shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:28 am I would also like to see what pple think of SEA travel bargains.

I disagree with PR aBout Thailand. I think he's forgotten that it's now become rather bland and is getting most people by ATM fees that are a real insult to Tourists.

How can i forget>?? i live here and travel frequently throughout the country.
Bland"""no fucking way, just drove from Phuket- Mae sot- Umpahang- Mae Hon Son, Pai, Chiang Mai, Doi mae salong, Nan- thru numerous National parks and across rivers & dams and on to Cambodian and back via Pattaya

northern Thailand has fantastic scenery, great value for your money ( food and accommodations) and very friendly people.

Even Pai amazed me, fantastic street food ( not just thai but Japanese, Mexican, pizza, Chinese, Greek, Italian ) every night
judging by the number of tourists in low season would NOT want to be there in high season..

Philippines,,, haven't been back since the mid 90's but never cared for the place, terrible food and all the locals only want to leave..


by John Bingham » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:51 am

phuketrichard wrote: ↑
Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:44 am

Halfway decent cheap food and of course cheap ( shit) beer compared to what other countries offer.

That's rich coming from someone who lives in Thailand. Thai beer is total garbage.

.

Thailand has shit beer an have never said otherwise, Only thing worse is Cambodian beer...
If i drink beer, its Beer lao or Myanmar beer

PR I'm amazed u were amazed about Pai. Last time I was there it was crap and that was like 15 years ago. OK done MHS loop 20 years ago. Lol

Why do you only do Bali. Been to any other nearby Islands ?

shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 8:41 am PR I'm amazed u were amazed about Pai. Last time I was there it was crap and that was like 15 years ago. OK done MHS loop 20 years ago. Lol

Why do you only do Bali. Been to any other nearby Islands ?

LOL:
driven thru Pai 6 or more times over the past 30 years, never stopped except for lunch as so many tourists but this time, thought, lets try it.
glad i did..
I've been to Lombok, Sumatra and cycled all of java, top to bottom, ( 34 years ago)

Pai is a nice quiet place. Burger Queen is arguably the best burger in Asia.
Gets chilly there.
Some people smoke probably fake O there

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:03 am I presume you don't actually have to be working/run a business to get the viet business visa?

Nope... just pay - no 90 day reporting... or yearly, 'cross my palm' visits from the police.

frank lee bent wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:10 am no weed there though cannabistourist.
commies have a death penalty for it in the Nam.

If you're stupid enough to do illegal drugs, the penalties are high.

However, the reality is - marijuana is 'tolerated' so long as it's not openly sold or consumed. Any of the guys pedaling their bicycles around from bar to bar looking to sell: sunglasses, wallets, hats & lighters etc. to tourists can 'hook you up' (with anything). You'll pay too much and the quality may not be what you expect; but, the cops aren't out to 'bust' anyone who buys from them (they have paid 'protection' and the police get a 'cut'). For reasonable price & good quality, you need to make connections with the local, ex-pat stoners. Occasionally, there are 'crackdowns'... but these are announced to all the 'suppliers' in advance. Even if you are an absolute moron, and were caught red handed blowing a doobie in public, it's likely you could avoid charges by paying a 'fine' on the spot (no receipt).

Hard drugs are a totally different matter.

Comparing Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia.
Northern Thailand is my all-round favorite, but not in Chiang Mai city itself due to heavy traffic/air pollution. Nan is more my style.
Havent tried Vietnam. Heard a lot of good reports about the country over-all. Some negative comments about the aggressiveness of Viets, while others dont have a problem with it.

offroadscholar wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:35 am Havent tried Vietnam. Heard a lot of good reports about the country over-all. Some negative comments about the aggressiveness of Viets, while others dont have a problem with it.

I think it depends were you are in the country. That's the trouble when comparing countries - you have to generalize. I have not experienced any aggressiveness to foreigners here in the far south. What I have noticed is (in general), 'southerners' don't like 'northerners'. Nobody here refers to the 'big city' as Ho Chi Minh City... it's "Saigon"!

Balinese take the cake for the fake, wait until you turn around stab you in the back smile. Hate to say it, but the earthquakes there are an act of God (smiting evil).

Tourist wont ever know the real Bali. Live there 3+ years and you will hate 85% of Balinese.

About Vietnam (at least HCM which i would not want to live because it is so polluted) I once bought some 'consumables' and asked where I could imbibe them - he said "you are foreigner, you can take anywhere you want". So i did. No issues (a few hundred could solve any problem in Vietnam short of murder). Quality is hit and miss in HCM. Sometimes they have Thai imports.

Seems your best bet would be Vung Tau with visits to HCM for resupply, although I am not a huge fan. Da Nang or Hoi An might be nicer (not sure). Nha Trang might also work, but lots of Russians (in case that is an issue for you).

The Philippines is fun, but not a good long term destination. The people (women) are friendly, but the men 100% resent you. Personally i would not want to live somewhere where the men all want you dead and the police are 100% corrupt.

We ca discuss as much as we want, but if there was any place around as good as Thailand, I guess that most expats of this world would prefer to live there rather than in Thailand...
I wonder if anybody who really could live in Thailand would prefer to be anywhere else. All forums are full of reports from people who live in Vietnam, PI, Indo, Cambodia, because they cannot afford a visa in Thailand. But for me Cambodia is great because it's easy to travel to and from Thailand by car. No way that I would fly above the sea anywhere, and especially to a muslim country.

No way that I would fly above the sea anywhere

Why?
Softer than land for a pancake landing.