1 year in south east asia

[Sparktrader]

If you travelled around sea for 1 year whats your top 5 places to stay a month or more? Ie cities or islands

 

Location and reason.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Sparktrader

[BangkokAlan]

Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and China not all SEA but this is where I would go.

China needs more time so much to see and places to visit.

[Sparktrader]

Just now, BangkokAlan said:

Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and China not all SEA but this is where I would go.

China needs more time so much to see and places to visit.

Was after actual cities or islands

[StreetCowboy]

I’d stay at home, because it’s handy for my office. There might be nicer places (although I remain sceptical) but they’re either more expensive or rougher, and generally a worse commute. With fewer pubs and not so nice for cycling; If heaven is better than this, then I should be picking up the pace on my repentance.

 

[The Hammer2021]

This poster is one of three, not here in Thailand who constantly initiates irrelevant  threads but why use a Thai  based forum? Why not Reddit?

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Time to pull out my boring 80’s travel stories. In terms of islands had a good trip from Java to Bali to Lombok to Sumbawa to Komodo to Flores to Timor. Then a short flight to Darwin. Lombok is really different to Bali - Muslim and drier but nice beaches in the south and on the Gili islands. Spectacular mountain. Komodo has the lizards. Flores is large and has a lot of forest. Has a mountain with 3 different coloured lakes. It has a Portuguese Christian influence. Kupang in Timor is a bit different too. 

[thaibeachlovers]

Than Sadet beach in a hut on the edge of the sand.

No traffic, no nightlife and difficult to get to which keeps the yobs away.

 

Second place to Haad Khom.

 

I'd never want to stay long time in Singapore, the most soul less place I've been. There's more to life than shopping and eating.

I'd never want to stay in Malaya. Absence of sanuk.

 

Never went anywhere else long enough to judge as I arrived in LOS decades ago and it was as close to paradise as I would expect to find on this planet, so never went anywhere else in SEA.

I did have an overnight stay in Hong Kong, but that's not enough to judge anywhere on.

I did a visa run to Burma, but same as the previous sentence.

 

I've been to loads of other countries but the OP is about SEA.

 

If it were about "where on the planet" it'd be Antarctica.

Edited August 7, 2022 by thaibeachlovers

[LaosLover]

It's the one month stay that kills a lot of the recco's listed here. On the no way/one month list for me:

Saigon, Taipei, Thai Beach. A month would be too much of a good thing.

 

I'd want either megalopolis (Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong), or tourist-friendly (Chiang Mai, Penang, Ubud).

 

Between is your various Udons which are neither -so hard for me to love for 30 consecutive days.

[PFMills]

If you have any money left after all your ventures.Settle down with an Asian Babe buy a car and a condo and watch your mates, if you have any, chill out while they are with a different babe each night. In other words … O I don’t know ????

[GammaGlobulin]

After slopping around in SEA for a while... and after observing what goes on here for a while, and thinking awhile?

 

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of ccrapp, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

 

Let me just say that this topic is near and dear to my heart, especially during this period in my life.

 

Therefore, to answer this good question posted above, honestly speaking, here is what I would do, if I could:

 

aa.  I would put an ad on a few websites, seeking a Susan or two, preferably two nice young women of about ages 38 and 39.

 

bb.  Next, I would marry both of them, and both Thai women. But I would not marry both in Thailand.  I would marry one in Thailand and then another in a different country.

 

cc.  And then, I would buy airline tickets for all three of us, bound for Miyako-jima.  Miyako-jima is a pristine island with beautiful scenery, and remote.  Miyako-jima is the perfect place for cycling, as well, which some of you might already know. No cars, mostly, the island is perfect for cycling.  And, one never fear that one's shopping bike might be lifted.

 

dd.  I would buy a small house with three bedrooms, and a hot tub big enough to fit three while stretched out floating comfortably together.

 

ee.  Together, me and my mates would cook all the best Thai food with ingredients grown on our small property.  In Miyako-jima, the peppers are HOT, and the spices are spicy.

 

ff.  During the summer months, we would sit together and enjoy the occasional typhoons which often pass by.  Even the super typhoons would be our pleasure.  The infrastructure on Miyako-jima is almost completely impervious to typhoons, and the internet stays up and working even during the fiercest winds and waves.  Super Typhoons have always been something for me to look forward to, and I enjoy a locale where I can see about five or nine each year, from June through the beginning of October.

 

gg.  While not doing our typhoon watching, I would be writing something, maybe some sort of primer for learning Thai or English.  Or, I might even write a novel, or two.  It really would matter nothing to me if no one were to read it.  I could write about my experiences in Thailand, or my experiences on TV, or almost anything, really.

 

hh.  I have a lot more to say about how grand my life would definitely be, just me and my two Thai women, on Miyako-jima.  I love that place. I love the culture there.  The beauty of the flowers there is magnificent.  The infrastructure is totally up to snuff, too.

 

ii.  Most guys might not be able to hack living on such a remote island.  Yet, with two Thai women to cook for me, and provide me with massages all day, and with an internet connection which is fast and never goes down, I would be OK.

 

jj.  Is this just an idle daydream?  Would I ever really do this?  Honestly?  YES!

 

======

I really wish I could write more about this daydream, and the beauty to be found on Miyako-jima. However, I fear that, the more I ramble on, the more I may become less enchanted with my life here in Thailand. 

 

Sometimes, it is not so good to speculate, overly much, about just how green the grass is on the other side of the South China Sea, of the Taiwan Strait.

 

Truly, Miyako-jima would be paradise for me, if only I could bring with me two good specimens from Thailand.

 

I cannot live without Thai food, for sure.

 

Also, I love Thai women...BIG Time.

 

 

 

(I like this topic.)

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by GammaGlobulin

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

After slopping around in SEA for a while... and after observing what goes on here for a while, and thinking awhile?

 

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of ccrapp, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

 

Let me just say that this topic is near and dear to my heart, especially during this period in my life.

 

Therefore, to answer this good question posted above, honestly speaking, here is what I would do, if I could:

 

aa.  I would put an ad on a few websites, seeking a Susan or two, preferably two nice young women of about ages 38 and 39.

 

bb.  Next, I would marry both of them, and both Thai women. But I would not marry both in Thailand.  I would marry one in Thailand and then another in a different country.

 

cc.  And then, I would buy airline tickets for all three of us, bound for Miyako-jima.  Miyako-jima is a pristine island with beautiful scenery, and remote.  Miyako-jima is the perfect place for cycling, as well, which some of you might already know. No cars, mostly, the island is perfect for cycling.  And, one never fear that one's shopping bike might be lifted.

 

dd.  I would buy a small house with three bedrooms, and a hot tub big enough to fit three while stretched out floating comfortably together.

 

ee.  Together, me and my mates would cook all the best Thai food with ingredients grown on our small property.  In Miyako-jima, the peppers are HOT, and the spices are spicy.

 

ff.  During the summer months, we would sit together and enjoy the occasional typhoons which often pass by.  Even the super typhoons would be our pleasure.  The infrastructure on Miyako-jima is almost completely impervious to typhoons, and the internet stays up and working even during the fiercest winds and waves.  Super Typhoons have always been something for me to look forward to, and I enjoy a locale where I can see about five or nine each year, from June through the beginning of October.

 

gg.  While not doing our typhoon watching, I would be writing something, maybe some sort of primer for learning Thai or English.  Or, I might even write a novel, or two.  It really would matter nothing to me if no one were to read it.  I could write about my experiences in Thailand, or my experiences on TV, or almost anything, really.

 

hh.  I have a lot more to say about how grand my life would definitely be, just me and my two Thai women, on Miyako-jima.  I love that place. I love the culture there.  The beauty of the flowers there is magnificent.  The infrastructure is totally up to snuff, too.

 

ii.  Most guys might not be able to hack living on such a remote island.  Yet, with two Thai women to cook for me, and provide me with massages all day, and with an internet connection which is fast and never goes down, I would be OK.

 

jj.  Is this just an idle daydream?  Would I ever really do this?  Honestly?  YES!

 

======

I really wish I could write more about this daydream, and the beauty to be found on Miyako-jima. However, I fear that, the more I ramble on, the more I may become less enchanted with my life here in Thailand. 

 

Sometimes, it is not so good to speculate, overly much, about just how green the grass is on the other side of the South China Sea, of the Taiwan Strait.

 

Truly, Miyako-jima would be paradise for me, if only I could bring with me two good specimens from Thailand.

 

I cannot live without Thai food, for sure.

 

Also, I love Thai women...BIG Time.

 

 

 

(I like this topic.)

 

 

 

 

I think the idea of writing a novel that is both an English tutorial and a Thai tutorial is particularly imaginative. Would it be aimed at speakers of both those languages (presumably, to learn the other - to improve their own would require exceptional scholarly abilities), or aimed at third-language speakers to learn one, or other, or both of those languages?

[GammaGlobulin]

46 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

I think the idea of writing a novel that is both an English tutorial and a Thai tutorial is particularly imaginative. Would it be aimed at speakers of both those languages (presumably, to learn the other - to improve their own would require exceptional scholarly abilities), or aimed at third-language speakers to learn one, or other, or both of those languages?

If you are asking me to continue with my daydream and the novel I would write, then I would write some sort of fantasy about a westerner, two Thai women, and their journey to a small pristine island, suitable for cycling, an island which might originally have been part of Ruuchuu-kuku, where they befriended a Miyako-jima woman, and also, eventually, her friend from Tamara, and invited both the Myako-jima woman and her Tamara friend, to become a member of their small group, living by the sea in a stone house, protected from wind and waves.

 

The novel itself would be written in three or four languages, English, Thai, Japanese, Shuri-Naha, as well as a smattering of Tamara, one of the most endangered languages, as you know.

 

If I had time on my hands, I would write this fantasy novel about a westerner, two middle-aged Thai women, and another woman from Tamara.

 

(Please note that some say Tarama, and others say Tamara.  This is an endangered language, obviously.)

 

Just beginning from this basic premise, I would flesh things out, easily.

 

I wish I could write more about this, yet I fear becoming boring.

 

The most distinctive feature of this novel is that up to four, maybe five, languages would be used to write this novel, with absolutely no help to the reader, other than an extensive glossary at the end, sort of like A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess.

 

Yet, this novel would be long enough, maybe over 1000 pages, so that, by the time the reader had finished the final page of this novel, then the reader would be adequately fluent in all five languages.

 

At least, this is my dream.

 

Never say never, because I am sure this is possible.

 

One only need to have a dream and believe.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by GammaGlobulin

[GammaGlobulin]

One more question I would ask of the original poster of this very decent Topic, which is:

 

One of my favorite books is "Two Years Before the Mast", by Richard Henry Dana Jr.

 

When I happened to scroll down on TV, this topic sort of leaped out at me, for this very reason.

 

"One Year in South East Asia"

"Two Years Before the Mast"

 

I really like both titles.

 

Good Topics, BOTH!

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

NANA, Cowboy, Walking Street, Soi 6, ...

I have to think about #5

????

 

[Sparktrader]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

NANA, Cowboy, Walking Street, Soi 6, ...

I have to think about #5

????

 

Bangla rd?

[The Hammer2021]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

I think the idea of writing a novel that is both an English tutorial and a Thai tutorial is particularly imaginative. Would it be aimed at speakers of both those languages (presumably, to learn the other - to improve their own would require exceptional scholarly abilities), or aimed at third-language speakers to learn one, or other, or both of those languages?

There is a book  like that in Thai and English  for foreigners  married to Thais

[GammaGlobulin]

48 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

NANA, Cowboy, Walking Street, Soi 6, ...

I have to think about #5

????

 

 

Chanel No. 5, did you mean?

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by GammaGlobulin

[StreetCowboy]

54 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

There is a book  like that in Thai and English  for foreigners  married to Thais

Written in novel form, with a developing plot, that lures the reader into ever more sophistication, so that they decide either "I want to take classes", or "I know enough" so that they do not waste the time of others in classes.

Back in the day, I twice tried to learn Mandarin, the first time with a very enthusiastic English teacher, whose standards I fell far short of, and the second time with a diligent Taiwanese lady whose patience knew no bounds. In any case, between the two, I achieved a level of competence to maintain simple conversations with Chinese hookers in Dubai, and when I went on business to France, I found it easier to forego the fancy menus of the French restaurants and go to a Chinese restaurant and order a Taiwan lunch.

 

SC

[GammaGlobulin]

20 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

Written in novel form, with a developing plot, that lures the reader into ever more sophistication, so that they decide either "I want to take classes", or "I know enough" so that they do not waste the time of others in classes.

Back in the day, I twice tried to learn Mandarin, the first time with a very enthusiastic English teacher, whose standards I fell far short of, and the second time with a diligent Taiwanese lady whose patience knew no bounds. In any case, between the two, I achieved a level of competence to maintain simple conversations with Chinese hookers in Dubai, and when I went on business to France, I found it easier to forego the fancy menus of the French restaurants and go to a Chinese restaurant and order a Taiwan lunch.

 

SC

I know you know Taiwan like the back of your hand.

[StreetCowboy]

37 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I know you know Taiwan like the back of your hand.

I had always interpreted that as a threat: "You had better do this or you will know the back of my hand".

The last time that I was there, it was like a stranger to be, even the few acquaintances I met.  People move on, places change, you forget things...

You can never go back, and you can rarely go again without disappointment

[The Hammer2021]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Written in novel form, with a developing plot, that lures the reader into ever more sophistication, so that they decide either "I want to take classes", or "I know enough" so that they do not waste the time of others in classes.

Back in the day, I twice tried to learn Mandarin, the first time with a very enthusiastic English teacher, whose standards I fell far short of, and the second time with a diligent Taiwanese lady whose patience knew no bounds. In any case, between the two, I achieved a level of competence to maintain simple conversations with Chinese hookers in Dubai, and when I went on business to France, I found it easier to forego the fancy menus of the French restaurants and go to a Chinese restaurant and order a Taiwan lunch.

 

SC

Hhhmm fortunately I'm English and most people speak  that especially the girls in Bahrain and Dubai!

As for travelling through France and avoid French food to eat Chinese French food  which is  muck- I'm astonished. 'Fancy French Food'?.. LOL ..THATS WHAT WE JUST CALL 'FOOD' in France .

You sound like the only  person I've heard off for  whom learning a language  has diminished their choices.

https://uk.mantralingua.com/bilingual-books-in/Thai

[The Hammer2021]

15 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

I had always interpreted that as a threat: "You had better do this or you will know the back of my hand".

The last time that I was there, it was like a stranger to be, even the few acquaintances I met.  People move on, places change, you forget things...

You can never go back, and you can rarely go again without disappointment

Every native English  speaker  know the meaning of the  metaphor or saying for  familiarity- 'like the back of my hand'...

Eg 'I lived in Bangkok  years so I know it like the back of my hand'

The strong  larger Stella Artois is also known as wife beater or back of my hand or do as your told..

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

I had always interpreted that as a threat: "You had better do this or you will know the back of my hand".

The last time that I was there, it was like a stranger to be, even the few acquaintances I met.  People move on, places change, you forget things...

You can never go back, and you can rarely go again without disappointment

So true, that one can never go back.

 

"Wolfe took the title from a conversation with the writer Ella Winter, who remarked to Wolfe: "Don't you know you can't go home again?" Wolfe then asked Winter for permission to use the phrase as the title of his book."

 

Note: You are writing well these days.  Good to see it.

 

Note2:  I once knew Taiwan like the back of my hand.  Just another meaning for this idiom, I guess.