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The only AirAsia trouble I ever have is because their completely hosed up and criminal-if-it-were-in-america web site screws up my luggage booking or something and they want me to pay $60 at the gate for a bag I thought I booked before airasia.com flaked out 4 times in a row during booking and I lost my preferences. Once on the plane it's been fine for me, though be careful about their departure rules. I was held back at check in once at Phnom Penh (hardly Hartsfield-Jackson here) because they had a 45 minute rule and I was like 38 minutes before boarding or something. It was stupid in such a small airport, but I've also had them depart early from BKK and missed a flight years ago, so I give FD a lot of space when it comes to departures, heh. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Dec 18, 2014 |
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Dec 18, 2014 08:34
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 02:37 |
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I missed a Jetstar flight from BKK once because of traffic but Phahonyothin rd has been good to me with just one close call... 150km/h is faster than you really want to go in a Vios.
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Dec 18, 2014 09:00
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Haha, yeah. I mostly use the Airport Link anymore unless I've got a shitload of bags. I live near Phaya Thai so it's much more convenient. Even as completely hosed up as the service is these days (it may be postponed for up to 6 months while they refit the cars and order new parts loving  ).
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Dec 18, 2014 10:49
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Russians to be down by 70% this year: http://m.voanews.com/a/tanking-ruble-hits-russian-tourists-thai-hotels/2563917.html If any of you were looking to buy something in Thailand I'd start freeing up capital. Next year is going to see some bargains.
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Dec 18, 2014 22:04
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If any of you are going to be in Bangkok from January 16-18 consider contacting Joe from the Joe Goes videos on youtube. He's looking for a cameraman to help him film while he makes a Bangkok video. His email: binowhite(at)gmail.com His youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BadgeofShame I'd do it if I were there but I ain't there.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:23
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I'm just sad America is losing all its great #1 position. Lost Obesity to Mexico, and now terrible tourists to China. What's next?
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Dec 19, 2014 05:09
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Cowboy hat numbers to Argentina. Hipster head count to Oz.
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Dec 19, 2014 05:11
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Highest quality of living to the Swiss and Scandinavians. Biggest economy to the Chinese.
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Dec 19, 2014 07:25
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Well this is just Ducky.
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Dec 19, 2014 17:24
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Dextun: Season 1
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Dec 19, 2014 18:34
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arf
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Dec 19, 2014 21:25
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In the end I managed to get about eight hours sleep between YVR and TPE and haven't been hit by jet lag at all. Heads up to anybody heading to Koh Tao soon: take anti seasick tablets, and be prepared for ferry cancellations. The waves are brutal.
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Dec 22, 2014 04:34
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I just got back to Koh Tao from my west coast vacation. My Thai friend didn't sleep at all on the boat - it really felt like the boat would fall apart. I thought it was kinda fun. Finch! we really need to finally meet for a drink or few!
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Dec 22, 2014 04:38
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eviljelly posted:Finch! we really need to finally meet for a drink or few! Mate, I'm never drinking again...!
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Dec 22, 2014 05:34
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Hi folks! I'm going to be in Bangkok and Hua Hin in late December, with my wife and her two cousins. We like food, the great outdoors, interesting walks, and elephants who are hopefully not being mistreated. My wife and her cousins don't drink very much. I am *fairly* certain that myself and the wife and the cousins are collectively uninterested in sex tourism. We'll be in Bangkok for New Year's Eve. What do people suggest? And hey, Hua Hin, right? Are there suggestions for Hua Hin other than to just hang out and enjoy it? Thanks! Currently plowing through this thread's history right now...
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Dec 22, 2014 22:12
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I wasnt a big fan of Hua Hin, not much to do and the seafood restaurants are kind of mediocre. The beach itself is nothing flash. Go north a couple of hours from Bkk instead, there's Ayutthaya historic site you can bike around and Khao Yai national park with good walking trails, waterfalls etc.
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Dec 23, 2014 02:51
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I saw a great hornbill in Khao Yai. Supposedly they do flying headbutts into other great hornbills if there's another one around and they've been triggered by insensitive cisbirdism.
raton fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Dec 23, 2014 |
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Dec 23, 2014 03:52
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I love Hua Hin, but a lot of that's nostalgia. Granted, it was no exotic paradise ever, but a decade back it hadn't been completely overrun by the post-Tsunami sex pensioner crowd who have moved in en masse. These days it's become a very chic weekend getaway for wealthy Bangkokians who wear their stupid straw fedoras and shop around Cicada Market for a Hua Hin Train Station shirt to replace their Amphawa shirt (that was the previous cool place to sport a shirt from). On the foreign side, it's full of seedy bars and bad foreign food and fat old Scandihooligans with their bellies sticking out of their unbuttoned, short-sleeve plaid shirts. Thing is, if you can get past that and actually give the town a good wander and chat with locals, you'll find that there's a lot of old school neat Hua Hin stuff there still. There's an old lady who has been selling mango and sticky rice on the back corner for God knows how long, the old men sitting on the old squid drying pier in the evenings have been sitting there for decades and while it's pretty well infested and overrun, not everything there is a tourist trap. Head up the hill away from the old town, or into the old areas surrounding the older temples where the old mu baan still exist and there are some cute mom and pop stores. I also found some great running trails by just heading up into the hills and ignoring the fences (as one does here). There are some touristy little things I still think are cool in Hua Hin, like sitting around the corner between the temple and the Centara (formerly Sofitel) eating lunch and having a few beers from the lady with the little stall. Taking the train a few stops away into Cha Am or another surrounding little town area and having lunch at a less touristed beach area. Grabbing a beer somewhere in the red light den and watching the old Swedes roll by trying to look desirable, heh. As far as nature goes, though, you gotta get out of town. There are a few parks within a couple hour's ride I think, but it's not known as a big natural park area. I think Sam Roi Yot National Park is the only natural landmark in the area. It's got some caves and wildlife, but I don't recall being blown away. Anyway, it's a fun place, just don't be afraid to get off the beaten track - and also hopefully Chair Huxtable will chime in, since she lives there and has a local perspective (I'm still a long-time tourist).
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Dec 23, 2014 10:53
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Pretty good fifteen minute piece on Thailand's Southern insurgency issue with interviews with Army officials, separatist agitators, a retired insurgency leader and some of the people who visit there and some of the people that work there. http://vimeo.com/111646574
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Dec 23, 2014 11:48
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So I've been in Thailand for a few days and it's as amazing as I remember it, but "Thai iced tea" and "Thai boys" are dangerously close in pronunciation (at least for a non-native speaker like me) so be careful when going to a coffee shop. Luckily I found this out in the car with my fiancée's aunt and not in a shop. What is Thai iced tea made of anyway? Stuff is drat delicious with a little milk though I wish they didn't put so much ice in every drink here.
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Dec 23, 2014 12:01
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Wait until you need to use someone's gymnasium or order something with bananas. On the Thai Tea tip, like many other things here the magic ingredient is a shitload of condensed milk, heh. Good, I agree. Works well with that ceylon tea flavor.
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Dec 23, 2014 12:11
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Condensed milk on pancakes or Pinoy pandesal... Oh, sorry, carry on.
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Dec 23, 2014 14:16
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C-Euro posted:So I've been in Thailand for a few days and it's as amazing as I remember it, but "Thai iced tea" and "Thai boys" are dangerously close in pronunciation (at least for a non-native speaker like me) so be careful when going to a coffee shop. Luckily I found this out in the car with my fiancée's aunt and not in a shop. You need to do it American style. Only English regardless of the country or situation. I'm pretty sure if aliens arrived from another planet, us Americans would just shout English at them until they destroyed us.
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Dec 23, 2014 14:21
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3 people have died in scuba diving accidents in Surat Thani province on Dec 22. Probably means you should never ever dive in Thailand ever.
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Dec 23, 2014 16:13
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Bloody Burmese!
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Dec 23, 2014 16:37
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Flying to Saigon in just 3 days! Dec 26. Dulles, VA to Tokyo, Tokyo to Saigon. So psyched! Hitting up Saigon, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh in 21 days. Me and my Chinese American missus. I'll try and post about some experiences.
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Dec 23, 2014 20:36
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7 destinations in 21 days... I hope you like airports  Looks like you might end up doing New Year's Eve in Vietnam? I did my last NYE in HCMC and it was hilarious. The beers were 5000 dong per little glass, so I was pretty drunk from about $2.50 worth of beers. Too bad I was traveling with the worst human being I've ever met.
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Dec 24, 2014 03:04
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Murder Island is the best island. Koh Tao by stevenwiltshire!, on Flickr
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Dec 24, 2014 03:44
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I'm so super spoiled by Koh Tao that I have no idea what's beautiful anymore. I've had some houseguests recently and I've gone on little vacations with them to Phangan, Raileh/Tonsai and Phuket (yes, I know...) and they've basically all told me that Koh Tao is the most beautiful place. I climbed the tallest "mountain" on Phangan for a "spectacular" viewpoint and it was nowhere near as good as the John Suwan viewpoint on Koh Tao, as pictured above. Moral of the story: Murder Island is the best island.
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Dec 24, 2014 04:07
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Comb Your Beard posted:Flying to Saigon in just 3 days! Dec 26. Dulles, VA to Tokyo, Tokyo to Saigon. So psyched! Hitting up Saigon, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh in 21 days. Me and my Chinese American missus. I'll try and post about some experiences. I'd stay in Saigon for a week and get my bearings and then plan. But you're gonna do it - I hope you like it. Your itinerary isn't that bad but I'd gently caress off Hanoi. Don't go all that way up north to come back to Halong/Bangkok/etc. Skip Hanoi then it's not that bad!
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Dec 24, 2014 04:16
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eviljelly posted:I'm so super spoiled by Koh Tao that I have no idea what's beautiful anymore. I've had some houseguests recently and I've gone on little vacations with them to Phangan, Raileh/Tonsai and Phuket (yes, I know...) and they've basically all told me that Koh Tao is the most beautiful place. I climbed the tallest "mountain" on Phangan for a "spectacular" viewpoint and it was nowhere near as good as the John Suwan viewpoint on Koh Tao, as pictured above. I get the same thing. I've got a friend visiting for the first time in something like five years and we're doing all kinds of things that I haven't done in forever. Earlier this year some friends who lived here and I were down at Freedom Beach but we couldn't be bothered walking up the trail to John Suwan. I guess we just take the awesomeness for granted. My friend is loving the island again, he can't figure out why it's taken him six years to come back. John Suwan is probably the easiest viewpoint to get to. Take a taxi or ride to Chalok, walk around to Freedom Beach for a beer at the lovely little bar from the 80's over the ocean (ignore the smell), walk up the hill to the entrance of the resort and follow the signs saying "view ->" up the old and busted concrete road opposite the resort reception. The road disappears after a few metres and it becomes a trail, but it's only about a five to ten minute walk/scramble over the rocks. On the way back, walk up the hill and over to Taato Resort for a beer overlooking Shark Bay, then wander back down the hill to Chalok. On a good day, the view is outstanding. On a lovely day, like yesterday, it's OK. Finch! fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Dec 24, 2014 |
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Dec 24, 2014 04:25
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Finch! posted:On a good day, the view is outstanding. On a lovely day, like yesterday, it's OK. That's my only consolation from leaving SEA - I'm in the Caribbean right on the ocean, I hear the waves hammering the shore even with my windows closed shut. Even when I feel super lovely and I have tons of problems on my mind, I just open the door and I have the best possible view. The loving ocean and the whole coast of the island with its boats. Only some other place in SEA could give me that.
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Dec 24, 2014 04:43
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eviljelly posted:7 destinations in 21 days... I hope you like airports Do you recommend any place/area in particular for NYE in Saigon? A few friends want a fun night while they're staying with us over the new year break, but I'm a bit wary of Bui Vien because it'll be mayhem I'm sure.
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Dec 24, 2014 05:56
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Yeah, well, I'm staring at an eight-lane road in the middle of town, an expressway running overhead, the city's reservoir canal and another two lane road as well as excellent gai yang, tartan tablecloths and two tables full of drunk civil servants, so I guess you guys can just reconsider who has the best view.
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Dec 24, 2014 07:31
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After a week on any given beach or island I get a kind of terminal, hateful form of cabin fever and the only cure is a real city. Also the best view is from Lighthouse Bungalows on Koh Phangan. Not from X or Murder X on Murder Island.
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Dec 24, 2014 08:01
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In celebration of the season and international entrepreneurship, from An American Walmart, to those less able to be fat and free
raton fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Dec 24, 2014 |
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Dec 24, 2014 09:09
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Sheep-Goats posted:Also the best view is from Lighthouse Bungalows on Koh Phangan. Not from X or Murder X on Murder Island. Lighthouse Bungalows has a pretty good view... for Koh Phangan. Inferior island, inferior views. MURDER ISLAND 4 LYFE
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Dec 24, 2014 11:35
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PalaNIN posted:Do you recommend any place/area in particular for NYE in Saigon? A few friends want a fun night while they're staying with us over the new year break, but I'm a bit wary of Bui Vien because it'll be mayhem I'm sure. I had fun just being out on some random street bar in the tourist quarters, despite the lovely company I had. The whole street counted down together and erupted in applause and hugs and whatnot. It was pretty rad.
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Dec 24, 2014 11:37
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We have now entered that entertaining period where Thailand has no idea what the difference is between New Year and Christmas and assume that because their celebrations last like a week that it must be all one big holiday for us too. We've got Santas blowing party whistles and wearing top hats and fake trees with "Happy New Year" banners strung over them and so on. Always a laugh.
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Dec 24, 2014 11:44
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Happy Melly Christmat!!!
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Dec 24, 2014 12:35
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