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I fell for that scam in Bangkok. It was a well dressed guy coming out of a bank office telling us that it was a "Buddha day in Thailand Buddhist country" so foreigners weren't allowed to go into the Grand Palace until 13:00. Then he got our map, gave us an itinerary with a few temples and told us to get a tuk-tuk for 80 baht. It was nice at first and we got to see some of the stuff we wanted to visit that day, but then the driver took us to a Chinese jewellery followed by an Indian tailor. At that point we told him to gently caress off, we paid him the 80 baht and took a taxi back to the Grand Palace. Right as we got off the taxi we got another guy trying to pull off the same poo poo on us again...
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Mar 23, 2010 22:50
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Do you guys know of any place where the current conflict is explained thoroughly in a non-biased way? I mean, it's hard not to sympathise with the red shirts since the notion you get from reading media here is that it boils down to "poor people wanting democracy vs. rich people wanting an oligarchy", but I'm sure there's more to it.
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Apr 23, 2010 14:11
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Thanks a lot to both of you. I read a lot about Thaksin, the good and bad things he did, the coup, etc; but I guess the hardest part for me to understand is the yellow shirts position, because it seems they are just a bunch of egocentric, elitist and antidemocratic morons, specially when most of the things I read on the media are akin to this.
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Apr 24, 2010 17:13
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I can't remember the names, but there are a quite a few nice hooker-free and tourist-free clubs in Phuket Town if you want to avoid Patong at night.
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Apr 29, 2010 22:28
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Ringo R posted:When I become the PM of Thailand (will happen fairly soon) I'll ban plastic bags and Thai soap operas. And straws, please.
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May 7, 2010 00:54
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Tiger is a nice disco 
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Nov 21, 2010 10:59
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"Takes care of everything, doesn't butterfly", no idea about the Isaan part. Speaking of bars, I'm going back to SE Asia with some friends in April and we'll be landing in Bangkok for a couple of days without much to do (I'm not going to bother again with all the Buddhas and temples). Any recommendations on where to go at night in Bangkok? I'm not looking for anything special, just some place with regular bars, good music and decent booze.
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Feb 16, 2011 16:51
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I wish I knew how to ride a motorbike to do that sort of stuff 
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Feb 27, 2011 13:30
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chockomonkey posted:Don't miss out on the adventures and freedom to be found exploring SEA on bike/motorbike! After doing some research on how to operate them, you would probably just be fine renting one and figuring it out as you go. Or, you could just make Ringo teach you. Well, not this time because I'm going with some friends, but I'd love to go back for two or three months sometime next year and try the motorbike adventure. My big problem is that I'm 27, I have never ever ridden a motorbike, I don't even have a driver's license and I don't think I'll be able to get one in the near future, so the idea of making my debut in the land of lovely roads and crazy drivers is a bit worrying :P Thanks Pompous for the book links and everything, I'll make sure to read that one if I ever get the balls do it.
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Feb 28, 2011 21:51
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Do you guys know of any nice place to stay in Koh Phangan close to the Full Moon Party? I'll be there on the 18th but it seems most places require you to stay a minimum of three nights and I just want a place to crash for that night...
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Mar 23, 2011 09:34
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BigSuave posted:Also keep it in mind if you want to 'get away' somewhere quiet for a couple days after the party. You will. Nah, I'm getting out of Ko Phangan the next day, I wouldn't even go to the Full Moon Party, but my friends insist on it.
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Mar 23, 2011 13:07
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I spent a couple of days in Ao Nang and I found it nice, but nothing remarkable. It's just a small village for tourists with a decent beach. At night it has a few bars that close early and that's it. Speaking about closing early, as someone recommended here, I went to RCA in Bangkok and I had a good time. The clubs were great and there were a couple of nice live bands, but they shut down at 2:00, when the place was starting to get full. People took their bottles out and said they were going home. Is that a normal thing in Bangkok? What's the point of a club that closes so early? Also I read that there are no hookers in RCA... well, that's far from the truth. There are no prostitutes that cater to farangs and pester you constantly, sure, but there were plenty of them any way. Some random things from my last trip: - I'm coming back to Ko Phangan for sure. I went there for the Full Moon Party and I stayed on the Northwest of the island, far away from Haad Rin. Initially I was only going to be there for a day, but I ended up staying a couple more and had to take the night boat to reunite with my friends again in Surat Thani. The Full Moon Party itself was okay, but way too full of drunk Aussie hooligans trying hard to ruin the party. I ended up almost being punched by one who wanted to pay one of the bucket vendors to go home with him and when she told him to go gently caress himself he somehow inferred it was my fault and came straight to me trying to fight. - Because of Qatar Airways cancelling my flight, I could only stay three days in Cambodia. I tried to see everything, even waking up at 4:00 to see the sunrise over the Angkor Wat, and got way too tired. If I could go back in time, I'd only visit the three big temples and chill a lot more around Siem Reap. I'm going back to Cambodia for sure though: beautiful place, great food and extra nice people. I just need to find some place to go that's not Siem Reap or Phnom Penh :P - Doha's airport is terrible, even worse than Kuala Lumpur's LCCT, and on par with Qatar itself (I have no idea how are they going to organise a decent WC in that shithole of a country). I hope I find other connections next time, because on my way back I had to stay the longest five hours of my life in there. - Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown is dirty. Way too dirty with rats and everything. - Khanom was completely empty of foreign tourists and with only a few Thais around. The most relaxing part of my trip by far. - I stayed a couple of nights in Patong, because I have a friend living there. Last time I went to Phuket I was far away from it and I thought it wasn't as bad as people say, but being three days straight in Patong was too much for me. Not going back if I can help it. - Next time I go back to SE Asia I'm staying, at least, for a month. Trying to see lots of things in 17 days made the whole thing much less enjoyable just because of how tired I was the whole time. My plan is to go there without any plans or reservations (maybe some plane tickets for long trips and that's it). Edit: drat, I just read about BigSuave 
tzz fucked around with this message at 23:01 on May 1, 2011 |
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May 1, 2011 22:52
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Fiskenbob posted:Speaking of Sky Train. Is it connected to the airport now? When I was there in '09 they were still building it. Yes, it's pretty nice. That Pattaya song is catchy.
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May 25, 2011 18:16
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Tuff Ghost posted:I'll be flying in to Thailand for 3 weeks in July. I have about $2.5k to spend. I went to the Full Moon Party and did the traditional thing (getting shitfaced, waking up in an unknown place, missing the ferry and having to take the night boat to reconnect with my friends), but I wouldn't recommend going there unless you feel comfortable among a massive bunch of drunk hooligans dirtying the beach. It's not even that good if you want to bang European girls because with that ratio of men to women it can easily be defined as a sausage fest. As for flying, I'd do it, especially considering all those places are quite far from each other, except Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Suffering through an 18 hour bus ride on lovely roads just for the slight chance of meeting someone interesting doesn't cut it for me. I heard good things about night buses, though. As for a travel backpack, I use an Osprey Porter 46, which was more than enough for my last trip. It fits the maximum legal carry-on size for most airlines, it weights very little, it has backpack straps that you can hide and a pretty useful side handle. There are similar products from Patagonia and other known brands, but this came recommended and it was much cheaper for me.
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May 26, 2011 20:27
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A friend of mine lost his glasses and got new ones pretty cheap, but I think if you go for designer frames the price is not that low. Regarding clothes, check this thread. Some people here recommend dress shirts, other recommend synthetic t-shirts and most say no jeans. That said, I have the same problem as you: I hate travel trousers because none of them fit me, so I always carry a pair of light jeans (I have a Jack & Jones pair that has a synthetic-ish feel and dries quickly) in case I feel like going out in a bit of style. For the rest: shorts, one or two shirts, one or two good looking cotton t-shirts and a few synthetic t-shirts. People talk about Capilene and other super expensive brands, but I have a few Decathlon-Equarea ones that are ridiculously cheap and function just as well for me. On the other hand SmartWool socks are totally worth the price. I usually wear flip-flops, but when I need to walk a lot or hike I wear sneakers. I went to some drat hot places with them (SE Asia, Southern Egypt and Jordan for example), and my feet stayed dry even after day long walks under the sun. tzz fucked around with this message at 10:08 on May 28, 2011 |
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May 28, 2011 09:36
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Sheep-Goats posted:I'm surprised at the posts above me. The rice always comes on the side, many curries and dishes exist that are basically herbs plus meat plus some sort of salty sauce, barbecued meats can be found everywhere and are cheap. It should be very easy to stick to your goofy diet, but as I've mentioned before if you go to SE Asia and don't easy every weird thing you can you're doing yourself a real disservice. Going to Thailand and never eating their noodle soups, the sticky rice in cane things, roasted bananas in caramel sauce or any other of the innumerable carb heavy dishes is just as backward and insular as going there and insisting that you won't eat meat or don't like shellfish or whatever. Borders on criminal, really. All those curries, soups and even salads like som tam usually have sugar (not much, but these low carb people eat almost no carbs at all) and not a lot of meat. I was going to say the same as you, but I assumed he's thinking about moving to Thailand, because travelling to another country and missing out on the local food because you want to follow a counter-intuitive diet seems way too stupid. Bonus points in stupidity for said country being one with one of the best cuisines in the world and with some of the slimmest people.
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May 29, 2011 17:04
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Quantify! posted:No, I'm thinking about visiting. Good call, go crazy and try everything. Even if you gain a couple of kilos, which almost surely won't happen, you won't regret it. Speaking of food, I tried a Northern or Northeastern dish in Ao Nang that I loved. It was basically fried rice with what looked like a cut from a big roll made from slightly minced pork. It was a bit spicy, but not much, and it had the right amount of bitterness that made the taste strong without overpowering all the other flavours. People might find it too bitter though, because the woman asked me if I was sure a couple of times before taking my order. Any idea how is it called? I'd like to see if it's feasible to cook it when I finally get out of this stupid no-pork country. tzz fucked around with this message at 18:24 on May 29, 2011 |
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May 29, 2011 18:19
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Pork roll, no eggplant. I'm not a big fan of Thai fried rice either, but this one was really good.
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May 29, 2011 19:10
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Ringo R posted:Did it look something like this? Then you had khao pad naem (ข้าวผัดแหนม) which is fried rice with sour pork. You can find "naem" (sour pork) easily in 7-11 stores in Thailand. Yes, that's the thing, thanks! I guess I should have searched for sour, not bitter. Too bad it's going to be super hard to find that fermented pork outside of Thailand.
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May 29, 2011 19:48
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Sheep-Goats posted:A lot of Asian supermarkets carry it actually. Vietnamese eat it too so you often find it in the Veit section. I live in a super Asian part of Queens and off the top of my head there are three places I could buy that stuff within a ten minute walk of here, not counting the two restaurants that have it on the menu. I've been looking for recipes and it looks like it's easy to make and doesn't require any special ingredients. I don't think I've ever seen pig skin being sold, but it shouldn't be hard to find. Any way, I'm currently living in Turkey, so I'll have to wait until I move to a place with Asian supermarkets, pork and appreciation for foreign cuisine.
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May 29, 2011 22:22
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Heh, I stayed in the Talkoo a couple of days too. Really chill place and nice staff, I went there with a few friends and it was just us and a Thai family.
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Sep 12, 2011 12:38
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duralict posted:Does anyone know a place to stay on Koh Phangan that doesn't have a 4-night minimum during the full moon party? Also is it worth going to the full moon party in the first place? I stayed only one night at the Cookies' Salad Resort. It's on the opposite side of the island, but it's on top of a beautiful beach, far away from the hordes of Aussie hooligans and Ms. Cookies is extra nice (she even let me get into a room to take a shower and a nap when I arrived shitfaced the next afternoon). Full Moon Party... I wouldn't go there again, but I can't say I had a bad time. It's just a huge beach party where you drink buckets of Sang Som with Red Bull and wake up in a random Thai village the next day with locals feeding you fish and som tam.
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Oct 18, 2011 10:07
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duralict posted:That sounds perfect, but it also says 4 day minimum during full moons on their website. Is this the kind of thing you avoid by just not booking in advance? Or is it idiotic to show up and try to find lodging on the spot? I hear Phangan gets pretty full during the parties, but it's also the middle of low season (I'd be going in November). I booked in advance via booking.com because I was afraid I wouldn't find anything and I had no problem booking just one night. Also, November is not exactly low season afaik. FMP was also a checklist thing for my friends, but they all agreed that we shouldn't have spent that much time to go there. It didn't help that most of us had been to similar, but better, parties in Ibiza, Mykonos, Hvar, Ayia Napa... Be advised it's a sausage fest and said sausages will get very drunk and try to pick a fight with you when they run out of sluts to molest. I almost got punched by the stereotypical Australian because he wanted to pay one of the bucket vendors to gently caress her and he thought I was cockblocking him when she told him to go gently caress himself 
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Oct 18, 2011 12:47
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I've been twice in SE Asia (including Cambodia and Malasia, which looked much more unhygienic than Thailand) with two different groups of people, eating everything on the street and none of us got any problems. Pack some Imodium just in case and you're good to go. The worst place I've been in that regard was Egypt. Ten days in, all my friends had gotten at least some mild discomfort, which made them be pretty careful. I said gently caress it and kept stuffing my face with everything I saw on the street/desert while laughing at them for being such cowards. Joke was on me when some overcooked beef stew on the night train back to Cairo locked me in a filthy moving bathroom without toilet paper for about 10 hours. Then I got to Istanbul and spent New Year's Eve shivering and sweating in a hostel bed  PS: I thought it was generally accepted that fermented foods are about the safest to eat when travelling :? tzz fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 08:16
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What's a good place in SE Asia to spend a couple of months working remotely without many distractions?
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Feb 2, 2014 18:25
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ReindeerF posted:Define distractions? No nightlife or pretty beaches nearby or just not a noisy area or what? I don't mind nightlife per se, but I want to avoid super touristy places and I need a place where I can work comfortably without much noise. Pretty beaches and beautiful scenery are a definite plus (I actually got the idea after reading this). I've never done this digital nomad thing and I want to be careful not to turn into a drunken unproductive slob. caberham posted:Does this mean you need fibre internet? And what's your budget? Not really, I just need something realiable and fast enough to upload pictures and stream short videos. I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I was thinking about $2k/month tops excluding airfare. The obvious choice seems to be Chiang Mai: low prices, tons of monthly rental options and khao soi, but it's a big city and I've already been there. For reference, my first option was Bocas del Toro in Panamá, but I have to go there again in a few months and I'd rather eat something nice that's not made of beans and rice. eviljelly posted:Uh, without distractions? Phrae and Phayao were pretty ho hum, as I recall. Phayao is slightly more scenic because it has an okay lake. Both places had internet but I can't vouch for the quality. Both places had a Tesco Lotus or something similar, so there's that. Phayao looks like what I was looking for and I can always flee to Chiang Mai if things get overly boring.
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Feb 2, 2014 20:44
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I just bought a round trip ticket to Bangkok... for Tuesday. It was only 500 bucks, so I had to do it. How bad of an idea is going to Cambodia's beaches (Kep/Kampot) this time of the year? Some people say it's hell on earth, but others say it's fine.
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Apr 6, 2014 18:40
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Sheep-Goats posted:The whole region is just a teensy bit warm right now. Yep, but it's not going to be any worse than Southern Thailand or Malaysia, right?
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Apr 6, 2014 18:52
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Tytan posted:If you're planning on going to Koh Tonsay (which has probably the best beach in that area) you might wanna cover up for the boat trip. Other than that drink plenty of water and you'll be fine. I've been down that way plenty of times during the hot season, I doubt it's any worse than other countries in the region. I don't even know yet, so far I only know I'll be landing in Bangkok on Wednesday. I was thinking about heading straight to PP for a couple of days, because I've always wanted to see the killing fields and the genocide museum, and then making my way to Kampot, chilling around that area for a week or two before coming back to Bangkok to meet some friends. Maybe it's a bad idea and I should just stay in Thailand, though. I didn't take into account the crime season.
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Apr 7, 2014 10:21
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^^^ I heard you can also throw grenades at chickens. I was never offered anything other than regular shooting range stuff, though. Well, I'm going to take the risk. I'm from Barcelona, so I'm not an expert in muggings but I should know enough to avoid pickpockets. I booked a couple of nights and I'll get out of Phnom Penh on Friday morning to avoid the weekend rush.
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Apr 7, 2014 16:07
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I've already seen two motorbike accidents in two weeks in Cambodia. One that looked dead to me on my way to Kampot and another one today from Phnom Penh to Battambang that seemed just badly injured. Any way, I enjoyed Kampot a lot for what it was. Kep not so much because it was full of Khmers dumping garbage on the beach and it smelled like poo poo. The seafood is not as good as I was expecting, but that godly pepper makes everything taste delicious. The countryside and the fishing villages were awesome, though, but I really need to learn how to ride a motorbike because bikes are pretty inconvenient. Cambodian bikes are too small for me and I always end up exhausted with my butt hurting from not having the full range of motion.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:02
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CronoGamer posted:Kep beach itself is poo poo, I think I heard they had to import all the sand from Sville anyway? If you're at Kep and wanna go to the beach you have to go out to Rabbit Island Yeah, they told me Kep's sand is not even white, so they bring some trucks from Sihanoukville every few weeks hoping to make it an attractive tourist destination. I think they should focus on keeping it clean first. I didn't go to Rabbit Island because I didn't feel like waking up early, but I biked to Angkoul beach and spent a whole day lying on a hammock, reading and eating shrimps. The beach itself was decent enough (albeit dirty) and the way there along the shore and the salt fields is amazing if you want to see some fishing villages and local farmers. Tytan posted:Ha, I can't get enough of the seafood whenever I'm down that way. Maybe it's from living in PP so long. It wasn't bad by any means and it was worth trying it. I'm a bit spoiled with seafood and maybe I was expecting too much because everybody was telling me it was the best in SE Asia. That reminds me I forgot to buy some Kampot pepper to bring back home
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Apr 21, 2014 19:34
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I guess I'm out of luck because I'm in Battambang right now and I doubt I'll be going to the South again. I'll probably stay around here and Siem Reap a couple more weeks and then I'll take a flight to Chiang Mai. The TSA is not an issue for me, getting it into Istanbul should be easy. PS: I now feel the pain of your avatar 
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Apr 22, 2014 09:05
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Great, I'll make sure to stop by that shop, thanks!
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Apr 22, 2014 10:03
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Thanks for the recommendations! I've only wandered around so far, but I think it's the best city in Cambodia for that. Nice architecture, cool riverside, not too crowded and overall very charming and laid back. I had lunch at Madison but I found it a bit lacking and overpriced. It seems like a good place to go have a drink at night, though. Nary's Kitchen was the opposite, cheap with some of the best fish amok I've had (best fish amok award still goes to Lost Art in Kampot, whose owner is an awesome Australian old man). I might even go back to take one of Nary's cooking classes some day. Today I'm planning to try some street food, but I'll make sure to check Eden and Lotus. Speaking of that, this country needs some sort of street food guide. I find it much harder to find good street food here than in Thailand, it's almost like a lottery. My old "find a crowded place" trick doesn't work here so well. I moved to the Seng Hout for the terrace before even reading your post. I was staying at the Asia Hotel right next to the bus "station" but I only booked a couple of nights and I had to move to another room if I wanted to stay, so I thought I'd try some other place. Totally recommended, the rooms are much nicer than Seng Hout's for the same price. It's a shame it has no bar or terrace to hang out, which is probably a must here in Battambang since everything closes so early.
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Apr 23, 2014 06:00
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Welp, my quest for good street food hit a bump in the road when I had a bland noodle soup and I spent all day feeling all dizzy and nauseous, although the unbearable heat and humidity today might be the ones to blame for that. Still, I'm not giving up just yet: I found a woman frying some glorious patacón-style banana and I'll look for that Canteen tomorrow. I'm also getting swamped by work and it's only going to get worse next month, so I think it's time for me to settle down in Chiang Mai for a while starting next week and get a subscription at one of those fancy coworking places. Kinyei and Eden here in Battambang are perfect to get some work done while sipping good espresso, but I still feel uncomfortable staying so much time working in cafes. No sight of Mormons yet, just heard one Mexican missionary nut job (evangelical I guess) talking some disturbing bullshit while I pretended not to understand. Turning contraception into a sin, exactly what this country needs!  FizFashizzle posted:I've been fired basically so my gf and I are planning our last 3-4 week blowout in south east asia before we head back to the states. Things that are must do I did your Thailand and Cambodia part a few years ago and had a great time. I started in Bangkok, went South stopping on some beaches before taking the ferry to Koh Samui (I liked Khanom the most), then went to Phangan's FMP... I got way too drunk there, got lost and ended up in some random Thai village separated from my friends for a few days, but they went back to Surat Thani and waited for me in Ao Nang while visiting Phi Phi and that stuff. We then took a cheap flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap. I'm not sure how can you link SR and VV or Vietnam, it seems way too spread out for me if money is an issue. tzz fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Apr 24, 2014 |
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Apr 24, 2014 19:33
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ReindeerF posted:On the food note in Battambang, White Lotus is good for a compromise, but if you want market/street food eat inside the middle of the old French market in the center of town. Charcoal stoves and soups and noodles and so on. Good stuff. Cranks up around 06:00 along with the coffee and tea. Hah, I thought you were confusing White Lotus with Lotus, a bar/restaurant/art gallery right in the centre. They do documentary and movie screenings, poetry readings, 2x1 pizza night and other events. Even though some of those are way too artsy for me, it's one of the best places I've found in Battambang to hang out, so thanks for the unintended tip :P The old market is great for some sausages and grilled meat, but it closes down way too early. Down by the Governor's building there's a night market that closes much later where there's some tasty stuff too. I'm leaving tomorrow to Siem Reap so I won't be able to try that White Rose this time, but I can definitely see myself coming back here in the future. I've grown quite fond of this town. Finch! posted:I spend a lot of time working from a bar: https://www.facebook.com/BanyanBarKohTao I've also found that I'm extremely productive working at cafes, especially when working in the mornings while everybody is sleeping in Europe. That's the catch, though, I often have to spend my evenings mailing, skyping and calling people and by that time cafes are either closing or getting full of early drinkers. I'm gonna go to Chiang Mai, stay there a few weeks visiting the surroundings and then I'll see about maybe moving to an island for some more lazy hammock days.
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Apr 27, 2014 17:49
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cent0r posted:It's 30 days by air and 15 on land. Some people say it's 30 days by land too if you are from one of the G7 countries.
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Apr 28, 2014 11:21
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Getting to Chiang Mai from Siem Reap is easy by plane, there are a few daily Air Asia flights. I thought about coming by land but it's a really long trip that only makes sense if you make a few stops on the way.
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May 9, 2014 07:47
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On that note, any recommendation on where to go for a visa run from Chiang Mai for a couple of days?
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May 9, 2014 08:24
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