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Travel The MEGA Travel Thread!

The Thai people are the friendliest and most hospitable people I've met without a doubt. I don't know how anyone can't have noticed it.
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A single dude gets treated quite differently than a single girl there.

Not saying anyone mistreated me, not at all. BUt I often had guy friends with me and I noticed how they got gushed over and catered to everywhere we went and I wasn't even given a second glance half the time.
 
When you're there, you have to eat as much Chicken Amok as you possibly can. It's the goods
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Yum yum! Love it!

I imagine I'll be eating a lot of street food
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You can't beat Thailand for food, on the street or in local cafes. It's top notch.

A single dude gets treated quite differently than a single girl there.

Not saying anyone mistreated me, not at all. BUt I often had guy friends with me and I noticed how they got gushed over and catered to everywhere we went and I wasn't even given a second glance half the time.
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Both Thai males & females treated you like this?
 
Usually if I was with a guy, he'd be the one the men would talk to. Maybe they were just assuming he was my boyfriend and he was the one making our decisions (*like where we'd stay, etc). I guess that makes sense. The women would always flirt with the guys but never with me *sob*

It's probably just me though. I'm a little quiet at times and take time to warm up to people. People have also told me I can be "intimidating" and that they were a little unsure of how to talk to me when they first met me, so maybe it's just a vibe I give off. I'm a nice person but people skills aren't my forte.
 
Sihanoukeville is an interesting place, especially if you approach it from the southwesternmost border with Thailand through Trat (now THAT's a trip!)...etc, you pass through what looks like pristine jungle that is the cardamom mountains, where a huge bulk of the world's sassafras grows wild...

p.s. let me know if you ever DO decide to make that trip, as it is quite funky at the border...
 
Sounds cool Jam. I took the bus from Kampot to Sihanoukville, pleasant little journey but nothing out of this world. Snoukyville is a great place to relax for a while after a lot of travelling, I recommend anyone whos travelling Cambodia to spend some time there as it's not an obvious choice. Plenty to keep you entertained though.
 
How far is it from the thai border, Jamshyd? I'm thinking of checking out Sihanoukville when I do a visa run. If it's not too far from the border I'll consider doing it.
 
^ I would estimate about 2-3h from the border. The trip between bkk and sihanoukeville via this crossing took 8hrs total. This used to include a ferry, but apparently a bridge was built and a ferry is no longer needed.

Back when I did it, the border opened exactly at 7 a.m. (watch out for the Thais who try to butt into the line because they're Thai), and there was only ONE bus that left that shithole gohkong at 9 SHARP. If you don't make it through the formalities, etc, the bus leaves and you're stuck in ripoffland. Gohkong is in many ways similar to that other popular crossing near Seim Reap, I forget what it was, but a cesspool nonetheless.
 
Jamshyd said:


I just found out about this...

Cotopaxi, Equador
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Been there. If you go to Ecuador you should also try Banos

http://languages.oberlin.edu/hisp305/spring06/kimberly/upload/banos, ecuador.jpg

And Otavalo for the 'biggest outdoor market in South America' and also Montanita, 12 hour bumpy ride from Quito, for hippies and drugs.

Oh, and Quito is a bit of a shithole. Be very careful at the (notorious) bus station.


I want to go to Yemen. An economy/society run on Qat. And strange architecture.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:...--a_visit_to_yemen---50226711--Sana_a.jpg&t=1

http://www.stevemccurry.com/content/photos/YEMEN-10048.jpg

I seriously suggest you click that last one.
 
Oooh Banos looks nice. Montanita sounds interesting too. What sort of drugs available? Is Ecuador worth a visit in your opinion SHM?
 
Palau

echeng-jellyfish-lake-palau.jpg


2036418083_d455045910.jpg
 
TheSpade said:
Oooh Banos looks nice. Montanita sounds interesting too. What sort of drugs available? Is Ecuador worth a visit in your opinion SHM?
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Banos is stunning, completely surrounded by mountains and an active volcano they have to evacuate for every few years. Travellers go there for activity things, especially involving water.

Montanita is tiny, takes some reaching, but has proper raves every Saturday. Coke E's and weed can be found very easily. Especially coke and weed. Its actually about 14 very bumpy hours from Quito.

Ecuador is well worth a visit. Cheap, very cheap, and the people are really friendly. And you can get into the jungle from there.
 
Ecuador does sound tempting. Some drug fueled raving in a wee hippy town could be fun. Did you sample the E & Coke?
 
StoneHappyMonday said:
Been there. If you go to Ecuador you should also try Banos

http://languages.oberlin.edu/hisp305/spring06/kimberly/upload/banos, ecuador.jpg

And Otavalo for the 'biggest outdoor market in South America' and also Montanita, 12 hour bumpy ride from Quito, for hippies and drugs.

Oh, and Quito is a bit of a shithole. Be very careful at the (notorious) bus station.
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Wow, thanks for the advice :). And that looks very pretty!!


I want to go to Yemen. An economy/society run on Qat. And strange architecture.
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Fascinating country, but Yemenis are notorious throughout the mid-east for being not the kindest of people. I'd still like to visit sometime. It would have been easy for me going overland as a Jordanian citizen if it weren't for Saudi Arabia's draconic visa policies.

The Qat culture is shared with Eritrea/Ethiopa across the "Gate of Sorrow" (the strait between the red and arabian seas), as is the history. These two areas make up the "Sheba" of the bible.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:...--a_visit_to_yemen---50226711--Sana_a.jpg&t=1
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Yes, this architecture is characteristic the capital Sen'a and surrounding area.

http://www.stevemccurry.com/content/photos/YEMEN-10048.jpg

I seriously suggest you click that last one.
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And this is probably from Hadramut, which only recently been plotted on the map. As early as fifty years ago, going to Hadramut was something like suicide.

See, the Yemen is actually a patchwork of what used to be several smaller states. Some areas of the Yemen are so fertile and green that they look more like Africa than Arabia. Definitely a fascinating place.
 
Oh yeah we really should have told you that you (officially) need a return ticket to enter Thailand. It's OK when you're already in SE Asia usually but from further afield the airlines can be quite insistant because if they don't it's them who can get into trouble.
 
Yeah, you should have gotten the 1 year multiple entry visa. They almost did not let me board the plane to thailand since I did not have a return ticket. Once they saw the visa they let me on.
 
Anyone familar with Koh Samui at all?

I realise that it is much more on the touristy side than what is being discussed in recent posts but thinking of tying it in with a week in Bangkok, week in the city, week on the beach sort of thing.

Any recommendations for particular areas or hotels? Does not even have to be Koh Samui as far from set on that particular destination but would like the journey from Bangkok to be not too much hassle....

I like a bit if nightlife but sure there will be plenty in Bangkok to keep me occupied in that respect.
 
junctionalfunkie said:
They wouldn't let me on the plane until I bought a ticket out of Thailand within the month.

Then they told me how to get a refund for the ticket tomorrow.

:|

But I'm off!
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Yes that's exactly what happened to me too. I figure its a corporate-scale scam, as Thai immigration did not bother ask me about a return ticket.
 
It's the official thai cutsoms / immigration stance that you need a return flight BUT they rarely ask for it. The airlines have to though because they'll be fined if you turn up at Thailand without one and a custom officer asks for it.
 
TheSpade said:
It's the official thai cutsoms / immigration stance that you need a return flight BUT they rarely ask for it. The airlines have to though because they'll be fined if you turn up at Thailand without one and a custom officer asks for it.
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This is exactly right.
 
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