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Clothing Tips, Updates: SE Asia??


TLCOhio
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Here is a beware for Bangkok. There are many tuk tuk drivers. Often their goal is NOT to take you where you want but rather to take you, unwittingly, to a jewelry store. They get paid a litre of gasoline for their trouble. And don't bother buying any precious or semi precious stones unless you are an expert. The other thing that some tuk tuk drivers may do is take you to a boat launch for a trip along the river. Beware, often the prices for the latter are greatly inflated.

 

If you take a cab, just ensure that the meter is running. In numerous trips we have never had an issue or felt cheated by a taxi in Bangkok. Meter rates differ by time of day etc. Similar to many other cities. Just ensure that the meter says '1' on the screen during the day.

 

Traffic in Bangkok can be awful. Depending on the time of day you are far better to hop on the rapid transit (very good, very easy to use) rather than getting in a cab or a tuk tuk. Though the latter can be better in congested traffic than a cab. You will get to your destination, or near enough to your destination, much faster.

 

We did take a river cruise that also went in and out of the canals. It was very good. There are also commuter boats that ply some of the canals. These can be very useful. Mostly frequented by locals. You have to specify when asking directions at your hotel because for some reason we found that there is a reluctance to recommend these. We like them.

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Here is a beware for Bangkok. There are many tuk tuk drivers. Often their goal is NOT to take you where you want but rather to take you, unwittingly, to a jewelry store. Beware, often the prices for the latter are greatly inflated. If you take a cab, just ensure that the meter is running. Traffic in Bangkok can be awful. We did take a river cruise that also went in and out of the canals. It was very good.

 

Appreciate these additional comments and helpful background about Bangkok. Yes!! Love these insights and suggestions. Saturday morning was chatting by phone with a friend who is an experienced traveler in SE Asia. Her key warning was about these same Tuk Tuk drivers who want to guide you to certain jewelry stores and/or jack up your costs.

 

Keep it coming!! Great sharing. Any added experiences from the Ha Long and Hue/Danang areas of Vietnam?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

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Keep it coming!! Great sharing. Any added experiences from the Ha Long and Hue/Danang areas of Vietnam?

 

Have you ever watched Top Gear?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbYmLJkGZEo

 

This was a few years back - one of my favorite episodes. Though I've promised my boss I won't ever ride a motorcycle or similar when I'm in a developing country (I work in global health ;p)

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In my younger days I drove a motorcycle.

 

I have been temped many times to rent one whilst on Ko Lanta in Thailand. Always thought better of it. We sat at an outdoor bar and watched the tourists go by who had obvious injuries or were wearing casts.

 

Last time in Langkawi, Malaysia our tour guide mentioned that two tourists from Eqypt had been killed at an intersection we were crossing. They were on a rented motorbike. That sealed the deal for us.

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One thing that we find amazing is the night food markets. In many places they are stalls around picnic tables. We might order a coconut shake from one, a stir fry from another, and perhaps noodles from another (everything cooked fresh and made to order. So you pay. Then they tell you to just go and sit down and they will find you. And they always do.

 

It is not that we are the only westerners there either. But no matter where we have been ,we have never not had our correct food delivered to the table, chair, whatever. And these are very busy stalls with many people mulling about. The food, by the way, is wonderful.

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I actually try to do food tours (or cooking classes) when I travel - didn't do one in Thailand when we were there (though we did enjoy food during the tours we did). Did a pho tour in HCMC, Vietnam. Timing is an issue while cruising, alas. Did a fabulous night market food tour in Shanghai, but we weren't on a cruise and had much more flexibility on timing....In Singapore & Hong Kong, we just ate everywhere :-)

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Super love this additional information from iancal and MMDown Under. Excellent!!! The mention on the Saigon Opera House inspired me to look and research more. Enjoyed the added details for this 468-seat theater in Ho Chi Minh city that goes back to 1898 when the French did the construction with many materials being shipped from Europe. Definitely want to see this structure and enjoy this show that gets nice reviews.

Keep sharing more background for what you enjoyed in Vietnam, great tips and must sees, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 221,508 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Saigon Opera House is a beautiful building, which you will enjoy, Terry.

You can call in to the Opera House to see what show will be on, when you are there. They do not have shows every night. Get there 30 mins early for complimentary herbal tea, on the balcony, then stay afterwards when the cast sits on the steps inside singing while members of the audience continually join them for personal photos. I bought an aah! ticket on ground floor for 630,000 vnd. In addition to the superb acrobatics, I really enjoyed the music and was impressed that the whole audience waited until a single musician walked down the centre aisle at the end. This show was a highlight for me. The next day, there was an orchestra concert on the front steps, which I enjoyed with the locals. The passing bikes stopped en masse on the road to watch, so the busy road was reduced to one lane.

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I actually try to do food tours (or cooking classes) when I travel - didn't do one in Thailand when we were there (though we did enjoy food during the tours we did). Did a pho tour in HCMC, Vietnam. Timing is an issue while cruising, alas. Did a fabulous night market food tour in Shanghai, but we weren't on a cruise and had much more flexibility on timing....In Singapore & Hong Kong, we just ate everywhere :-)

 

I recently did a superb cooking tour in Bangkok at Amita Thai Cooking School. They picked us up in a car at the ship at Klong Toey, drove to Maharaj Pier to join a 40 min. boat ride along the Chao Phraya River and a klong to the cooking school, which has its own beautiful herb garden. You learn four Thai dishes, which you then cook yourself, then eat for lunch. Cost was 3,000 baht per person.

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One thing that we find amazing is the night food markets. In many places they are stalls around picnic tables. We might order a coconut shake from one, a stir fry from another, and perhaps noodles from another (everything cooked fresh and made to order. So you pay. Then they tell you to just go and sit down and they will find you. And they always do.

 

It is not that we are the only westerners there either. But no matter where we have been ,we have never not had our correct food delivered to the table, chair, whatever. And these are very busy stalls with many people mulling about. The food, by the way, is wonderful.

 

Impressive how they manage to do this in busy night markets.

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In my younger days I drove a motorcycle.

I have been temped many times to rent one whilst on Ko Lanta in Thailand. Always thought better of it. We sat at an outdoor bar and watched the tourists go by who had obvious injuries or were wearing casts.

Last time in Langkawi, Malaysia our tour guide mentioned that two tourists from Eqypt had been killed at an intersection we were crossing. They were on a rented motorbike. That sealed the deal for us.

 

I noticed a number of professionally written signs in English asking for people to report if they had seen an accident at that sight at a certain time of day. By the number of signs, it wasn't a rare occurrence.

 

My daughter and friend did a motorbike tour of the highlands, as passengers. They ate at local markets en route.

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Here is a beware for Bangkok. There are many tuk tuk drivers. Often their goal is NOT to take you where you want but rather to take you, unwittingly, to a jewelry store. They get paid a litre of gasoline for their trouble. And don't bother buying any precious or semi precious stones unless you are an expert. The other thing that some tuk tuk drivers may do is take you to a boat launch for a trip along the river. Beware, often the prices for the latter are greatly inflated.

 

If you take a cab, just ensure that the meter is running. In numerous trips we have never had an issue or felt cheated by a taxi in Bangkok. Meter rates differ by time of day etc. Similar to many other cities. Just ensure that the meter says '1' on the screen during the day.

 

Traffic in Bangkok can be awful. Depending on the time of day you are far better to hop on the rapid transit (very good, very easy to use) rather than getting in a cab or a tuk tuk. Though the latter can be better in congested traffic than a cab. You will get to your destination, or near enough to your destination, much faster.

 

We did take a river cruise that also went in and out of the canals. It was very good. There are also commuter boats that ply some of the canals. These can be very useful. Mostly frequented by locals. You have to specify when asking directions at your hotel because for some reason we found that there is a reluctance to recommend these. We like them.

 

Good advice. Never listen to tuk tuk drivers who tell you a place is closed today.

 

Agree best way to get around is by overland railway to the river, where you can catch the public ferries.

 

I recently spent the day taking the local ferry (yellow flag) along the Chao Phraya River to the terminus and back for 15 baht each way. This is a wonderful way to sightsee the city. As I want to cruise with locals, I don't take the public tourist boat (blue flag).

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We saw a few during a five day stay in Hanoi. They have millions of motorbikes. We were told by a guide that theft is a huge problem and becomes a larger issue in accident scenes when a guilty party quickly exits stage west rather than being found to have a stolen bike/license.

Phnom Pehn was the same.

 

 

IF you are crossing a street, two to five lanes, and in the middle of crossing you get nervous DO NOT try to dodge the traffic. Do what the local do. Just stand still in the middle of the road. Traffic will go around you. When it clears, you can proceed across the remaining lanes. After several months of travel we became good at it just like the locals. It is unnerving at first. If you are not sure, cross when a local does and stop when he or she does.

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YES!! So appreciate these excellent follow-ups from iancal, MMDown Under and Hoyaheel. Very helpful and interesting!! Am copying much of this info to my laptop computer file for this trip. Things are getting closer. Just a little over a week till we depart on Jan. 21. Keep it coming!! Bad, cold weather is coming this weekend to Ohio, the Midwest, NE USA, etc. Some temperatures in the 88F range will be a nice and improved change for the better.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 193,522 views for this posting.

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Here is a beware for Bangkok. There are many tuk tuk drivers. Often their goal is NOT to take you where you want but rather to take you, unwittingly, to a jewelry store. They get paid a litre of gasoline for their trouble. And don't bother buying any precious or semi precious stones unless you are an expert. The other thing that some tuk tuk drivers may do is take you to a boat launch for a trip along the river. Beware, often the prices for the latter are greatly inflated.

 

If you take a cab, just ensure that the meter is running. In numerous trips we have never had an issue or felt cheated by a taxi in Bangkok. Meter rates differ by time of day etc. Similar to many other cities. Just ensure that the meter says '1' on the screen during the day.

 

Traffic in Bangkok can be awful. Depending on the time of day you are far better to hop on the rapid transit (very good, very easy to use) rather than getting in a cab or a tuk tuk. Though the latter can be better in congested traffic than a cab. You will get to your destination, or near enough to your destination, much faster.

 

We did take a river cruise that also went in and out of the canals. It was very good. There are also commuter boats that ply some of the canals. These can be very useful. Mostly frequented by locals. You have to specify when asking directions at your hotel because for some reason we found that there is a reluctance to recommend these. We like them.

 

 

So what is the best way to get from the airport to the Shanghai la hotel? Is taxi ok?

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We always do taxi. No issue. Just check that the meter is running.

 

We typically arrive at BKK very late at night, about 23:30, sometimes later. So traffic is not an issue. Lot of flights arriving at that time so it can take 30 minutes or so before you pass through customs/immigration. Very little traffic on the highway at that time of day.

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We saw a few during a five day stay in Hanoi. They have millions of motorbikes. We were told by a guide that theft is a huge problem and becomes a larger issue in accident scenes when a guilty party quickly exits stage west rather than being found to have a stolen bike/license.

Phnom Pehn was the same.

 

 

IF you are crossing a street, two to five lanes, and in the middle of crossing you get nervous DO NOT try to dodge the traffic. Do what the local do. Just stand still in the middle of the road. Traffic will go around you. When it clears, you can proceed across the remaining lanes. After several months of travel we became good at it just like the locals. It is unnerving at first. If you are not sure, cross when a local does and stop when he or she does.

 

We found that the locals would signal to follow them across a street when we’re just standing there waiting for an opening that would never come. It is an art, learning to cross a street.

 

Back many years ago when we visited Bangkok, we did get taken for a ride by a tuk tuk driver. The site we wanted to see was closed (not). We had intended to have some clothes made while in Bangkok....unfortunately we let this guy take us somewhere. We spent so much that the credit card company turned off the card while we were on the trip (back then no cell phones, so call went to home answering machine). Lesson learned and we were much more savvy on our trip to SE Asia last year.

 

We did take a night time foodie tour on the back of motorbikes in Saigon last year. It was nerve wracking in the beginning until we got comfortable. Overpriced, but in the end it was fun and it was a great way to see many of the city’s districts.

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We did take a night time foodie tour on the back of motorbikes in Saigon last year. It was nerve wracking in the beginning until we got comfortable. Overpriced, but in the end it was fun and it was a great way to see many of the city’s districts.

 

Appreciate this above interesting tip and these other helpful follow-ups. We are just a week away from when we fly off to Chicago and then for doing the 15 hour and 50 minute flight via Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Escaping the current cold and snow of the Midwest will be nice and refreshing. Keep the various suggestions and excellent insights rolling along.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 193,975 views for this posting.

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Also while on the ship portion of the trip you’ll need to remove your shoes (at least we did) and leave for the crew to wash before returning them to you. We found Keen Venice H2O or similar types of sandals worked very well for this type of trip as they dried quickly, unlike sneakers, and had great tread and traction.

 

 

Wow ... this is a new one for me and would be interested in finding out if this is standard practice.

 

We are thinking about doing this trip in 2019 and this thread is already very helpful.

 

Thanks Terry :D

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Wow ... this is a new one for me and would be interested in finding out if this is standard practice.

Pretty much every river cruise along the Mekong mentions this on their website or in the reviews - that crew wash your shoes when you get to the ship. Part of it's the shoeless culture inside for Asia, partly the mud that you might be climbing through to get on/off the river ship;p

 

I think I want to do a Mekong river cruise (I don't love river cruising in general - I find it very expensive because so much is included - and I'm a diy-er - but I also think for the Mekong it would be a great way to experience it!) Anyway - just wanted to say I've read a lot of reviews & company website and the shoe washing seems pretty standard.....

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Pretty much every river cruise along the Mekong mentions this on their website or in the reviews - that crew wash your shoes when you get to the ship. Part of it's the shoeless culture inside for Asia, partly the mud that you might be climbing through to get on/off the river ship;p

 

I think I want to do a Mekong river cruise (I don't love river cruising in general - I find it very expensive because so much is included - and I'm a diy-er - but I also think for the Mekong it would be a great way to experience it!) Anyway - just wanted to say I've read a lot of reviews & company website and the shoe washing seems pretty standard.....

 

Thanks!

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Terry, Almost forgot to mention. I have been to Hong Kong and wanted to say that the public transportation, including the subways, is very easy to use. Lots of signage in English.

 

Great follow-up by Diane. YES, that is what we have been told by many people as to how wonderful and efficient is the public transportation in Hong Kong. Look forward to being there in just eight days. Will give updates via a live/blog later this month on the "River Cruising" board of Cruise Critic.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,522 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

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Hi Terry, will you be doing a “live” review? What forum?.... I will follow with keen interest if you are. Our Shadow trip from Singapore to HK in 9 weeks has benefited from some of the tips from this thread so thanks for posting.

 

Have a wonderful time.

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Hi Terry, will you be doing a “live” review? What forum?.... I will follow with keen interest if you are. Our Shadow trip from Singapore to HK in 9 weeks has benefited from some of the tips from this thread so thanks for posting. Have a wonderful time.

 

YES!! Will be posting my live/blog on the Cruise Critic River Cruising Board starting in late January. This will be our first river cruise. Completed today the airline check-ins, got our boarding passes, etc. This adventure will feature Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia, including a seven-day Mekong River cruise, then Angkor Wat, Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue/Danang.

 

Think there might be several interesting "photo ops" during this trip?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/s....php?t=2157696

Now at 54,903 views for these postings.

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YES!! Will be posting my live/blog on the Cruise Critic River Cruising Board starting in late January. This will be our first river cruise. Completed today the airline check-ins, got our boarding passes, etc. This adventure will feature Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia, including a seven-day Mekong River cruise, then Angkor Wat, Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue/Danang.

 

Excellent. Cheers Terry.

 

What are the Plans for Hong Kong? I assume you've probably get things all pre- booked or at least know what you intend? I've not booked a thing, but have a good idea from a couple of threads in this sub forum which are very helpful.

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