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If by "cool looking islands" you're referring to Phi Phi Archipelago or James Bond Island, skip it. It's tourist trap hell, unless your idea of a good time is being surrounded by selfie-stick wielding Chinese tour groups and drunk Eastern Europeans.
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Jan 12, 2016 23:48
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I'm not really interested in either of those. I was thinking more along the lines of Koh Lanta, Ngai, Muk, Kradan. The ones south of Krabi I guess?
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Jan 12, 2016 23:57
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Wittgenstein posted:I'm flying into BKK on the 27th and I'll be in the region until April 26th. Thanks a bunch to all the regulars here. So much good information just in this thread compared to all the lovely blogs and and forums elsewhere. In my mind I plan to mostly be in Thailand but I want to see Cambodia and hopefully Laos, too! I can't help much but I thoroughly recommend heading to the islands in late March to hide from the heat. Koh Chang should be relatively pleasant. Somewhere like Sukhothai will not be any fun at all in mid April. Mae Hong Son is nearly ten degrees warmer, on average, in April than in January: hot as gently caress. Good choices, though. Sukhothai and Mae Hong Son are excellent. If it's not a million degrees, hire a bicycle for a day at Sukhothai and ride around to the different heritage zones. The central one is nice but I think the others are more interesting and have far fewer visitors. Also check out Khao Lak and Khao Sok National Park. I have a soft spot for Koh Tao, too, but it's not to everyone's taste or ability to avoid dying. A few years ago I went on an overnight trip from Khao Lak up to Ranong and on to the Surin Islands National Park. It was hot as balls even during December, but really interesting. Don't underestimate the power of Malaysia, either. From Krabi it's only a few hours to Georgetown in Penang (or Butterworth if you're taking the train) and I can't recommend Penang enough. Plus there's the bonus of giant air-conditioned shopping malls with cinemas if you need to retreat from the heat. Langkawi is also well worth checking out if you're interested in eating, and there are a few things to do there. You can take a boat from Koh Lipe. Have fun!
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Jan 13, 2016 02:13
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And if you spend any time in Bangkok in February, I'd be happy to have a beer.
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Jan 13, 2016 03:10
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Negligent posted:You can get a flight to anywhere in Thailand for cheap from Bangkok, there's no need for a long bus journey. Krabi would be at the top of my list.
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Jan 13, 2016 04:16
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Keep in mind, parts of Northern Thailand are kind of lovely from February until April, because it's burning season. Not only will it be 30 degrees in the middle of the night, there will be a dense haze that can fill your nose and lungs with burning. I would get up there asap and then do what everyone else does and nick off to the islands.
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Jan 13, 2016 16:20
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I'm going back to SE Asia in March, looking for some advice on where to go. Flying into BKK and leaving from SIN 8 days later. I did this trip as part of a bigger trip a couple years ago and I'm trying to see some different stuff this time. We took trains and busses down and stopped at Koh Panngan for two nights and stayed in KL for two nights before getting into Singapore. I've some some friends in SIN so I want to be there for a couple days I think. This time I'm thinking about skipping BKK for the most part, maybe going to Koh Tao for some beach vacation. I didn't really care for KL that much honestly and I was thinking about going to Pennag and then hightailing it to Singapore.
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Jan 13, 2016 22:02
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Koh Tao is a good time and pretty easy to reach. You can either do bus/rail to Chumphon and then ferry over, or catch a flight to Koh Samui and take a much shorter ferry. We went with the flight, a lot less hassle. I don't know that I would want to do 8 days there though unless you're really into scuba diving.
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Jan 13, 2016 22:28
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Am I the only person that thought Koh Tao was way more of a pain in the rear end to get to than it was worth?
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Jan 13, 2016 23:41
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Atlas Hugged posted:Am I the only person that thought Koh Tao was way more of a pain in the rear end to get to than it was worth? I went there once over ten years ago and it was just diving then without the constant partybogan frosting and got a horrible sun burn and was pretty bored.
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Jan 13, 2016 23:48
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Atlas Hugged posted:Am I the only person that thought Koh Tao was way more of a pain in the rear end to get to than it was worth? It's not that difficult to get to... the journey can be kinda fun. I don't think I'd like the place if I were to go for my first time now. Certainly not Sairee or Mae Haad, anyway. The rest of the island is pretty sweet and doesn't have so many idiots drinking from buckets. When I first went there were a few Full Moon Idiots after each party but now the same type of idiot is a permanent fixture 
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Jan 13, 2016 23:50
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I didn't see too many of the full moon idiots when I was there, but we were on the southern side of the island and I was just there for the diving.
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Jan 13, 2016 23:58
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I love hiking so thanks for the national park recommendations, Finch. Also, I've barely looked into Malaysia but if it's that easy to get to from the south then what the hell why not. I didn't know about the burning thing in the north so I think I will go up to the mountains as soon as I'm over the jet lag. The Heat hype is real, but I'm not scared I grew up in southern Louisiana (I will probably eat those words very soon). Thanks Atlas I'll be sure to hit you up if I'm around then.
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Jan 14, 2016 00:53
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I'm just trying to spend a couple days island style or maybe even beach style. When I was in Koh Pannagn we were a 30 min skooter ride from the full moon bullshit and it was chill as gently caress, but I guess most of Thai beach spots can be like that. I'm thinking now since I have kinda limited time to skip the island stuff because its too time consuming to get to and maybe take the train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, bus to Krabi beach life there for a couple days then head to Pennag then to Singapore. I guess I'm trying to find a cool place to relax on the way from BKK to Pennag. I'm not trying to fly anywhere bus and train only.
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Jan 14, 2016 01:05
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I'll never forget the bus back to Bangkok from Koh Tao. We bought our tickets after getting off the ferry and it was just a first come first serve sort of deal. By pure chance, our assigned seats were in the VIP lounge on the lower deck of the bus. There were maybe a dozen seats total and they were far more spacious than the cramped tuna seating above. So we thought we had it pretty good. Then this old Australian woman started shrieking at us and the Thai staff about how she had paid for a VIP seat and why in god's name was she being told to sit up top. Except there were no VIP tickets for the bus. If you've ever gone to Koh Tao, you know there are VIP seats for the ferry and that's what she paid for. The bus was a totally separate deal. And the thing of it was that there were actually open seats in the lounge. She very easily could have sat there without a problem, but naturally she couldn't just wait for the bus to start and climb down. Instead, she went straight to the Thai guys with limited English and started screaming at them. The Thai guys weren't having it and ordered her back to her seat. Eventually she did, but we were late to leave because of it. I don't think she's directly responsible for us getting caught in traffic and spending over nine hours getting from the pier back to Bangkok, but it's hard not to blame her. We ended up in a nightmare loop of Iron Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Knight and Day, and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender". I was coming down with a sinus infection at the time and in my mad hallucinations, I thought I had died somewhere along the way and this bus was purgatory and I had an eternity of kicking glass through zombies and Cameron Diaz to guide my soul through its eternal judgment.
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Jan 14, 2016 01:50
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It's crazy to take a bus in 2016 when domestic flights are so cheap and Thai roads are so dangerous. Tickets from BKK to KBV by air can be had for 600 baht or HKT for about 900 (US $25), I know because I just checked for someone. Even if you don't trust Thai Lion, AirAsia is only a couple hundred baht more. Nok Air has a package deal with airport transfer. Once you're in Krabi, you can sit in Ao Nang the whole time, and take a day trip on a boat to the islands such as Phi Phi or carry on to Koh Lanta from there. When you're done, HKT is a secondary hub and you can get a lot of direct flights.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:40
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That was back in 2011 or 2010 and we weren't particularly experienced travelers at the time and only two of the three of us had incomes at the time. Even with flights being cheap, it was still more affordable to take a bus.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:48
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When you arrive in BKK and go for a walk around in the heat and air pollution, there will be street sellers cooking things over open fire. Linger there, breathe in that smoke and that's a taste of burning season in the north. It caught me unaware the first time, and sometimes it's not so bad. If you're arriving late Jan you have a window of clean air that might be 2-4 weeks.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:50
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Either the forum ate my quote or I pressed the wrong button. But anyway.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:51
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God damnit Indonesia. 
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Jan 14, 2016 06:06
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Thinking about finally checking out a little of SE Asia this July. I know it's monsoon season, but a good time for me because it's slow at work. Things I'm interested in: Kayaking through those cool sea caves (in Krabi, maybe?), getting a cheap scuba certification, tubing in Vang Vieng, exploring Angor Wat, and happy pizza, of course  How much of that is the monsoon season going to ruin?
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Jan 14, 2016 07:38
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So I'll be living in Siem Reap from this weekend through early May, and am looking at doing a couple of flights for 4-5 days to visit other places in the region. If you could visit 2-4 places in all of SEA, not necessarily geographically nearby. what would they be? Also, if anyone is Siem Reap during that period and wants to grab a beer, shoot me a PM.
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Jan 14, 2016 08:29
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Finch! posted:Somewhere like Sukhothai will not be any fun at all in mid April. It is super-hot, but it's a very cool Songkran in part because of Sri Satchanali and the ruins.
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Jan 14, 2016 11:11
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I had a friend who went to Sukhothai over new year and her complaint is that it takes 20 mins to drive anywhere, it's not a compact place. The actual historic park is cool and good to bicycle around in the evening but then you drive somewhere to find a restaurant that makes the best sukhothai noodles and then drive again back to your out of the way resort. But if you're on holiday you have time on your side so whatever. I went in June of 2014 and it rained but not constantly, it was also intermittently super sunny and hot.
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Jan 14, 2016 12:32
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It is a fair complain up there, but there is a fairly compact area, at least for a rural part of Thailand, where you can stay in one area and there are a number of guest houses and good restaurants in things and then take your ride over to the Historical Park or walk which is not that far. She's right though, if you really want to take in more of the province or see more things you need at least a mountain bike or something.
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Jan 14, 2016 13:51
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Quandary posted:So I'll be living in Siem Reap from this weekend through early May, and am looking at doing a couple of flights for 4-5 days to visit other places in the region. If you could visit 2-4 places in all of SEA, not necessarily geographically nearby. what would they be? 4-5 days isn't a lot of time, you could check out a couple of other places in Cambodia though maybe? Or were you planning on travelling around a bit anyway when you're living here? Quandary posted:Also, if anyone is Siem Reap during that period and wants to grab a beer, shoot me a PM. Same to you if you make it down to Phnom Penh at all.
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Jan 14, 2016 16:18
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Quandary posted:So I'll be living in Siem Reap from this weekend through early May, and am looking at doing a couple of flights for 4-5 days to visit other places in the region. If you could visit 2-4 places in all of SEA, not necessarily geographically nearby. what would they be? Tokyo, no it's not SEA but it's awesome and always worth going. Singapore for a first world experience. It's clean. Since you are already in Cambodia, don't discount India, it's only 4.5 hour flight. There's also north bound to Nepal. If you want to stick with the SEA vibe then there's Penang, Thailand, and the newest spot Myanmar.
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Jan 14, 2016 18:01
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Few Vietnam-specific questions that hopefully some people can answer: Do you need a car to get around in any of the more populous areas? I'm looking at teaching jobs and the consensus seems to be that it's only really worth looking in Hanoi and Saigon. I hate driving and I would love to not worry about one if it's not totally necessary - can you get by on foot / bicycle for the most part? I figure when I want to go exploring a bit I'd be able to hire a taxi or something, but I dunno how feasible that is. What is the situation with paper currency? I've heard that basically everyone accepts both USD and VND, but are there actually ATMs around, or is like Japan where people recommend showing up with a giant wad of yen in your pocket? I plan on bringing some cash either way, but I haven't been able to find a good answer for how much of a hassle it would be to access money in my bank account. Should I be expecting to arrive with my entire savings in cash? How is the food safety, generally speaking? Obviously your body has to adjust to new microbes any time you go to a new place, but other than that, would I need to be worried / overly cautious about where I eat? I really love Vietnamese food and I probably have an unwise fondness for random street food, too. Finally, I'm pretty confused about the visa situation. All the advice I've seen about teaching in Vietnam says you should just show up and look for a job in person - does that mean you are meant to get a tourist visa and then get it turned into a work visa? There are also people recommending getting a visa-on-arrival, while the OP here says you definitely shouldn't show up without handling the visa beforehand. Some people seem to be saying that your employer will take care of it, while others say they probably won't. Then there are people who say you should just get a three month business visa and keep renewing it, which doesn't require leaving the country. But some other people are talking about doing visa runs every three months. Are there actually that many different ways of doing it, or are things just changing rapidly? I'm just trying to figure out the cheapest, least stressful way of working there legally.
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Jan 14, 2016 18:15
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Full Fathoms Five posted:
Absolutely do not get a car. I can only speak for HCMC but nobody has a car and it would be impossible to park. Like, literally impossible. Don't do it. A lot of teachers I met did own motorbikes though. Motorbikes are good and that is what everyone uses to get around HCMC. Currency- Atm's are everywhere. Get a good bank card (Charles schwab) and just withdraw out of atm's whenever you need it. Nobody in Vietnam accepts USD. Only Dong. food- the food is safe. Eat anything and everything. Street food owns and you should eat as much of it as you can. Do not drink tap water, though. Visa- are you American? Americans cannot get a visa on arrival. Only a handful of European countries even have that option. You'll need to apply for a visa beforehand at the Vietnam embassy. They have 1 month single entry, 3 month multiple entry, and a 3 month business visa (correct me if I'm wrong on these, guys.) Ive met tons of English teachers in Vietnam and all of them came in on a tourist visa. I never asked if they ever bothered to get the business visa, or if it was truly necessary. Many (young, white) teachers I met didn't even have a degree or a TEFL. They somehow still managed to get a job and be teaching a kindergarten class by week 2. I think the demand for teachers is pretty high. With that said, good luck! Just get a visa and head to Vietnam. You can work out the rest when you get there.
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Jan 14, 2016 18:31
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I LIKE COOKIE posted:Absolutely do not get a car. I can only speak for HCMC but nobody has a car and it would be impossible to park. Like, literally impossible. Don't do it. Awesome, this was really helpful! Yeah I'm an American, that makes sense with the visa on arrival situations I was reading about. I'm a little wary about sending my passport through the mail, but I guess there isn't really any way around that. Sounds like the 3-month tourist visa is the way to go, I'm assuming people mostly fly to Cambodia or Thailand for cheap visa runs? I've heard the flights are really cheap, but I'm not sure what other options there would even be aside from like, motorbiking all the way to Laos or something.
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Jan 14, 2016 20:24
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Sending a passport to an embassy is par for the course when applying for a foreign visa. You could also get an approval letter for a visa on arrival: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/vietnam.html
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Jan 14, 2016 21:26
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What exactly did I do when I submitted for a Visa online last night on the Vietnamese government site? I submitted and received the processing notice, but I didn't have to send in my passport like with the mail in form...?
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Jan 14, 2016 22:46
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What site did you use?
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Jan 14, 2016 22:52
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https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/apply-online/ Upon further research, I apparently have just shot $17 into the wind as well as passport information. gently caress. What do I need to do at this point?
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Jan 14, 2016 23:44
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Boon posted:https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/apply-online/ You just requested an approval letter for a visa on arrival. Have that, cash, plus your passport photos when you land in Vietnam.
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Jan 14, 2016 23:52
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air- posted:Sending a passport to an embassy is par for the course when applying for a foreign visa. Ah, then I'm not too worried. I've never actually had to apply for a visa before; the only traveling I've done outside the country since I was a little kid has been in Canada and Mexico, and I don't even think they required a passport at the time.
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Jan 15, 2016 00:08
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This thread is phnompenhexpats.txt right here: http://bit.ly/1n3K93y Is this the drunk foreigner who passed out in the street? No, mine was a different drunk foreigner who passed out, his head was bleeding. Same place though. Oh, just the other night the waitresses had to slap a big Ukrainian to wake him up and then drag him out. You should see the drunk guy who passed out...
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Jan 15, 2016 00:17
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ReindeerF posted:I have one comment about this - Songkran in Sukothai was the cutest, neatest Songkran I've been to in an actual city. There are still water fights of course, but more isolated and less mean. Also, they do these amazing parades of goofy dressed up children in the morning and people are still calm and gentle enough (outside of the main thoroughfare) that kids come up and ask to splash water on you, then only do it with permission. Oh yeah, Songkran. Duh. A Sukhothai Songkran sounds pretty awesome. I walked around the new city fairly extensively and really liked it apart from the bit where some mangy soi dog chased me for what felt like kilometres. And the bit where we were taking a bus from Sukhothai to the train at Phitsanulok and the bus driver put our bags on the bus and stopped us from boarding and pointed at a bench nearby to sit on then drove the bus away with our bags on it and us not. It was weird. When we finally got to Phitsanulok and fetched our bags we were laughed at by a gaggle of Thai bus ticket girls (from every bus company - they'd crowded around to see the dumb foreigners who put their bags on a bus then didn't get on the same bus), then hung out at the train station and got drunk and ate snacks from the nearby market with 10 hours worth of random Thai people joining us until our train came. Good times. Wittgenstein posted:I love hiking so thanks for the national park recommendations, Finch. Also, I've barely looked into Malaysia but if it's that easy to get to from the south then what the hell why not. No worries. Try to stay overnight on a raft house at Khao Sok. The place is spectacular. Trains and buses from southern Thailand to Penang are easy. Check out http://www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm#southbound-times Basically, leave Hat Yai on train 949, cross the border then wait for train 2957 and you'll be in Butterworth around 5pm. Take the ferry (it's free in one direction and very cheap in the other) to Georgetown and wander to Love Lane or Lebuh Chulia to find a place to stay. I really like Muntri Mews (but it's a bit $$) or Old Penang Guest House (much less $$). Penang is an eating destination and one of my favourite places to eat when I'm there is Tek Sen restaurant, about a five minute walk from Old Penang Guest House. Basically though, the food everywhere is epic. Langkawi is more beachy, more Muslim, and just as delicious. There's a really cool cable car to the top of a mountain but the queues can be enormous and an island trip is well worth the time and money. Each district of Langkawi has (or had, when I was there) night markets one night a week on a rotational basis. I stayed at Pantai Cenang in some bungalow but there are a bunch of different areas to stay (and at very different budgets). Langkawi is probably the only place in Malaysia where I'd feel comfortable renting a car and driving, too. Finch! fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jan 15, 2016 |
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Jan 15, 2016 00:44
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Great info Finch, I'll be sure to add it to my babbysfirstseatrip.txt. I know it's a ways off but I'd like to experience a low key rural Songkran like that. Hopefully I can avoid getting super soaked directly in the eyeballs. Looking like I'll be in the deep south at that time sweating my pores inside out. I'll arrive at BKK at 23:45 on the 27th. I understand Bangkok is a 24/7 kind of town, but I'm pretty sure all public transport out of the airport will be closed by the time I land. I'm basically limited to just taxis right? Is there One Weird Trick I should know about getting there late night?
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Jan 15, 2016 01:38
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Nope, just a cab. Buses or vans might run that late, I guess. Just make sure the cab uses the meter and don't take any excuses.
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