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Man this thread rules. I'll be going through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia for 2 months during March-April. I've got most things covered (assuming I can get it all done in time  ), but how does it work with cameras in places like Cambodia or Laos. Can I find places to charge poo poo every so often or should I bring a bunch of extra batteries?Also, I just saw here that Thai visas obtained on arrival are 15 days only. If I remember correctly I should only be there for 2 weeks, but how big of a deal is it if I go over a couple of days?
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Feb 22, 2010 18:13
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drat, pretty sure we'll arrive through land. O well, a fee is a lot better than some "You cannot enter Thailand for x years" mess. I'll see if I can rush it and get one done.
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Feb 22, 2010 20:02
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Should I even bother with a "holster style" wallet/passport holder? http://www.design-go.com/en/detail_38813.html I'm going to be on the move for 2 months and not planning to hit many seedy places, so I'm guessing just keeping poo poo in the front pockets should be fine. Fake wallet in the back and all should be good. A holder seems like it might be annoying and unneeded, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?
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Mar 1, 2010 07:08
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Yeah, I feel like if I buy it I'll just not use it. I would put them in my pants, but they are so drat thin that I don't know how well that is going to work. O well, might as well buy one just in case! On the plus side, I just packed everything I'm going to need into my old backpack http://www.cuttingedgetactical.com/bugout5031three-daypass.aspx and I still have plenty of space. Looks like I can get rid of those ideas of bringing a 40+ liter bag!  edit: O yeah, any hippie backpackers have any advice on foot care? Powder, Spray, and other way? I'm going to be wearing the same drat trail runners for 2 months, so I'm assuming I should do something. moflika fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Mar 2, 2010 |
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Mar 2, 2010 01:22
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Dumb question, but it's annoying me at the moment: How easy is it to find cheap rear end umbrellas around? Should I bother bringing a light rain jacket? I'll be going all over SE Asia from mid March to early May and I'm assuming I'll hit the occasional shower. I hate umbrellas, but it seems like a jacket would be uncomfortable in hot, humid weather. I've got everything else covered, but since this is the last thing, it's annoying me much more than it should :/ edit: Also, do you backpackers bring a bunch of dollars or get money whenever you need it from an ATM? A friend of mine who is coming along on the trip is going to carry around 600 dollars and that seems pretty drat stupid to me. I'm guessing most tourist areas take dollars, but I can never loving relax when I have that much on me. I'm definitely going to bring some "O poo poo, the machine ate my card" emergency dollars, but I don't know about turning myself into a minibank. moflika fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Mar 12, 2010 |
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Mar 12, 2010 09:07
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EVERYONE posted:
Thanks, it's always nice when I can spend less money and do the right thing I'm pretty used to ATM fees after living in Norway for a bit, so that should be nothing new.Looks like I'll miss all the political fun by the time I get to Thailand. Tis a shame... moflika fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Mar 12, 2010 |
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Mar 12, 2010 21:06
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advice
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Fuuuuuck, trip starts tomorrow and I just realized that I may not have enough pages left on my passport for the entire trip  edit: Eh, no biggie. Looks like I can just get more pages free of charge at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. moflika fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Mar 14, 2010 |
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Mar 14, 2010 06:16
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Steve. posted:Phew. I just booked another cheap flight to Bangkok: $249 from Melbourne. If all goes to plan I'll be based on Koh Tao from November through to March, doing a divemaster internship. Nice! Can't remember when I last posted in this thread, but my 2 months in SE Asia were awesome as hell. Randomly deciding to get an open water diving cert was one of the many highlights of the trip. By internship do you mean that you basically take groups out into the water as a dive instructor, get taught on the side, and get "paid" with the divemaster cert in the end? I've always wondered how people could afford to reach the top. Definitely need to get back over there and get some more dives under my belt. EDIT: hahaha, I'm not going to lie. Every time life gets a bit boring or low I start thinking about getting my rear end back to Thailand. Tempting as hell, that's for sure... moflika fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 09:02
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Sounds pretty drat cool. I'll have to keep it in mind if I get burned out on this "doing a baking apprenticeship in Germany" thing I'm currently on. Not that I have anywhere near enough diving exp for it, just planning escape plans like always. I'm definitely in need of more instruction. As much as I enjoyed it, my open water diver course was rushed as hell. I'd probably poo poo my pants if I had to dive without an instructor (still with a buddy of course)... :/
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Apr 7, 2011 09:37
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Steve. posted:Plus, it's a good excuse to enjoy a great lifestyle for a few months This is key! As far as I'm concerned, life is nothing but a collection of interesting experiences (some better than others...). Something like a dive master cert is never going to be seen as a bad thing. moflika fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 16:14
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Senso posted:So it's signed, I'm moving to Ho Chi Minh City with my wife and son, in June. So much things to do, it's unbelievable. If getting a visa tourist or even an extended one can be a pain, imagine getting a resident card and a work permit. I'm not sure how representative my experience was, but the Vietnamese consulate in San Fransisco was ultra laid back. Paid an extra 10 dollars and had my visa in 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Apr 7, 2011 23:13
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That's too bad about the diving update. At least you'll have an option if the job market isn't so hot after you graduate. Thanks for the blog link though, I've been on a huge asian food kick lately (for like that past 5 years straight hahaha). Running something like that seems like it would be a dream job.
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Apr 9, 2011 09:38
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drat, reading the EatingAsia blog has made me realize just how many food opportunities I missed out on. Don't get me wrong, I ate nothing but street food, but I just didn't find awesome stuff in Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and (surprisingly) Vietnam like you see in that blog. I got lucky a couple of time in Vietnam, but considering how long we stayed there, it was mostly duds. Thailand was easy as hell. I guess I have yet another reason to go back
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Apr 13, 2011 22:01
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Shiiit, this is the third time that I've heard in the past weeks that Songkran is a really dangerous time to travel. I mean, assumed they meant people crashing their bikes after having water thrown in their face, but this is on a whole new level... I often joked during my time in SE Asia that I could die at any moment and not have any regrets, but drat 
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Apr 25, 2011 12:46
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I went to SE Asia for 2 months, and still felt like I missed out on a bunch. :/ Then again, that just means that there is more for next time. I think I'll take a stab at traveling alone next time and picking a couple of spots as home bases and branching out from there... Instead of the standard Lonely Planet beaten tourist path. I definitely tried to fit way too many places into my trip. Got a bit of everything, but was ALWAYS on the move. It was good for a first trip, but I think hiking and eating until I explode sounds like a better option. Maybe a scuba dive or two. moflika fucked around with this message at 17:40 on May 2, 2011 |
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May 2, 2011 17:37
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Are you going to be doing a food walk in Penang (guessing with EatingAsia)? If so, consider me JEALOUS!
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May 19, 2011 18:38
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Niiice. I know you're going to be too busy stuffing your face, but if you can manage it, take some pics and share. Vicarious living is about all I can do at the moment :/
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May 21, 2011 17:33
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Man, next time I hit up SE Asia, I'm definitely going to be spending way more time in Malaysia and non-Java Indonesia. Malaysia boiled down to me spending a pitiful amount of time in KL, and while I saw a lot in Indonesia, it was all well on the beaten track (which kept things pretty unremarkable). This thread is dangerous. I'm going to start a "Places to go" list. I would say thanks, but this is really the last thing I need at the moment! 
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Jun 22, 2011 16:14
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Pretty good read: http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/fry_in_thailand.php I find it especially interesting, since people tend to rep the Bangkok Post pretty hard.
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Sep 8, 2011 22:13
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I'd just stick to food journalism in SEA. Everyone loves having their culinary traditions talked up, and you get to eat a bunch of bomb rear end food. Win/Win if you ask me!
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Sep 9, 2011 17:24
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kenner116 posted:Best thing I've seen this week was a couple of young Japanese guys going "upstairs" at Patpong arm-in-arm with a couple of ladyboys who were squealing "Kawaii! Kawaii!". They were all so happy. Heh, reminds me of the night me and a friend were hanging out in the lobby of our Hotel in Phuket: - Some guy who looked like the captain of his football team out in the Midwest came in with the biggest  face and a ladyboy by his side. Threw his street walker fee on the front desk, and was about to get in the elevator when I caught his eye and gave him a smirk look while shaking my head and told him "Have fun, dude!"  That went to a mighty fast! hahah- Hours later some old German dude came in with an even bigger and two ladyboys. This fool had no shame. He went on and on about how Thailand was so cool, because only there here you do something like this... then he found out I speak German and proceeded to invite me up to his room to partake in the coming "festivities".I declined, and he replied with "Schade"(bummer). Bummer indeed! 
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Sep 13, 2011 14:40
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I too stayed at Lanna House. No complaints here, I've stayed in much worse though. Then again, I love pinching me some pennies. Maybe that's why I found it so drat nice. Say hi to Nui/Noi for me if she's still running the front desk. drat, she was loud as hell for a thai chick hahaha
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Sep 16, 2011 17:48
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Been a while since I've posted in here. I'm finally going to probably be heading back to SEA (Thailand), and will be working on a farm in the Chiang Mia area. I've already done the backpacking in SEA on a shoestring thing back in 2010 or so, but since I'll be staying longer I'm thinking about my laptop. I honestly want to just leave that poo poo behind. I know that internet cafes are all over the place while on the beaten track, but how common are they out in the sticks? I'm guessing they are still around since it would mostly likely be the only way most people could get access to a computer, but I'm not sure. Either way, excited as hell to be heading back. Like most people in this thread I've been itching (and lurking in this thread) to get back ever since I returned the US. Should be cool to be there not as a tourist.
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Sep 4, 2012 19:25
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Sheep-Goats posted:If a Thai town is big enough to have three shops at least one of them will be an internet cafe. That's good to hear. Now I hope I can get over not having something to carry crazy amounts of music/movies/documentaries on.
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Sep 5, 2012 07:37
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Like Vegas,
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Sep 6, 2012 20:30
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I feel like I'm missing something right in front of my face, but I'll ask anyways: I've got plenty of time, but it was recommended to me by the farm I'm going to be working at that I get a double entry tourist visa instead of just an on entry visa (US passport holder). Fair enough, but after looking at the Thai consulate in LA's website they say that the validity of such a visa is 3 months, but then states: "travelers with this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period not exceeding 60 days at any time. The period begins on the date you arrive in Thailand.  3 months and 60 days don't match up in my head. Also, I'm assuming applying for more than 2 entries greatly decreases the chances of it getting accepted? Apparently a volunteer visa can be arranged if I stay longer, so that should not be an issue. I'm sure this issue has been hammered through a million times, sorry...
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Sep 9, 2012 10:09
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O ok, that's easy enough. For some reason I get all nervous when crossing boarders and think that they won't let me back in even if all the visa/passport stuff has been done, haha.
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Sep 9, 2012 13:57
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What do you long term expats in Thailand do for health insurance? I realize a year or even 2 isn't all that long, since I meet plenty of people who had being going longer when I was backpaking, but at what point is travel insurance no longer ideal? Before I just got travel insurance as a formality and "so my body will be sent back to family and funeral costs are taken care of in case of death ". I should probably start giving a poo poo...
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Sep 16, 2012 19:58
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Sheep-Goats posted:I had it through my job always when living overseas. Yeah, Europe has been a bit easier in that regard for me. Even as a crusty apprentice, I was enrolled in "the system" in a matter of weeks. Even though I'll start off volunteering on a farm in Thailand, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up at a NGO... No, not guilt tripping westerners on the streets into donating money to "save the poor children". More like showing rice farmers that you can get way more out of your land if you stop spraying the poo poo out of gov't-backed rice fields. Not sure if NGOs cover insurance, they seem more about that pocket money. Either way, after 2 years of volunteer farmhand work in the EU, it's definitely time to stop being a bum. Maybe Southeast Asia wasn't the best choice hahah. In SEA it seems like as a westerner you're either a student, english teacher (avoiding that as much as possible, no offense to those who have done or are doing it intended), or a freelancer/import-export mastermind. There was a time when I could've learned to put together a porn blog to live off of click traffic, but that time is long gone! Took a trip over to Thaivisa for some laughs. Turns out they have a farming forum... Looks like on top of resisting the urge to again end up at grad school in the middle of nowhere, I also have to resist the idea of setting up a rubber tree and pig farm in Isaan. hahaha EDIT: ReindeerF posted:If you need non-travel, there are plenty of options - most of them either American or European, so you'll recognize them, heh. Yeah, I guess I can't milk the US/EU dual citizenship this time around. I'll probably end up paying for some minimal coverage like always. moflika fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Sep 16, 2012 |
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Sep 16, 2012 21:11
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My friend got some hot deals on US -> Southeast Asia flight tickets (2010) from an awesome travel agency... that sadly closed up shop. Anybody else have an agent they go to for long SEA trips? I generally don't even bother for Europe, but I feel like SEA still might be worth using a travel agents for. Only for the big inital US -> SEA flight though.
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Sep 19, 2012 17:58
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lol internet. posted:Any recommendations on booking full return ticket as well or just one way as well I've only ever done return. One way is rarely better, unless you're buying with saved up miles. Just set the return day to the max length, and then you can always pay a small fee to change the date if you ever need the return ticket for some reason.
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Sep 20, 2012 13:03
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I'm thinking about getting a bit of the Thai language down before heading over for some volunteering. The dude I'm going to be working with seems to think that getting the alphabet down wouldn't be of much help. Is this guy trippin'? Thinking back to my previous trip, it seems like it would really help with directions/getting around, and just connecting dots in general. Plus, it seems like a large part of the language that can be gotten down in a fairly short period of time. Well, at least compared to Chinese/Japanese. Other than that, I was going to get numbers, directions and maybe a few Whrere is___/How much is_____ sentence starter stuff down. Co-worker dude suggested idioms, but that seems a bit corny to start off with. Any advice from those that have tackled the Thai language? Not really looking to master the language, just want to hit the ground running, so that I can take advantage of being out in the countryside. Probably shouldn't learn too much yet, since I'll be digging a hole for myself by pronouncing everything like poo poo anyway :/
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Oct 23, 2012 00:46
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I'm sure when I start really getting into tones my motivation will drain quick. I'm used to the no spacing because of Japanese, and lack of a billion Chinese characters always helps. Ringo R posted:Just out of curiosity, where will you be volunteering? I'll be on an organic farm around the Chiang Mai area (http://www.sangobcm.blogspot.it/), and then I'll try to expand from there. I've been working on farms for 2 years in Europe, so I'm hoping to get involved on a more serious level somewhere. There seems to be a lot going on in Thailand organic farming wise, so it shouldn't be too difficult... ReindeerF posted:This is me, as Ringo R can attest to. Haha, it's pretty amazing how far you can get with just some simple small talk. I'm definitely going to have to work hard to force myself to continue to improve after reaching that small talk stage. It's waaay too easy to just stop and stay in soundboard land. moflika fucked around with this message at 08:47 on Oct 23, 2012 |
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Oct 23, 2012 08:33
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Was looking for tickets from San Francisco to BKK and assumed that one way would be more expensive like always. Round trip prices pretty much made me , one way was MUCH better. I know it's been asked in this mammoth thread, but does one way tickets cause problems when getting a tourism visa (from a consulate in the US) or getting into the country in general? edit: Thaivisa says "Getting a tourist visa in advance provides exemption from the need for a return ticket, but the airlines may still require one even so." Also, any opinions on EVA Air? moflika fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Nov 7, 2012 |
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Nov 7, 2012 03:36
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Hahah, nice breakdown. I have no doubt that that Noi/Auntie poo poo goes down exactly like you described. Oddly enough one way tickets are a little less than half the price of round trip. I'm wondering if an AirAsia ticket out of Thailand to somewhere else in SEA will be enough to please the Thai consulate and airport...
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Nov 7, 2012 05:04
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Definitely not what I wanted to hear after purchasing my one-way ticket... hahaha
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Nov 9, 2012 07:16
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I'm dealing with the consulate in LA (by mail), and they don't even mention a plane ticket in their requirements for a tourist visa. I hope I'm allowed to try again fairly quickly if I get denied. Time will tell!
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Nov 9, 2012 09:37
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Welp, got most of the Thai consonants down and finally got a copy of the Thai for Beginners textbook. Started listening to where they compare similar words with different tones... This is going to be fun! hahaha
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Nov 15, 2012 02:05
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Looks like the farm I'm going to work at has no internet, but there are like 3 internet cafes in the town. Good poo poo, but since my laptop is falling apart it feels kind of dumb to spend a bunch money (use macs, so that's a min of $1000 haha) just for getting/storing music and online banking. How stupid is it to do quick and basic online banking at an internet cafe? I know people talk about key loggers and stuff, but I generally only keep a bit in my checking account and most in my savings. Worst case scenario, my checkings account gets wiped, but that would be a small amount anyway. The moment my savings account get hosed with I could most likely get my money back. Would be pretty hard to actually steal that money. Getting a cheap rear end netbook would be an option, but I don't remember seeing people use their own lapatop in internet cafes. Books are covered, since I have a kindle and can mount that poo poo anywhere and throw some  on it. Music and banking have yet to be solved. Any ideas?poo poo, if I was going to be in Isaan country, then I would probably be happy to hear morlam/luk thung all day, but I'm guessing that stuff gets less/no play in N. Thailand.
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Nov 29, 2012 04:26
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I was thinking about that. I could, but that would require a smartphone with data, and I'm going to have a cheap pay-as-you-go cell. I guess there are limits to cheapness/frugality :/
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Nov 29, 2012 05:07
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