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Negligent posted:I've been back in Thailand for two days and I'm already sick of mattress designers and/or stingy hoteliers who seem to think that concrete with a thin layer of cardboard is the ideal ergonomics for bedding. This is the way 95% of Thai beds are, the other 4.9% are in nice hotels. My favorite is when you're standing on the bed and your heels make a dent. I once went to MBK to buy a foam pad for my shitbed because I was super cheap back then and didn't want to buy a real one. They didn't sell foam pads so I went into a bed store and ordered one and they gave me some hilariously low price and the ladies were all like "Ohhhhh bed very nice kaa." CronoGamer posted:Any BKK goons had a suit tailored there or have any tailors to recommend? My brother is headed out there over winter break and was thinking about it but doesn't wanna get fleeced so I thought I'd see if you guys knew any reputable ones or had had decent ones (that don't fall apart inside a year/aren't made of polyester) done and could point him to one shop or another. People are too worried about getting fleeced. So long as you pick the tailor instead of just letting some jerk drag you in off the street and so long as you push the price a bit (these aren't usually Thai people, these are Indians, so the gloves come off for bargaining) you'll do fine. The last time I was there I was going to go to Macway where I'd gone before but they were closed so I walked across the street and just went into another one and everything was fine. After the guy gave me his best price I asked if his boss was there and he said no. So I told him that if he could take it down by 1000 more I wouldn't mind if he wrote the receipt for 500 less than he was quoting me now. Not surprisingly he was happy to take that offer. Also don't just get two suits and be proud of yourself. Ten shirts that actually fit are worth a thousand tailored suits. I'm 6'3" so off the rack is usually a choice between a tent body or sleeves that don't reach my wrist and getting tailored shirts for the first time was like the first time I bought one of those little moistened washcloths from the 7-11 in the fridge. Also suits require at least three fittings to do, which means you have to go in there on day one, then give them a day or two to make adjustments, then go in again and give them a day or two, then go in again before they're done. Sometimes it takes more than three. So a lot of visitors can't manage it logistically unless they go there on the first day, go there before leaving Bangkok, and go there and hope everything is right on the last time they're in Bangkok before flying home. I mean, they will just take your measurements and bang a suit together and hand it to you if that's all you have time for, but true tailoring is the process of putting the clothes on someone's body and adjusting from there. There's no substitute for it, and while there are certainly elite tailors that can make an excellent suit or dress for someone off of a set of measurements only those clothes will never be "perfect" the way an actual series of fittings gets things. With that said Reindeer has a tailor that's in MBK that people like and I always forget the name of. Plus it's in MBK so you don't have to get sweaty walking around on the street looking for him. raton fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 05:40
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ReindeerF posted:Fortman would know, I always forget, but there are nicknames for Thai soaps (lakorn) based on the style - something like slappers, screamers, etc. My friend's girlfriend would always say like, "Oh you guys may want to leave, it's a screamer." but I can't remember the nicknames in Thai. I don't watch them either, so I won't be of any use in this regards.
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Nov 17, 2014 06:08
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FortMan posted:I don't watch them either, so I won't be of any use in this regards.
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Nov 17, 2014 06:59
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Just took me a loving hour to find a decent cab driver in Bangkok that didn't flat out refuse me for the audacity of wanting the taximeter to be used, didn't insist on using the highway for a nice little tour around town or didn't want to show me some cool and good shops/prostitutes. Also apparently it's all their first day here and they don't know the big touristy attractions, can't use/understand google maps or any map that is. I'm fuming.
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Nov 17, 2014 07:42
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There's also uber or some taxi apps
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Nov 17, 2014 07:55
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ephex posted:Just took me a loving hour to find a decent cab driver in Bangkok that didn't flat out refuse me for the audacity of wanting the taximeter to be used, didn't insist on using the highway for a nice little tour around town or didn't want to show me some cool and good shops/prostitutes.
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Nov 17, 2014 07:57
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ReindeerF posted:I assume you're either on Lower Sukhumvit, in Silom, around KSR/Rattanakosin, at the river piers or near some of the other tourist attractions? This behavior is unfortunately very common in heavily touristed areas. If you walk around the corner and down the road away from any parked taxis it usually gets better. That's so weird because I didn't run into this problem at all in Bangkok, other parts of Thailand yeah but not Bangkok. One guy even gave me a free lift to KSR because I didn't have the correct change. It was only a 5 minute ride but still... I read on the Internets, you never approach parked taxis.
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Nov 17, 2014 08:15
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The thing is, even when me and my friend said "gently caress it" and got in a Bangkok taxi that didn't use the meter, it still ended up cheap as hell and no hassle. I dunno, maybe we were just lucky, or the drivers just didn't want to deal with 2 drunken/angry/shirt-ripping Brits in their cab. Saying that, yeah we did use to avoid the ones right near the busy tourist places.
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Nov 17, 2014 08:17
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The go over to his window, say where you want to go and the price you will pay method always works for me with the endemically corrupt taxis in Thailand and Bali. If you're not happy, go to the next in the queue. Driver doesn't piss around running up the meter this way. You need to know roughly the going rate though obviously.
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Nov 17, 2014 09:40
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Negligent posted:The go over to his window, say where you want to go and the price you will pay method always works for me with the endemically corrupt taxis in Thailand and Bali. If you're not happy, go to the next in the queue. Driver doesn't piss around running up the meter this way. Remember people only know how to scam or profit more when it comes to jobs. If you ask a shady taxi driver how much he pays for bottled water then he gives you the real price. When you ask the shady store keeper about a typical cab route fare you will get the real answer. So just cross reference the numbers! Lying on a constant basis actually is something very difficult to do
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Nov 17, 2014 10:14
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On the other hand I met a really nice tuktuk driver and he gave me a big tour with all the main temples and buddhas and palaces and waited outside for me. I promised to go to to shops for him afterwards so he got coupons and i went in there and had some fun playing a complete imbecile. Then ofc after the next stop the oval office ditched me instead of driving me home. So I had a nice free tour and he got 200 THB in gasoline coupons, win win imo 
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Nov 17, 2014 11:06
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ephex posted:On the other hand I met a really nice tuktuk driver and he gave me a big tour with all the main temples and buddhas and palaces and waited outside for me. I promised to go to to shops for him afterwards so he got coupons and i went in there and had some fun playing a complete imbecile. Then ofc after the next stop the oval office ditched me instead of driving me home. Sorry it's a loss for you because he didn't keep his end of the bargain. Glad you had fun though
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Nov 17, 2014 11:29
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My taxi driver was nice enough today. He asked me tons of questions that made me feel super awkward, like what my income was and what I paid in rent. Then he told me how much he liked fat white butts and hated his dark wife, but worked seven days a week to support her and his kids anyway.
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Nov 17, 2014 11:32
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One of my friends I was in Thailand with recently had a huge bug in his rear end about always getting the 'right' price. He regularly got in arguments with taxi drivers over demanding they put the meter on, or haggling over 100baht on a fare. I never saw the point, really. The difference between a 200baht and 300baht fare, especially when its split between a couple of westerners, isn't worth the lost time. I'll happily pay a 2euro 'farang tax' for the sake of hopping in the first available taxi, and getting to where I want to go in a timely manner. Considering you're likely dropping a few thousand euro/USD on your holiday its not really worth the hassle in the grand scheme of things. Blut fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 13:47
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In Burma me and my friend negotiated with a taxi driver to take us from the bus "station" to our hotel. Five bucks sounded like an absolute bargain and to be fair we did get our moneys worth as he at least drove round the block for a couple of minutes before coming to a stop exactly where we'd started and pointing to our hotel. Outside Dong Mueng airport we got into a taxi and asked for our hotel. He drove off and started going "two hundred baht ok? ok? ok? ok?" but I was goony and said "METRE PLEASE" and he grumbled and drove around in circles until it was up to 250 then stopped outside our hotel and growled at us. It was 150 back to the airport the next day, bastard. Another one started ranting about how useless the Kings son is and how the country is going to poo poo if he becomes King. He also asked if I like "my Queen" and do I want William or Harry to be next and do I miss Diana? He was weird. I found it easier to jump into a taxi and just say where you're going very clearly and confidently, even if you've got no idea where it is you're going or if that place even exists. It always seemed to be Europeans who would be standing around looking shell shocked trying to haggle with a taxi driver using a battered phrasebook whilst us glorious Brits/Commonwealth/Yanks just hop in and shout in English until poo poo gets done. God I'm so British 
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Nov 17, 2014 13:51
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Say you're walking in the forest and find lying on the ground a beautiful cooked rabbit on a piece of raw red silk. Well how delicious and nice of someone to place that there. But wait! Just over there is another rabbit that has stopped running through the forest and is lying down in front of me and offering me a knife to kill it with. These rabbits are so eager to help me out, surely nothing can go wrong. Why would I ever go a short distance into the woods on my own and try to catch my own rabbit? This parable may or may not have something to do with minimizing taxi hassle in Bangkok. Blut posted:One of my friends I was in Thailand with recently had a huge bug in his rear end about always getting the 'right' price. He regularly got in arguments with taxi drivers over demanding they put the meter on, or haggling over 100baht on a fare. I wouldn't let them ding me an extra hundo when I lived there but if it was 20 over what the meter was going to be I didn't fight. Of course because I'm American if they didn't give me any hassles and just switched on the meter I'd tip them 20B at the end of the ride anyway. There are certain times that you just have to expect that only one in a thousand cabbies will be using their meter and you're just going to have to pay more for your trip. No dodging it. Like almost any time it rains if you're near a hub. raton fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 15:00
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Blut posted:One of my friends I was in Thailand with recently had a huge bug in his rear end about always getting the 'right' price. He regularly got in arguments with taxi drivers over demanding they put the meter on, or haggling over 100baht on a fare. These people truly are the worst tourists.
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Nov 17, 2014 15:14
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Senso posted:These people truly are the worst tourists.  ) or seemed otherwise a bit slow with the meter, and I always felt like it was completely appropriate to give them a little resistance. Of course one should give up before it turns into an argument or fight, though.I also don't necessarily see how it's being a bad tourist to attempt to haggle when appropriate. I was quoted 300 Baht for a ride home from That Street to a Soi in That City, and haggled it down to 200. Even 200 was ridiculous and I knew it, but it doesn't do any good to just pay obscene prices without a question.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:04
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Pilsner posted:I don't haggle much myself, nor does getting scammed ruin my vacation, but is it really being a "worst tourist" to ask them to put their meter on? Or would you just call it a waste of time in Thailand? Last time I was in Philippines I was rather firm towards some of the taxi drivers that had "no change" (*pats trouser pockets* Engaging in 20 seconds of quick 'friendly' haggling before a fare is fine. But when it becomes 2/3 minutes, or involves going to multiple taxis in a row (and it happens repeatedly) it just gets annoying to put up with. If the taxi driver really wants to screw you anyway he'll just agree to put the meter on and drive around in circles for a while.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:22
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By no means an expert, but in general you can take tuk-tuks for about half of what they originally quote, and in general taxis are just better in every way (while in Bangkok). I had one non-metered taxi in Phitsanulok whose price I agreed upon as we drove rather than risk getting kicked outta my taxi over meter arguing. Whatever happens, coming from London, every taxi service of any kind is disgustingly cheap here. My experience was universally better if I flagged a driver already on the road fwiw. Drivers parked around the sights are just waiting for that fat tourist bounty. Walk 5 minutes away. duckmaster posted:I found it easier to jump into a taxi and just say where you're going very clearly and confidently, even if you've got no idea where it is you're going or if that place even exists. It always seemed to be Europeans who would be standing around looking shell shocked trying to haggle with a taxi driver using a battered phrasebook whilst us glorious Brits/Commonwealth/Yanks just hop in and shout in English until poo poo gets done. It was all fun and games until I pronounced Si-lom as Sai-lom.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:40
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Pilsner posted:I don't haggle much myself, nor does getting scammed ruin my vacation, but is it really being a "worst tourist" to ask them to put their meter on? Or would you just call it a waste of time in Thailand? Last time I was in Philippines I was rather firm towards some of the taxi drivers that had "no change" (*pats trouser pockets* My main issue is people getting angry because they had to pay $2 more for a taxi ride and taking it personally. It's ok to haggle a bit when you know the prices but being quoted a little bit more than what locals would pay is not getting scammed. If someone says a really ridiculous price, just laugh and leave, no need to get butthurt. In Saigon I would tell drivers when they started taking a longer route, just so they knew I wasn't fooled. but they always put the meter and in the end, I paid what was on it because who cares about $3 when I make 20X his salary.
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Nov 17, 2014 17:30
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Okay, I agree. Speaking of taxi haggling, any quick tips for not getting scammed from Phnom Penh airport to the city (riverside-ish), and from Ho Chi Minh airport to District 1 (I think I will stay around there)? Going there in February.
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Nov 17, 2014 19:53
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Pilsner posted:Okay, I agree. Unless things have changed recently, there's a flat fare for cabs from the airport, tickets sold right outside arrivals. It's a lot more than a tuk-tuk would cost, but you're not getting "ripped off" per se. Some googling tells me that as of this year the fare to the Wat Phnom or Riverside area is $9, whereas anywhere else it's $12, but they may try to give you a $12 ticket just because they can. Try to insist that you're just going to the riverside and should have the cheaper ticket. They offer tickets for tuktuks for cheaper too, but if it's still like it was a few years ago, if you want a tuktuk you can walk outside of the parking area and catch one there for probably around $6. But a taxi driver will probably get you to your hotel more reliably.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:03
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Uber! Or pre-arrange a pick up? It's not a scam if you know the details beforehand and not get led on a wild goose chase. Think most airports though do have a standard rate or some sort of standardized system.Senso posted:My main issue is people getting angry because they had to pay $2 more for a taxi ride and taking it personally. It's ok to haggle a bit when you know the prices but being quoted a little bit more than what locals would pay is not getting scammed. If someone says a really ridiculous price, just laugh and leave, no need to get butthurt. Yeah getting angry is dumb. Better to smile, call off people's bull poo poo and walk away. I did lose my cool once. It was a tuk tuk from Arranyapathet train station to the Thailand/Cambodia Border in Poipet. The driver took me to a fake visa place and then asked for a tip afterwards and also tried to drop us off before we reached our destination. Oh he also got mad at me when I told everyone in the train about the scammy visa service and insisted on standardized rates for everyone.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:06
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caberham posted:Uber! Or pre-arrange a pick up? It's not a scam if you know the details beforehand and not get led on a wild goose chase. Think most airports though do have a standard rate or some sort of standardized system. Do they even have Uber in Cambodia? Highly doubtful but I could be wrong... pre-arranging pick-up would be far more hassle than it'd be worth I think.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:15
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Call the hostel/guesthouse in advance. Cambodia is the cheaper country but I think the major cities are richer every year so things hopefully would be more laid out
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Nov 17, 2014 20:17
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caberham posted:Think most airports though do have a standard rate or some sort of standardized system. In Manila, again the first time there, I stood in line for a metered taxi, and I did see the meter display some numbers going up and down.... I thought to myself "Hmmm", but didn't really know what to think. When we arrived, he pressed a magical button, and it suddenly said around 700 pesos. Oh well, lesson learned. In other cities in Phili I got great prices, though. The cheapest was Davao, like 150 pesos for ½ hour drive. That's thrice the starter fee in my country. 
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Nov 17, 2014 20:32
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If you're going to argue about taxi meter prices, make sure to do it like this idiot American expat who reportedly lost his mind over a meter argument for a few Baht: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srjrPsfbXq8 No one should ever be killed and blah blah and so on, but drat if that guy wasn't provoking the poo poo out of the taxi driver. Arguing over a tiny fare, yelling at him, refusing to pay, getting out of the taxi and then throwing coffee in the guy's face. You know, if you have a problem in a case where you legit think the meter is rigged in Bangkok (it almost never, ever is), then just pay and chalk it up - pay and get out. There will always be another taxi. These guys live rough lives and sleep in their cars and have people berating them all day and sit in traffic so if you violently provoke them you can get in some serious poo poo. I've seen them get out of taxis, block traffic and go after a car with a tire iron just for honking at them too long. Pilsner posted:I felt kinda welcome and safe in Suvarnabhumi in Thailand, where you walk up to a counter, say where you're going, and get that "anti-scam" paper slip and everything. However, as soon as I entered the taxi, he had a towel covering the meter, and when I asked "how much", he said 600 Baht, and I being totally green said "OK". This is why people often recommend you go to departures and snag a taxi that's dropping someone off. Avoid the queue and the potential scams and the fee - it's quicker and cheaper. They crack down periodically, though, so it can be hard sometimes. Personally, I take the train unless I'm in a massive hurry. I also saw that thing mentioned above about not going through multiple taxis. If that doesn't happen to you, you don't live in Bangkok. That's totally normal and it's a major beef that Thai people have with local taxis. They routinely refuse to take you places because of heavy traffic or far away at the end of their shift or whatever. Sometimes they'll try to say, "Okay, I'll do it for XXX." or whatever, which I don't mind as it's up front. You know, if it's 03:00 and I want you to drive to Nonthaburi I don't mind paying a little extra, that's fair. Anyway, point being, if you live here you will routinely have to flag down taxi after taxi to get to where you're going. It's totally normal.
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Nov 17, 2014 23:57
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ReindeerF posted:If you're going to argue about taxi meter prices, make sure to do it like this idiot American expat who reportedly lost his mind over a meter argument for a few Baht: I was just going to say going apeshit at a driver in a foreign country is a great way to get yourself stabbed. It must be a real bummer dying for $1.60.
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Nov 18, 2014 03:55
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How are taxis in Vietnam? The three hubs on my trip are Saigon, Da Nang, and Hanoi. Go to war like Cebu, or chill like I do here in Korea?
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Nov 18, 2014 07:46
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Bangkok traffic on a daily basis would drive most people mad so no wonder they end up being drunk or a tad unfriendly.
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Nov 18, 2014 09:13
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Maxsmart posted:How are taxis in Vietnam? The three hubs on my trip are Saigon, Da Nang, and Hanoi. Vinasun and Mahlin are reputable, so reputable in fact that other companies use their colours and livery to piggyback on their reputation. Any other car taxi is a crapshoot. Xe oms are motorbike taxis and they range from super cool dudes to sex predators. That said, smoking a bamboo bong of Thai weed then rushing across Saigon in heavy traffic and taking sidewalk shortcuts with your xe om driver is a once in a lifetime experience not to be missed.
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Nov 18, 2014 09:41
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Horatius Bonar posted:Vinasun and Mahlin are reputable, so reputable in fact that other companies use their colours and livery to piggyback on their reputation. Any other car taxi is a crapshoot. Yeah, every time I got in a Mailinh taxi they put the meter straight on without us having to ask. They never hosed about with the route either - straight from A to B.
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Nov 18, 2014 10:35
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Maxsmart posted:How are taxis in Vietnam? The three hubs on my trip are Saigon, Da Nang, and Hanoi. I've never been north of Hue but two years in Saigon and I had an argument once (1) with a taxi driver. 95% of the time they take the direct route I would have taken if driving. I remember a Vinasun driver who would pop in a CD of rock and roll every time me or my wife randomly happened to get him. Of course that applies only to Vinasun and Mai Linh - the others are hit or miss. I had good experiences with them too but I also remember one time a grey taxi that had a meter on steroids. Vinasun/Mai Linh in Hue, Nha Trang and other places were the same. At the airport it's pretty straightforward, you have dedicated areas for taxis and employees of both companies (who generally speak better English than the drivers) asking people where they go, writing down the address and giving it to the taxi drivers. It might take some time and you will definitely be bumped out of the queue by a large family of locals carrying styrofoam boxes of squid but that's life. I think it's fair to say that Vietnam has pretty standardized their taxi business and the horror stories are now very uncommon. That said, I'd recommend using xe om most of the times, it's faster, cheaper and much more fun. Just wear a baseball cap or something to have between your head and the cheap helmet they'll offer you. People generally said to offer them about half of what it would cost you by taxi, once you know the fares. I would always go above that because most of these guys sleep in the streets and who cares about $1 more.
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Nov 18, 2014 15:31
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I've learned that taxis in KL pretty much require some sort of app now. Seriously almost the only taxis that aren't registered with MyTeksi or Easy Taxi are the ones that don't speak English (almost anywhere else in SEA this would be fine but it's KL, if you interact with tourists everyday and have no English and barely any Malay, I don't even know what) and don't know where anywhere apart from the most famous tourist sites are and don't have any kind of GPS. They also pretty much all 'don't have' or only have a broken meter. I'm definitely not bitter about losing my phone to a swimming pool last weekend and having to get around without a phone for a couple of days.
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Nov 18, 2014 16:00
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Motorbike taxis in Bangkok are pretty decent as well, actually. They usually quote decent prices and you get to where you're going 5x faster than by car. (You just might die along the way) Edit: I had a taxi driver in KL try to tell me that the big gently caress off sign on their cars actually means that using the meter is illegal and they have to haggle (the opposite of what it actually says). He said my English must be really poor to misunderstand the sign so badly 
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Nov 18, 2014 16:01
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Overall, I've heard that Vietnam is fairly safe. Is it safer/less safe than Cebu and the Philippines? I ask because I'm solo all the time while traveling.
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Nov 18, 2014 16:21
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Maxsmart posted:Overall, I've heard that Vietnam is fairly safe. Is it safer/less safe than Cebu and the Philippines? I ask because I'm solo all the time while traveling. Vietnam is fine. I mean sure there was that one time I was about 10m away from a guy trying to kill someone with a machete, but that was an isolated incident.
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Nov 18, 2014 16:38
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Maxsmart posted:Overall, I've heard that Vietnam is fairly safe. Is it safer/less safe than Cebu and the Philippines? I ask because I'm solo all the time while traveling. As mentioned earlier your most likely mode of death will be by motorbike.
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Nov 18, 2014 17:04
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Pilsner posted:Speaking of taxi haggling, any quick tips for not getting scammed from Phnom Penh airport to the city (riverside-ish), and from Ho Chi Minh airport to District 1 (I think I will stay around there)? Going there in February. SGN is more complicated, you need to find the Vinasun guy at the taxi pickup area (dude in a white uniform off to the side), he's legit and will set you up with a good taxi. If you just jump in any waiting taxi chances of getting scammed are 100%.
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Nov 18, 2014 17:16
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