BootsnAll Travel Community

This is a new thread of Asia warnings. It is to be used for Asia specific warnings only. Warnings include instances of robbery in a certain part of a city, bad hostel experiences, etc. As a content-rich thread, we do not want any back-and-forth or questions. Please direct all questions via Private Messages (Click on "Go" in the left hand corner, select "My Space" and then "Private Messages") to the poster. You can also issue a PM by clicker on the poster's name and selecting "Private Message". Any post that does not contribute relevant information will be deleted. Examples include: responses to previous posts in the thread and questions. The information can be on any city, region or country in Asia. When reading these experiences, please remember that there are two sides to every story and warnings should be issued sparingly.

Be wary of catching a taxi from BKK airport. The non-metered ones show up in the taxi queue, just like the metered ones. Ask before you climb in.

Hi I'm thinking about travelling to Thailand July 10th-Aug 3rd. My friend backed out on the trip and now I seem to be going on my own. I know no one there. Do you have any suggestions? I've done quite a bit of research, but would really like to have someone show me around for at least the first few days so I can get acclamated with how things work there. I fly into Bankok at midnight. Any suggestions or website recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
janice

Well, I recommend Suk11. Great, safe place for a solo traveler and condusive to meeting other travelers. And even if you are determined to stay elsewhere, I recommend their links page which has tons of helpful information.

I recommend the airport buses from the BKK airport if you don't want to deal with the taxis. If I remember correctly, it's only 100 baht and there are four different lines, one of which leaves you right down the street from the great Suk 11 which Joe mentioned.

PC

The metered taxis say something to the effect of "Metered taxi" in enormous letters right on the dang thing.

Why anyone would want to mess around with a dumbass bus after flying in a metal tube for what amounts to 24 hours is beyond me.

Air-conditioned taxi. Door to door service. <$6.00.
What's not to like?

quote:

Originally posted by Court:
As a content-rich thread, we do not want any back-and-forth or questions. Please direct all questions via Private Messages (Click on "Go" in the left hand corner, select "My Space" and then "Private Messages") to the poster. You can also issue a PM by clicker on the poster's name and selecting "Private Message". Any post that does not contribute relevant information will be deleted. Examples include: responses to previous posts in the thread and questions.

??? no ???

You can delete this one as well of course.

For up to date information on all countries, the FCO website provides clear guidiance and recommendations of places to stay away from (usually due to terroism, or natural disasters). Don't take it too seriously, although for UK citizens if you go to an area they advise against going to, it could invalidate your insurance.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Ehrlich:
The metered taxis say something to the effect of "Metered taxi" in enormous letters right on the dang thing.

Why anyone would want to mess around with a dumbass bus after flying in a metal tube for what amounts to 24 hours is beyond me.

The airport buses are comfortable and convenient. They bring you right to the areas most people want to go to when you arrive in Bangkok.

quote:

Originally posted by jcat:
Hi I'm thinking about travelling to Thailand July 10th-Aug 3rd. My friend backed out on the trip and now I seem to be going on my own. I know no one there. Do you have any suggestions? I've done quite a bit of research, but would really like to have someone show me around for at least the first few days so I can get acclamated with how things work there. I fly into Bankok at midnight. Any suggestions or website recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
janice

Hi Janice

How are you doing? Shame about your friend backing out. I am in the same situation & will be arriving in Bangkok on 30th June staying for 3 nights then heading to a beach resort (prob Phuket) for a week to chill then another 6 weeks free to travel. If you fancy sending me a mail when you arrive I can answer any questions you may have & exchange ideas etc. email tktansy@btinternet.com

In the meantime take care & try not to worry too much. I am sure we will find our feet soon enough.

T

When going to the black market in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, don't take a daypack. Just put some money in your pocket, or in a plastic bag. I carried my daypack in front of me, with my hand on it and was being alert and it still got slashed, so the usual carefulness is not enough. I've heard similar stories from others so what happened to me was not an isolated incident. Haven't had any problems anywhere else in UB.

When Ko Phag Ngan Full Moon Partying - heed the warnings and DON'T take anymore money than you need. I got my bag stolen (with little in it) but I luckily had it reclaimed.

I've met quite a few people that have fallen prey to the motorbike cowboys stealing bags off you in TukTuks in Vietnam as well as parts of Cambodia. This probably extends all over Asia too, so basically, if you go in any Tuk Tuk or on the back of a bike, make sure your bag is REALLY SECURE (ie attached to you in some way - on your lap is NOT secure enough!!!).

When you load your backpacks on buses heading places (especially overnight buses etc) I'd suggest putting as many padlocks on your bag as possible, to prevent people going through it (on most buses there is actual access from the main carriage to the luggage compartment). It hasn't happened to me, but has to a lot of people I know.

I'd just always read up on an area in a travel guide before you go there so you know what the warnings are. Some things are no big deal, but there are loads of ways to waste money if you're not careful (eg. change money before you go into Cambodia rather than at the border where the exchange rate is pants!).

ONE MORE!:

If you're getting the bus from Poi Pet to Siem Reap (horrible journey) just wait for the breakdown! There always seems to be a 'fake' breakdown on the bus, which results in you waiting around for about an hour until they 'fix' it - The idea of course is that you become really sleepy and when you finally arrive at their guesthouse (or the one they've been paid extra to take you to) that you will instantaneously take it, and not bother to find anywhere else. Our whole bus boycotted this since we knew they were bshitting us, but it could be disconcerting if you didn't know it was a hoax in advance!

I will surely be in BKK around the 17th of July, want to meet up for a beer?

Not sure if that was directed at moi or not, but if it was, alas I'll be heading to New Zealand on the 12th so no can do.. Have a great trip me dears..

Seoul Tower in Nam San Seoul Korea is currently under renovations. They said they will reopened around November. I haven't catched any signs indicating this. It's good work out walking up STEEP 1KM STAIRS, but I wouldn't have walked up if anyone told me this sooner.

ATM doen't work well in Korea. Always look for KEB Bank they are the only bank that takes Visa Check Cards.

please delete my above post.

*Some* places in India

Be extra careful at any festivals, or general holidays were there are lots of people on the streets or in general 'high spirits'.

This is specifically aimed at female travellers.

When I was in Jaipur me and my boyfriend sumbled upon a Muslim festival, which meant the streets of the old-city were packed with males in very high spirits...
I started to get gropped, when boys would come over seemingly just to shake my hand, then pull me towards them and have a feel.
This led into me being forced against a fence by about 30-40 males all gropping me and trying to kiss me etc (generally sexual assult)
It was scary and lasted (to me) what seemed like forever.
My boyfriend tried to help by fighting them off but was unsuccessful due to the sheer amount!
Eventually a guard came along and beat them off.

I've heard this happen to a few females during festival times - -
just BE WARY!
and safe!

I wanted to bring to everyones attention a problem I had with a hostel in Beijing China. This hostel is in a terrible terrible terrible horrible area called lamp city south of the third ring road. It’s run by a bloke named "Navy Wang" and is the biggest scam ever. I was approached at a University and offered a ride there after being told it was a great place and was cheap. In fact it is quite the opposite! They claimed they could only pick me up at night which I found out later was the way they hide how terrible the location really is. I took my Chinese girlfriend along just in case they didn’t understand English. After one night of average accommodations in a less than average environment we decided we needed to check out asap. It was then they tried to charge us for things we never used and for food we never ordered! To make things worse they tried to charge us a rate almost triple what they had first claimed it would be. Then the most amazing part happened...they said if I was willing to write a letter to lonely planet saying the place was good I could pay a lower rate without all the extra charges, which was no doubt what I was supposed to pay in the first place!! I decided this sounded to unbelievable and then they threatened to call the police. I asked to see their license and they started screaming on the phone! At that point I decided to leave the amount I agreed to in the beginning and run. I’ve now heard rumors that they are attempting to offer foreign students like myself around campus cash to write favorable commentc for them.

If anyone named “Navy Wang” or someone else offers you a hostel in Beijing and their address is Shi Li He Deng Cheng (Shir-li-her-dung-chung) PLEASE PLEASE be WARNED. I really want all fellow backpackers to know about this. If you have any ideas about how I can help spread the 411 about this scam or if you need any more info about this place PLEASE let me know. This hostel ended up causing me to fail an exam because I was so freaked out.

Troubled traveler

Beijing China seems like it's going through major makeover for 2008 Beijing Olympics. You are going to see atleast one building being renovated or re-constructed on almost every major sites. I still think it's worth to see them but some of you may not.

When you get off from the train stations, I suggest you not to fellow a person giving you "some what" great deals on a rooms, unless you speak some Chinese, know how to get around the town, and/or if you want to be only foreigners there.