Budget SE Asia trip, Summer 2016 Updated real-time - Page 15 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Glad all is going well and you're enjoying Asia! Why was your hotel such a "gross: tourist trap? I hope it wasn't too bad that your stay wasn't a bad experience!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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The hotel in Pattaya was great, but the city itself was a gross tourist trap. It's the center of the Thai sex tourism trade as well as huge western resorts on the outskirts. Very little in the way of local charm, unless you like block after block of bored-looking wen in hot pants waiting for their next "massage" client.
It was nice to have access to European pastry, Spanish chorizo, and wonderful bread. Oh, and rittersport brand chocolate. We enjoyed ourselves, but it's not what we came to Asia for. And it was FULL of old single white men there to enjoy the city's special offerings. I'm not a sex hater, but I do have mixed feelings about the sex industry, especially with such a dramatic economic disparity.
Burma is a big deal. We spent 8 hrs as the only foreigners on a bus yesterday. Today we take a train. Final destination by train tomorrow, if all works as planned we will arrive at Inle lake then.
Sorry to hear about the gross tourist stuff and sex things but these things are well known in many Asian cities and we've seen this in many movies such as The Deer Hunter! It's their equivalent of a "Red Light District" and not always good. In Europe from the city of Amsterdam off the Amstel River and Paris to the north in Place Pigalle they have them and I know them as I've seen them in my travels. Stayed close to here one time on a French class trip and was quite interesting, but never felt in danger. Don't worry anyone here as I'm a good soul, even though I've stayed approximate to this risque zone of "mon" Paris
Lot of crazy things in Asia outside the civilized cities in Japan and China to a degree but get a lot of this in Eastern Asia and much of South America as well!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 07-27-2016 at 10:32 PM..
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Yes, we knew exactly ehat we were getting into in Pattaya, and it was worth it to hang with Tim, who was looking for as western tourist an experience as he could find. It was with it, and yet, it might not have rated 4 nights of our precious time left.
We've made it clear of most of the trappings of heavy tourism, and have been making our way through myanmar by bus and train. Our taxi yesterday was by pony cart, and our hotel had leaks in the hall during a rain storm. We planes to take a mountain train today to uncle lake, but the tracks are under water, so we ended up taking a mini van bus once the delay was announced. We are now staying in a heavenly mountain bungalo. It's rainy and cool and it's a blessed change from the heat we've experienced up till now.
Today we started throwing around the possibility that we don't have time for China at the end of the trip, so the question is, do we fly in and out of Shanghaii? Or skip it?
Wow, pony cart and leaks, you are certainly seeing real life out there!
Ok, I'm a bit confused about China and not having enough time for it - has something changed with your plans? If all you're going to do is fly to Shanghai and then fly home, then I'm not sure I see the point. However, if it's going to cost a lot of money to change the flights, then it's probably not worth doing it.
Quite an interesting vacation with the pony carts and so on! This is definitely not America!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Wow, talk about withdrawals! I couldn't get on passporter for the past 2-3 days and it drove me nuts!!!!
To answer your question Cheryl: our tix are out of Hong Kong. Originally we imagined visiting a few sights around China while traveling to Shanghai by train and bus, then traveling back to Hong Kong for the flight home. We now only have time to finish up in Myanmar, visit our friends in
Laos for a week or so, then fly either to Shanghai and train to Hong Kong for the flight OR scrap the idea of visiting DLS and just wrap things up in Hong Kong.
The trip is significantly under- budget up till now, we do have an extra 600 or so to make Shanghai happen by flight, but it is a LOT of money to spend on 2 days in a new park. I could take that 600 and go to DL/CA later in the year, maybe. What to do?
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I hope it wasn't too bad that your stay wasn't a bad experience! 
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It's their equivalent of a "Red Light District" and not always good. In Europe from the city of Amsterdam off the Amstel River and Paris to the north in Place Pigalle they have them and I know them as I've seen them in my travels. Stayed close to here one time on a French class trip and was quite interesting, but never felt in danger. Don't worry anyone here as I'm a good soul, even though I've stayed approximate to this risque zone of "mon" Paris 
This is definitely not America!
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