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ziebarf
Jul 6, 2008
Does anyone know when the Red shirts are planning to rally in Bangkok? I am flying there from Trang in two days to do some shopping/see a friend off and don't want to get caught up in a riot.

Or maybe I do, that might add to the ongoing list of "Dangerous poo poo You Do in Touring SE Asia". Recent additions to this list include going to the wrong Thai/Myanmar border (don't go to Ban Ti) and hitchhiking around Hat Yai.

Speaking of dangerous, has anyone ever encountered some of the more hidden nightclubs in Bangkok? After a night out, my friends and I went into a restaurant to use the restroom, only to find a back door in the restroom concealing a man in sunglasses and an elevator. The man says, "go to floor 2", so we do and lo and behold there is a club full of prostitutes and their potential clients. This was all at 5:30 AM...

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Ringo R
Dec 25, 2005

ช่วยแม่เฮ็ดนาแหน่เดัอ
Not in Bangkok but just yesterday in Udon Thani I was in a bar with a friend in a seedy looking area. Suddenly a very angry guy and a gang of about 10 thugs (some of them trying to hide their faces) stormed in and demanded to know where (name of guy they were looking for) was. He wasn't in the bar of course and the guy proceeded to apologize deeply to everybody. Less than ten seconds after he'd left the police arrived in two pickup trucks.

That secret elevator sounds cool as hell though and is something I'd like to try after a few beers.

As for the red shirts, last time I read the news they said they're planning something big this month (March). Not sure if they actually will manage to organize something though. I'm sure Bangkok Post, The Nation or even thaivisa.com will keep you updated.

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

Ringo R posted:

I'm sure Bangkok Post, The Nation or even thaivisa.com will keep you updated.

I'm surprised I haven't mentioned the forums at ajarn.com yet. They're meant for teachers but because so many of Bangkok's expats teach it can also be a decent source of interpretation or news for Thailand (along with thaivisa.com). Of course, the population base on the ajarn forums is smaller than most and you have the usual problems you do with forums (people don't actually know what they're talking about, are racist, and sometimes combine the two into a sweet sweet gumbo of ignorance) but still. There's even a FYAD-lite for all of your vaguely-related-to-Thailand shitposting.

http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/

raton fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Mar 6, 2010

Be Depressive
Jul 8, 2006
"The drawings of the girls are badly proportioned and borderline pedo material. But"
If you want to add something to the first post - I have found the most useful medication to have in Asia is actually Norfloxacin. This is an antibiotic related to Cipro (which doesn't work very well here due to being overprescribed) which will solve any digestive issues you will inevitably encounter from food poisoning and can mean the difference between feeling a little off for three days and violently making GBS threads yourself for a week. It works pretty quickly - the diarrhea will go away in an hour or so, and can be used in combination with antidiarrhea medicines (though you won't need them).

It is an antibiotic, so if you are allergic to fluoroquinolone don't take it. The general wisdom with antibiotics is to use them sparingly for the good of humanity, but when you are on vacation, you really don't have time to wait and get over that horrible summer cold or inevitable food poisoning. My advice is if you have a stomach infection take Norfloxacin, and if you have a respiratory infection take Azithromycin. Both of these can be bought over-the-counter in most Asian countries, are extremely cheap here, and even if you don't speak the language, the chemical name is almost always on the box. The person at the pharmacy might claim they don't have what you're looking for, but just look around the shelf with antibiotics and you will probably find them.

Oh, and don't bother buying this stuff at home, unless you want to pay $50 for something that costs about 50 cents.

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

Be Depressive posted:

If you want to add something to the first post -

I suppose that would be best placed in my medical post but I have a huge stick up my rear end about the casual use of antibiotics and can't in good conscience do so. You shouldn't be gobbling antibiotics every time you have an upset stomach or a runny nose. For a absolutely appalling number of disease we're left only one antibiotic that they're not resistant to and new antibiotics are incredibly difficult to come up with.

Hell, in the "antibiotic misuse" portion of the Wikipedia page on antibiotics the very first example they give is excessive use of antibiotics by travelers. Of course it would be hard to outpace our Asian buddies in antibiotic misuse but there's no reason to enter a competition where the end result is everyone ending up dead.

Cacto
Jan 29, 2009
If you're going to Indonesia, only use Bluebird taxis in Jakarta. Their selling point is that they're safe, reliable and always charge by the meter, and their owner actually gives a poo poo about that reputation. They're just like proper cabs in first world countries!

Don't stay in famous prestige western chains in Jakarta like the Marriot or the Hyatt. Either go local or go downmarket global (eg Ibis). The reason is that on the very rare occasion when terrorism hits the capital, it's nearly always one of these chains or an embassy. You're still far more likely to die crossing the horrifically bad roads, but terrorism is considered scarier than buses by some people and you might be one of those people.

In Yogyakarta, don't stay in Sosro unless you want party times with fellow backpackers (ie you may actually want to stay in Sosro if that appeals). Cabs to the city cost very little (a couple of dollars) and the Hyatt or the Jogja Plaza out near the university are really nice. The pubs and clubs are constantly changing, but the one at the Sheraton was great a few years back. Regardless of where you choose to go out at night, the locals are really friendly, so you won't find it hard to get recommendations on where to go next. I used to live there and haven't been back in a few years, but be careful of anyone offering drugs - there's a lot of undercover cops, and not many will take kindly to the traditional Indonesian bribe.

Most places in non-Bali Indonesia, you can eat from street stalls in complete safety. Obviously watch them cook it for someone else to get a sense of how filthy the conditions are, but as most food is fried, boiled or stirfried its usually very safe, very cheap, very quick and very tasty. The street stalls in residential areas are best, the ones in tourist areas less so (mainly because residential associations will have dodgy operators beaten and driven away).

therobit
Aug 19, 2008

I've been tryin' to speak with you for a long time
So my wife and I have booked tickets to Bangkok for eight days in early may. We are bringing our baby who will be four and a half months old. Because of the baby, we don't want too grueling a schedule, so I would love some suggestions on what to see outside of Bangkok that is not too far away.

I am wondering too if anyone has a suggestion for a hotel in Bangkok that would be clean and have an ensuite bathroom so we can bathe the baby. It seems like a lot of places only have showers, so I was considering just buying a bigass bucket to wash the kid in, but if I can find a place with a bathtub in the room that is clean and well located that is a plus. Stuff like a refrigerator and AC would also be a plus, but I don't need a luxury joint or anything. How much should a be looking to spend per night?

Also, does anyone have advice regarding traveling with a child in Thailand?

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

therobit posted:

Also, does anyone have advice regarding traveling with a child in Thailand?

Thai people will constantly play with your baby. They may also compliment it for being very white and fat, which are good attributes in a baby I guess. It's a very good country for traveling with kids.

You'll be able to get a plastic kind of shallow bucket/tub thing in Bangkok that Thai people like to use to wash veggies or sometimes clothes in for washing your baby. If you stay at an expensive hotel it'll probably have a bathtub, but if you don't expect a shower. No one really takes baths in Thailand because who the hell wants to soak in hot water when it's a million degrees out anyway.

If I had only eight days I'd probably spend the first day resting up, go to Koh Samet for five days, then come back to the city to do some shopping before going home. Koh Samet is a small island that you can reach from Bangkok in less than a day's travel time (literally from door to door in less than sunup to sundown). Find an aircon bungalow and stash the baby in there.

As for price, you can spend whatever you want in Bangkok. If you spend like 50 a night you'll probably have a pretty nice western style place. If you know where you're going you can get the basics of what you're asking for for 20 or so. If your company is paying for it well hey go get a 800 dollar a night room at the Oriental Hotel.

Ringo R
Dec 25, 2005

ช่วยแม่เฮ็ดนาแหน่เดัอ

therobit posted:

So my wife and I have booked tickets to Bangkok for eight days in early may. We are bringing our baby who will be four and a half months old. Because of the baby, we don't want too grueling a schedule, so I would love some suggestions on what to see outside of Bangkok that is not too far away.
Ayutthaya is an hour or so north of Bangkok and has a few temple ruins. Check RangerScum's pics. About two hours southeast of Bangkok is Cha Am and Hua Hin that has beaches. They're not very pretty beaches but at least fairly close to Bangkok. If you feel "adventurous" you can go to Koh Samet which is an island about 2-3 hours or so from Bangkok. Might not be very baby-friendly though because the roads are in pretty poor condition (dirt roads).


therobit posted:

I am wondering too if anyone has a suggestion for a hotel in Bangkok that would be clean and have an ensuite bathroom so we can bathe the baby. It seems like a lot of places only have showers, so I was considering just buying a bigass bucket to wash the kid in, but if I can find a place with a bathtub in the room that is clean and well located that is a plus. Stuff like a refrigerator and AC would also be a plus, but I don't need a luxury joint or anything. How much should a be looking to spend per night?
For your requirements I'd say you're looking at at least 1000 baht (~$30) per night. I can't recommend anything because I'm a poor, lonely man who always go for the cheapest and filthiest hotels. A friend of mine stayed in Prince Palace/Bobae Tower which wasn't too expensive and has what you're looking after. Location is not the best though but MBK (famous large shopping mall) is just a short taxi ride away and from there you have access to the Skytrain. Please note that I'm not recommending it, just mentioning it.


therobit posted:

Also, does anyone have advice regarding traveling with a child in Thailand?
Bangkok is extremely crowded and sidewalks are generally in poor condition. Get one of those baby carrying backpacks. Assuming you're caucasian, Thais find white babies irresistibly cute and might touch/poke/play with your kid a bit. It's totally harmless though.


Edit: poo poo-Goatse :argh:

ziebarf
Jul 6, 2008

Ringo R posted:

That secret elevator sounds cool as hell though and is something I'd like to try after a few beers.

As far as I can remember, it was across the street from the "spicy" bar that all the tuk-tuk drivers advertise on Khaoson Road. The spicy place was kind of lame, had a 300 baht cover but you get a free drink. I made the mistake of ordering a "spicy" drink which I am pretty sure had some kind of amphetamines in it. But that was more my fault than anyone elses. Just walk to the restaurant across the street and poke around the bathroom a bit.

Lady Gaza
Nov 20, 2008

Be Depressive posted:

If you want to add something to the first post -

Seconding what Sheep-Goats said. Taking antibiotics won't do anything for virus infections such as colds, it will just cause an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. Plus, how do you know the antibiotics you are buying are legit? Counterfeit drugs are a major problem in South East Asia.

Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007

ziebarf posted:

As far as I can remember, it was across the street from the "spicy" bar that all the tuk-tuk drivers advertise on Khaoson Road. The spicy place was kind of lame, had a 300 baht cover but you get a free drink. I made the mistake of ordering a "spicy" drink which I am pretty sure had some kind of amphetamines in it. But that was more my fault than anyone elses. Just walk to the restaurant across the street and poke around the bathroom a bit.

If you wind up there, get the Long Island Iced Tea, it's strong as hell. Spicy is a terrible club but it's pretty awesome for people watching for that same reason (a delightful intersection of clueless tourists and freelance hookers).

Gazebo on Sukumvit Soi 1 is/was one of the better after-hours places (I'm not sure what the rules are like now); very chill and not full of prostitutes. There's a big seating area and a separate room with a dance floor.

Cheesemaster200
Feb 11, 2004

Guard of the Citadel
Anyone notice any cheap transpacific flights from the US this summer? Airfare to anywhere has appeared to skyrocket.

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

Ringo R posted:

Koh Samet which is an island about 2-3 hours or so from Bangkok. Might not be very baby-friendly though because the roads are in pretty poor condition (dirt roads).

The roads aren't great but there are lots of places to stay near the pier that are great and on a really nice beach anyway so just don't go all the way to the southern tip of the island and your road problems are solved. I prefer the north end anyway because I like to have an internet cafe and a few bars close at hand, the further south you go on Samet the more Robinson Caruso it gets (though Samet is a really popular weekend island for Thais and thus none of it is wilderness).

My biggest complaint about Samet was the huge aggressive mosquitoes, but it's hardly the only island where that's an issue.

Oh and by the way the bucket thing I was talking about for washing a baby in is called a galamang in case you have trouble finding one.

Pompous Rhombus posted:

If you wind up there, get the Long Island Iced Tea, it's strong as hell. Spicy is a terrible club but it's pretty awesome for people watching for that same reason (a delightful intersection of clueless tourists and freelance hookers).

Gazebo on Sukumvit Soi 1 is/was one of the better after-hours places (I'm not sure what the rules are like now); very chill and not full of prostitutes. There's a big seating area and a separate room with a dance floor.

Is Thermae closed now? That used to be the place I'd take people to shock them. loving midgets and amputee hookers and the goddamn place never closes and had a back exit just in case...

The original location that gained all of the noteriety has been closed since 96 but the place I'm talking about was on Sukhumvit and I assume operated by the same people.

As for "secret" hooker elevators there's a lot of that in Bangkok. In some areas (Patpong, etc) most of the second floor spaces are things like that and people end up stumbling up there drunk all the time.

Ringo posted:

Location is not the best though but MBK (famous large shopping mall) is just a short taxi ride away and from there you have access to the Skytrain. Please note that I'm not recommending it, just mentioning it.

I would consider that a pretty good location for Bangkok.

raton fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Mar 8, 2010

mental jipsee
Dec 22, 2004
loop loop loop
I lived in Thailand a bit a while back. Is getting a job teaching English there still as easy as it was several years ago? What about with schools on the islands/near the beach? I assume everyone would want to teach there so they'd be the hardest.

Also, any general advice on traveling in/to Burma? I've heard horror stories about trying to get a visa, bringing a camera or taking pictures, generally unreliable transportation and trying to get around etc, but I really want to go. Specifically, to see the Sea Gypsies in the west and the hill tribes in the north.

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

mental jipsee posted:

I lived in Thailand a bit a while back. Is getting a job teaching English there still as easy as it was several years ago? What about with schools on the islands/near the beach? I assume everyone would want to teach there so they'd be the hardest.

Also, any general advice on traveling in/to Burma? I've heard horror stories about trying to get a visa, bringing a camera or taking pictures, generally unreliable transportation and trying to get around etc, but I really want to go. Specifically, to see the Sea Gypsies in the west and the hill tribes in the north.

I don't know about the current state of English teaching work in Thailand but don't think it has changed much. Visit the ajarn.com forums for the best info you'll get on that (a few posts up there's a link). Getting English teaching work isn't hard, but it's not China-easy nor are all the jobs perfect. That being said I met a lot of POS English teachers while I lived there so so long as you have a BA and there isn't a loving spiderweb tatooed on your face (one guy asked me on the Ajarn forums one time "I have a spiderweb tatooed on my face, can I teach in Thailand?" gently caress no you can't you loving moron) you can probably manage. It must be said, however, that there are NO loving EFL ON THE BEACH JOBS. This is by far the most commonly asked question about teaching English in Thailand (How do I teach on the beach maaannnnn) and the only way you're going to do that is if you move to Thailand with enough capital to start your own school. To stress that again: THERE ARE NO JOBS ON THE BEACH. Give up on that now. You'll be teaching in a city where there are actually students.

I went into Burma one time but that was just a visa run (though I did have a chance to buy a 50 dollar .38 snubnose while there). I also tried to get a visa to travel into Burma where I planned to totally Rambo it up by hiring local guides and more or less hitchhiking around, but went to the visa office for my visa in the morning, signed my name on a piece of paper, waited until noon when they kicked literally everyone out so they could have lunch, came back at 1:03 to find they'd taken me off the list because I wasn't there when they opened the door again (supposedly at 1:00). I said "Isn't there a list? Wasn't my name on it?" and the guy just gave me the biggest gently caress-you face I've seen outside of the goddamn Post Office here in NYC. So I basically said "gently caress you guys there's a few places I haven't been in Thailand yet and I'm sure they'll be great" and they were.

I would also recommend NOT going to Burma as unless you totally shoestring it you're funding probably the worst governmental regime outside of Africa (maybe the Taliban puts up a challenge IDK, but the government in Burma is literally that bad). Want hilltribes? Mae Hong Son in the NW of Thailand is a loving excellent place for that. Want Sea Gypsies? Any of the small islands on the very lower SW coast of Thailand will probably have them (Koh Tarutao has a tiny island near it called Koh Lipe where you can stay with a sea gypsy village in the middle full of horrible dogs that will chase you and snap at you if you walk through it at night -- which you will as some of the bungalows are on the north shore and others are on the south shore. It is the single most beautiful island I visited in Thailand, but it's also very crowded with bungalow operations at this point and those bungalows are loving jammed with fat eurotourists and it's waaaaaaayyyyy in the South so it's not a top flight destination IMO).

If you insist on Burma the best way to get your passport is to give up, go to Khao San, and pay one of the travel agencies to do it for you. They give your passport to a dude on a motorcycle along with a huge stack of other ones, he bikes down to the Burmese embassy on Satorn, he waltzes in and bribes the Burmese rear end in a top hat running the front room and takes them in the back where they all get stamped and he walks back out 20 minutes later and bikes it back to Khao San (after stopping for a Som Tam probably). I had the privilege of seeing this go down while I sat in a loving plastic chair for four hours only to be told to gently caress off for coming back three minutes late from their lunch.

Things to be aware of with EFL in Thailand: You can get a job without a BA/visa but it'll probably not be a job worth working, there's plenty of supply in Thailand and so you'll want to be minimally qualified to get a tolerable position (that means having a BA). If you're white it's pretty easy to get work, if you look Asian, Black, Philipino or especially Indian you will probably not get an (acceptable) EFL job. Women are in high demand because western women go on the fritz and leave after they live in Bangkok and have to deal with no longer being able to get attention from local men (Thai or foreign) when they go out there. Thai teachers have a uniform of black slacks a white dress shirt and a tie (for women it's less specific but still formal business attire), so that's what you wear also. If you show up at the interview in sandals or a T-shirt or a Bill Cosby sweater you won't get a job. If you show up at the interview and tell them you're staying on Khao San you won't get a job. If you don't have a Thai cell phone number you won't get a job (go buy a cheap phone in MBK like everyone else). If you have dreads or stretched lobes you won't get a job. If you're Beaver from Leave it to Beaver and you got a BA then you're set.

raton fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Mar 8, 2010

da keebsta knicca
Sep 12, 2000

Oh Ruutu, you are such a card.
If you are in Bangkok go clubbing in RCA it is better I think and you can hang out with the local young middle class. Also if you are in a group bottle service is actually a money saver...

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

da keebsta knicca posted:

If you are in Bangkok go clubbing in RCA it is better I think and you can hang out with the local young middle class. Also if you are in a group bottle service is actually a money saver...

RCA for those who don't know is short for Royal City Avenue and is a street with a lot of clubs on it. It used to be kind of a hellhole that was semi-notorious for having clubs full of thirteen year olds but they remodeled it a lot in like 2006 or something and now it's fairly nice. Best movie theater in Bangkok is also out there (because it shows a lot of weird little foreign movies and such and is also nice inside) and probably my favorite all you can eat barbecue place is nearby.

That being said there are tons and tons of great clubs in Bangkok and the best place to go changes from month to month.

freebooter
Jul 7, 2009

What powers sockets do countries in the region use? American? Wikipedia has a loving enormous article with maps but it's next to useless because it includes every single type of socket that can be found anywhere in the country, even if like 95% of them are European or whatever.

I want to pick up a universal adaptor, but can't find one anywhere in this city.

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

freebooter posted:

What powers sockets do countries in the region use? American? Wikipedia has a loving enormous article with maps but it's next to useless because it includes every single type of socket that can be found anywhere in the country, even if like 95% of them are European or whatever.

I want to pick up a universal adaptor, but can't find one anywhere in this city.

http://www.travel-images.com/electric-plugs.html

Adapters are easy to get locally. Keep in mind that if you look at the power source on your laptop that it can probably handle 220 just fine, you just need a small adapter to allow the plugs to plug in.

If you're bringing something other than a laptop you're probably better off buying it there.

LosMein
Feb 15, 2006

mental jipsee posted:

I lived in Thailand a bit a while back. Is getting a job teaching English there still as easy as it was several years ago? What about with schools on the islands/near the beach? I assume everyone would want to teach there so they'd be the hardest.

Well I'm in Surat Thani teaching English now. I have some friends teaching on Koh Samui and Phuket. So while I don't think you'll be teaching on a beach, you should be able to find something with nearby access to the beach. From my experience, it seems that there are a lot of job possibilities in the area, but then again, the pay isn't that great. I get about $800US a month which isn't too bad. Of course, I'm not here for the money.

But yeah, it's not too difficult to find a job if you look semi-respectable and treat it with a bit of professionalism.

Ringo R
Dec 25, 2005

ช่วยแม่เฮ็ดนาแหน่เดัอ
:siren: Bangkok Red Shirt Invasion :siren:

Thai peopletm and news are now saying that people wearing red shirts plan to invade Bangkok on this Friday 12th. They're planning to remain for at least three days, trying to overthrow the government.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Red-Shirts-Plan-Paralyse-Bangkok-t345669.html
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/03/09/politics/Red-shirts-aim-at-victory-in-three-days-30124297.html

They have done it in the past so I don't doubt they will able to pull it off again. It's probably a good idea to avoid booking any flights on these dates. Even if the airport doesn't close down, parts of Bangkok probably will, making it difficult to reach the airport.

Inspector Hound
Jul 14, 2003

I'm having a bit of a hard time finding non-shady looking teaching jobs in Cambodia. I liked Siem Reap, and I'd like to teach there, but Phnom Penh would be fine.

Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007
On Burma, I'd like to see it, but the government is too lovely and too much of the country is off-limits. It's not as straight-up sociopathic a place to visit as North Korea since you actually can interact with the local people and spend money not going 100% into the government's pocket, but I think it's better not to go. I think the democracy movement there discourages it as well.

Inspector Hound posted:

I'm having a bit of a hard time finding non-shady looking teaching jobs in Cambodia. I liked Siem Reap, and I'd like to teach there, but Phnom Penh would be fine.

It's Cambodia, kinda comes with the territory :v:

PM Astian, he is in Phnom Penh teaching now.

Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Mar 9, 2010

Ribsauce
Jul 29, 2006

Blacks in the back.

Shnicker posted:

Well I'm in Surat Thani teaching English now. I have some friends teaching on Koh Samui and Phuket. So while I don't think you'll be teaching on a beach, you should be able to find something with nearby access to the beach. From my experience, it seems that there are a lot of job possibilities in the area, but then again, the pay isn't that great. I get about $800US a month which isn't too bad. Of course, I'm not here for the money.

But yeah, it's not too difficult to find a job if you look semi-respectable and treat it with a bit of professionalism.
Is that 800 a month plus a place to live? How do you survive on that salary? What are your expenses like?

Do those islands have high speed internet access? I feel like such a goon for asking. I'm sure phuket does, but Koh Samui?

What is teaching english like? Is it cool? A coworker's son just dropped everything (at 29) and jumped on a plane to Japan to do it. I'm curious what his life is about to be like

Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007

Ribsauce posted:

Is that 800 a month plus a place to live? How do you survive on that salary? What are your expenses like?

Do those islands have high speed internet access? I feel like such a goon for asking. I'm sure phuket does, but Koh Samui?

What is teaching english like? Is it cool? A coworker's son just dropped everything (at 29) and jumped on a plane to Japan to do it. I'm curious what his life is about to be like

It's pretty easy to get by on that, especially in provincial Thailand. I was going to a friend's wedding in Iisaan and they put me up in a two-story townhouse they rented. It was a couple kms out in the suburbs from the city, they paid the the equivalent of about $150/month for it. In Bangkok the studio condo I rented was a bit under $300 + $50 or so utilities a month (including broadband) to rent a brand new 30 square meter studio condo in a nice complex, it was within a ten minute walk of a subway station, shopping centers, and had a gym, pool, etc. Some of the English teachers I knew lived in more modest places that rented for $150-200, but personally I felt like mine was a pretty good deal.

When you factor in $1-3 per meal (non-fancy) and maaaybe $10 of credit for your mobile phone a month, yeah it's really not that expensive at all. You won't really save up a lot of money teaching in most of the Southeast Asian countries like you would in Korea or Japan though.

As far as English teaching it depends on the school and the students, but probably mostly on your personality.

Ribsauce
Jul 29, 2006

Blacks in the back.
I guess that makes sense. When you consider you can get your own room in a guesthouse for like 5-8 bucks a night 10 bucks a night for a place you rent all month seems reasonable. How do you find it? Can you just rent one for like 90 days or whatever or is it a year lease type thing?

Also, since you are the expert, do you have an answer for this

quote:

f I buy a Minsk in Vietnam what countries can I plan on seeing exclusively on it (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam it?) Lets say time isn't an issue, only money. From the guide it looks like maybe just Laos and Vietnam but someone mentioned having a Minsk in Cambodia. What should a time and budget requirement look like for doing as much as I can on the Minsk (or whatever motorcycle).

Ribsauce fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Mar 10, 2010

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

Ribsauce posted:

Is that 800 a month plus a place to live? How do you survive on that salary? What are your expenses like?

Do those islands have high speed internet access? I feel like such a goon for asking. I'm sure phuket does, but Koh Samui?

What is teaching english like? Is it cool? A coworker's son just dropped everything (at 29) and jumped on a plane to Japan to do it. I'm curious what his life is about to be like

They don't give you a place to live in Thailand as rent is almost free. I had a place that was walking distance from a BTS station / Silom / work for like 120 a month (with aircon). Most foreigners pay about three times that for a one bedroom with kitchen (I had a studio with no kitchen). This is in Bangkok, it only gets cheaper if you're outside of the city. I really liked my little apartment, and it was cheap because I looked around a little bit and found it instead of just going from giant tower to giant tower on Silom or Sukhumvit like most farang are prone to do. It is crucial, however, that you have aircon (and that your apartment is near the BTS if you live in Bangkok) as not all units do.

I had two English teaching jobs in Thailand. One paid about 1,100 a month the other about 1,500 a month. I could have gotten by and gone out conservatively on 600 a month. As it was I saved about 200 a month for future airfare and spent the rest because every time you spend a dollar in Thailand it's like spending four or five dollars back home, so there's really no incentive to save. Some foreigners get sort-of-trapped teaching in Thailand as they don't save any money so can't afford a flight home, but beyond that they just can't bear to go back to a place where they're a retail schlub instead of a teacher and where they're plain instead of handsome, and also the whole town is full of fat personality-less white women who were raised to think of themselves as queens of the moon.

If any island has highspeed it's Samui. I know that internet cafes there are connected through some kind of DSL line so I'm sure you could get a line if you lived there.

Whether you like teaching English or not depends more on you than anything else. It also depends a lot on the classes you get. When I taught at a university in Bangkok I had four groups of 35 or so students. Three of the groups were all girls (Thai people sign up for classes in groups with their friends, almost never will they just pick what they themselves are interested in without seeing if they can match it up with what their friends are taking first), 85% of whom wanted to learn English and probably 85% of whom wanted to hump me (I didn't, other teachers there did...). My fourth class was a class of "engineers" who were basically tech school guys who couldn't speak a word of English and weren't much inclined to learn, acted about like 13 year old Western kids act, but were overall still a great group to teach I just had to plan different kinds of lessons for them (even though their test was going to be the same at the end of the year...) so they could hopefully at least get a D on the test and pass it. More work for me but hey if you're going to be a teacher you have to be willing to do what needs to be done.

The support you get as an English teacher varies a ton from place to place. Some schools the students won't even have a book (they plan to share with their friend or else the book is just outside of their budget -- this is despite the fact that 80% of the textbooks used by Thai students are made in a photocopy shop on site at the university that just copies textbooks all day long) and you'll have mixed groups of people in there who maybe are not even supposed to be in the same book. Some schools you have an experienced teacher leading a team, a syllabus, suggested activities, people contribute lesson plan ideas and game ideas for upcoming chapters together, a lackey to make copies for you, etc. Most schools are somewhere between the two extremes.

Thai students are easy to teach, however, they are not very good students. The idea of "sanook" or fun (the philosophy that if something isn't at least a little fun to do you simply won't do it) applies to being a student as well, so it's crucial with Thai students that you present a lot of your material in a game or activity form. It is almost impossible to get them to do their own homework and you will have to constantly stress that if anyone copies work everyone who has copied work will get an F if you're at a school where grades are an issue (most of the EFL work in Thailand isn't with tutoring facilities like in Japan or Korea, but rather normal government run schools where the students need grades -- there are plenty of tutoring-type places as well though). Thai people are natural communicators though and you won't have to work hard to get them to apply what they learned to talk to eachother to voice their own ideas or opinions freely (both of these are major issues in, say, Japan). I even had a lesson at my last job where the students were required to go somewhere, find a foreigner, and interview them (the students wrote the interview questions in small groups during that day) and literally every kid in the class went out and did it and came back with really great results. These are 12 year old boys I'm talking about.

quote:

I guess that makes sense. When you consider you can get your own room in a guesthouse for like 5-8 bucks a night 10 bucks a night for a place you rent all month seems reasonable. How do you find it? Can you just rent one for like 90 days or whatever or is it a year lease type thing?

Most places you pay one month deposit and your rent for the month and can move in. Sometimes you will also pay for electricity (if you have aircon) sometimes not. Formal leases are uncommon in my experience, though they do exist and you could probably get a discount if you bargained for one. It's month to month, usually.

The best way to find a place is to first figure out where you want to live and then go there and find a motorcycle taxi driver who can understand your English (they're around). Help him to understand that you need an apartment and need his help to find one and will pay him XXX baht for the day/afternoon to help you out (500B should be enough to get the job done, but even if he won't do it for less than 1000B that's still like 30 bucks oh noe). You then hop on the back of the motorcycle, he takes you to every apartment around there (and may even do the language footwork of asking "have a room? how much is it? can he see it?" for you) and you find a place.

There are realtors too, but I've always promoted the motosai method.

raton fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Mar 10, 2010

Trimson Grondag 3
Jul 1, 2007

Clapping Larry
Has anyone done a homestay thing like this:

http://kyspeaks.com/2010/03/09/homestay-a-different-traveling-experience/

Looks interesting, but it might end up being a bit of a poverty tourism thing which is pretty vulgar.

Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007

Sheep-Goats posted:

:words:

Yeah, voluntary English classes in Thailand are almost all female. Guys think it's gay to study liberal arts type stuff. What uni were you at?

I found my place through Craigslist, it was about the lowest rent place on there (most of it was expensive poo poo for expats/holiday rentals). A motorcycle taxi driver is great though, that's what I'd probably recommend. I personally don't think aircon's really that necessary as long as you've got a good fan or two, but to each their own. Mine was a year lease (contract with the owner of the condo, just some Thai dude), but most of the people I knew paid month to month for the lower end stuff.

Ribsauce posted:

If I buy a Minsk in Vietnam what countries can I plan on seeing exclusively on it (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam it?) Lets say time isn't an issue, only money. From the guide it looks like maybe just Laos and Vietnam but someone mentioned having a Minsk in Cambodia. What should a time and budget requirement look like for doing as much as I can on the Minsk (or whatever motorcycle).

Whoops, sorry I missed that one. I spent roughly US$10-12 on gas/oil per day when I was riding. I calculated out my fuel consumption on a napkin and I think I was getting about 60mpg, but that was after a couple of conversions so I could be off. Gas is generally about $1/liter, or $4.50/gal. (That's right, loving Laotians and Cambodians pay more for gas than whiney Americans.) I would say call it $45-50/day to be safe, not counting the initial cost of the bike. There's always repairs/wear and tear on the bike, but as long as nothing too bad happens/you don't get a mechanic trying to screw you, it'll balance out with the days you don't ride.

Cambodia, Thailand, and beyond are tricky because getting spares would be difficult. As far as time it'll depend on you: I spent over a month in Laos and still missed a lot (I did spend like 10 days in Luang Prabang though, combination bike repairs and hanging out with friends).

The little notebook I kept on my trip finally turned up, I can post some sample daily expenditure lists from Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos if you guys are interested. I pretty much stopped using it once I started the Minsk trip though; it was too much a PITA to keep it on my body and take a glove off every time I wanted to write in it. It's cool to look back and see old to-do lists, names/addresses, and what I was spending money on though, I recommend picking up a little notebook and collapsible pen or something to keep in your pocket during your trip.

Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Mar 10, 2010

raton
Jul 28, 2003

by FactsAreUseless

Pompous Rhombus posted:

Yeah, voluntary English classes in Thailand are almost all female. Guys think it's gay to study liberal arts type stuff. What uni were you at?

I'll keep that in my pocket in case I want to talk poo poo later, but it wasn't Chula or Thammasat.

This class was required, I just got lucky with the classes I got assigned. One of the teachers had all Engineers. hehe

And I guess you don't really need aircon, but I just think it's so worth the money that I'd never live in Bangkok without it. Had a poo poo day? Come home with your bag of basil clams, pop a couple of aspirin and crank up the AC. When you come out of the shower everything will be great again.

quote:

I pretty much stopped using it once I started the Minsk trip though; it was too much a PITA to keep it on my body and take a glove off every time I wanted to write in it. It's cool to look back and see old to-do lists, names/addresses, and what I was spending money on though, I recommend picking up a little notebook and collapsible pen or something to keep in your pocket during your trip.

I left my journal and sometimes-expense-log on a loving bus about three months before I left Thailand after I got back from a trip to the south. :gonk:

That's what I get for making out with the cute girl who sat next to me during the bus ride and then seeing her boyfriend pick her up back in Bangkok at the station....

Jet Age posted:

Has anyone done a homestay thing like this:

http://kyspeaks.com/2010/03/09/homestay-a-different-traveling-experience/

Looks interesting, but it might end up being a bit of a poverty tourism thing which is pretty vulgar.

I never did anything exactly like that but during my last year in Thailand I'd taken to just going to random small towns by bus, figuring out where there was a place I could stay once I got off (there's always something, and it's always cheap) and seeing what I could see. Never had any trouble meeting a couple local people and finding something out about the place I was visiting. It might be a bit harder to pull that off outside of Thailand, but TBQH it's easy to do that once you try it a few times and figure out how it is you get that kind of stuff done. Ain't that hard.

raton fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Mar 10, 2010

therobit
Aug 19, 2008

I've been tryin' to speak with you for a long time
Thanks all for the advice. We'll see how many places we actually get to. We were thinking of booking the first night or two and then sort of seeing how things go. Right now we live in Japan where that is a recipe for not having a place to stay at night or else paying a lot, but I get the sense that Thailand is set up for backpackers a little more and it's OK to be a little more spontaneous?

Also, I have heard that you can get tailored clothing for a reasonable price in Bangkok. Is eight days enough time to get this done? How much should I look to pay for a decent suit? Anyone have a tailor they like?

Ringo R
Dec 25, 2005

ช่วยแม่เฮ็ดนาแหน่เดัอ

therobit posted:

Also, I have heard that you can get tailored clothing for a reasonable price in Bangkok. Is eight days enough time to get this done? How much should I look to pay for a decent suit? Anyone have a tailor they like?

Someone posted this excellent link last time this was on topic:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1207953

LosMein
Feb 15, 2006

Ribsauce posted:

Is that 800 a month plus a place to live? How do you survive on that salary? What are your expenses like?

Do those islands have high speed internet access? I feel like such a goon for asking. I'm sure phuket does, but Koh Samui?

What is teaching english like? Is it cool? A coworker's son just dropped everything (at 29) and jumped on a plane to Japan to do it. I'm curious what his life is about to be like

Yeah, it's $800 a month plus the school pays rent for the place I'm living at (not utilities). It's not a super luxurious house, but it's nice enough. I'd be surprised if I ever paid $10 in one month for utilities. $800 doesn't sound like much, but it's more than enough to live here in Surat at least. Plus it leaves plenty of money to take some weekend trips. I could get by on 1000 baht a week easily, including gas for my motorbike (which only cost me $350 to buy and I'll sell next week for the same amount) and cell phone credit. Of course that means you're not getting drunk all the time, but that estimate includes a couple beers from 7/11. When I'm teaching, the school even gives us a free lunch, so if you spend 200 baht a day on food while you're living and working here, you're really trying to spend money. If you get drunk every night, you might run into some troubles on that salary, but even then you should be fine. You'll definitely feel the pinch when you go to places like Samui or Phuket, but you can just avoid going there. There are plenty of other beautiful, quiet, fun places in this area. In general, I'd spend about 1500-2000 baht a week and that would be eating and drinking whatever I want (not a huge drinker but enjoying several beers).

You can pretty much find high speed internet anywhere that's not a really remote island. It'll get expensive on some islands though, like 2-3 baht a minute. Right now I'm at a tiny coffee shop in Surat getting some good speeds on this high speed internet.

I love teaching here. I'm with a language school that pays a little less than others, but gives you a lot more freedom and a lot less paperwork. I was teaching P1 students (6-7 year olds) and I loved it. There was always a Thai teacher to help with discipline and interpretation, and it was by far the best and easiest job I ever had. I also taught a few hours a week at the nice hospital here in town. All in all, I worked 21 hours a week. Maybe 25 if you include planning and stuff for my classes. So that's something to consider when you hear what your wages are. Most schools require a lot more of your time and don't really pay you much more. Not to mention, Surat is within a few hours from every major beach and island in the south (Samui, Phangan, Tao, Phuket, Lanta, Krabi, etc.). We went to Koh Lipe last weekend, which is as far away as you can go from Surat in southern Thailand, and it took us about 8 hours.

edit: I guess I should mention that I'm living pretty basically compared to most other people. $10 a month in utilities because we don't have an air conditioner. It can get hot but whatever, it's usually not too bad in the house and we've got plenty of fans. We don't have any pay-TV service (it would suck anyway). We don't have internet in our house because our language school has free wireless and every other restaurant or coffee shop in town has free wireless too. Also, there's no water during the day, but that's just unique to my house. Just let a giant container fill with water overnight and you have more than enough for the next day. Most places aren't like this, but I just wanted to paint a clearer picture. I spend about $10 a month on gas for my motorbike, unless I take it out of town. $15-$20 on cell phone credit. If you really like cheese you're kinda screwed, although you can buy a 2kg block of good-enough supermarket mozzarella or cheddar for about $18. I pay more than $3 for dinner if I feel like splurging, but if you feel like eating out and drinking a couple beers, it'll still be only about $10. Of course, this is all Surat-specific, but it's probably not too much different in other similar, not-touristy cities with a very small expat community.

LosMein fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Mar 10, 2010

LosMein
Feb 15, 2006
All this red shirt news... I've got a flight from Bangkok on the 19th and I was taking a night train from Surat to Bangkok next Monday night (15th). I was around for the Songkran troubles last year, but I was in Chiang Mai and we didn't feel any of the effects at all. Are they expecting it to be worse than that? I don't really have a grip on Thai politics because I don't really like to discuss it with the locals.

brendanwor
Sep 7, 2005

da keebsta knicca posted:

If you are in Bangkok go clubbing in RCA it is better I think and you can hang out with the local young middle class. Also if you are in a group bottle service is actually a money saver...

Sheep-Goats posted:

RCA for those who don't know is short for Royal City Avenue and is a street with a lot of clubs on it. It used to be kind of a hellhole that was semi-notorious for having clubs full of thirteen year olds but they remodeled it a lot in like 2006 or something and now it's fairly nice. Best movie theater in Bangkok is also out there (because it shows a lot of weird little foreign movies and such and is also nice inside) and probably my favorite all you can eat barbecue place is nearby.

That being said there are tons and tons of great clubs in Bangkok and the best place to go changes from month to month.

Yeah RCA's really cool, though there's still some farangs there it's a lot better than the usual shitholes frequented by backpackers etc. Awesome on any night of the week basically. Recommend Route 66 and Slim & Flix.

Also club-wise and pretty much unknown by tourists (but loved by the Thai hiso crowd - expect to see a multitude of Lamborghinis, Porsches, BMWs and Mercs out the front) would be Demo and Funky Villa on Thong Lo Soi 10.

Pompous Rhombus posted:

If you wind up there, get the Long Island Iced Tea, it's strong as hell. Spicy is a terrible club but it's pretty awesome for people watching for that same reason (a delightful intersection of clueless tourists and freelance hookers).

Gazebo on Sukumvit Soi 1 is/was one of the better after-hours places (I'm not sure what the rules are like now); very chill and not full of prostitutes. There's a big seating area and a separate room with a dance floor.

Scratchdog (underneath Windsor Suites Hotel on Sukhumvit 20) wins for best BKK after hours club IMO. Always packed after 2am and fantastic for a great night out with friends including cheesy, super loud remixes, bottles of whiskey and shishas.

Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007
Also going to throw out Ratchada Soi 6 for the lower middle class crowd. My Chula friends refused to be seen there. :monocle:

Oddly enough there are some places on Khao San Road almost exclusively patronized by Thais. Brick Bar was always packed to gills and has live music, Hippie Bar is kinda of a chill sit-down place. I've never gone to the latter and never not been adopted by a random table of Thai people.


therobit posted:

Thanks all for the advice. We'll see how many places we actually get to. We were thinking of booking the first night or two and then sort of seeing how things go. Right now we live in Japan where that is a recipe for not having a place to stay at night or else paying a lot, but I get the sense that Thailand is set up for backpackers a little more and it's OK to be a little more spontaneous?

Also, I have heard that you can get tailored clothing for a reasonable price in Bangkok. Is eight days enough time to get this done? How much should I look to pay for a decent suit? Anyone have a tailor they like?

Yeah, nobody books ahead when they're backpacking (most places wouldn't honor a reservation anyways). But have you tried the hostels in Japan? Obviously a little basic versus a hotel but my experiences were pretty good with them.

8 days is plenty of time for a tailor.

Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 12:34 on Mar 10, 2010

ziebarf
Jul 6, 2008

Ribsauce posted:

What is teaching english like? Is it cool? A coworker's son just dropped everything (at 29) and jumped on a plane to Japan to do it. I'm curious what his life is about to be like

I know some guys teaching in Khon Kaen and they have a great lifestyle. Like PR said, they don't make tons of money, but more than enough to live very comfortably there. In fact you might want to check out Khon Kaen for teaching jobs, it seems like an alright place to be. Not many foreigners, but a good young Thai crowd.

Looks like its time to get the gently caress out of Bangkok, anyone staying through this rally? I am going down south to the beaches for a couple of days, then likely down to Malaysia.

Guess I will have to check out the night life recommendations on my next pass through BKK.

freebooter
Jul 7, 2009

Sheep-Goats posted:

http://www.travel-images.com/electric-plugs.html

Adapters are easy to get locally. Keep in mind that if you look at the power source on your laptop that it can probably handle 220 just fine, you just need a small adapter to allow the plugs to plug in.

If you're bringing something other than a laptop you're probably better off buying it there.

That link also lists multiple plugs per country... is that actually the case? Before I went to Korea I heard they used both American and European, and bought both, and then never once saw an American plug anywhere in the country.

I seriously can't find a universal adaptor anywhere in this city, I'm going to try to find one in KL or Bangkok.

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Pompous Rhombus
Mar 11, 2007

ziebarf posted:

I know some guys teaching in Khon Kaen and they have a great lifestyle. Like PR said, they don't make tons of money, but more than enough to live very comfortably there. In fact you might want to check out Khon Kaen for teaching jobs, it seems like an alright place to be. Not many foreigners, but a good young Thai crowd.

Looks like its time to get the gently caress out of Bangkok, anyone staying through this rally? I am going down south to the beaches for a couple of days, then likely down to Malaysia.

Guess I will have to check out the night life recommendations on my next pass through BKK.

Where do they teach in KK? I actually semi-taught there for a couple weeks on a university internship several summers ago. I didn't really go out much, didn't want to run into my students :p It's a decent city for Iisaan though, kinda the regional hub. But yeah, not a lot of (young) foreigners.

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