you're feeling adventurous, somewhere like Nova club or Code Red have a pretty good mix of expats and locals. Seconding the day time suggestions thay Reindeer said. Some of the markets are pretty cool just to wander around, and definitely try to explore the surrounding countryside if you have the time. Im sure I could think of a few other suggestions but honestly once you know where the main areas are, the best thing to do is just explore.
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Dec 7, 2014 07:53
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ReindeerF posted:D'oh! Any word on why? Did the Turkish guy blow all his money on his missus and end up running off? Honestly from what I recall, the owner just didn't have the time/motivation to keep it going. And yeah definitely give me a shout if you come over. 14 months, man you must be craving some good western food haha.
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Dec 7, 2014 07:57
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Tytan posted:And yeah definitely give me a shout if you come over. 14 months, man you must be craving some good western food haha. Did the rooftop reggae bar guy ever end up adding food to his menu? He was going to add jerk chicken and some other Jamaican favorites when you and I went there like two years ago, heh, but he may be closed now for all I know. He's perfect for that crowd, so I'm sure he could've stayed open. The trustafarians of BKK love that poo poo. Only problem was the venue itself felt like hanging out in an office space (which it was).
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Dec 7, 2014 08:08
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