PadHopper

Aged 24 - old enough to know better.

I'm old enough not to point fingers or make disparaging remarks about the misfortune of others.

In fact, old enough to be insufferably sanctimonious. Otherwise, a gold star for you!

Undertones in '82 or Iggy Pop in '84. Also good were the Feelies 20 years ago and Prince 10 years ago.

I'm looking for a forum like Thaivisa.com that's geared towards expats in Vietnam, but what I've found so far are kind of lame (limited in scope). I understand that there's a huge difference in the number of expats in Thailand vs. Vietnam. . . . Any suggestions?

Meanwhile I am on this forum every day (via the twice-daily emails) because it's so addictive, even though I haven't been to Thailand in two years.

This topic headline is counterproductively alarmist. Totally wrong. Mods should mod.

wow, what year is this?

Please remember on the internet we all have IP address'd that can be traced back to the person sending the letter

In the pater 1 month ago was some idiot who threaten some one and last week he was traced and charged

If you want to come to Thailand again, becarefiul what you write

you may have a red link on you name at immigration

Farlang who live in Thailand have learnt to think before the thwim

have you never heard of server proxy's?

many ISP's use server proxy's and IP routers, it would also be a hard thing to prove, as

A) There are many people posting from outside of Thailand, and are not residents or have resident status, so they're not in the country to break that country's laws.

many establishments have single IP's and then use an Intranet system where there can be up to 100 users on that IP, schools and universities being prime examples

VPN FTW

Burma, Malaysia, Singapore I would think would benefit more from Thai negative publicity in the tourism and industrial sector and any Thai anti government groups.

Sadly, true. Though my wife and I love Thailand, we're going elsewhere in SE Asia as tourists this year.

There goes the holiday in Chiang Mai....

Literally, in my case. I had convinced my wife to go to Thailand if we minimized our time in Bangkok. Now this . . .

Sadly we'll stick to Laos and Cambodia. I feel sorry for the average Thai who has to endure the consequences of sociopathic behavior of the few.

I was immediately reminded of the Taliban's destruction of the Afghani Buddhist sculptures. Different scale, figuratively and literally, but bigotry on full display.

Don't those lurid colors scream "Fake!" from the get go? Better than rhino horn or bear gall bladder, I guess.

LKK, that's a great itinerary! Ding! Ding! Ding! I think we have a winner!

The road is serpentine and populated by an endless parade of tandem trucks. Local drivers have no faith in western overtaking traditions...like avoiding passing on blind curves and upgrades. That I am here to type this is testament that it does somehow work.

I would do it again...my GF would not!

DDDave, you posted this as I was typing my reply. Hmm, that makes going by bus seem a bit less appealing. Not a huge risk, but white-knuckling it might grow tiresome after a few hours. Wife would probably fall asleep after 30 minutes, so she'd be fine. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for all of your suggestions and information. It all sounds appealing to me, as I love staring at rugged natural scenery. I made the mistake of taking the overnight "jungle" train up the Malay peninsula five years ago. Saw nothing of course, though at one stop I heard the loudest chorus of frogs imaginable. I vowed to slow down and enjoy the scenery in the future.

I think my wife would be amenable to a compromise of enduring boats and buses and trains, as long as we flew back. I suspect she would love the journey once we were underway. We would probably devote about 10 days total from HCMC and back.

Now for some hard decisions. I keep finding places to go to at the expense of seeing Angkor Wat. Same thing with Penang . . . But Luang Prabang sounds like it's worth the effort. Maybe we can go to Siem Reap too, if we can manage another week.

Again, thanks for the excellent tips.

Hi everyone.

My wife and I would like to visit either or both of the above-mentioned destinations in May/June. We'll definitely be in BKK, perhaps also in Chiang Mai. Her family lives in Saigon, and that will be where we will be spending most of our time.

My question is essentially: Should I avoid traveling in Laos and Cambodia by bus? We like trains; we're not big fans of organized tours; I prefer being on the ground when experiencing a new place. My wife has expressed undisguised horror at the notion of possibly taking the long bus ride from Hanoi to LB. I would probably love the scenery myself. Any ideas or other options?

She's 36, I'm 56, if that matters. We're obviously not bare-bones backpackers, but not rich either.

Ah, crap. Could a mod move this to the PI forum, please?

Question: I will be landing in Manila with a r/t ticket leaving 36 days after I arrive, i.e., more than the 30-day visa exemption period. I also have a r/t ticket to Vietnam in the middle of those 36 days (I'll be in Vietnam/Thailand/Malaysia). That should be kosher, right, as I have an onward ticket?

Please say yes.