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Might want to throw something up in the OP about vaccinations and antimalarials (including whether or not to bother with them). I had a bunch of shots for a RTW trip the other day, and I think most of them were for Africa, but you'd definitely want hepatitis and diptheria/tetanus for SE Asia, if you don't already have them just for living at home (you should). I haven't decided on antimalarials yet, so if anyone wants to discuss experiences with those I'd be interested to hear. Specifically the part about side effects being as bad as the disease itself.Falco posted:Everyone says that May/June is the hot and rainy season. I really don't think the temperatures change all that much at all from December to June. Yes it did rain while I was there, but it was usually in the afternoon and it would rain for an hour maybe two and stop. It was pretty refreshing when it would rain, and it made for a good excuse to take a break and read for a bit. I think I would much rather deal with a little rain than the mass amounts of people traveling around during December/January. There were still plenty of people there when I went. This is good to hear, I'm going to be there from late April to early June and I wasn't looking forward to torrential downpour.
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Jan 30, 2010 01:35
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The Wildcard posted:What's the current visa situation? I thought I had it down, and then I read that it's changed recently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_United_States_citizens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_British_citizens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Canadian_citizens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Australian_citizens No articles for Irish or Kiwis, so you'll have to do your own research if you're either. Vietnam and Burma are really the only ones that are wary of Westerners, though. MR18inches posted:But anyway I was planning a trip to somewhere in Asia, (maybe Korea or Japan as well), and my question is: which place would I go to have the most likelyhood of scoring (prostitution excluded)?. I've heard stories from friends about Japanese girls who go crazy over American guys. 
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Jan 31, 2010 04:45
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Sheep-Goats posted:Now, a note about malaria pills. Don't get loving malaria pills unless you're literally going to be living in the jungle for a month straight. They are totally unnecessary for casual travelers in the region who will spend most of their time in busses, on beaches, and in the cities. I wouldn't take them in Thailand, but what about Laos, and southern China? I mean, I'm going to end up taking them anyway because I'm more inclined to listen to my doctor than people on the Internet, but basically I wish malaria didn't exist.
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Feb 1, 2010 03:23
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Sheep-Goats posted:Doctors constantly have to guess, they very rarely know anything for sure, and knowing his background will allow you to weigh what he's saying vs. what you're hearing here a bit better. This isn't my regular GP, it's a specialist travel doctor I had to go see because his clinic is the only one in my city that can do yellow fever vaccinations (which is for the African leg of my trip, not the Asian one, before anyone pegs me as a hypochondriac). Come to think of it I can't remember if he was absolutely reccomending anti-malarials for SE Asia, or just for Africa and South America. I have some more shots again on Friday so I'll doublecheck. Although I wouldn't mind trying them out to see how my body handles it in Asia before I get to Africa.
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Feb 1, 2010 12:12
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Hey, anybody entered Thailand overland recently? I'm planning to fly into KL and take the train north, but I've heard that an overland entry (rather than a plane entry) cuts your visa length down to 15 days, which would suck.
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Feb 3, 2010 03:09
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Bulging Nipples posted:When I was in Thailand I had a ton of people scoff at my one week trip, telling me I wasn't seeing the true Thailand cause I wasn't backpacking for a month. Maybe in a way they are right, but you know what? gently caress them. It's YOUR vacation. Urggh nothing pisses me off more than smug backpackers telling other people about the ONLY way to travel.
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Feb 11, 2010 02:05
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VISA HASSLE FUN! Vietnam: Does Vietnam have a 90-day period of validity from date of issue, so you can jsut show up and activate it (by entering the country) as long as you do it within three months? Or is it just your 30 days of being in the country for the dates you specify on your application form, enter no earlier and exit no later, absolutely inflexible? Thailand: Because we're entering overland (15 days) we decided to apply here in Australia beforehand, but the consulate demands a photocopy of our air ticket to "make sure" the dates match up or some bullshit. We haven't booked tickets yet (not going til April, waiting for prices to fluctuate) and I tried explaining this but apparently it's a hard and fast rule. This seems like bullshit to me. I'd understand if they wanted to see evidence we were LEAVING the country, but not that we will be ENTERING the country. Why the hell would I apply for a visa if I wasn't really going?
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Feb 25, 2010 08:28
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What powers sockets do countries in the region use? American? Wikipedia has a loving enormous article with maps but it's next to useless because it includes every single type of socket that can be found anywhere in the country, even if like 95% of them are European or whatever. I want to pick up a universal adaptor, but can't find one anywhere in this city.
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Mar 9, 2010 07:26
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Sheep-Goats posted:http://www.travel-images.com/electric-plugs.html That link also lists multiple plugs per country... is that actually the case? Before I went to Korea I heard they used both American and European, and bought both, and then never once saw an American plug anywhere in the country. I seriously can't find a universal adaptor anywhere in this city, I'm going to try to find one in KL or Bangkok.
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Mar 10, 2010 13:45
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But when you're withdrawing local currency you'll get hit by both the exchange rate and your bank's fee for withdrawing overseas (even here in Australia I have to pay $2 just for the privilege of using another bank's ATM). So you want to withdraw in bulk. Not $600 bulk, but definitely $200 or $300 at a time.
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Mar 12, 2010 12:25
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What are the best islands in Thailand? My best friend and I are flying into Singapore at the end of April and will be working our way north, and so far the only cool place appears to be Ko Tarutao National Marine Park. Everywhere else appears to be uber-developed and swamped in tourists. I don't expect to find any undiscovered wonders in Thailand, but are there some places that are at least less developed than Phuket and Ko Phi Phi? Oh by the way neither of us gives a gently caress about nightlife, we just want cool beaches and jungle and snorkelling.
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Mar 15, 2010 14:18
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I got my Thai visa the other day and there was a picture of the king hanging on the wall at the consulate. My first impression was that he looks like the classic kind of weedy, spoilt young kid who just sort of grew into the role on his father's coat tails. Counterpoint?
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Mar 24, 2010 17:06
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Read an article in the paper today predicting that the government of Thailand will fall in a few weeks, when I'll be in Bangkok. Thoughts? Whether it does or not I'm not concerned for my safety, but my already xenophobic/paranoid relatives will be, which will be annoying.
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Apr 17, 2010 11:49
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Laopooh posted:If I don't have time, can I apply in person at that country's embassy in a non-US country? Yes, almost always. Russia in a notable exception. Maybe there's others but I'm not aware of any in SE Asia. Now, I have a day in Singapore on the 28th between my flight landing at 3 am and my sleeper train leaving at 10 pm. What should I do? For no money?
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Apr 22, 2010 15:29
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What I've been reading is "poor rural people kicking up a fuss because they think the government is elitist," which I read as "Thailand Tea Party." Tell me I'm wrong?
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Apr 23, 2010 14:12
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So I've been in Thailand for about a week and pretty loving disappointed. We came in by train from Malaysia and went to Ko Lipe, Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi and now we're in Phuket (which is a wretched hive of scum and villainy). It's beautiful and gorgeous... until you get close, and see the rubbish and filth all over the beaches, and the degradation of the coral reefs. All the marine life is dead and all the coral is bleached. Ko Phi Phi has some amazing landscapes, but there's rubbish on even the most secluded beaches and a layer of scum and filth on the water for the first 20 metres or so off-shore. This is somehow worse than a crummy beach elsewhere in the world; you can tell that it USED to be beautiful, but it was ruined long since. 90% of the Western tourists here are Europeans and North Americans who a) don't know what a good beach looks like b) are wasted half the time so don't care anyway. I seriously don't get the appeal of flying halfway around the world just to get trashed and buy cheap poo poo. Also Phuket is a loving appalling place full of sports bars with old Western men and Thai girls, or hawkers trying to sell you poo poo. We're imagining Bangkok to basically be a larger version and will be heading to Cambodia as soon as we can. I could put up with the heat, the hawkers and the squalor if only there were some kind of redeeming features; something awesome or beautiful.
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May 6, 2010 15:16
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Let me repeat myself:freebooter posted:I could put up with the heat, the hawkers and the squalor if only there were some kind of redeeming features; something awesome or beautiful. I'm aware that I'm firmly on the beaten tourist track, but getting to the more remote islands is difficult and pricey in low season (and since this had to be synchronised with a much longer RTW trip, no, I couldn't time it for high season).
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May 6, 2010 19:05
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Steve. posted:It's not *that* hard - $84 buys a plane ticket tomorrow from Phuket to Koh Samui, and a further 250 baht will get you to Koh Phangan or another 550 baht will get you to Koh Tao. I meant places like Ko Libong, Ko Bulon etc. we wanted to go to those but the boat services closed literally the day bfore we got to Ko Lipe. Anyway I've figured that Thailand may have what we want, but Cambodia will have the same for cheaper, so we may as well head there. Also, with regards to squalor: I get that in some or these places there's no regular trash service, but seriously, how can you live in your own filth like that? Couldn't you get everyone together, gather the rubbish in one place and burn it or bury it? It would be a temporary fix, sure, but it's better than living with trash strewn about your front yard. Virtually anything would be.
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May 7, 2010 06:49
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Sheep-Goats posted:My point is that of all the loving fantastic things there are in Thailand you're focused entirely on a few pieces of trash that are spoiling your beach. It's not just that, it's the fact that the reefs are all dead and bleached, the marine life is gone and (on phi phi) there's a gross chemical slick within twenty metres of shore. It's not absolutely terrible, but it's certainly not worth my time and money. I'm from Western Australia, I have pretty high standards for beaches. quote:I've already played the role of the jerk in response to what you posted before so you're surely not going to listen to me now, but just in case you are, I'd very heavily suggest that you ask "What is there here that I get / do / get away with?" rather than "What is there here that can play the part of the square peg for this square hole I'm carrying around with me?" Fair enough, because I honestly don't know exactly what I do want. I just know that it's not the Phuket get-drunk-go-shopping-bang-hookers lifestyle. I'm not here for some kind of cultural experience either; I used to live and work in Korea and I have no interest in immersing myself in Asian society. I suppose I'm here for landscapes. Or... not just that, I don't know, I already said I don't know. part of the fun is figuring out. Anyway I'm not going to say I hate Thailand, because I know I've only seen a miniscule part of it, but I am moving on and trying Cambodia.
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May 7, 2010 09:36
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According to Wikitravel, Laos has just very recently (Feb 2010) opened visa-on-arrival facilities at the Cambodian land border crossing. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
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May 18, 2010 03:47
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Pompous Rhombus posted:That would be cool if they did; otherwise you can still cross there if you get your Lao visa in advance at an embassy/consulate. I'm already kicking around in PP for a week waiting for my chinese visa, don't want to stick around another week on top of that.
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May 18, 2010 11:27
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Pompous Rhombus posted:A week, wtf? I got my Chinese visa in person in Bangkok same day, had a travel agent do my Lao visa in Hanoi overnight as well. Well, 3 days. And my friend applied after I did because he was sick on the day he went in, which stretched it out. But aaaanyway we've decided not to go to Laos because travelling through Vietnam looks to be a lot faster... and since we're in Vietnam we've returned to our earlier idea of riding motorycles through it. And since you're the resident godlord on that topic I'll send you a PM.
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May 18, 2010 18:23
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I just had a loving fantastic time in Kampot ripping up the countryside on a dirtbike. If you ever go, don't rent from Sean Lr or the other dude, their bikes are terrible. Go to a restaurant called the Rusty Keyhole, which is just outside of town on a trail off the road to kep, big sign, can't miss it. The English dude who owns it, named Kristian, rents good-quality bikes for $15 for 24 hours.Tolain posted:edit: I see a topic on motorcycling in the OP, but the link doesn't work I'm in Saigon right now buying bikes with my best friend. We talked to a pair of English guys who were chargin$g $400 for a really good quality Minsk and $300 for a much shitter one. You can apparently get them for as low as $200 but they're probably pieces of poo poo that will need a good overhaul; you're best off buying from other Westerners who've done the same thing and now want to offload the bike, because you can tell whether they're on the level or not better than the Vietnamese. I'll let you know how it goes anyway. These are 125cc two-strokes, by the way, since Vietnam has some kind of embargo on larger bikes and costs are therefore significantly higher; you're looking at $1000 for a 250cc. As far as I can tell it's difficult and expensive to get a bike across the Vietnamese border in either direction, but it's supposed to be much easier with Thailand/Cambodia/Laos. edit: Oh, and if you're more interested in renting, prices from Flamingo Tours in Hanoi are $35 a day for a Honda XR250, $20 a day for a Yamaha or Honda 125cc, and $10 a day for a Minsk. freebooter fucked around with this message at 17:46 on May 25, 2010 |
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May 25, 2010 17:41
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Nope. The owner was actually the most straight-up, friendly person I've yet met on this trip. On the other hand I'm in Saigon now and just looked at some motorcycles a really weird British guy was selling. We mentioned that we were considering buying some off another Brit who just rode them down from Hanoi - a really friendly, likeable guy - and this dude just went off, calling him a loving oval office and accusing him of moving in on his business and saying that the Vietnamese mafia would kill him. If you're ever in the region, don't buy from Kevin Raven.
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May 27, 2010 05:49
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Yesterday I had my first day of riding a motorcycle through Vietnam, in this case from Saigon to Vung Tau. An absolutely awesome way to travel. Although Vung Tau is an odd choice for a beach town, since it seems to be on Vietnam's biggest shipping lane. Also the town regularly experiences rolling blackouts so we had no power or water between 6 am and 7 pm.
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May 31, 2010 15:35
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I flew Perth to Singapore with Tiger a few months ago and it was absolute agony. I don't know if all budget airlines are the same, but I will never do it again. Ever.
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Jun 9, 2010 07:32
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I suppose it was worth the money I saved, but the non-reclinable seat is a perfect L shape (human spines aren't shaped like that), my knees were crammed up against the seat in front of me (I'm six foot), and it was between 9.30 pm and 3.00 am. Sleep was impossible and I then spent nine hours wandering around Singapore with my backpac on trying to find a hostel that wasn't booked out. An atrocious start to my RTW trip.
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Jun 9, 2010 07:45
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Steve. posted:Ouch! That's pretty average. In fact, that's very average... hope the trip is better now than it was! My most recent mode of transport was riding a motorcycle up a foggy mountain in drenching raiin, freezing cold and with all my stuff getting soaked. (Other than that, travel by motorbike is awesome).
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Jun 9, 2010 11:28
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I remember when I fretted about my Thai visa, making sure I applied for a 60-day one back home, because I didn't think the 15-day overland arrival visa would be anywhere near enough time. Then I actually got to Thailand, said "this is appalling," and left 10 days later.
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Jun 11, 2010 03:32
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Had my first motorbike accident yesterday. Was out on some dusty little mountain trail enroute to Pleiku and this woman comes flying around the corner on a scooter screaming at me in Vietnamese and we struck each other a glancing blow and both came off. Not sure whose fault it was - maybe mine, I think as an Australian I might have instinctively veered left. She came out of it all right, but my clutch had snapped clean off, my gear lever was bent and so were the handlebars. I nursed it further up the track to where my friends were and we spent an hour dickering with drunken Vietnamese men to try and get my clutch fixed. By the time we did, the rains had come in, and we had to ride 50 k's to Pleiku down a muddy trail soaking wet. It was one of those days I hated at the time but will look back on as a classic memory. By the way, does anyone know what the deal is with all the rolling blackouts along the coast in Vietnam?
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Jun 17, 2010 02:38
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I've heard that amongst travellers in SE Asia today Vietnam tends to be unpopular compared to the other countries, and I'm interested to here if that's widely true, because it's certainly how I feel now. I can't quite put my finger on it. The Vietnamese seem to lack any kind of intuition or lateral thinking, which makes it much harder to communicate across the language barrier than usual; the customer service is terrible; there are blackouts every second day and nobody seems to care (as opposed to Kampot, Cambodia, where they actually used problem-solving skills and bought generators); the traffic is horrendous... I dunno. Am I just a whiner? I've definitely heard from other people that Vietnam is the lowlight of Indochina, if not all of SE Asia (personally I hated Thailand far more).
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Jun 29, 2010 18:05
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Ditto. I've spent most of the past few days in fairly remote regions along the Lao border, near Khe San, although I've spent very little time scooting around on my motorcycle and a lot more time pushing it to mechanics. It's pretty much the same wherever. I've been here more than a month now and I'm just tired of the place and want to be gone. Of course the next country I'm going to is China, which one goon described as "like a goblin camp from Lord of the Rings."
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Jun 30, 2010 03:11
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I wouldn't say Vietnam is any more dangerous than Korea. The Vietnamese (particularly the North Vietnamese) are rude, unhelpful and unfriendly, but they're not hostile.
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Jul 6, 2010 12:54
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Pompous Rhombus posted:People were inviting me to toke up from their big peace pipe things, sitting down to eat with me and trying to have a friendly conversation with charades/pointing, giving me free minor repairs on my Minsk, etc. Every time my Minsk breaks down (which is literally every day) it takes 1 to 2 hours to find someone who won't turn their nose up at it. Sometimes it's just a disgusted shake of the head, sometimes it's "Noooh" (their favourite word) and sometimes it's even "gently caress off." I realised the other night that I've been giving Vietnam a hard time, because I was talking to an Irish guy who lives in Saigon and he made me realise that it's only in the northern half that I've been having a bad experience. In the south they'e friendlier - not on the same level as Cambodia, but much better than the north, where literally every hotel and guesthouse I've stayed at has had staff that only barely manage to restrain themselves from spitting in my face. I'm really looking forward to leaving this country and moving on to... gently caress, China.
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Jul 6, 2010 14:21
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Yeah but Australia also fought in Vietnam. I do think the reason northerners are less friendly is to do with the war, I just can't fgure out how or why. Politically and socially, all of Vietnam has been North Vietnam for the last thirty-five years. You'd have to be in your mid forties to remember that war. And the north sees just as many tourists as the south. ReindeerF posted:Where Can I Hate Next? I loved Japan and I liked Cambodia.
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Jul 7, 2010 02:34
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I got mugged in suburban Australia, in the middle of the day. I am generalising, yeah. I've met plenty of North Vietnamese who were really friendly and nice and helpful. It just feels like they're the minority. And I also really dislike Thailand - it's just a monstrous tourist-processing machine, at least everywhere I went.
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Jul 8, 2010 12:00
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C-Euro posted:Oh God I leave tomorrow They accept both American and European. In fact I think that's the case all over SE Asia.
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Jul 15, 2010 15:21
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Well, definitely a trip to Halong Bay. It's one of the things you're better off booking a tour with in advance, as the jetty in the town you embark from looked like a madhouse; seemed like the kind of place you'd wind up getting ripped off. I went with Ocean Tours (I think that was their name) for a 2 day/1 night trip, who were quite good. I did a $98 2 day/3 night tour last week, and it was a goddamn nightmare. Part of it was just me - I absolutely hate guided tours, hate being told what to do and when to do it, and this all came directly after six weeks of riding from Saigon to Hanoi, where I had absolute freedom every day - but it was also just a real shady operation. The kicker, for me, was the fact that they don't actually hire a boat until you arrive at the pier. Seriously. You have to sit around waiting for an hour while your tour company secures a vessel. That wasn't just my tour guide, that was everyone's. It's definitely worth doing your research and asking a lot of questions. Ask about the itnierary, ask where you get to kayak, ask which bays you'll be visiting, etc. Maybe even look into going to Cat Ba on your own and doing it independently.
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Jul 27, 2010 03:09
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I think mine was called AST or something. It's definitely a pain in the rear end and an absolutely confusing mess. I can't think of any place where doing your research pays off more than Ha Long Bay, and I really wish I'd done that instead of letting my friend just book tickets straight out of our hotel while I was upstairs with a migraine.
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Jul 27, 2010 08:00
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Yeah, jeans are the one thing I was told over and over again not to take backpacking, but I took them anyway and absolutely don't regret it. In fact I wish I had another pair.
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Jul 29, 2010 02:55
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