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Screw it - I'm going back to Asia ;)


gobbledonk

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I had previously told Coss and others that I was going to stick it out here until I had enough money to go and not have to get on the plane to come back to Oz - predictably, that now seems like a bridge too far.

 

Ps. Do you know when this is going down? I'm coming out for a few weeks in November. Look forward to having a beer with any BMs that may be around, trading videogames with KS, and doing the FlasherMac death march historical tour of important Bangkok sites. That old guy can walk forever. :)

 

Next May my contract is up and I'm set for the 1 year + trip to LOS (will do it on a legit ED Visa and actually go to school). I don't know if I could handle the never come back plan, since I actually like where I live.

 

But I am fucking counting down the days sir.

 

Anyway, best wishes. If paths cross, first round is on moi.

 

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queensland is very appealing, that pointy bit at the far north east has to be interesting!!!...cairns sounds my cup of tea, a sleepy tropical city????.....anymore advice welcome!

 

Phil, I lived in Cairns for 8 months (after 4 1/2 years in Rockhampton and about 20 in Brisbane), and you probably need to sieve what I'm about to say against the fact that anytime you spend that long in a single location, it can all become a bit ho-hum.

 

Before I started planning this trip, I briefly considered getting away to Rocky/Cairns, as it really is sensational weather up there at this time of year (Rocky is cold at night, but the days are usually around 20 deg C and sunny), but Cairns is a double-edged sword. You can easily see everything there in a single day, although you would need a couple more to see the rainforest, Port Douglas etc. : add a trip to the Cassowary Coast and its 4 days max. Unless you are dead keen on the Casino (I wasnt), most of the nighttime entertainment is in backpacker-oriented pubs where the average age struggles to reach 25 : the 5-star hotels have more upmarket bars, but you pay accordingly.

 

For many years, Cairns survived on the back of Japanese tourism, and you will still see some attractive Japanese gals (many here for extended periods as students), but mostly they have been replaced by large tour groups of Chinese and Koreans. They wander around looking (to my eyes at least) quite bewildered - I dont know what they are told by the tourist agencies, but I suspect Cairns CBD doesnt meet their expectations. With the exception of the aforementioned backpacker haunts, its usually quite dead, although the foreshore promenade area is popular with kids :

 

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/a-storm-in-a-teacup-20110420-1docv.html

 

 

On the plus side, the reef/rainforest are genuine attractions, but Cairns is just a big country town, at best, and a backwater at worst. You might not be a fan of the cities, but to come this far and not see Sydney Harbour on a clear day would, to me, be shortsighted. Melbourne isnt my cup of tea - they do have great food, but growing up in Sydney probably warped my idea of what a 'city beach' looks and feels like. I cant think of anything that excited us more as kids than catching the ferry to Taronga Zoo or (even better) Luna Park - paupers enjoying a million-dollar view.

 

Anyway, I hope you can fit it all in to your trip - I just wouldnt spend too much time in Cairns.

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PM and others,

 

- I get on the plane to KL next Monday. Yes, KL is probably the most expensive of the lot, including BKK, but I like the place in small doses.

 

- Air Asia will fly me from KL to Clark, Cebu Pacific will fly me from Clark to BKK

 

- happy to cut back the time in CM, but I sort of see it as an 'easing off' period before I get on the plane to come back. I also resent the fact that we didnt do any of the touristy stuff the last time I went because of my companion at the time - lesson learned.

 

I agree that I am spending money flying all over the show that I'd rather spend on Sanuk, but I've been putting AC off for too long. I guess I'll just have to take a good book and accept that the daylight hours wont be the most scintillating, but then neither is life back here in Dullsville.

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Yikes! For me that would be simple, "16 days in BKK"...okay, maybe 14 in BKK and 2 in Pattaya...

 

But Chiang Mai? Kuala Lumpur? I'm guessing fucking is not high on your list of activities?

 

And you're planning 4 nights for your first time in the Philippines...after you've only previously done Thailand and environs...?

 

Never been myself, but from what friends have told me, you may live to regret that plan (and you may bail out on it early)...here's my understanding of the Philippines, compared to Bangkok:

 

-rampant violent street crime (I can walk--nay, stumble--drunk, alone, virtually anywhere in BKK at 4 am with no fear, with a $500 cellphone and $400 US cash in my pocket...how many parts of the Philippines can you say that for?? yeah, didn't think so)

-low hygiene (overall, and specifically where it counts on the BGs)

 

hmm, well, just the above two points would be a total deal-breaker for me...but everyone's got their criteria/preferences...

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Nobody has mentioned food in the Philippines. Ummm ... how many Filipino restaurants do you see in the west? Latest I've been told about restaurants in AC is that they now serve Thai food for the punters! :dunno:

 

Some people like AC because the BGs speak English (though they all sound like Bugs Bunny). Never been to AC myself - just Manila Vanilla.

 

As to nightlife in CM, it's there - sort of a mini-Soi Cowboy. CM has never been much of a town for lechery. Think of the nightlife maybe as Washington Square used to be a few years ago. Still, I do love the north, married a northern gal.

 

 

 

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And you're planning 4 nights for your first time in the Philippines...after you've only previously done Thailand and environs...?

 

Only done Thailand and environs ? I mightn't be the most experienced monger on the board, and a lot of the places I've been to ARE relatively safe tourist destinations, but I didnt feel 'wrapped in cotton wool' in southern China, Jakarta or Cambo - even in Thailand, its confronting to be the only Farang in a Thai-only whiskey bar in a provincial town like Udon Thani or Chumphon : granted, they didnt pull a knife on me, but its easy enough to find trouble if you go looking for it.

 

Some of the more hardcore go out of their way to find places like Blok M - I dont, and that might help. God favours fools and drunks, I guess. ;)

 

 

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Gobble, just to add to Coss's comments if you think there is'nt much to do in Pattaya during the day (totally disagree with you on that myself as it happens) you'll be lost in AC which has about 1% as much to do during the day!

Simie.

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Not much to do in Pattaya during the day???

 

:hmmm: Let's see....

 

10.00am: Wake Up

 

10.05am: Realise there's some random woman lying next to you and try to remember her name.

10.06am: Work out that it doesn't matter if you remember her name or not, and start rubbing your old fellah up and down her back

10.07am: Fight off her protestations and remind her that "long time means boom boom in the morning too!"

10.08am: Have boom boom

 

11.00am: Remove girl from room after paying her agreed LT rate, have shower and then head downstairs to breakfast

 

11.30am: Breakfast

 

12.00noon: Head off to massage in Soi Honey Inn for 200 baht for 1 hour and 200 baht tip for happy ending handjob. Leave smiling.

 

1.00pm: Head off to Soi 6 (The world's dirtiest street!)

 

1.02pm: Get cat-called walking down the street, fight off the occasional ladyboy, find dark bar, go inside, find companion, buy ladydrink, buy drink for yourself, diddle on couch for an hour or so, or go upstairs for a short time. (Room 300 baht, ST fee: 700 baht)

 

2.00pm: Get baht bus down to Tahitian Queen 2 (Day Time A-Go-Go) on Beach Road and enjoy pole polishing, talking with some cute ladies, and an ice-cold beer for an hour or two.

 

4.00pm: Back to guest house / hotel for afternoon kip and catch up on email and writing trip report for Thai 360!

 

7.00pm: Head down for dinner at your choice of restaurant.

 

8.15pm: Hit Walking Street gogos and beer bars, Second Road Beer Bars, Soi LK Metro Gogos, Soi Buakhao beer bars - wherever tickles your fancy!

 

Nothing to do in the day? Gotta be kidding, people! :beer:

 

Ah - 16 days until.. but who's counting!! :thumbup:

 

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