Anybody In Thailand/South East Asia?

tencentpiece

tencentpiece

New member
Nov 11, 2010
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Melbourne, Australia
www.linknarwhal.com
The next 12-18 months are going to spent overseas for me, doing a mixture of work and holidaying. My first stop is Thailand although I'll be spending ~6 months in south east asia. If anybody wants to meet up/has any suggestions on where I should/shouldn't go let me know.

Would be great to meet some other IMers during my travels!
 


What other countries are you looking at?

With Thailand I'd suggest staying away from Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok, [insert large Thai city here] as they aren't the safest places for long stays - completely different from when you're a tourist. Try living in Hua Hin instead - the King lives there.
 
My lease is up in November and I am seriously considering moving to Thailand for a good 6 months. From what I've read, most say it's about 1/5 the price compared to the U.S.

I've spent hours looking at it on Google maps and it is gorgeous. Eventually I think I will end up in Costa Rica, but I've got a few places in mind that I need to go first. Trying to save the best for last.
 
Read up on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao: you should find something to suit between the three of them. Nice place to spend some time.
 
metalshark said:
MFrom what I've read, most say it's about 1/5 the price compared to the U.S.
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only if you live like a pauper. rent's fairly pricey. also any non-thai food is expensive, but delicious thai food can be had for $1-$3 per meal (you have to know where to go, though, and the cost of getting there can be 1-5x the cost of the food itself).
 
handrewrites said:
With Thailand I'd suggest staying away from Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok, [insert large Thai city here] as they aren't the safest places for long stays
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only if you're a complete pansy. thailand is super safe if you're not a dumbass. it's far more dangerous as a tourist because you don't understand the country as much and you're more likely to be overcharged. also bangkok is better than hua hin for longer term stays. there's so much to do in bangkok. hua hin there isn't much at all to do but relax. chiang mai would be my next choice after (or even before) bangkok.
 
Hmm. I was in Bangkok last year. Went out in the day and at night and felt safe. How would that differ during a longer stay? Obviously don't do anything stupid or go into any dark allies just like anywhere but I am curious why you say it's not safe.

handrewrites said:
What other countries are you looking at?

With Thailand I'd suggest staying away from Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok, [insert large Thai city here] as they aren't the safest places for long stays - completely different from when you're a tourist. Try living in Hua Hin instead - the King lives there.
Click to expand...
 
tencentpiece said:
The next 12-18 months are going to spent overseas for me, doing a mixture of work and holidaying. My first stop is Thailand although I'll be spending ~6 months in south east asia. If anybody wants to meet up/has any suggestions on where I should/shouldn't go let me know.

Would be great to meet some other IMers during my travels!
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I only stayed in Bangkok and Koh Samui. I stayed at the Lebua in Bangkok which was awesome as it was hooker friendly and 5 star (same hotel as in Hangover 2). Also make sure to check out thai kickboxing when you're there. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. Koh Samui is great if you want to hit the beach and has tons of restuarants and night life. Not enough hookers though (if you're into that).

Bring your mosquito spray and sleeveless shirts... you will sweat like a mofo. You can buy some cheap shirts down there and can barter on just about anything. Stay away from drugs unless you want to risk prison time. Hawkers will offer them to you at the beaches. Go to a "ping pong" show (and I am not talking the sport) for shits and giggles and keep your dick wrapped if you're gonna fuck.

There are plenty of western fast food chains if you don't want to eat thai. Everyone is friendly but be prepared to be hustled to buy suits. Have fun dude!
 
mr doodles70 said:
only if you're a complete pansy. thailand is super safe if you're not a dumbass. it's far more dangerous as a tourist because you don't understand the country as much and you're more likely to be overcharged. also bangkok is better than hua hin for longer term stays. there's so much to do in bangkok. hua hin there isn't much at all to do but relax. chiang mai would be my next choice after (or even before) bangkok.
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adionline said:
Hmm. I was in Bangkok last year. Went out in the day and at night and felt safe. How would that differ during a longer stay? Obviously don't do anything stupid or go into any dark allies just like anywhere but I am curious why you say it's not safe.
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Everyone feels safe until they become part of a statistic. And the stats on violent crime (including murder) in Thailand's major cities aren't pretty.

You've got to remember that life is cheap in some areas there and the longer you stay the more you can become a target of various "take that farang's assets" schemes, many of which involve violence or murder. It's got nothing to do with "being a pansy".

Short-term tourists, while at high risk of being the victim of petty thefts or scams, are at much lower risk of experiencing crimes that might involve losing their lives. How many "foreigner suicides" in Thailand (which happen to be very high) do you think are actual suicides?

There's also a separate "tourist police" who take their work much more seriously than regular police there, but once you become a resident there you (sort of) lose that protection.
 
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handrewrites said:
What other countries are you looking at?

With Thailand I'd suggest staying away from Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok, [insert large Thai city here] as they aren't the safest places for long stays - completely different from when you're a tourist. Try living in Hua Hin instead - the King lives there.
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NOT safe?????? what you mean>?
 
handrewrites said:
Everyone feels safe until they become part of a statistic. And the stats on violent crime (including murder) in Thailand's major cities aren't pretty.

You've got to remember that life is cheap in some areas there and the longer you stay the more you can become a target of various "take that farang's assets" schemes, many of which involve violence or murder. It's got nothing to do with "being a pansy".

Short-term tourists, while at high risk of being the victim of petty thefts or scams, are at much lower risk of experiencing crimes (which happen to be very high) do you think are actual suicides?

There's also a separate "tourist police" who take their work much more seriously than regular police there, but once you become a resident there you (sort of) lose that protection.
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Stop exaggerating, the same could be said about many places in the US. Just don't be stupid and you'll be fine.
 
Figured I'd throw in my 2 cents ten cent.

I know you're a smart dude and have done your research. My personal opinions though:
I'm an island kind of guy, so that's what I go for. My goal of IM was to be able to live the good life living in paradise. Bangkok sucks for the most part to me. There are some good spots for sure but I mostly see it as a dirty, too busy whore filled city. Hookers aren't my thing (nor Asians really) so obviously that's a big reason why some people would like it.

The islands always have an ungodly plethora of beautiful European women (high numbers of Swedes being my fav). The islands all cater well to westerners because of the mass numbers that move through year round. Thai food is cheap - $2-$4/ meal. Western food is a little more but still cheaper then home. If you spend $15/day on food you're happy and I'm about 200lbs/90kg. Housing I pay about $450/month. But I have a nice place and don't mind paying a mere $200/month more for a higher standard of living. Most of the islands aren't exactly authentic Thai. But I'm perfectly ok with that. They have just enough Thai to be cool with a very international euro/american acceptance. Always a ton of bars/ beach bars to go to all night.

Safety. No fuckin worries man for the most part. The Thai's are great. The are hardly EVER aggressive. Very passive people as long as you are cool and easy going about things. If you're a dickhead you're fucked though. They are not scared to get revenge and I've seen it on doucher friends of mine. But seriously, if you are just laid back you will NEVER have anything to worry about. I've never had anything but a smile and helpful attitude. Safer then the states. They will try to hustle you in bigger areas but it's not a big deal.

Internet. You will only get great speed in Chang Mai, BKK, Phuket and Pattaya. Everywhere else is definitely slower and it does get annoying sometimes. But it is still perfectly acceptable for internet work. Think about it being slightly slower then youtube streaming speed, with an occasional drop in service for a short bit. Don't plan on running scrape box straight from your comp.

Traveling around is cheap, scooters are about $60/month. Everything else you don't really need. The little shit just doesn't matter here as much.

Climate. Right now it's absolutely perfect on Koh Tao. I don't really sweat much and I'm never cold. I could wear pants if I had to (but I never have to). Shorts, flip-flops and T-shirt are the constant apparel. If you're a diver at all you can dive in a simple rashy and board shorts. Water temp is between 26-28 celsius.
Summer time here (May-August) does get quite warm though. Uncomfortable at times but you adjust within a couple of weeks.
 
adionline said:
Stop exaggerating, the same could be said about many places in the US. Just don't be stupid and you'll be fine.
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evolutionvision said:
The Thai's are great. The are hardly EVER aggressive. Very passive people as long as you are cool and easy going about things. If you're a dickhead you're fucked though. They are not scared to get revenge and I've seen it on doucher friends of mine.
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I guess I did overreact a bit, but sort of justified from seeing so many idiots do stupid things and get their asses kicked (or killed) in SEA.

Perhaps to illustrate better:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=150ce4zTlYo"]Bangkok - Knocked CLEAN Out...!!! - YouTube[/ame]

LOL at the background dialog -

Thai guy in background
"Don't fuck with Thai's you don't fuck with Thai's here"

English guy in background
"Don't fuck with the Thai's mate"
 
handrewrites said:
I guess I did overreact a bit, but sort of justified from seeing so many idiots do stupid things and get their asses kicked (or killed) in SEA.

Perhaps to illustrate better:

Bangkok - Knocked CLEAN Out...!!! - YouTube
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Yeah, that's because he's a fucken idiot, not because it's Thailand. He did that to himself. If you go around thinking you're king shit, and acting like that, you're eventually going to get your ass handed to you, regardless of what country you're in. Not to mention, just think of how many idiots like this the Thais have to put up with. Loads of people show up thinking because it's a little cheaper, they own the place.
 
Im Landing in Bangkok on the 2nd Feb staying for a few nights then off to Phuket for 3 weeks. If anyone wants to meet up let me know and ill buy you a Chang :)

C
 
evolutionvision said:
I'm on Koh Tao, a perfect little dive mecca island near Koh Samui. Absolutely love it. Come join.
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Will definitely hit you up when I am in Koh Tao, planning on spending some serious time there getting my dive certificate.

I probably should have mentioned that I've been to Thailand before. I'm not planning on spending much time at all in BKK, I fly in on the thursday and the vague plan is to try and leave by the Mon/Tues and head towards Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, then I'll likely fly off to Cambodia for a bit to top up my visa. Before heading down to the Phuket/Koh Tao area.
 
Philippines here. Just spent 2 years living on Boracay Island which is excellent. If you make it to the Philippines Boracay is the only place you need to visit but there is plenty more too. Can get slow but stable internet connection there for $35 a month (downloading movies at 20kb/s lol). My neighbor forked out $130 a month for a good connection. When traveling around you can get the usb dongles for internet ($30 per month) but it might be risky in the more remote islands. Moved back to the city now for a bit (not worth visiting for).

Siem Reap is worth a couple of days in Cambodia for Angkor Wat.

I'll be going to Thailand for a few weeks at the end of the year. Can anyone recommend a couple of good spots for me and the girlfriend to visit with my parents? I was thinking of one of the quieter islands on the Phuket side (already done Samui b4) and Bangkok for a few nights.
 
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