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Atlas Hugged posted:I had to put on pants today. Goodbye Southeast Asia thread.
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Feb 3, 2014 08:22
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ReindeerF posted:You don't need to stockpile anything but maybe beer, heh. Most stuff will be open. Avoid Asoke intersection and, well, Ratchaprasong (where you're staying). From where you are, just head to Silom or Sukhumvit for stuff. I forgot to thank you for the help. We spent election day doing normal touristy bull poo poo ultimately and didn't see anything if concern other than there being a protest bazaar in Siam square area. I tried to convince my traveling companions to go try golden bay leaves but they were absolutely insistent in shopping so we went to central and central world on the end. :/ Also the bazaar had some ridiculously overpriced clothes. 200 bahts for an imitation t shirt purely because it has the Thai flag colors, wtf. Today the stage at ratchaprasong has someone speaking but there were barely any audience. It feels like a balloon has deflated. E: some pics I caught yesterday at Siam Square . I doubt it will be like this any time soon. E: images on android awful app is terrible. http://imgur.com/JXLDWQL http://imgur.com/SxwL3Y3 http://imgur.com/VRx6hec http://imgur.com/BuipHAG http://imgur.com/o6d8X84 The Saddest Rhino fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Feb 3, 2014 |
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Feb 3, 2014 09:39
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Sure thing, anything I can do. On the topic of the markets, there are also all kinds of crazy artistic works being sold - like sincerely awesome pendants and one-of-a-kind shirts and things. They're becoming (temporary) collectors items. Granted, I don't agree with the politics, but some of the jewelry and hand-screened shirts I've seen really are well done. of course you know who else had really nice clothing and accessories... THAT'S RIGHT (555) One thing worth doing down there is Pratunam, a huge market area over by Central World. I really don't know how to describe it other than miles and miles of small shops and stalls selling mostly clothing and accessories, but with a smattering of other things, then streets here and there full of delicious Indian food - even an African and Pinoy place here and there. The clothing and accessories aren't my thing, but there's some authentic stuff there among the many shops. I'd avoided Pratunam for eight years and wandered into it from the backside looking for a place to eat near Pantip and I was blown away.
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Feb 3, 2014 09:49
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Funny Not the Nation article about Suthep: http://notthenation.com/2014/01/suthep-leaves-protests-for-emergency-whitening-treatment/
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Feb 3, 2014 10:49
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That whole Pratunam / Central World complex is weird because sometimes you go in there and you couldn't be less interested and others you're like LOOK AT ALL THESE IDEAS E: haha ^^ http://notthenation.com/2011/01/world-pizza-council-revokes-pizza-company%E2%80%99s-use-of-word-pizza/ raton fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Feb 3, 2014 |
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Feb 3, 2014 14:49
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Sheep-Goats posted:That whole Pratunam / Central World complex is weird because sometimes you go in there and you couldn't be less interested and others you're like LOOK AT ALL THESE IDEAS That website is fantastic, it is like a Thai Onion: http://notthenation.com/2014/01/29-movement-occupies-mall-street/
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Feb 4, 2014 02:59
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Yeah, Not The Nation is the rare regional satire site that actually is that well written.
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Feb 4, 2014 05:55
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Had a wonderful week in Thailand. We got into Bangkok Thursday, went to Kanchanaburi on Friday, came back Sunday night, flew out monday night. The highlight of the trip was the Tiger Temple. Me seen here, holding a tiger cub. They loving loved me. As soon as I laid down I had all four climb on top of me and go to sleep. Then the one you see me holding who was the most friendly to me started biting me.  Erawan falls was absolutely gorgeous. We sprinted the 1.5k to the top to see the 7th pool then worked our way down. Place was swarming with Russians. As soon as they'd hear me talk they'd ask "OBAMA! YES OR NO?" I'd just politely decline to comment. Worst part of the trip was letting my girlfriend book the hotel in Kanchanaburi. It was her birthday weekend, so I bought the plane tickets and said "whatever you want to do, schedule it." She got the hotel. When we got to town, we realized she'd booked it not in the town, but in Soi Yok which is about 70km outside of town. It was advertised as being "close to everything" and Devin decided not to check what that actually meant. We hopped a 2 hour bus ride I had to stand for. When we got to the gate, a truck came and picked us up. It took us down to a dock where a boat transported us 5 minutes up river to a resort. When we got to that resort, we realized it was the wrong one. On top of that, we didn't actually have a hotel for friday night because Devin booked it on the wrong days. A 600 baht boat ride took us to the correct resort we didn't have a reservation for, which was of course just around the curve from the original dock, where I just paid for a new room. We got there at about 815pm and went down to the restaurant type thing, and I started noticing every single sign was in Russian. All the food was Thai/Russian fusion and was worse than you can possibly imagine. Borsht Pad Thai and poo poo like that. Eventually we learned that the hotel was almost exclusively used in package deals by Russian tourists from Pattaya. They'd take a five hour bus there in the morning, go see some hot springs or something, come back to the resort, get their thai massage, eat their russian buffet and watch a depressing traditional Mon show, go get changed, come to the lovely discotheque and get blind drunk, crash out, crawl onto the bus back to Pattaya in the morning, and pass the next group coming in. Anyway great fun all around, got 10 dollar'd to death, people were wonderful, can't wait to come back. This time Devin won't be allowed to plan a single thing. 
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Feb 4, 2014 07:15
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Not sure about the Tiger Temple but I really need to go on one of these Russian package tours.
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Feb 4, 2014 08:43
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Do the monks let you sedate the tigers now as part of the tour or do they still force you to wait while they do it?
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Feb 4, 2014 09:58
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ReindeerF posted:Do the monks let you sedate the tigers now as part of the tour or do they still force you to wait while they do it? The cubs definitely weren't sedated. Our friend who works there swears the tigers aren't but who knows.
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Feb 4, 2014 10:12
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Borsht pad thai! Count me in!
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Feb 4, 2014 13:48
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ReindeerF posted:Do the monks let you sedate the tigers now as part of the tour or do they still force you to wait while they do it? It's extra if you want to do it yourself.
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Feb 4, 2014 18:38
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Probably double pricing too. Bloody Thais 
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Feb 4, 2014 19:42
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After being physically threatened by a taxi driver and driven around sketchy back alleys, I eventually escaped and found a non-hostage taking taxi driver to bring me to the bus station. Only lost 1000 pesos (22 USD) to the guy after he wanted me to pay over 140 USD for driving me 10 kilometers to God-knows-where. Thanks guy for grabbing at my backpack and wallet and asking me if I "want an accident" to happen to me. Not sure why you have handcuffs in your car but good job hanging around right next to the airport departures door and having a legitimate-looking white taxi. Arrived in Manila at 3:15 AM Tuesday, and took about 14 hours of buses to Baguio, Bontoc, and finally a jeepney to Sagada. The Philippines is actually quite nice once you escape Manila.
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Feb 5, 2014 15:49
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kenner116 posted:After being physically threatened by a taxi driver and driven around sketchy back alleys, I eventually escaped and found a non-hostage taking taxi driver to bring me to the bus station. Only lost 1000 pesos (22 USD) to the guy after he wanted me to pay over 140 USD for driving me 10 kilometers to God-knows-where. Thanks guy for grabbing at my backpack and wallet and asking me if I "want an accident" to happen to me. Not sure why you have handcuffs in your car but good job hanging around right next to the airport departures door and having a legitimate-looking white taxi. Christ, I apologize for my idiot scumbag countrymen. If you're going to stay around the North, take your future flights from/to Clark if you can; it's a much better terminal.
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Feb 5, 2014 16:15
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Once you escape the cities, the Philippines are beautiful and the people are quite nice. I think Dumaguette was the only city that I enjoyed.
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Feb 5, 2014 16:34
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I don't know if it's kosher to put up  vacation pictures but here's a link to my photos of the election/protest bazaar in Siam Square and Ratchaprasong, Bangkok from 31 January to 3 February 2014:http://imgur.com/a/TDfUl The night shots have a terrible red tint because of a global fault in HTC One phones, and aren't instagram filters. Highlights I noted were:  Taken at the skybridge in front of Siam Station.  This is 31 January, a Friday, with the biggest crowd at the Ratchaprasong stage. At this point of time, none of the media I have read outside Thailand mentioned there was a bazaar going on in Bangkok and people actually made speeches while a band played. It was very surreal. Also there were makeshift massage parlours.  There were lots and lots of patriotic flag-coloured stuff being sold. If it weren't for the number of people just rushing everywhere I would have taken so many pictures of girls in blinged-out thai-flag-coloured caps and dresses.  In front of Central World was a huge, half-finished Christmas tree, obviously abandoned when the protestors started putting up tents there. Most of the shopping centres were half-empty, populated only by local Thais in election-conscious clothing and hats and bracelets. There were very few Mainland Chinese, who presumably all ran over to Pattaya.  I don't know what the hell this lady was doing but somehow people were giving her money to look at the baby.  We went to Asiatique which was the most horrendous tourist trap ever. There was nothing protest-like except for this model hiding in a corner.  People lining up at Ratchaprasong for free brown goo.  An empty Intercontinental hotel. When I got back my friend in the hospitality industry told me hotels in Bangkok were sending SOS out to their headquarters because they had so few guests.  Even the royal silk company selling the overpriced poo poo in Central World was cashing in on it.  Election booth at Ratchaprasong.  Election night, at Siam Center/Discovery area. They had a huge screen that nobody looked at, and the loudspeakers were blaring speeches in Thai, English, and inexplicably, Japanese. I watched a guy getting facepainted with a Thai flag and nobody seemed to give a poo poo about politics when there was mad shopping to do.  Post-election day was a Monday and everyone had to go back to work. Turnout took a huge hit.  Even the economy felt it. All in all I'm glad we didn't cancel my trip to Bangkok, despite the initial worry and the news which kept repeating STAY IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM DO NOT ENGAGE THE NATIVES. Very different from my last few times in Bangkok. I even managed to get one of those lovely SHUTDOWN BANGKOK RESTART THAILAND t-shirts. A++ would visit protest-hit BKK again. The Saddest Rhino fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 18:57
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Good morning SE Asia. A new restaurant opened up here in Thai central in Queens, NY. It's a khao man gai cart that's inside a small shop, literally. They have a blackboard up that states "Hainanese Chicken Rice: $8.99" How much is a khow man gai now, like 35B? ( )
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Feb 5, 2014 21:59
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Holy poo poo man. I mean I understand markup and margin, but khao mun gai is like the simplest dish ever. $4.99 maybe. $5.99 tops.
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Feb 6, 2014 07:31
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Still 30 baht in the boonies. Speaking of, what's the dish called that's basically a day-long stewed leg of pork, served with wilted greens and a dark sauce? My favorite khao man gai joint also serves this and it's addicting as hell. I feel dumb ordering "khao moo."
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Feb 6, 2014 08:12
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MothraAttack posted:Still 30 baht in the boonies. Speaking of, what's the dish called that's basically a day-long stewed leg of pork, served with wilted greens and a dark sauce? My favorite khao man gai joint also serves this and it's addicting as hell. I feel dumb ordering "khao moo." Well, I hope you're ready for how smart you'll feel ordering it by the correct name: khao kah moo
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Feb 6, 2014 10:19
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Add "mai mun" or "mai ao mun" to avoid the heaps of fat that they normally toss in there for Thai people (who love eating pure chunks of fat). If you add a bunch of fresh garlic and chilis that stuff is awesome. Also, the spicy orange sauce they serve with it is one of my favorite nam chims. EDIT: Anyone in Koh Tao, Nakadia's playing there tonight: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152639448582178 ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 11:05 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Feb 6, 2014 10:24
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She's in Phnom Penh tomorrow apparently too. I'm in Siem Reap for a couple of days, otherwise I def would've gone to see her. Duckmaster you still in town? Not sure how much time I'll have, I may swing by the warehouse one night and yell "STAIRS" though.
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Feb 6, 2014 11:17
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They actually have stairs there, so it will be even more entertaining when someone just goes, "Yeah mate, to your left."
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Feb 6, 2014 11:47
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Yeh I'm still here. Are you here already? I don't hang out at Warehouse much now though.
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Feb 6, 2014 12:30
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Yeah arrived today, will possibly be out in town tonight or tomorrow. Shoot me an email if you fancy a beer at some point, tytanSA at gmail.
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Feb 6, 2014 13:05
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Saddest Rhino posted:There were very few Mainland Chinese Entire protest just made worthwhile. (Also its Chinese New Year, which is probably a better explanation for lack of Chinese tourists).
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Feb 6, 2014 15:07
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No Louis Vuitton. What do you expect?
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Feb 6, 2014 15:14
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kenner116 posted:After being physically threatened by a taxi driver and driven around sketchy back alleys, I eventually escaped and found a non-hostage taking taxi driver to bring me to the bus station. Only lost 1000 pesos (22 USD) to the guy after he wanted me to pay over 140 USD for driving me 10 kilometers to God-knows-where. Thanks guy for grabbing at my backpack and wallet and asking me if I "want an accident" to happen to me. Not sure why you have handcuffs in your car but good job hanging around right next to the airport departures door and having a legitimate-looking white taxi. Sorry about that mate. If you ever get in a tight spot with a cab or they look real fuckin shady, just tell them you want to change destination and go to the (country, U.S.?) embassy or the Hyatt/Peninsula/Marriott/Shangri-La hotel or some well-known (well-lit) place like that. They'll probably cut out their scam right away. If not, promise you'll pay their asked wage but your money's at the hotel or whatever, and ask them to turn on the meter. Once you get there, if they still try to scam, just pay them whatever is on the meter or what you think is fair and exit the car. they're not going to call any corrupt cops (doubly so in front of an Embassy or Hotel, where legit cops are right there with shotguns); if you pay them an actual meter wage they should not press the issue any further. If they tell the cop you didn't pay & you're wanting to avoid confrontation, you can just pay the meter fare again and it'll still be like 1/4th of what they tried to scam you. You can also get honest taxis from those places. a literal 3 hour taxi cab ride from QC to Roxas has only cost me 250 PHP. ....and yeah, it's great once you escape Manila. If you can, go to Tagaytay! Taal is beautiful. (edit: Hyatt is in Malate, which is Sketchy^2/Avoid if you can, so in that case insist they drop you off at the lobby area (post bomb check for the car) and not outside. There's even some corrupt cops in the same area. But the Hyatt is relatively safe/off-limits for some reason. Skandiaavity fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Feb 6, 2014 16:08
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kenner116 posted:After being physically threatened by a taxi driver and driven around sketchy back alleys, I eventually escaped and found a non-hostage taking taxi driver to bring me to the bus station. Only lost 1000 pesos (22 USD) to the guy after he wanted me to pay over 140 USD for driving me 10 kilometers to God-knows-where. Thanks guy for grabbing at my backpack and wallet and asking me if I "want an accident" to happen to me. Not sure why you have handcuffs in your car but good job hanging around right next to the airport departures door and having a legitimate-looking white taxi. The exact same thing happened to me, and it was probably the same guy. I was thinking of smashing the window out but I'm pretty sure he had a gun in the dashboard.
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Feb 7, 2014 06:28
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Awesome, I was in KL during the election last year, so many posters and banners and billboards and pennants and noone gave a poo poo. I wonder what brown goo it was.
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Feb 7, 2014 08:02
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I think Tytan is a thoroughly nice guy but I'm afraid I was far too drunk to remember for sure. Got in at 7am, doing it in style 
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Feb 8, 2014 08:17
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Good to meet you dude, sorry we couldn't stay out for longer but the missus was falling asleep at the bar. Guessing you were too drunk to remember when we agreed that Phnom Penh > Siem Reap then? 
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Feb 8, 2014 09:03
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Any goons in Singapore? I will probably there Feb. 14-18 for business related stuff, but I'll have a lot of free time so I was hoping to get some must see/must avoid recommendations.
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Feb 8, 2014 12:10
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Post in the Singapore thread about it!!!
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Feb 8, 2014 15:45
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14-18? You can see the entire fabricated wonderland twice - along with a number of $15 beers!
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Feb 8, 2014 17:48
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Drunk guy walks into Tesco Lotus with a cut on his hand. Buys bandage, disinfectant and beer. Goes outside and drinks beer. If I was American, I would've tipped him.
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Feb 9, 2014 17:42
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Ganguro King posted:Any goons in Singapore? I will probably there Feb. 14-18 for business related stuff, but I'll have a lot of free time so I was hoping to get some must see/must avoid recommendations. Go to airport. Buy ticket to Cambodia. Go to Cambodia. Even if it's just for two days you'd probably save enough money to justify the plane ticket.
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Feb 9, 2014 18:47
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kru posted:Post in the Singapore thread about it!!! poo poo, I didn't even see that. Will do.
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Feb 10, 2014 09:30
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