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Just chiming in on the new thread, used the last one a lot to ask questions about my current trip. In Vietnam at the moment and just bought a Minsk, I was going to get one in Hanoi but ended up traveling south without a bike and grabbing this in HCMC  It has it's problems but it goes, and I didn't pay a lot for it as Minsks go. As I mentioned in the last thread someone tried to steal it from outside my hotel on the first day of owning it, that really sucked and we've experienced similar things once or twice in Vietnam which really bummed me and my girlfriend out, but then you encounter other people who completely make you forget about things like that.. Today for instance, we stopped at a garage on the outskirts of HCMC to pick up some 2 stroke oil for the bike, after fetching the oil and paying for it I got literally man handled into the room where all the oil was stored by some completely smashed locals, they sat me and my girlfriend down and handed us both a can of cold beer and just started toasting and chanting "happy new year" over and over. There was a big language barrier but it was really funny and pretty cool. It was 12 noon and these guys were hammered, in the space of 10 minutes they must have shook my hand 20 times and toasted new year 60 times. Great stuff. 
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Feb 16, 2010 13:05
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:41 |
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By any chance does anyone know a good motorcycle mechanic in Cambodia? (Phnom Penh preferably) The gears on my Minsk have started to deteriorate badly (the guy who sold it to me didn't make a big deal of it but it is a big deal) the 4th gear cog is really bad, slips into neutral often while cruising along, and gear changes put it in to neutral 50% of the time. The manual says to get it repaired asap, it's also not a job I could do. In Ha Tien now but crossing the border tomorrow morning.
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Feb 25, 2010 10:58
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Pompous Rhombus posted:May be too late on this but you should try getting it fixed in Vietnam first! I'm not saying it will be impossible to fix, but I've never seen a Minsk in Cambodia. Worst case scenario, there will probably be someone who's "got a guy" in Vietnam that they'll call and will put the parts on a bus headed to PP for you. I got it fixed temporarily, but I'm in Phnom Penh now and it's just died again and I'm getting tired of dealing with it. A mechanic here has offered me a part exchange on a nice dirt bike that I'm considering, but I have some worries.. Any idea on the papers/documents I need to take it in to Laos and then eventually Thailand? As I think he may only write me up a bill of sale, he mentioned he had no papers for it but that it was no problem because it has Cambodian plates, although I doubt that's the case. I've also read that if you do get it into Thailand you have to leave with it also or face a massive fine, I want to sell it on in Thailand though. PS the Vietnam > Cambodia border at Ha Tien was a joke, when I asked about the bike I got more shrugs than anything else "did you ask that guy?" when I say he didn't care they just say go ahead. Crazy.
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Mar 4, 2010 10:29
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Vietnam is the only country that always takes your passport, but in my experience they also always gave it back to me when ever I requested it, when I needed it for rentals etc elsewhere. Never an issue.
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Apr 3, 2010 08:57
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Is there anywhere in BKK where I can get good deals on flights home (UK). I've only ever booked online, I don't know if there are deals to be had buying in person etc.
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Apr 9, 2010 15:39
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Broohaha posted:I want to go South to the beaches and plan to spend 2 weeks there (any recommendations?; i want the sweet beaches of phuket and phi phi but without the oppressive touristyness, if possible) I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for but Koh Mak has probably the best undiscovered beaches in Thailand, it's a small sleepy island off Koh Chang, not a party island, just super chilled hammock + beer + sunset action with great clear water beaches. You probably cant spend 2 weeks there as there isn't much to do except chill, but Koh Chang is just a small boat trip away.
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Apr 28, 2010 11:40
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You can withdraw cash at the airport, although sometimes for me the last thing I wanted to do in a new country was source out cash, it is nice to have some ready to get you to your first hotel asap. As for carrying large amounts around you should be ok generally, I only had one pick pocket attempt in 4 months and it was in Hanoi and the attempt was made on the front pouch of my rucksack, so maybe use padlocks on your bag and carry money in a money belt, this is if you're really worried. But if you stay away from the sketchy situations (like you mentioned) and parts of town, you should have zero problems with theft etc.
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May 4, 2010 14:38
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It makes sense for you to start being picky about the notes you receive in change, seeing as you might have a hard time getting rid of them, I've even seen a beggar ask for a different note, crazy.
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May 28, 2010 23:18
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Cheesemaster200 posted:EDIT No, but yes you'd want to. Laos has some of the best country side in SEA, reminds me of Jurassic park, Thakhek is especially great for riding around. Yeah there are 2 types of bus in Lao, the vip bus and the local bus, the VIP bus stays strictly on the tourist trail- LP, VV, VT, then skips most everything else and goes straight to 4000 islands. The local buses are hilarious, you'll be sharing a seat with a coup of chickens most likely and you'll have to climb to your seat as they'll fill the isle with whatever they need transported, 50 bags of rice, containers of petrol and mattresses are what I had to deal with when I used local buses. Still an experience though.
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Jun 2, 2010 12:11
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:41 |
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div13 posted:I'm flying into Bangkok from London on the 21st of July and planning to go travelling through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. I'm having trouble knowing what visas to get as I don't have a plan for when and how long I'll be in each country. You can get all those visas in any of the countries you listed, I used to just get a visa for the next place about a week before I actually headed there, that's if visa on arrival was going to be a pain in the rear end what with scams and fees.
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Jun 4, 2010 01:12
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