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Gunstav posted:What is the appeal of Chiang Mai? A lot of people say it's a must visit in Thailand, but most of the recommendations are temples and cooking classes... Am I missing something? For me it was just chill, especially after being in Bangkok. Wandered the Sunday market, checked out the jazz club, used it as a launching pad for doing the usual tourist stuff (zipline, elephants) and a cooking class. Didn’t even make it to monk chats or anything like that, but would next time.
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Oct 30, 2018 02:18
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Chiang Mai is nice, yeah. Cooler weather, nice mountain scenery, cool temples. Doi Inthanon National Park is really pretty and I’m very sorry I barfed in it that one time.
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Oct 30, 2018 02:30
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Chiang Mai is nice and a good change of pace from Bangkok, but I actually think most of its appeal comes from people doing longer-term trips. I'd say if you only have ~2 weeks for Thailand it's not worth it. I can see why its super appealing to digital nomads, but when you're on holiday there are better places in Thailand to spend your time.
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Oct 30, 2018 04:20
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Gunstav posted:What is the appeal of Chiang Mai? A lot of people say it's a must visit in Thailand, but most of the recommendations are temples and cooking classes... Am I missing something? What the gently caress? Different regional vibe, cuisine, a base city to explore the surrounding regions. And the “temples” is actually a culturally significant landmark of Thai Buddhism. This is reductionist as gently caress and might as well just lump all of SEA as the same.
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Oct 30, 2018 05:08
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Obviously most tourists are garbage with their limited world view and I’m the best tourist EVEEEERR.
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Oct 30, 2018 05:08
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why are you so mad? That is a valid question.
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Oct 30, 2018 11:48
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Chiang Mai is cool but my wife's family always goes there when I visit and I'm glad they are mixing it up by going to the south next time I'm there.
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Oct 30, 2018 12:51
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Gunstav posted:What is the appeal of Chiang Mai? A lot of people say it's a must visit in Thailand, but most of the recommendations are temples and cooking classes... Am I missing something? Waltzing Along posted:And it's the 2nd largest city in an amazing country.
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Oct 30, 2018 15:37
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Ringo R posted:Aeeeiiii... Rrruuurhh... Eeeuughaaaaajävla... Ffffeeeehh... Keeel mee! That guy rules
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Oct 30, 2018 22:15
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Gunstav posted:What is the appeal of Chiang Mai? A lot of people say it's a must visit in Thailand, but most of the recommendations are temples and cooking classes... Am I missing something? It's relaxed, there are mountains around, and it's not as hot as Bangkok. The Thais up there are even more placid and gentle than the rest of them. Maybe 10% of the people who say they love Chiang Mai do so because they want a less urban setting or mountains or they like the Northern food and culture more. 90% of the Chiang Mai is a must visit people however I think are basically telling you "I found the world's most opaque giant sized tourist bubble where you can pretend to be abroad but speak nothing but English all day and eat the food you eat at home and the internet is okay, also the elephant camps I love elepahants heheh I'm girl elephants I love them" It also used to be so cheap to live there that it was basically free -- I mean you could get an aircon apartment for less than 200 USD a month without really trying (way less if you tried), food was about fifty cents a meal. That's probably all at least doubled by now but whatever. On the negative side, it's absolutely glutted with tourists (more so than anywhere I've been that wasn't a theme park) and is the drop-shipping retard capital of the world, has a "public" transportation system that basically guarantees it's 40 minutes to go anywhere you want to go, and is stunningly boring.
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Oct 30, 2018 22:24
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ReindeerF posted:Most everything that people rave about as part of Chiang Mai happens outside of Chiang Mai. You can base yourself out of any number of the cities up there and do the same things. There's nothing wrong with Chiang Mai, it's fine, but it's become very overcrowded in recent years, especially since the Chinese influx. Still, if you want a major airport and plenty of tourist amenities in addition to access to all that, Chiang Mai is a good choice. These days, with all the LCC flights, you can base yourself our of Chiang Rai, Lamphang, Phrae, Nan or a number of places and access a lot of the same things. My understanding is that Khorat is #2 but that's just based on poo poo I read online and like you said the population figures you see online aren't reliable because what they call one "city" is often actually a county or whatever It's also a little weird to point out that Chiang Mai or Khorat are #2. It's not like the step from NYC to LA. Bangkok has something like 12 million people in the metropolitan area (official numbers are around 6 million but from my understanding they don't count all the population that is seamlessly adjacent, my numbers could be wrong though). Khorat is at max one million and feels like it's probably half that, same with Chiang Mai. Bangkok is the only serious city in Thailand.
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Oct 30, 2018 22:33
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That's a very interesting point of discussion in analyzing inequality in Thailand versus some other developing countries. Turns out, unsurprisingly, that when wealth is distributed across more places you have a greater distribution of wealth. That Thailand has managed to maintain feudal levels of wealth and income disparity is not only amazing, but clearly intentional. As the researchers at Yale have pointed out, because Thailand was never truly colonized it never experienced decolonization, which means that the ancien regime was never displaced; it simply started wearing uniforms and using Western titles. It's a fascinating petri dish in that respect. There's no strategy on paper that can explain without benefit of retrospect how to go from 1900 Thailand to 2018 Thailand, but here it is, doing what it does.
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Oct 31, 2018 00:23
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Hey SEA friends. Been ages since I was out in the region, but finally made it out again for work and a little travel. I'm working out of Da Nang and things will wrap up on Saturday morning. My flight out from Da Nang isn't until late late Sunday night, so I essentially have ~36 hours of free time. I could take the train up to Hue (looks like it takes about 3 hours) or a cab down to Hoi An (like 20 minutes); I'm guessing it wouldn't be feasible to do both. Clearly doing Hoi An gives me more time to see the actual town and I could ostensibly stay as late as dinner time on Sunday and go directly to the airport from there. But am I missing out by doing Hoi An instead of Hue? Which would you rather have one day in?
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Nov 5, 2018 05:01
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Ah poo poo, I'm nowhere near Vietnam with no reason to be there - hope you make it to the Greatest Mekong Subregion next time!
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Nov 5, 2018 12:24
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CronoGamer posted:Hey SEA friends. Been ages since I was out in the region, but finally made it out again for work and a little travel. It maybe just me but I had far more fun exploring every nook and cranny of the many shops in Hoi An than I did walking around Hue. Also Hoi An by that lake/river is gorgeous. I would go back in a heartbeat. Hue just felt like there wasn’t much there. The citadel/palace is neat, but the government has only recently started to restore parts of it and the rest really shows the scars of neglect/war. Bun Bo Hue of course is a must have but I feel like you should be able to find it easily enough in Hoi An.
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Nov 5, 2018 14:39
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Definitely do Hoi An if you've not been there before, nice little picturesque town for exploring and really good food. It's been a few years since I've visited, but it was one of my highlights of Vietnam for sure.
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Nov 6, 2018 09:07
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One more for Hoi An based on both your proximity and timeframe to visit. Hue is good for a visit with a longer timeframe overall. The tombs in the vicinity are pretty special but take time to get to.
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Nov 7, 2018 00:53
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ReindeerF posted:That's a very interesting point of discussion in analyzing inequality in Thailand versus some other developing countries. Turns out, unsurprisingly, that when wealth is distributed across more places you have a greater distribution of wealth. That Thailand has managed to maintain feudal levels of wealth and income disparity is not only amazing, but clearly intentional. As the researchers at Yale have pointed out, because Thailand was never truly colonized it never experienced decolonization, which means that the ancien regime was never displaced; it simply started wearing uniforms and using Western titles. It's a fascinating petri dish in that respect. There's no strategy on paper that can explain without benefit of retrospect how to go from 1900 Thailand to 2018 Thailand, but here it is, doing what it does. Winner's curse US comes out ahead in WWII and never develops a real worker's movement / healthcare system as a result Thailand runs ahead during colonialism and as a result the old feudal manacles are still way too intact
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Nov 9, 2018 07:20
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lol how come this thread got diverged into a political debate. anyways, glad to see the large interest in Vietnam here. As a Vietnamese, ALWAYS bring insect repellent when coming there.
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Nov 9, 2018 21:25
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I am a total southeast Asia novice, but I have been working with some Thai guys and they have crazy good food so i have saved up some cash to go on a honeymoon with ”mywiiife”. We have our tickets to Bangkok booked, and my parents got got us a week in a resort in Phuket; a week of bourgeois pampering for a reasonable price. We have three weeks after that we want to do some serious traveling. Using Phuket as a jumping off point we want to go to chiang mai, and pai. We have also considered Angkor Wat, and are also super interested in Vietnam. There is so much information out there so it’s a bit daunting. I just want to ask you, kind goon, if you had 3 weeks to perfectly balance seeing lots of sights and R&R, how would you do it? We will be in the region from mid December- mid january. Also where do we NEED to be on December 1st.
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Nov 10, 2018 11:58
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SnakeParty posted:I am a total southeast Asia novice, but I have been working with some Thai guys and they have crazy good food so i have saved up some cash to go on a honeymoon with ”mywiiife”. We have our tickets to Bangkok booked, and my parents got got us a week in a resort in Phuket; a week of bourgeois pampering for a reasonable price. We have three weeks after that we want to do some serious traveling. Here's what I'd do: Phuket to Khao Sok National Park: https://www.khaosok.com/ Spend a few days at Khao Sok. It's pretty awesome. Khao Sok back to Phuket or Krabi, fly to Bangkok, fly to Sukhothai. Sukhothai is worth spending a few days exploring - and if you're into history or photography it's even better. Take a bus to Phitsanulok, then an overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. It's not difficult to organise - any guest house or hotel can sort this out for you. Do your thing there - and try to get to Mae Hong Son too, because it's a really awesome place. You should have a week left by this point. From Mae Hong Son, fly to Chiang Mai. Or you could take the bus, but it sucks. I'd even fly out of Pai, because as much fun as the road between Pai and Chiang Mai is, you only need to do it once in a bus. There's a ton of other stuff to do - you could head down to Koh Tao and go scuba diving, or spend the week eating your way around Bangkok, or fly down to Singapore for NYE, or go climb Mt Kinabalu in Malaysia, eat yourself stupid in Penang. Penang isn't a bad option actually - it's easy, cheap, and delicious. And completely different to Thailand. Angkor Wat is worth a few days to explore before heading back to Bangkok for a few days before heading home. I haven't been to Vietnam so I can't comment on the merit of spending a week there. Have fun!
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Nov 12, 2018 02:08
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Whatever you decide, I highly recommend squeezing in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) for at least 3 days and leave Vietnam for a totally separate trip altogether.
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Nov 12, 2018 06:47
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Constellation I posted:Whatever you decide, I highly recommend squeezing in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) for at least 3 days and leave Vietnam for a totally separate trip altogether. Me too, I'd say 4 or 5 days, and buy a 3-day ticket to Angkor Wat. Siem Reap (the city near the temples) is great for relaxing, and super cheap, even if you want it a little luxurious. In Vietnam I've only been to Ho Chi Minh City, but I recommend it for a few days. Nice walkable city.
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Nov 12, 2018 11:48
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Yeah, the number of times you have to say, "If you're coming here and have any amount of time, make sure you see Angkor." is surprising in 2018, heh. It's pretty much the 9th wonder of the world, behind the Astrodome.
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Nov 12, 2018 12:22
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I was never fussed about Angkor Wat - another temple albeit big, old stone poo poo, yeah yeah yada yada, probably overrun with the worst sorts of tourist hordes, whatever - then I saw a documentary about it and holy poo poo it's fascinating One of the places I most want to visit now, no lie.
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Nov 12, 2018 13:24
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Fortunately, Angkor is so loving big that you can still appreciate it despite the crowds. It was December when I was there but I still had times when I was close to the only one at certain temples.
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Nov 12, 2018 13:37
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Pirate Radar posted:Fortunately, Angkor is so loving big that you can still appreciate it despite the crowds. It was December when I was there but I still had times when I was close to the only one at certain temples. If you avoid the main temple and Bayon at sunrise and sunset you'll mostly be fine. Do the outer, smaller temples (Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, etc) at those hours and hit the bigger ones closer to noon. Tour groups always hit those main temples to get the silhouetted shots that are just going to look like bad versions of the pictures you can buy on postcards, so they all converge on those spots at once and it looks hellish. It will be a little bit hotter since there's no shade really at Bayon but the tradeoff is definitely worth it. Just finished my Vietnam trip--thanks for the Hoi An advice. I ended up having essentially a day of gluttony and bia hoi and bought a couple nice souvenirs (marked up a buck or two from what they'd cost in a normal city but the hell with it). It was a good day and I'm glad I went down there.
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Nov 12, 2018 16:35
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I went to Angkor It's good
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Nov 12, 2018 17:13
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I gave next to no shits about Angkor until I got there. Words can't convey the scale of that place. I desperately want to go back there with my friends--it was fun in a tour group, but it's the kind of thing I wanted to "holy poo poo" over with my buddies.
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Nov 12, 2018 19:15
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My strategy for visiting Angkor was always to go the main temple for sunrise, then grab breakfast at one of the stalls nearby and wait for the crowds to clear. After an hour or so and the place emptied out a fair bit, which made it much nicer to explore. A lot of people used to literally go there for the sunrise photos and then head straight back to their hotels. It's been a few years since I've visited though so not sure how things have changed. Of course it's not really necessary to see the place at sunrise, but there is something eerie/awesome about seeing the temple gradually come into view for the first time.
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Nov 13, 2018 05:02
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The best way to see Angkor is in the middle of the monsoon season so the place isn't mobbed. You usually get a mid day thunderstorm at which point most people head back to Siem Reap. However this is the best time to see many of the temples, especially ones that have covered portions. There is one temple that has a really steep climb to the top and then four little covered sanctuaries that I always remember ducking out of the rain in.
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Nov 13, 2018 07:37
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Stumbling into Angkor Wat in complete darkness, being the first few in the front and seeing the whole place coming in to view is pretty drat awesome. Then you turn around and see literally a million people behind you passive aggressively elbowing each other to get the perfect photo, lol.
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Nov 13, 2018 19:29
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Cheesemaster200 posted:The best way to see Angkor is in the middle of the monsoon season so the place isn't mobbed. You usually get a mid day thunderstorm at which point most people head back to Siem Reap. However this is the best time to see many of the temples, especially ones that have covered portions. There is one temple that has a really steep climb to the top and then four little covered sanctuaries that I always remember ducking out of the rain in. Maybe you mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphuon ? The temple itself is not so pretty, but it has an amazing 200 meter "catwalk" in front of it. That climb was pretty crazy, I'm not an old man or anything, but after that climb in the searing heat, I had to sit down and rest for a few minutes. The climb down the 60 degees stairs was also daunting, a girl behind me was crawling backwards down one step at a time, holding on for dear life. Worth a visit for sure, and just north of it is a cluster of smaller ruins and a big lake, where I at one point couldn't see a single tourist around me. Edit: TIL pretty much all Angkor temples have been traversed with google street view :o
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Nov 14, 2018 13:12
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Dude, that shot of Baphuon is amazing. I need to go back and look through my old photos, but I remember going there about 15 years ago and it was mostly a bunch of lego blocks with numbers on them scattered around. I'd love to go back and see that now - thanks for the heads up!
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Nov 14, 2018 17:44
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Booked my ticket over the weekend for two weeks with the in-laws in Thailand at the end of the year  Time to dig up my notes from the Thai lessons I took earlier this year...
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Nov 19, 2018 15:41
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Any recommendations for some fine dining in Singapore or Hong Kong? I have never actually eaten someplace fancy when I was there; mostly hawker centers and local dives.
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Dec 3, 2018 05:02
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Any recommendations for some fine dining in Singapore or Hong Kong? I have never actually eaten someplace fancy when I was there; mostly hawker centers and local dives. Give us a few more details - price range, cuisine, the area that's convenient for you, brunch or lunch or dinner. I know caberham is the guy to speak to about HK but give him something to work with.
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Dec 3, 2018 05:21
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simplefish posted:Give us a few more details - price range, cuisine, the area that's convenient for you, brunch or lunch or dinner. Honeymoon for two; expensive restaurant focusing on cantonese in Hong Kong / SE asian in Singapore.
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Dec 3, 2018 05:32
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The cocktail bar atop Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is pretty good, though obviously pricey. A few years back we went to a bar on the roof of Singapore's tallest building as well, that was pretty cool. I think it was called 1-Altitude or something, maybe?
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Dec 3, 2018 05:41
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webmeister posted:The cocktail bar atop Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is pretty good, though obviously pricey. Off the top of my head for HK I'd say Gold Leaf in the Conrad, but I'm sure there are better recommendations simplefish fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 05:44
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