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For those asking earlier in the thread: This is what the day after a FMP looks like. I think I got hepatitis just looking at it.
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Dec 27, 2015 10:37
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I was in Chiang Mai April to June, now back here again until February. Probably going to check out Laos at some point, still haven't been yet.
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Dec 27, 2015 10:41
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If it wasn't for the heavy drinking, I don't know that I'd have a reason to hang out with goons.
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Dec 27, 2015 10:45
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Pixelante posted:It'd be faster to fly from Toronto (mid-North America) than Vancouver (West Coast), right? Google flights seems to indicate a couple hours difference but I'm not sure how much of that is lay-overs. I was thinking I'd skip back to Laos and Cambodia late summer/fall after some time in terrona. Functionally identical IMO. Either of those paths are so long that variations in the speed of the jet stream are likely to have a bigger effect.
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Dec 27, 2015 11:18
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Pixelante posted:For those asking earlier in the thread: Gross. The first time I went (maybe 10 years ago now  ) there wasn't anything like that.Tytan posted:I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but it's actually quite surpising how cool and well-adjusted* Goons living in South East Asia are. Agree with this post which also applies to about 40% of SEA expats in general.
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Dec 27, 2015 11:19
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Negligent posted:I was in Chiang Mai April to June, now back here again until February. Probably going to check out Laos at some point, still haven't been yet. Beer sometime? Mae Hong Son is still holding my interest but I'll likely be back through Chiang Mai in about two weeks. Dear goons today I had northern style larb moo from a roadside shack. The blood made a good sauce! I hope it didn't include too many parasites. Also I rode a piece of poo poo Honda Click towards Zuza Waterfall but at a certain point the road goes from "bad" to "Jesus, even by Thai standards..." Also I went to Fish Cave today. I would have rather wasted 100 baht on just about anything. If anyone ever says you should go see it they are wrong and horrible and should be shown this photo I took there of the only interesting part of the whole place that also summaries it nicely too OK: Ally McBeal Wiki fucked around with this message at 11:24 on Dec 27, 2015 |
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Dec 27, 2015 11:20
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gg on the roadside blood larb. They might have to deworm you later but whatever, probably worth it.
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Dec 27, 2015 11:23
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I used to enjoy that kuay teow with pigs blood until the doctor told me that it gives you worms.
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Dec 27, 2015 11:37
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It's mostly just not that goony a bunch, frankly. We don't have goon meets really or do goon activities. We're people who live here and sometimes we meet each other. There's no goonsgiving or any of that smelly looking group stuff, though occasionally everyone ends up drunk at karaoke, by which I mean at least twice a month. Not a goon activity, though, except that one time, heh. On that note, my January is nuts, but I've got backup starting in February, so if any turrists are coming through, drop us a note.
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Dec 27, 2015 11:54
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Chiang Mai has been a pretty decent time, though I can see why you guys say it's boring after a couple days. After you've worked through the temples and nature-y stuff, there's not much else to do.  The food up here is definitely different though and I appreciate that.
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Dec 27, 2015 12:26
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I'm totally happy to meet up with people in Bangkok and I've met most of the regulars and several of the people passing through, but it's got to be on like a weekend or for a lunch near my office. I don't have the luxury of hours that aren't awful.
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Dec 27, 2015 12:58
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One thing I was curious about: what type of hours do Thais work? Shops seem to stay open late but nothing is open early except maybe a grocery store.
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Dec 27, 2015 13:11
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Whip Slagcheek posted:One thing I was curious about : what type of hours do Thais work? Shops seem to stay open late but nothing is open early except maybe a grocery store. That really depends on what field they're in. In general, I get the impression that a lot of them work either a 5.5 or a 6 day work week. I also think their lunch hour works against them a lot of the time, so it's not uncommon to work a nine or a ten hour shift instead of the eight hour one people in the west work. If they're a factory worker, they'll be up super early to catch the ridiculously painted buses out of the city to wherever the factory is. If they're an office worker, then their hours are probably somewhere between 8am-6pm, maybe later depending on where they work. Education is usually as early as 7am and teachers will stay at the school until 5 or later some days, but might leave as early as 4 on others.
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Dec 27, 2015 13:23
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Yeah I definitely get the impression that the six day week is the norm around here. Especially in the tourist areas. I'm pretty sure there's a few employees working seven days a week at one of the resorts I was at earlier in the trip, but they definitely weren't Thai.
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Dec 27, 2015 13:44
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If I hear one "Hotel California" one more loving time I'm jumping in this lovely lake and letting the carp murder me.
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Dec 27, 2015 14:04
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Oh man I love the lovely live music at the Thai bars. I went to one where the guy was singing "Red Red Wine" but all he did was sing the chorus and hum the rest. It was amazing.
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Dec 27, 2015 15:17
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When I first got here there was a bar I would go to a lot that had a live band. They played a good mix of classic rock songs and the atmosphere was very positive. But after going back a few times I realized they played the exact same set every night. Every now and then a drunk Japanese guy would get on stage and sing "Hound Dog", but that was the only variety. So now I go next door where they have YouTube connected to the bar's sound system and the band occasionally drinks with me during their breaks.
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Dec 27, 2015 15:33
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I met Tytan in PP last year. We had sushi and a bunch of beer. drat good time. I also met up with caberham and a bunch of other goons in HK earlier this year. Nothing but great things to say about all of them, and Abe is a great tour guide. I'll be back in Singapore next week. So far I'm batting 1.000 in meeting fun and friendly goons.
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Dec 27, 2015 15:46
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Somchai, did you know that if the light is green and there is no oncoming traffic, you can make your right turn? Actually maybe there is some weird Thailand rule that you can't, because every time at the intersection of Suthep and Nimman a bunch of dudes will be sitting there patiently with their turn signals on, not going anywhere. e: poo poo, rereading this post it sounds kindof thaivisa-ish. I'm turning into one of them Negligent fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Dec 27, 2015 |
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Dec 27, 2015 18:25
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Are we sure that green means go in Thai traffic law? Actually scratch that, are we sure traffic signals mean anything at all? Because in the time I've been here I thought they were just suggestions.
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Dec 27, 2015 19:55
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You can turn left on a red, unless there is a sign saying not to, in which case you can still turn left on a red 
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Dec 27, 2015 20:01
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Whip Slagcheek posted:Are we sure that green means go in Thai traffic law? Actually scratch that, are we sure traffic signals mean anything at all? Because in the time I've been here I thought they were just suggestions. The most egregious thing people do is race through a light that's just changed to red. Usually this'll be a minivan or a huge truck that was going too fast. The second most annoying thing is when people on bikes pull out to merge into traffic without even looking. People do this constantly and I just do not understand it.
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Dec 27, 2015 20:54
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Atlas Hugged posted:That really depends on what field they're in. In general, I get the impression that a lot of them work either a 5.5 or a 6 day work week. I also think their lunch hour works against them a lot of the time, so it's not uncommon to work a nine or a ten hour shift instead of the eight hour one people in the west work. If they're a factory worker, they'll be up super early to catch the ridiculously painted buses out of the city to wherever the factory is. If they're an office worker, then their hours are probably somewhere between 8am-6pm, maybe later depending on where they work. Education is usually as early as 7am and teachers will stay at the school until 5 or later some days, but might leave as early as 4 on others. This seems pretty accurate. Six day week, the boss often asks you to come in on your day off for some stupid reason, you regularly work past your scheduled hours or else the scheduled hours are longer than what we are used to, etc. One girl I knew worked at a guest house in Chiang Mai, basically ran the place for her boss, worked seven days a week probably about ten hours a day and if she wanted a day off she had to ask for it every time. I don't remember the amount she got paid but it was the kind of money I'd sometimes just carry in my pocket, like 5000 baht a month or something. She eventually got a job as an assistant on a UN refugee project which paid 20k and had two days off a week -- I can't even imagine the relief.
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Dec 27, 2015 21:32
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Dec 27, 2015 23:20
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That's actually Reindeer taking a picture of Ringo.
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Dec 28, 2015 00:23
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Definitely from the last goon meet
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Dec 28, 2015 00:29
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Haha, maybe he ran out of cash to pay the bill and got a stern escort to the ATM?
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Dec 28, 2015 02:22
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This image should really be front and center in the OP. Its bangkok.jpg
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Dec 28, 2015 03:10
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ReindeerF posted:Also, amazingly, Finch! and I have never crossed paths. It is kind of amazing we haven't met up for ten pints and a ladyboy adventure, buuuuut I haven't been to Bangkok for a long time - not since the day of the last coup, anyway. It's equally amazing that eviljelly and I haven't knowingly met, despite having been on the same tiny island at the same time for God only knows how long. It's not like I'm a basement dwelling recluse, either (although he might be), but he didn't really hang out in the bars I hung out in and we were diving with different outfits. I might be in Bangkok in April, but I suspect I'll just be in KL and maybe Penang to see friends and Koh Tao for Songkran. I've been trying to get my girlfriend interested in a Thailand trip but she's all like "but I've already been there twice! To Phuket and Samui and Bangkok and I hated it!" and has no interest in visiting again so she might just join me for the KL and Penang legs of the trip. As much as I'd like to, I can't see myself doing another 6+ month stint on Koh Tao. Not for a couple of years, anyway. I've got a masters to finish and a family business to either sell or expand and diversify or give up on because Dad is impossibly stubborn. That and every time I go back I get sick of the place within a couple of weeks (and get fat and unfit because all I do is eat and drink and sit). I still crave Asia, though. More so than going back to North America or Europe. Depending on life (women, home ownership, money in the bank, work, etc) I might be able to be there from late September next year until late January 2017, but that's if the Australian dollar is still so poo poo that I can't justify spending a few months exploring the USA. Finch! fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Dec 28, 2015 |
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Dec 28, 2015 04:49
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I'm only in Thailand 1 month every year and I can never be certain when, but usually Winter. I was there for 1.5 months recently, well, split between Jakarta and Bangkok and posted but no one replied. Next time should be between next September-December for 1 month, so maybe we can do some longer-term planning then and set up a goon cruise or something with scuba diving.
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Dec 28, 2015 04:53
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Goon cruise sounds like it would be similar to the time I went to a goon birthday party and a bunch of goons did E in the restroom and one guy curled into a ball and refused to interact with anyone for the rest of the night. A++ would goon again.
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Dec 28, 2015 07:29
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Atlas Hugged posted:Goon cruise sounds like it would be similar to the time I went to a goon birthday party and a bunch of goons did E in the restroom and one guy curled into a ball and refused to interact with anyone for the rest of the night. A++ would goon again. Wait, a guy did E and then didn't want to interact with people?
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Dec 28, 2015 08:00
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Chantilly Say posted:Wait, a guy did E and then didn't want to interact with people? Not taking it, I can't confirm that it was E, but everyone else was having a ball and this guy just sat in a booth and refused to speak to anyone. Edited because who cares. Atlas Hugged fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Dec 28, 2015 |
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Dec 28, 2015 08:30
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I want to go on a longer trip (~3-4 months, maybe) through SEA. I hate planning though, so if I went it would kind of be a live-in-the-moment type deal where I'd just plan a couple days ahead. Obviously in some places I'd have to get visas well in advance, but other than that, is that a stupid way of going about my trip? Is it easy to get bus/train/plane tickets short-notice? Will it be easy to find WiFi/cell service? I'd like to spend a lot of my time in Thailand, but wanted to check out Vietnam and Bali too. Probably other countries that I didn't have time to research. I'll just start reading from page 1 of this thread and by the time I'm done it'll be time to go!
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Dec 29, 2015 06:05
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Pie Colony posted:I want to go on a longer trip (~3-4 months, maybe) through SEA. I hate planning though, so if I went it would kind of be a live-in-the-moment type deal where I'd just plan a couple days ahead. Obviously in some places I'd have to get visas well in advance, but other than that, is that a stupid way of going about my trip? Is it easy to get bus/train/plane tickets short-notice? Will it be easy to find WiFi/cell service? Thailand can be okay for spur-of-the-moment stuff once you know the lay of the land and have an idea of how to get around. Anything to do with international borders probably requires some planning, though Cambodia is pretty easy.
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Dec 29, 2015 06:10
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Pie Colony posted:I want to go on a longer trip (~3-4 months, maybe) through SEA. I hate planning though, so if I went it would kind of be a live-in-the-moment type deal where I'd just plan a couple days ahead. Obviously in some places I'd have to get visas well in advance, but other than that, is that a stupid way of going about my trip? Is it easy to get bus/train/plane tickets short-notice? Will it be easy to find WiFi/cell service? My opinions on this last paragraph of this post http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3260679&userid=39889&perpage=40&pagenumber=44#post449848397
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Dec 29, 2015 06:22
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Pie Colony posted:I want to go on a longer trip (~3-4 months, maybe) through SEA. I hate planning though, so if I went it would kind of be a live-in-the-moment type deal where I'd just plan a couple days ahead. Obviously in some places I'd have to get visas well in advance, but other than that, is that a stupid way of going about my trip? Is it easy to get bus/train/plane tickets short-notice? Will it be easy to find WiFi/cell service? Wifi was available in drat near every restaurant or bar I went into in Thailand.
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Dec 29, 2015 09:38
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You can buy a sim card at the airport or most 7-11s in Thailand. I got one for free from the truemove stand in baggage claim. Data speed and coverage is generally very good. Google maps will load when you need it.
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Dec 29, 2015 11:05
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Atlas Hugged posted:Goon cruise sounds like it would be similar to the time I went to a goon birthday party and a bunch of goons did E in the restroom and one guy curled into a ball and refused to interact with anyone for the rest of the night. A++ would goon again.
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Dec 29, 2015 12:33
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This thread is too long. My friend would like to go to a beach but not one covered with vomiting 20 year olds, so I suggested she not go to Phuket. Where's a chillax beach place? She just wants to beach and eat and has no interest in partying or anything.
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Dec 29, 2015 13:07
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