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Travel The MEGA Travel Thread!

like everywhere in the world there is some corruption in the police force. i experienced some first hand in thailand ... got involved with a pretty seedy crowd .. cant generalise from that one experience though.
 
versd said:
Depends which area, on the smaller islands (which IMO are more fun) you can expect to live in some decent accommodation for $25 USD a night (depending on whether its peak season or not), meals are approx $4-5USD each. if you want to stay in a hotel, then expect to pay a fair bit more.

extracurricular activity costs depends on what you do.

scooter hire per day works out to be around $6USD per day, gas is pretty cheap too. drinks are around $1USD per beer if not cheaper, cocktails youre looking at $2-3USD.
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$25 USD a night for accomodation? For a nice hotel maybe but you can pay much much less.

$4-5 for a meal? Try more like a dollar. You obviously only ate in tourist restaurants, it's all about the street food and the local cafes where a dollar will get you a tasty local dish and a drink.

chrissie said:
I always thought it was cheaper there but I guess the dollar has suffered a lot in recent years.
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It is cheaper than that. You can stay in private rooms in hostels and guesthouses which are usually a very high standard with aircon and ensuite for between $10-$20 in Bangkok and most other places a private room in a guest house will cost you around $5 a night again with all mod cons. If you don't mind sharing them a dorm room from between $3-$10 depends on quality and location.

Food is incredibly cheap and amazingly good. Like I said $1 will get you a meat dish, with rice and a drink. The portions aren't huge but they'll do.

junctionalfunkie said:
I might go back to Plan A, which was Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Anyone ever taught/lived in Vietnam?
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Have you been to Saigon before? If not I'd recommend visiting first to see what you think.

I've been twice and the first time round was OK because it was only for 3 days and I spent one of those at Mekong Delta and other at Cu Chi tunnels. The second time was for around 12 days and I hated every second of it. It's a horrible city, depressing, more over crowded than you can imagine, pollution and traffic is insane, noise levels through the roof, people aren't particularly friendly, there's not really much to do. One of the worst places I've visited in SE Asia but I wasn't overly impressed with Vietnam on the whole, there were good parts (Halong Bay, Nha Trang, war museums n history etc) but found everywhere just too busy and chaotic and not in a good way like some Asian cities can be. Saigon doesn't have that energy or excitement like say Bangkok does for example, it just comes across as being too crowded.

Apparently it has the highest wages in SE Asia for teaching though so that's a consideration if money motivates you. Personally I'd go to Thailand or Cambodia over Vietnam anyday. Much nicer places (Laos is too though not sure I'd like to live there), friendlier and just a better vibe in both countries I feel.

I plan to move to Thailand in the near future. I'll probably be back there as well as Cambodia and Laos for a few months near the end of the year but I won't revisit Vietnam.
 
^ was my first time, went around with some locals afterwards and you're right, its a lot cheaper. the accommodation i was staying at was during ultra peak season and about 1 minute off the main beach. it was great.
 
I'm going to get my TESL certification in Florence, Italy this September.

Anyone familiar with the ITTT school (International TESOL Teacher Training) tesolcourse.com ?

Is there a website that objectively rates the various schools for TESL certification?

TheSpade said:
Have you been to Saigon before? If not I'd recommend visiting first to see what you think.
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Noted. Short of a flat-out civil war there, Bangkok is where I'll start out. :)
 
I've been thinking about going back to Thailand to teach, as I have few good options here in the US.

I lived there for 10 months as an exchange student, and was able to live in relative poverty by giving up all basic amenities and living on cheap vendor food. Bangkok is not my cup of tea, I would take the islands or Chiang Mai over that any day.

I knew many teachers that seemed to be doing fine financially, basically adapting to a lower living standard for the sake of the adventure. Ajarn.com is the place to look at job postings, and it'll give you an idea of what's out there and what kind of pay is available (City>provinces).
 
As a skinny 17-year-old white kid, it was incredible to see all these people staring at me like I walked out of a celebrity magazine. This is less common in big cities, but being a farang is still pretty cool.

As for education, I learned nothing. The language barrier was too great. However, I did party my ass off and come to some profound revelations in temples and on the beach.
 
The first time I visited Bangkok I hated it but I've now been several times and I love it. It's a fascinating city full of energy, hidden gems, amazing sights and a fantastic nightlife. Thailand is amazing on a whole. I will live there at some point I'm sure of it.
 
^ Nice! ... Northern India also had Gem/jewellery shops that blew my mind! You should consider going there if you’re into Gems ...

I once saw a hooker push a Farang off a four story building in Bangkok.

The body landed about 2-3 meters infront of me while I was waiting for my bus ....

Shit some of those girls are fucking venomous.... There's no way that guy survived his face resembled a smashed tomato when the ambulance finally came.
 
8ft-Sativa said:
I once saw a hooker push a Farang off a four story building in Bangkok.

The body landed about 2-3 meters infront of me while I was waiting for my bus ....

Shit some of those girls are fucking venomous.... There's no way that guy survived his face resembled a smashed tomato when the ambulance finally came.
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Wow mate that is crazy!! 8o
A similar thing happened to me, but it was right here in Sydney. In the middle of the night the girl next door had a psychotic episode and jumped through the glass window of her 4th-floor apartment. I saw her face as she hit the ground. I have no idea if she lived or not :|
 
Did you ever go to Maya Beach where they filmed 'The Beach' ?

Pipi Lay 60 minutes by speedboat of the southern tip of Phuket.

Well they've ruined it.
 
Anyone going to be in China/Thailand/SE Asia this July/August/September?

I'm going Beijing-Singapore overland (i.e. China, Vietnam, Cambodja, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore) and my travel buddy bailed on me, so I'll be doing it alone.

PM me if you want to meet-up. even if it's just for an hour or so.

I'll make a thread soon with a rough itinerary, so I can get some tips and recommendations.
 
I may well be in SE Asia come August, will have to wait and see how money goes. You'll not struggle to meet people though.
 
Idler: From the get-go I would recommend you take advantage of China's extensive rail network. 'Nam has a train that goes throughout its length. No real trains in Cambodia, but once in Bangkok there is an excellent service all the way down to Singapore. Book well in advance, especially for the bkk-sing part, as trains fill up very quickly.
 
I travelled by night bus mostly in Vietnam, you get a bed so you can bosh some diazepam that you bought at the chemist and sleep fairly comfortably. I never booked any trains or buses in advance, just on the day.
 
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