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Hey everyone! I’m going to Vietnam for New Years, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for things in Saigon (HCMC?). My gf and I are going to stay in a pair of Airbnb’s there for five days, and so far our plans are pretty much just to eat a lot, use the pool and maybe take the bus to the beach one day. Her birthday is actually the 2nd, so my real question is: are there nice upscale spas or massage places I could take her to as a really nice birthday present? I took her to a really upscale spa in BKK for Valentine’s Day, and she loved that. Are there similar places in Vietnam, or is that really just a Thailand thing?
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Dec 20, 2018 13:16
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| # ? May 31, 2024 09:06 |
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I did this a couple of years ago; Pham Ngu Lao turns into a complete shitshow with fireworks in the street and stuff. Its the Khao San Road of Saigon, but still quite a fun time.
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Dec 20, 2018 19:37
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C-Euro posted:The nervous guy choosing between two buttons meme, but one button says "C-Euro is fat", the second button says "take C-Euro out to eat every two hours", and the guy is labeled "C-Euro's Thai in-laws"
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Dec 20, 2018 22:35
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5 pounds? more like 50 
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Dec 20, 2018 22:48
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Some small Saigon tips: - Pasteur brewery is pretty cool, has a nice vibe to it. - The big lotus skyscraper has a cool bar on the 51st floor, which is cheaper than going to to skydeck on the floor above (or below, can't remember) - Should you want to see the flea market building in Chinatown, it was closed for renovations when we were there in March. There are stalls outside though. - This place here has some cheap and delicious seafood, if you don't mind the greasy spoon vibe
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Dec 21, 2018 00:08
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EssOEss posted:I will be in East Java, flying in to Surabaya. Have not decided on exact plans yet but I will not be hopping around too much - maybe hang around two cities of interest and that's it. I know a local who can help me with the details but I just thought I better gather some goon info, as well. Java is the world's most populous island, so there isn't a whole lot of untouched nature there. As the other guy said, definitely look into Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater as those are fantastic. I'd also head for Yogyakarta (aka Jogja) and check out nearby Borobudur and Prambanan which are among the highlights of Indonesia imo. I think there's a Jogja goon who posts here as well and can probably give some tips. There's an okay train system which connects up the major cities and can be fun for a change of pace, assuming you're not short of time as it can be quite slow. It's not a modern first-world system, but it's not third-class Indian rail either.
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Dec 21, 2018 01:43
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ReindeerF posted:Another victim of Take Care. Thais making fun of me update: We went to visit a school today because my in-laws were donating school supplies and I overheard some kid call me a farang. I don't know a lot of Thai but I know that word! E: My wife just left me alone in a barbershop while she and her mom run errands since I told them that I need a haircut, if I die let it be known that I told her this was a bad idea. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 09:30 on Dec 21, 2018 |
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Dec 21, 2018 08:57
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Chikimiki posted:Some small Saigon tips: Thanks man, the gf and I love beer so we might give a good brewery a try! Also googling for “best upscale spa in Saigon” sure does return a lot of prostitution!
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Dec 21, 2018 09:25
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Heer98 posted:Thanks man, the gf and I love beer so we might give a good brewery a try! Upscale prostitution.
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Dec 21, 2018 09:48
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Atlas Hugged posted:Upscale prostitution. Unfortunately probably not what my girlfriend wants for her birthday
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Dec 21, 2018 15:06
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Heer98 posted:Unfortunately probably not what my girlfriend wants for her birthday
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Dec 21, 2018 20:31
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Heer98 posted:Unfortunately probably not what my girlfriend wants for her birthday So long as she doesn't require infinity pools she's at least a C+ threadwife in my very important book that you care about
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Dec 24, 2018 08:14
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Shout-out to whichever one of you walked up with your DBZ shirt tucked into cargo shorts and checkered belt on top of Maha Nahkon Skywalk just now and introduced yourself to me. I only blew you off because my wife really had to pee, and not because you were coming on way too strong for everyone else in my group.
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Dec 29, 2018 12:58
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C-Euro posted:Shout-out to whichever one of you walked up with your DBZ shirt tucked into cargo shorts and checkered belt on top of Maha Nahkon Skywalk just now and introduced yourself to me. I only blew you off because my wife really had to pee, and not because you were coming on way too strong for everyone else in my group. lmao i so want this to be true
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Dec 29, 2018 13:15
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Bardeh posted:lmao i so want this to be true I swear it happened but I have no idea if he was a goon or not. The guy was Asian and said he lived in Bangkok but was born in Jersey so maybe?
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Dec 29, 2018 13:38
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Thanks for the suggestions guys! I’m currently at EastWest brewery, which is super cool! But I’ll probably check out Pasteur brewery as well.
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Dec 29, 2018 14:43
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How does Bangkok function with this traffic? Holy poo poo I'll never complain about traffic again.
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Dec 29, 2018 16:57
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Know the city, know the skytrain, and know when to break for a beer I guess.
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Dec 29, 2018 21:54
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And these 4 days are among the BEST traffic days within Bangkok, heh.
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Dec 30, 2018 07:15
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Yeah we were in the city last night and it was a nightmare, and the rain didn't help. My bi-annual family visit ends in about 10 hours and I think the most baffling thing about this country is how at like every other meal, my in-laws will either bring and eat food they've bought on the way to the meal or will go get food from somewhere else during said meal and bring it back to eat. Is it just her family or does everyone do that?
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Dec 30, 2018 12:01
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Lowness 72 posted:How does Bangkok function with this traffic? Holy poo poo I'll never complain about traffic again. I think by not being afraid to ride bikes around. I've seen three people on a bike speeding down the road in pouring rain. Crazy. I won't ride those things when I am there. Tuktuks make me nervous. Oh, I'll just drive in the oncoming traffic lane right now because no one is coming. BTS, MRT and feet, thank you.
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Dec 30, 2018 17:31
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Tuktuks are strictly tourist only. You're exposed to the elements, they can't weave through traffic, and they don't have a meter. It's in every way imaginable the worst possible approach to commuting in Bangkok.
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Dec 30, 2018 17:41
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I’m currently in Khao Lak, Thailand and I’m loving it. So loving chill. A welcome break from the tourist bullshit, while still plenty of accessibility to amenities and absolutely gorgeous beaches. We just got back from Mu Ko Surin and I cannot recommend that place enough. No electricity for most of the day. Nothing to do except swim, snorkel, and chill. We really want to go to Khao Sok and do a 3 day/2 night tour, but it seems most of the tours are fully booked from Jan2/3. Do any of you have recommendations for Khao Sok? Should we just book a hotel and go from there? PLS HEP!
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Dec 31, 2018 09:00
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New Year can be a little unpredictable, but if you book the hotel you should be able to find someone to drive you there. They just might charge you a lot of money. It's a little tough without some Thai language but you might be able to ask if there is like a bus or van or a sawngtaew That goes from one to the other. Usually the best place to ask that is at the market, but they probably aren't going to speak English so if you take a map and point at the name they might be able to help. Otherwise just go to a tourist agency and say I want to go to this place, I already have a hotel how much. What I always tell people is you have to remember Thai people are always using informal transportation between popular locations, so if you can figure out what they are doing and mimic it then it works best. Problem is a national park is not a common daily destination so I can't say.
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Dec 31, 2018 16:55
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If you can get tapped into the Thai personal network though then you’re golden. Somebody knows somebody whose cousin is going to the national park. Rarely hurts to ask somebody wherever you’re staying now.
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Dec 31, 2018 17:32
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Yeah, basically ask someone. If they don't know, pay someone
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Dec 31, 2018 17:50
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We are gonna take a bus. Our hotel lady will help us find it and get on because we are infantile farang. Btw, if anyone is ever staying in Khao Lak and needs a cheap yet awesome place to stay, you have to stay at CasaCool. Everyday is a massive awesome breakfast and the owner lady, Kai, falls over herself to help you- taking you to secluded beaches etc. We will be in Khao Sok tomorrow for two days. Anything recommendations? Otherwise I’m just gonna shoot from the hip And try to do everything
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Jan 1, 2019 09:49
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Saigon has been absolutely amazing. This was essentially a food vacation for the gf and I, although we were surprised by just how prolific and how good the beer scene was. We spent New Years at Biacraft and did midnight at EastWest, which was really fun. We’re actually gorging ourselves on oysters and ceviche at Biacraft right now!
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Jan 1, 2019 12:44
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SnakeParty posted:I’m currently in Khao Lak, Thailand and I’m loving it. So loving chill. A welcome break from the tourist bullshit, while still plenty of accessibility to amenities and absolutely gorgeous beaches. We just got back from Mu Ko Surin and I cannot recommend that place enough. No electricity for most of the day. Nothing to do except swim, snorkel, and chill. I think you're staying in the more fun part of Khao Lak. About eight years ago I stayed a bit south of there, in Takua Pa near the McDonalds (I swear that wasn't the attraction). The Surin Islands are great. I spent two nights there in a tent. Not having access to cold beer sucked (I'm Australian) but the rest of it was pretty good and I can only hope that some of the coral and marine life has returned because it was getting pretty dire for a while. I'd go back!
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Jan 3, 2019 03:28
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Tell the truth, Finch!, you got in the sawngtaew and yelled, "Macca's!" repeatedly.
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Jan 3, 2019 08:25
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ReindeerF posted:Tell the truth, Finch!, you got in the sawngtaew and yelled, "Macca's!" repeatedly. Hey, I'm not that Australian... although I did eat there. I stocked up on breakfast muffins for the sawngtaew to the pier before a day diving. Would recommend. I think the only other time I've had McDonalds in Thailand was when I was in hospital on Samui with dengue, and the hospital food was so bad that they thoughtfully provided a folder full of delivery options and I was sick of eating pizza.
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Jan 3, 2019 08:35
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Had some miccyds upon leaving phiphi. It was not good. Anyways, looking forward to this nice tropical storm coming tomorrow. Who’s caught in its path? I’m up in Khao Sok so I don’t think it’ll be too bad, but I have a flight on the 5th out of Surat Thani and I hope it’s not cancelled.
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Jan 3, 2019 13:38
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Does Senso still post here? Apparently he's a bit... missing
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Jan 3, 2019 22:56
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Play posted:Does Senso still post here? Apparently he's a bit... missing
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Jan 3, 2019 23:16
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Nobody recommended Pizza 4P’s in Saigon? Finally got around to going to one of their branches in Hanoi and it completely lived up to the hype. Can only imagine how good it is in SGN where it started... (For those who don’t know 4Ps is a Japanese farm to table Italian chain that is only in Vietnam. Not your normal farm to table: the supply chain is completely vertical, i.e. almost all ingredients come from farms they own in Vietnam, including the burrata, which is incredible.)
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Jan 5, 2019 15:03
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Finch! posted:
I really enjoyed it. The coral have clearly suffered, but still really beautiful in many places. We camped and the view and the waves and the hammock good god was relaxing.
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Jan 6, 2019 04:19
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My girlfriend and I will be in Thailand in March for a fortnight. We've both been before and both been to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Khao Sok, and on my own I've been to Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Chiang Rai, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Ubon Rachatani. We're currently thinking of going to Hua Hin for a bit after a day or two in Bangkok but can't figure out where to go from there. Can anyone recommend anywhere in easy travelling distance of Hua Hin that is worth spending a few days? Really don't mind what kind of place as long as it's more than just a beach and there's something or other to see or do.
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Jan 6, 2019 20:38
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Work has offered me a killer opportunity on the condition I pack up and leave in 2 weeks.. I've never been to Singapore/Asia on holiday yet alone to live... I'm Australian (Melbourne) and used to cold poo poo weather so I assume it's going to just be hot/humid all of the drat time..... Apparently going to spend the first few weeks "downtown" which sounds swanky as unless it's like downtown LA? So anybody living/lived in Singapore? Where should I go? what should I avoid? What's the rules of living in Singapore? Do I need to get a respectable haircut?! Tell me about Singapore! What's the primer?
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Jan 8, 2019 08:23
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According to the t-shirts my friends and I had as kids in Malaysia, peeing in elevators is a big no-no in Singapore. But seriously Singapore is a modern multi-national, multi-cultural city that's a lot like any other city you've probably been to except it's in Asia and all the names of the places will be unfamiliar. I was there this summer and found it to be fairly relaxed and much smaller than I expected (at least the downtown region). A respectable haircut is always a good thing when starting a new job, so yeah I'd go with that. The main thing to keep in mind is that you'll be dealing with a new culture and while Singaporeans are going to be used to dealing with westerners/foreigners, you're still coming into their house and need to be flexible while you figure out what's acceptable in your particular office.
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Jan 8, 2019 09:00
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BOGAN ALERTTTTTTT Just kidding you never been to Bali right? It’s a little hotter but similar to Brisbane. And it’s a god drat modern city, don’t you even dare comparing it to LA. You are most likely fine and if it’s a decent job and pay, you really can’t gently caress up moving to Singapore as an expat unless you are a terrible human being - which sure enough you will see your fair share. Maybe the city is not as artsy as Melbourne but it’s a fine city
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Jan 8, 2019 09:09
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