sydneyjohn57

Finally did arrive in Saigon, only 2 hours after advertised arrival time which was'nt tpp bad considering. I should note that immigration at depatures in PP and arrivals in Saigon were both empty and flew through at either end. I took advice that I had read online to catch the metered taxi and not the taxi counter and it was not until I had got to hotel and read their warnings advice to only use either of 2 taxi companies Vinasun or Mailinh asthe taxi industry is unregulated and taxis can set up their own meters to run at whatever rate they want.. The meterd taxi I took was not of those 2 and at destination wanted to charge me 860,000 VND plus ariport access fee of 100,000 VND. I knew the fare should be between 150K to 170K but as my luggage was in the boot (trunk for you in US) he had the upper hand and I finally got it down to 350K so blew approx $10 AUD. So anyone wanting to go their take note to only use the 2 companies mentioned and when outside museums, touristy places etc never take one parked outside and hail one driving along the street. I have been using Grab on my trip to date except when arriving at airport as often its hard to find a location where they are able to pick you up. Checked Grab pricing when at hotel and was 115,000 VND. Hotel stayed at is The Beautiful Saigon 3 Hotel in a laneway just off the entertainment street which luckily was faorly quiet as another of their hotels is in the main "walking street" and apparently sleep is impossible until after 3am. Saigon's walking street Bui Vien St is the only walking street that I have been to that allows traffic. It's a one street but that doesn't stop the motorbikes from going both ways. Venues are a mix of loud volume bars, restaurants and footpath plastic tables and chairs with beer prices for a small bottle of Tiger ranging from 20,000 VND in the plastic charis to 55,ooo + at high end. Lots of backpackers around, the usual array of street merchants, beggars etc with some FL GGs but no LBs that I can comfirm although saw what might have been one running down the street about 10 npm one night. I went to a couple of the musuems and the War Remnants Musuem was very interesting giving the Vietmanese view on th 'American War'. Among my researd prior to arriving I had read an online warning about scam happening at parl close by where I was staying (2nd September Park) whereby unsuspection farangs get lured into befriending a local who claims to know them, befriends him, intro's him to some of his friends and card game starts and farang loses all his money. In another article I read that students also sometimes approach farangs and want to have conversation to improve their English. I had a couple of hours to kill one afternoon and sitting in the shade on a hot day was nice and relaxing while watching locals and tourists enjoy the park when well dressed local walkied past and stopped, turned around and said he recognised me as he is supervisor at immigration and saw me at the airport. I asked what day and he couldn't remember exactly however I congratulated him on his memory of a face which he said he is trained to do. He told me that he is now on holidays from the day before and at the park with some of his colleagues nodding his head further down pathway. He queried from where I was and when I said Sydney he said that is such a coincidence as my sister is starting at St Vincents (a big hospital in Syd) next week and would I mind telling him and his friends more about Sydney so he can pass on to his sister. Unfortunately I had to tell him I was due elsewhere and again commended him on his powers of observation. I walked away and so did he but I had noticed another well dressed local on another pathway which intersected with mine seemed to have been watching us and when I was at traffic light to cross the road and go the green to walk I hesitated for a few seconds did an about turn and the 2nd local was forced to cross the road first and when he went straight ahead which was where I was looking when he glanced back I waited a bit and headed left. So whateverr may have been planned fizzled out. Its a pity really as I was hoping to help a student learn English

Flight from PP to Saigon today left 25 minutes early! Crossed into Vietnam airspace and captain announced we will circle for 20 minutes, after doing that for 40 minutes announcement was due to heavy rain in Saigon we are returning to PP, so after sitting on tarmac 45 minutes we are almost ready to try again.

Haven't taken anyone back in PP, however, don't think any problems taking anyone back to hotel. When I walked in last night the bloke at the desk didn't glance up from his phone.

Room that I booked was a balcony room with breakfast included and cost around $US40.00 per night. There is plenty LB action around the intersection of 136 that has 136 corner bar, madam butterfly, mr butterfly and ostro bar. Ostro is a great place to watch the action as not a hostess bar and beer 0.75 in happy hour and $1.75 other times.

My booking at Cyclo was for 3 nights but I extended an extra 2 to give me time to leisurely take in all the sights. The hotel is the most pleasant hotel I have ever had the pleasure of staying in due to the attitude of all the staff. Always greeting you by name, asking how your day was etc etc and bending over backwards to make sure everything is right. I did book my temple tour through the hotel even though I could get it cheaper elsewhere and ignored their suggestion to leave for the early tour and opted for 8am. I know I have read elsewhere on the forum to start as early as possible but decided 8 was early enough. I did the short temple visit of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and another 5 temples and glad that Angkor Wat was first as by 9.30 am I was sweating buckets with shade very hard to come by. I am glad I am reasonably fit as some of the temples have extremely steep steps whose risers are about twice as high as normal stairs and not as wide with all the edges worn from years of people climbing so the edges slope downward making going up not too bad but coming down a nightmare. Another must do is go to the Angkor National museum which I did the following day before the aches and pains of all the climbing the day before set in. I spent almost 3 hours in the museum and would suggest doing museum prior to visiting the temples as it gives a background of what is there and then you can make sure to visit the parts in the temple that the museum highlight. In the night times I went to Pub Street in centre of Siem Reap (tuk tuk US$2) where 2 streets are blocked of to traffic at night time and the are is full of restaurants with inside and al fresco dining or drinking. Happy hour beers are US 50 cents or $1 in most of the restaurants with some all day. From my observations it looks as though one group The Temple Group own over 50% of the restaurants under a couple of different names. There is no LB action at all but quite few GG freelancers about. Elsewhere here PDoggg had recommended Giant Ibis bus from Siem Reap to PP so took that up. It runs 3 times a day, latest being 12.30 pm which is the one I took. Advertised for 6 hour trip which they did almost to the minute with 3 stops (20 min, 30 min and 10 min) which I am glad of as in the middle of my last night there I woke up with severe stomach pains and yep another dose of the runs with a cold tossed in for good measure. My digs here in PP is the Ohana Phnom Penh Palace on Street 148 within stumbling distance of the action. I had booked a balcony room which overlooked 148, however, as there are 2 bars directly across the street I asked to be moved and they kindly gave me a large room at back of hotel away from any noise. Warning: No bum squirt There is a pool on ground floor and on the roof is the restaurant, open air area and a hot and cold splash pool. I am currently up there overlooking confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers

The 2 nights I spent in Bangkok were at Grand Business Inn in Sukhumvit Soi 11 just around corner from stairs leading to Nana BTS. An inexpensive hotel with all amenities ok.No in room safe, however, they have security boxes in room behind reception. Ground floor restaurant is very good. On Friday, took the trains to Swampy and then Bangkok Air to Siam Reap which took about an hour. Stayiing at the Grand Cyclo Boutique where I had booked a room through Agoda that included airport transfer so had emailed hotel at time of booking to give flight details and car was waiting after I had gone through the arrival rigmarole. If you want to get a visa on arrival which cost $US30 for a tourist visa make sure you have a recent passport size photo as it is a must. Luckily I did have some as thought I may need for Vietnam. Not sure what process is if one arrives without the photo. Hotel entrance, lobby area and bar restaurant and pool area: I had booked a double room via Agoda where it states is either a double bed or 2 singles and when booking forgot to make note to hotel so room they showed me had the 2 singles. They were quite happy to give me the room next door which is a king room with balcony. Strange room configuration open front door to the hand basin with toilet to the left and bed straight through: There is also a pool on the roof which overlooks a new entertainment area with night market, restaurant and bars all housed in shipping containers and seems as though only has a couple of tenants to date. The hotel is about 2klm from city centre and its well established Pub Street which is a $US2 tuk tuk ride away so the new venue has a lot of work to do to get it up and running. It appears to be sponsored by Cambodia Beer who's office appears to be across the road judging by cars in car park with all their different brands plastered over them.

Cheers is a shadow of its former self although is still one of the alfresco type bars that I visit each trip. It was the first alfresco in PBurgos with previous names of Vila Bar and before that Matrix. The service has declined terribly over the years but beer prices are still good.

Seems I started there too early last night and missed all the hi-jinx. Note to self: Don't go out at 6pm.... start after 10!!! Still I did have an enjoyable evening, cheers

My stay in Kanchanaburi was booked for 3 nights, however, I only stayed for 2. The hotel River Kwai Bridge Resort is only a 'resort' in name. It has a number of single cabins, semi-detached cabins and 2 buildings of 2-3 floors with rooms as well. It is set on a large property which runs from the road to the river where there is a view of the bridge. There is no restaurant, cafe or bar but can buy beer, soft drinks etc at reception. Breakfast was iincluded and they do bring out the normal fare at once was meant to be the cafe on the river bank. My cabin which backed on to the pool is a basic old room with basic amenities. Water pressure so so and water heater turned up to full still only gave warm water and no in room safe. Mosquitoes!!!! Mosquitoes!!! Mosquitoes!!! Did I mention mosquitoes...... The 'resort' is short walk to the bridge and 20 minute walk to where the bars are located, however, with temps in high 30's and feel of mid 40's I only tried walking around once and was drenched in sweat within a few minutes. Trikes cost THB 40 for short trip up to 100 for trip into the city proper. My plan was for the 1st full day there was to have a look around the bridge, museums and cemetry which I did and for the 2nd full day to do a full day trip to Hellfire Pass and all the other touristy places but the tours were not running as the morning before when I tried to book at reception they rang the tour operator who said that as they didn't have the minimum of 6 people it would not go ahead. I just shook my head wondering how many other hotels etc do they say that to each day and if they at least took tentative bookings during the day they may end up with the required number!!! The bar strip is fairly basic with a number of Aussie and English run beer bars and possibly a Dutch one or 2 as well. Not an exciting place at all although one bar had one ladyboy working so not a hunting ground. Instead of hanging around the 3rd day I grabbed a mini van to Bangkok for THB 150 which took just under 3 hours and stopped at Southern Bus Terminal, Mo Chit, MRT & Northern Bus Terminal so plenty of choices where to get off to continue your journey. So instead of spending a boring, sweaty, mosquito filled night in Kanchanaburi i had quite a few pleasant cold ales in Why Not Bangkok.

Walking past them they looked like agogo, did not go in so is just my assumption

Yesterday I took a mini van from Hua Hin to Kanchanaburi. Vans leave from Soi 51 bus station where a new bus station is almost finished and I think they may have made it too big for the volume of vans I saw around 10.30 am. Vans also leave there to go to Bangkok (both airports) as well as other regional places. Cost to Kanchanaburi is THB220, however, if you have luggage you have to buy a seat for it as there is no room on the bus which was a Toyota Coaster with seating for driver + 13 others. Buses leave hourly and take about 3.5 hours with 2 stops. You can book online with one website but they charge an extra THB40 or so. I tried to buy a ticket on Saturday at the bus station but they don't pre-sell and told me to come back Mon about 45 mins prior to the bus leaving. When we left there were 4 empty seats but driver made a couple of pick ups on the way so ended up full. Driver did not like red lights so if he was approaching one he would when intersection permitted go on the left of traffic, turn left, do U turn then left turn again. I guess we probably sace grand total of 5 minutes over the journey

The main bar area is Soi Bintabaht and surrounding sois. There are quite a few bar beers, a few agogo and a couple of nightclub type bars. In a few of the bars near the 7-11 on Bintabaht there were some LBs. From 8pm the bars start to get going with a few having a small band and some just playing music via Youtube. From midnight there is an influx of people so the night owls who start late will enjoy. In the sois surrounding the bar area there are quite a lot of restaurants as very few of the bars serve any type of food. There is another area on Soi 80 which has quite a few bar beers but I only took a look mid afternoon and it looked as though action starts there around 8pm. I did see a couple of LBs but did not stay out too late on any night there. There were a few online in TF and also Wechat showed a few in the local area offering massages. As I am moving around every few days it is playing havoc with body clock with some late nights and then having to get up bright and early to travel to next port of call so most nights I am heading back to hotel around midnight so unable to report goings on in the wee hours. It is well worth the trip if only for a couple of days as with the ferry it is only 2 hours from Pattaya. Getting around Hua Hin is costly with tuk tuk prices starting at THB100 just for a short trip, however, there are some motor bike taxis which are cheaper. When I was there there was no Grab at all but when I left yesterday morning I got an email from Grab advising that they now have started servicing the area.

I just spent a week in Pattaya and is business as usual as far as I could tell. Once you are on ground in Thailand change your location in Thai Friendly to where you are and you will likely either have a lb or 2 message you and you will also get responses from the real lbs

Each city besides Singapore has there good and bad points, Singapore in my opinion has no good points. For Ladyboy nightlife etc Pattaya wins hands down but for in general taking into account the general feel of a place ( traffic, cleanliness, ease of getting around ( obstacles on footpaths etc), friendliness of locals, variety & prices of food and drink, volume of tourists etc etc) I would rank KL as the best followed by Hua Hin. On another note we now have to take into account that the bulk of tourism to South East Asia now comes from China and India due to their economies and population so places like Phuket, Bangkok and Pattaya now have a large volume of tourists from there and of course the tourist operators are going to cater to them more now than to westerners. That in itself wouldn't be a bad thing, however, in my opinion if those 2 races (plus the young drunken westerners who thing they are above everything) learnt how to behave in a proper manner when traveling.

Hua Hin they charge by kilo, best price ironed I found is 80thb per kilo. In the picture above I thought someone may have picked up that beside the safari suit being included the headings for both sets of clothes is the same : Gentleman. Top section for the Gentleman has the normal stuff (except safari suit of course) and the lower section for the Gentleman has dress, blouse, brassieres etc. Does the hotel expect their guests are only men and ladyboys/crossdressers

This morning I heard then saw a bird smash into the balcony glass door, didn't take much notice as it probably was flying toward the reflection of the tree outside my room. A bit later went out on to balcony and a little bird flew out of the tree toward me then smashed itself against brickwork over the balcony door then flew back to this tree: If your eyesight isn't too good here are a couple of close-ups The little thing hasn't moved in an hour so am guessing the nest it is sitting in holds an egg or 2 .......Breakfast tomorrow????

It is in Boiler Room as it is General chit chat & not ladyboy related. If I report any LB related content it will be put in the relevant forum.

Accommodation in Hua Hin is the Sirin Hotel on Damnernkasem Rd (Soi or Alley 61 as shown on google). It is an older 3 storey hotel which is showing its age but is clean and staff are friendly. Hot water is only just warmer than tepid and water pressure variable from fair to middling and shower head needs changing which would likely fix some of the pressure problem if a good head was used. Also another hotel with only soap and shampoo dispenser in shower and cake of soap supplied for hand basin is so small it will be gone in 2 handwashes. Internet so far is good and router is in good spot to service all rooms on my floor. Booking on Agoda there was no option for a room without breakfast and I think that is included with all bookings. If you miss breakfast you are not missing much as choice is American Breakfast or Thai Breakfast. I did take a balcony room overlooking the pool and was hoping for some eye candy but at moment just older European couples are trying to get skin cancer. Hotel is in centre of town with McDonalds next door and Burger King across the road for the junk food lovers, however, plenty of other restaurants in the general area. Nightlife area is just a couple of Sois behind hotel (5 min stroll) and on first foray last night only spied one LB but will check out further in next couple of days.

The last couple of nights in Pattaya were spent bar hopping all around the place. Some of the restaurant/bars had a LB or 2 working as servers. On Buakhao there were 2 that I saw at Witherspoons of which one was quiet attractive and spent some time chit chatting there was another tall slim LB working at Rich Bar on Wednesday night that I would liked to have got to know a bit more but alas had to have an early night as had to be up early next day to get to Hua Hin. Whilst in Pattaya I downloaded Wechat app and there were quite a number of LB online within 100 to 200 metres no matter where I was. Also when I turned on Thai Friendly app quite often would get a message or interest from a LB. Ferry from Pattaya to Hua Hin leaves at 10 am each day from Bali Hai Pier. Tickets can be bought in advance as I did from the office on first floor of building in front of the pier and you must supply passport or id to purchase as well as when you board the ferry. Check in starts at 9am and all bags are screened through xray machine. Staff load and unload your baggage at each end. I went Economy which is on lower deck which has around 400 hundred seats in config of 3-4-4-3 and seats individually marked A to N with the row number. There were only about 60-70 people in economy so you can pretty much sit where you want. They do have a snack service with overpriced snacks but you can take your own food if you want. Journey took just over 2 hours and seas were quite calm and its a pity that passengers aren't allowed out on dech during the journey as it would have been quite pleasant. I was quite amazed at the number of plastic bottles and other debris in the water, although I only saw one or 2 every now and then when you consider the expanse of water being crossed on a particular heading then put that into perspective its no wonder the sealife is being poisoned.

I am glad that my wardrobe includes only cotton shirts as the sweat has been streaming off me during the day even though temperatures are only low 30's the humidity is in the 70's. Back in Australia I only work up a sweat once the temp reaches high 30's. Next part of the grand tour has been booked, I will take the 10am ferry to Hua Hin on Thursday at cost of THB1250 which is more than 3 times the Bell Bus fare but only takes 2 hours weather permitting. *** reminder to self.... do not go out on the town on Wednesday night. The plan is to stay 4 nights then take mini van to Kanchanburi, however, will see what happens between now and then

Nice report pplover,. Echoes of my own thoughts and expressed a lot better than I could do. I'll leave my on ground reporting to hotels, transport etc unless I come upon an exceptional experience

Logged into Thai Friendly earlier to change location to Pattaya and 35 mins ago got a message from Phet1983 with "Hello"... coincidence indeed

Thursday was 1st night in Pattaya in about 8 years so spent the evening getting a general idea of the area, walking from my hotel to Buakhao then down past Tree Town to second rd then down one of the sois to Beach Rd, into walking street where I had a meal at one of the bars and did some people watching for a while. Afterwards had a couple of beers in Pattaya Beer Garden and walked back to hotel via South Pattaya Rd & Buakhao stopping off in another bar which had a band playing 70 & 80s. Along the route there were plenty of LBs in different bars and massage parlours so no shortage whatsoever. Friday night I caught baht bus along Buakhao to Central Pattaya where it continued along to Beach rd so got off and caught another at Second Rd and got off near Alcazar picking probably the wrong soi to get down to Beach Rd Soi 4. Apparently I had arrived on the first night of the Pattaya Seafood festival from May 4 to 8 with probably 200 stalls selling all kinds of food. Some stalls were from various hotels and others appeared to be just privateers or restaurant owners I couldnt tell as signs on 90% of stalls were in Thai. The whole thing stretched from Soi 3 to almost Central Pattaya Rd. Bigwigs had a special marquee on the beach at one end at the other was a stage with performers and in between little tables set up on beach for the general public. After sampling some of the food from different stalls I continued walking along to Pattaya Beer Garden for a couple of beers, listening to their great selection of songs playing then back toward my hotel. On the way I went past bar on a corner of Buakhao and the soi with Baby Boom ( I think as checking from Google maps) called Surprise Yourself which was full of nice looking LBs so will check that out closer in next few days. I stopped in at a bar with a one man band playing which I thought was called P32 The Espresso Bar but turns out it was Pook Swan House which is next door to Pook 2 bar (which may have been the reason I picked it as you can see in from where i was sitting into Pook 2 which had some very nice LBs a couple of whom were trying to entice me to join them and it looked as though there only customers where one man playing pool and a couple who looked as though they were having a great laugh with one of the girls. On the way home I had a glance in Sensations and there appeared to be one customer inside and 4 LBs on the veranda all engrossed in their phones and did not appear appealing to me at all. Almost 8pm Saturday now so will wander out and see what the night brings

i had washing done in Phuket at one of the local laundries and the laundries there charge by the kilo (between 50 & 60 baht) with extra charge for ironing. Whereas in Pattaya the laundry I used yesterday charged by the item either ironed or not. 5 short sleeve shirts, 5 underwear, pair of trousers and a handkerchief totalled THB250 which I thought was reasonable compared to hotel prices. So I thought that I's ccompare with hotel I am staying at. There is a striking error in the photo below which makes me wonder about the guests that they are expecting:

Adelphi hotel is on same soi as Sensations half way between Baukhao and 3rd road. I have a balcony room on 2nd floor which is fairly quiet. There is a construction site behind the hotel so rooms close to the front would avoid a lot of the noise. It can be heard from my room but not enough to affect sleep and I am a fairly llight sleeper. In room safe is too small for laptop and only just fits my samsung tablet lengthwise. Coffee and tea supplied as well as 2 glass bottles of water which I have decanted into plastic bottle from last hotel. There is a large refrigerator but no mini bar items. Internet is good so far. and can connect a number of devices at once. Bathroom is oddly shaped and have to close the door to use the toilet. Water pressure and hot water very good. Elsewhere I have complained about hotels supplying either soap or shower gel... This place has a new low... wash basin has a soap dispenser and shower has gel dispenser (marked soap) and a shampoo dispenser and there is no soap holder to use if you have your own soap and have to rest it on the dispensers Roof top has pool with the added attraction of the next door's building site's crane's arm occasionally doing a pass above.