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ReindeerF posted:Still high season. Those are the two coolest months along with December, so the Europeans flock here. I'm still gonna be kicking around the region over Christmas, by myself. How big of a deal is it over there? I loathe Christmas, and the cheapest flight I could get out of Bangkok to come home was on December 26th. I'm currently un-planned for the time between December 14th-25th, since I figured I'd wing it depending on what parts of my trip I wanted to revisit. Is that going to be impossible to plan once it's closer? I'm probably either going to be a lazy jerk in Bangkok, or pick up an Intrepid (or something similar) to pack in a little more culture before flying back to a Canadian winter.
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Jul 27, 2013 04:00
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Pixelante posted:I'm still gonna be kicking around the region over Christmas, by myself. How big of a deal is it over there? I loathe Christmas, and the cheapest flight I could get out of Bangkok to come home was on December 26th. I'm currently un-planned for the time between December 14th-25th, since I figured I'd wing it depending on what parts of my trip I wanted to revisit. Is that going to be impossible to plan once it's closer? I'm probably either going to be a lazy jerk in Bangkok, or pick up an Intrepid (or something similar) to pack in a little more culture before flying back to a Canadian winter. On Koh Tao Christmas is a big deal in the sense that it's a HUGE party over several days. Various places host various events: Scandy Christmas, real world Christmas, Boxing Day, whatever. Most involve serious eating and drinking, though some of the feasts are better than others. I also hate Christmas here in Australia, but love spending that time of year on Koh Tao. It's a lot of fun. Christmas is one of the busy seasons on Koh Tao, though, so finding accommodation at the last minute might be difficult. I have no idea what the Christmas period is like anywhere else in Asia.
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Jul 27, 2013 04:34
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Who hates Christmas? You guys are weird! I could give a poo poo about the religious stuff or shopping, but the music and the vibe are nice. Also, food. As for planning, basically all of Scandinavia comes to Thailand for December, so it's packed. Especially beaches and islands (they loving love Hua Hin, which is a Thai word for short sleeve button down shirt). Count on higher rates and higher occupancies, making it difficult to book on a moment's notice, but also to book for long stays. It's not impossible, but it is the one time of year you need to plan a little in advance in tourist areas.
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Jul 27, 2013 07:01
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Just arrived in Saigon after a not awful bus. Senso if you still fancy pints later email me.
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Jul 27, 2013 07:31
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Senso posted:Mai Linh and Vinasun are the two "reliable" taxi companies, do NOT use any other except at your own risk. No Vinasun in Hanoi, Mai Linh is definitely the best option but be aware that there's some dodgy taxis that have copied the Mai Linh green and white color scheme... they'll definitely try and scam you. Hanoi Taxi, Hanoi Tourist and Taxi Group are generally OK too.
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Jul 27, 2013 07:43
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ReindeerF posted:Who hates Christmas? You guys are weird! I could give a poo poo about the religious stuff or shopping, but the music and the vibe are nice. Also, food. Most of my family is dead, and what I have left is disabled and dependent. Since my mother died, I've spent Christmas drifting from one friend's family to another, always welcome but always the outsider. Last couple years I've been doing non-celebrations with a fellow orphan, generally just trying to keep ourselves busy when the whole loving world is closed or turned inwards to their families. That part isn't so bad. It's the explaining why I'm not celebrating that's hard. People always look like I've kicked their kitten when I mention how I don't have a family go back to. I do like the lights and pretty decorations, but I'd happily take a sledgehammer to anything playing Christmas carols. e: Sorry for kicking your kitten. http://www.imagebox.pw/photos2/Laotian.jpg Pixelante fucked around with this message at 09:50 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 07:54
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Tomato Soup posted:There are cute little boutiques everywhere in the Old Quarter in Hanoi. There's a mall or two too. Strangely, the Hanoi suburbs even have poorly advertised, nearly hidden malls with major brands that are virtually devoid of customers. They're really surreal but totally not worth the $15 cab fare that puts you that far away.
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Jul 27, 2013 10:11
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Pixelante posted:Most of my family is dead, and what I have left is disabled and dependent. Since my mother died, I've spent Christmas drifting from one friend's family to another, always welcome but always the outsider. Last couple years I've been doing non-celebrations with a fellow orphan, generally just trying to keep ourselves busy when the whole loving world is closed or turned inwards to their families. That part isn't so bad. It's the explaining why I'm not celebrating that's hard. People always look like I've kicked their kitten when I mention how I don't have a family go back to. I do like the lights and pretty decorations, but I'd happily take a sledgehammer to anything playing Christmas carols. Change user name to Del Griffith please http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPJzNNpUFsU
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Jul 27, 2013 11:55
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Well goddammit, my motorbike was stolen last night (well, early this morning). 3 weeks before I leave this country...
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Jul 27, 2013 13:36
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Just FYI for anybody heading to Koh Tao soon: It's busy. If you don't have accommodation booked you might end up like those guys and be forced to sleep on the beach. (stolen from the Facebook of a Big Blue instructor, probably heading out on the morning boat at 7am today...)
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Jul 28, 2013 02:02
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My wife and I (US citizens) are going to be traveling through southeast Asia and plan to spend a little over a month in Thailand. We were planning on entering Thailand by land from Malaysia (trains) which I understand will get us a permit to stay for 15 days. As I understand it, I can get this renewed by leaving and then coming back to get 15 more days. 15 days won't be sufficient and I don't want to have to worry about popping over to Cambodia halfway through the trip. Does anyone have any experience getting a 90 day tourist visa in person at the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur? Results on Google suggest this is easy, but I'd like some confirmation. If it's a huge pain then I guess we could always fly into Thailand and get a 30 day stay allowance, but the train trip looks pretty fun. Any other suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.
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Jul 28, 2013 03:09
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Sub Par posted:15 days won't be sufficient and I don't want to have to worry about popping over to Cambodia halfway through the trip. Does anyone have any experience getting a 90 day tourist visa in person at the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur? Results on Google suggest this is easy, but I'd like some confirmation. If it's a huge pain then I guess we could always fly into Thailand and get a 30 day stay allowance, but the train trip looks pretty fun. Any other suggestions would be welcome. Thanks. I don't have any personal experience doing this but plenty of friends regularly get (repeated) 60 day tourist visas in either Kuala Lumpur or Penang. It's usually done overnight - drop your passport off in the morning, pick it up the following afternoon. I think both Penang and KL only do single entry visas these days, rather than multi. The train trip is... alright. Nothing special. Slow, reasonably comfortable, cold, with reasonable food and cheap beer. You'll cross the border just before dark. Get two lower berths, rather than an upper and lower. From memory the connection from KL to Bangkok via Penang means you'll need to spend a day or so in Penang anyway, and it's worth spending a few days there exploring. Penang is great. Although I haven't done the visa thing myself (multiple entries for the win) I did join some friends on a Penang visa trip in January. I think the most annoying part of the whole exercise was the train from Penang arriving at Chumphon at 3am and having to wait until 8 or something for the ferry back to Koh Tao. Edit: Many hostels and guest houses offer a visa service and will do the dropping off and picking up of passports for you, for a small fee. Here's some guy's blog post about his experience last year. Finch! fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 03:21
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Great, thank you!
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Jul 28, 2013 03:46
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Senso posted:Well goddammit, my motorbike was stolen last night (well, early this morning). 3 weeks before I leave this country... Not the worst timing though.
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Jul 28, 2013 03:55
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Sheep-Goats posted:Not the worst timing though. Turns out I overreacted, it was at T&R even though I have no memories of spending time there (don't do drugs, kids). Whew!
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Jul 28, 2013 09:33
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Any working professionals in Malaysia? My girlfriend recently moved to KL for a 1-year contract, but was told that her tax rebate (up to $4,000) can't be given until 5-6 months after that contract ends. They're assuming she'll be staying for multiple years, and she doesn't want to tell them that her intent was only to stay for a single year. The question, then, is can she claim her tax rebate after completing her 1 year contract and returning home? Suntory BOSS fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 14:01
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I'll assume that when the city floods we can say rainy season has officially commenced, although my Google fu suggests that some areas of the country beat us by a week.   Photos courtesy of Facebook. MothraAttack fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 14:34
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Me, my wife and two friends are planning out a ten day to two week vacation. I recommended Thailand because I've travelled there before and I know we'd all find it amazing. The only compliant I'm getting is the travel distance is high for our vacation duration. So I was wondering if there are any alternative travel destinations where I can safely enjoy beautiful tropical beaches, and have approximately the same purchasing power with my American dollars as I have in Thailand, but closer to the east coast of the US.
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Jul 28, 2013 16:37
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Answers I typically hear are Costa Rica, Argentina and Cuba. EDIT: Oops, and Panama. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 17:03
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Seconding Panama. Also hear good things about Puerto Rico but I'm not sure how it compares price-wise.
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Jul 28, 2013 17:18
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I posted on this thread a ways back, but work has pretty much kept me from taking a trip to SE Asia for the past year. I'll post my vague travel plans before I ask some questions: I'm planning on taking a trip next year for 30+ days around the August/September time frame. I'm a US citizen flying from the west coast. I'd like to stop in Japan for a few days to visit some friends on the way, and then fly into Thailand. Reading through the OP and talking to some friends I think I'm leaning towards Thailand and Vietnam for this trip. I'd like to split my time between doing the big city/party thing, seeing some cool nature/monument stuff, and hanging out at the beach. I'm a scuba diver and I'd like to do at least 2-3 days of diving while I'm over there. I'd also like to stay in an air conditioned hotel room every night if possible. So here are some questions: -Is August and September going to be during the monsoon season and make it pointless to take a trip during this time? (I can adjust the times a little bit) -Diving wise, I'm looking for reputable operations at places where I'll actually see some cool stuff. I'm assuming it would be stupid to bring my own gear, so I'll be renting everything. How much can I expect to spend on diving in Thailand/Vietnam? What are the best spots? -Is spending a few days in Japan going to be a huge hassle in terms of flying and visas? I really just want to fly in and meet up with some friends for a few days, but if it's going to add a lot of complications to traveling, I can always go back to glorious Nippon later. -What is a good place to fly into and start my trip and fly out of? Does it make more sense to fly into Bangkok, go do my thing, and then fly out of Bangkok when I'm done? Or is it better to fly into say Hanoi and work my way south to Thailand, and then fly out of there? Thanks.
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Jul 28, 2013 18:07
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Short answers on the things I have any information about: 1) Rainy season in Thailand is an overrated phenomenon unless your concern is something specific like cloudy water for diving. As a matter of daily life, it rains for an hour or so (some days more, some days not at all) and then life carries on. I advise people to avoid flights in the late afternoon if they can, but it's not a dealbreaker. 3) US citizens can walk into and out of Japan. Visas shouldn't be an issue. 4) Flight specials rule the day on this topic, but generally speaking Bangkok is Southeast Asia's #1 air hub for international flights with Singapore a distant (but much higher quality) #2. Open Jaw tickets aren't usually very economical on 9,000 mile flights, but if you find a good deal, take it. There are on occasional regional "discover SE Asia" passes you can take advantage of. Budget flights on Air Asia are probably even more plentiful out of Bangkok now than Kuala Lumpur, but be aware that Don Muang airport (DMK) is where Nok air and Air Asia fly out of, so if you have a connecting LCC flight and you land in Suvanrabhumi (BKK) you need to give an hour or so for transit time.
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Jul 28, 2013 18:42
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walruscat posted:Me, my wife and two friends are planning out a ten day to two week vacation. I recommended Thailand because I've travelled there before and I know we'd all find it amazing. I enjoyed Curacao when I visited, they have their own independent culture and are not wholly dependent on tourism unlike many other Caribbean islands, nearby Bonaire has the best SCUBA in the region, and while hotels aren't Thailand cheap the rest of everything is reasonable. If you guys decide on two weeks Thailand is okay. Ten days is not enough. The usual answer to you question however, especially for mixed groups, is Costa Rica. Prices are like Curacao there -- hotels are more, the rest is reasonable. CR is more tourism dependent than Curaçao however so the feel of being there is different (you're a money pinata with legs).
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Jul 28, 2013 20:25
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Thank you all for giving me new options to check out.Sheep-Goats posted:I enjoyed Curacao when I visited, they have their own independent culture and are not wholly dependent on tourism unlike many other Caribbean islands, nearby Bonaire has the best SCUBA in the region, and while hotels aren't Thailand cheap the rest of everything is reasonable. Curacao looks really good from some minimal googling. Any chance you can recommend a place to stay? We were hoping to spend less than $150 a night on decent hotel.
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Jul 29, 2013 02:55
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Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but if you can choose between diving in Thailand and Vietnam, stick with Thailand. Vietnam uses a lot more dynamite and electricity fishing, and as such marine life is really depleted. Stick with the Andaman or Gulf of Thailand and you can't go wrong.
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Jul 29, 2013 03:06
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BKK doesn't really have the cheapest fares into SEA anymore. SGN was $200 cheaper for me and I've met a lot of other backpackers who flew into Vietnam because it was cheap too. One way flights in/out of SEA aren't too horribly priced. Just think of it as in "how much money and time would I have to spend backtracking to my flight home?" You might be able to get back to Vietnam from Thailand or vicw versa cheaply but was saving the money worth the three 24+ hour bus rides? If its like $100-$200ish more for open jaw, I'd take it in a heartbeat. I decided to do an open jaw when backpacking through South America and had to pay extra to change my flights but I'm glad that I did because I got the chance to see more places and didn't have to backtrack all across Bolivia and its terrible roads. Staying in rooms with AC will cost you around $10 USD in Vietnam, then $20 in Thailand. But things are cheaper in Thailand so that helps to even it out a bit. I'm in Japan right now and it was painless getting in. Just have the address of where you're staying handy. You may have to show proof of onward travel if you're going into Japan one way. My flights into/out Japan are both one ways on different carriers and China Eastern asked me for proof of onward travel and they were satisfied after I showed them my AirAsia reservation. I didn't get asked about this in Japan. On this note, would I need to show proof of onward travel when flying into KUL on AirAsia? I've got my ticket out of Vietnam in December but I'm going to get out of Malaysia by land. Tomato Soup fucked around with this message at 04:33 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 04:27
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I doubt Air Asia's counter staff will ask, yeah. The only times I've been asked have been by flag or legacy carriers (e.g. THAI, United, etc) and I've never been asked flying into KL, which I've done probably 5-10 times over the years. ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 04:56
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Anyone well versed in conservative fashion over there? I'm wondering if my opaque leggings/tunic-dress thing would fly in Laos, or get me weird looks. The leggings are like really stretchy pants, not see-through at all, and they hit below the knee. Wouldn't wear it for teaching, but it's sort of a comfy hot-weather thing to slouch around in here and takes up very little suitcase space. Thanks for being such a great information resources, goons. I've enjoyed reading the thread a lot more than all those info sites that are thinly veiled tourist adverts. 
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Jul 29, 2013 06:19
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From what I remember, that should be okay. They just don't want foreigners running around half naked.
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Jul 29, 2013 06:44
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Semi-off-topic protip: I was sick on my flight back to the states, so I decided to upgrade to premium economy for the lengthy leg back (I was flying Delta). It was a bit pricey, BUT there were a LOT of empty seats. I had a look at the seat selector the day before the flight, noticed that there was an entire empty row, selected a seat on that row, and bam, I got a makeshift bed about $90. That being said, if you're willing to fork out a bit more for a lot of extra space, check your airline's seat selector the day before the flight; the chances of someone doing the same thing are probably pretty low. As a sidebar, If I wasn't able to stretch out on an entire row, I don't the few extra inches of legroom/recline would have justified the price.
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Jul 29, 2013 08:19
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Yeah, it's a good plan. I often grab a seat in the last row in the plane just in case. People complain that the seat doesn't recline much or that it's bumpier, but that's where I'm most likely to have an empty row usually. I read somewhere that one or another airline was going to let people connect to social media to find seat partners. Feels like it was jetBlue or Spirit or something, but without Googling I can't recall. Anyway, when I read that a year or two back I thought, "Man I'm going to make the nastiest, ugliest facebook profile ever with the stinkiest looking picture of the fattest guy I can find and make sure I connect it as soon as I book."
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Jul 29, 2013 09:53
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Hey guys, I got a visa question for you all: Let's say I enter Thailand by plane on the 1st of august (I am!) and a couple of days later I enter Cambodia. I then leave Cambodia after a couple of days to return to Thailand. Can I still enter Thailand with my previous visa, which would be valid until the 31th of august, or do I get a new visa that now only lasts 15 days?
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Jul 29, 2013 13:38
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Just to be sure, the stamp you get on arrival (30 days by air) is not a visa exactly. I know it sounds pedantic, but this stuff is kind of confusing. I'm assuming you have a visa that you will have applied for from a Thai embassy or consulate based on your question, this comes in the form of a sticker attached to a page in your passport. Your visa will be marked as either single or multiple entry. If it's a single entry tourist visa and you enter and leave, then you can't re-enter on that same visa. If it's a multiple entry, as long as you have more entries left you can re-enter on it. All of this assumes that you re-enter before the visa's validity expires (it's dated on the paper). If you happen to be referring to the stamp you receive on arrival, then you can leave and enter anytime. You get a 30 day stay if you arrive by air and 15 days if you arrive by land. In practice, there are no limits on the number of stamps you can receive. That's pretty much the whole deal.
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Jul 29, 2013 14:07
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Sorry, I did mean the stamp I get on my passport when I enter Thailand. First time I have needed a passport, and it seems I had completely misunderstood the meaning/use of visa's, haha. At least I'm pretty sure I get it now. So just to be sure, an example: If I just got a 30 day stamp in my passport, and immediately hop the border and come back by land again, would I get a new stamp that lasts 15 days, or would I be able to use the remainder of my 30 day stamp, which would be more than 15 days? It's an odd scenario, but it's good to know if due to some lovely planning I head to Cambodia pretty early in my trip.
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Jul 29, 2013 15:02
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No worries, it's all quite confusing, heh. To answer the underlying question, the stamp represents a permission to stay in the Kingdom for X amount of time. As soon as you leave, that individual permission to stay is no longer valid. When you re-enter, you receive a new permission to stay for X amount of time. 1) So, in your scenario, you enter Thailand on a plane and receive a stamp representing a 30 day permission to stay. 2) You leave Thailand the next day and that permission to stay is now void. 3) You re-enter Thailand by land and receive a new stamp representing a 15 day permission to stay.
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Jul 29, 2013 15:08
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Good to know the stamp pretty much goes void once you leave, I can plan around that then. Thanks for the answer!
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Jul 29, 2013 16:47
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Orillion posted:Has anyone of you gentlegoons had any recent experience of crossing the border at Ban Pakard/Psar Pruhm towards Thailand? Is it possible to go from Battambang to Ko Samet in the same day? Here is the answer to these questions. I just did that trip today, and there isn't exactly a ton of up-to-date info on this on the internet, so i might as well write the information down so it's not lost to the ages. We left Battambang at 8:00 by taxi, which got us to the Pruhm border at around 10:00 for a hefty sum of 33$ (price ranges from 25$ to 35$ depending on internet sources, so i guess that's not too bad). A passport photo was required at the border (i made a bunch at a photographer in Battambang the previous day for 2$ - took 15 minutes), but no one asked us for either passport photocopies or proof that we had a flight out of Thailand scheduled, nor did anyone ask us for a bribe. It all just went like a breeze. Once on the Thai side, we hired another taxi to Chanthaburi for 1200 baht (we might have been scammed here, since the same trip but in the reverse direction is said to cost around 150 baht. Every time i found information about that particular trip in that direction however, i found reports of paying 1200 baht, for a taxi car, not a minivan - 150 baht might be the minivan price, which leaves every 90 minutes). We arrived at Chanthaburi at 11:15, just in time to hop on a bus to Ban Phe (cost: 80 baht per person). The bus dropped us on the road to Rayong, at the crossroads to Ban Phe, at 13:15. We walked the two or so kilometers to the town and the pier, and arrived at 14:00 (we could have taken a motodop, but there was plenty of time so vOv). We then took two ferry tickets (cost: 50 baht per person, one-way) to Ko Samet. We were scheduled to depart at 15:00 but they decided to merge us with another boat (we were the only two passengers with that company), so we finally departed at around 15:40, from another pier, with locals coming back from their various errands on the mainland and children out of school. After half an hour or so, we arrived on the island. The goal here was to catch the last ferry to Ko Samet, at 18:00. Speedboats come and go 24h a day between Ban Phe and the island, but are much more expensive. So yes, going from Battambang to Ko Samet on the same day is totally doable, but it probably would have been a hassle to do it without hiring a taxi for a part of the trip. Said taxi offered to drive us from the Border directly to Ban Phe for 2200 baht, which would have been totally unnecessary, even if we had to wait for another bus at Chanthaburi (but then again, we arrived early at Chanthaburi because we hired taxis to and from the border, and because we left Battambang at 8:00). Hope this helps if someone else decides to avoid Poipet and to go through Pruhm instead.
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Jul 29, 2013 16:51
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Ban Pakard is my favorite border crossing into Cambodia as the drive's pretty, you can stop in Pailin and Chanthaburi and it's pretty hassle free. They occasionally pull the nonsense about getting a photocopy of your passport, but usually it's not scammy. Don't show up as the border opens, though, since the visa run outfits from the Eastern Seaboard will show up at like 07:00 and drop 100 Vietnamese workers to stand in line so they can process in and out. Your painless border crossing quickly turns into a two hour affair. If you get a share taxi from Battambang, you should be able to get the front seat to the border for something like $12. I forget exactly, might've been $15 last time I did it. If they drop you in Pailin, you can get a motodop for like $2. It's a 10-15 minute ride. It can be easier to just tell them Pailin sometimes, so if you have trouble getting to the border, just say Pailin. On the Thai side of the border, there's a van that goes every hour and a half to and from Chanthaburi, like the poster above said, and there's also a sawngtaew that does it for 100 Baht and shows up when it fills up. Between the two you can usually grab one within 30 minutes. I prefer the sawngtaew. It takes a bit longer because it's a loving hooptie that stops a lot, but it's not all cramped like the van and you can get some fresh air as you watch the lush scenery go by. If you're doing the trip in reverse, the sawngtaew from Chan to the border is down near the market in the middle of town. Just ask a moto driver to take you to "Rot Pakard" and they'll drop you at a coffee/noodle stand where the thing will show up, or be waiting. The vans, I think, leave from somewhere by the Riverside Guest House, but I forget exactly. Sawngtaews can be a little confusing when you first show up, but if you can figure them out they're really helpful in getting around. On an unrelated note: https://vimeo.com/52300409
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Jul 29, 2013 17:08
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I'm moving to HCM. I don't know exactly when or how just yet but goddamn that city is incredible.
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Jul 29, 2013 19:01
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Woop! Sorry if I didn't write yet, I've been pretty busy as I'm leaving my job tomorrow. But tonight is the big Ladies Night at Lush so if you're still in Saigon, we're always there. Email: sensoz at gmail dot com
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Jul 30, 2013 02:30
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