The Travel Thread

[TeamSatan]

Yes. That's filipino style roast pork/pig.

I have been to the phils 14 times and the food never looks that good.

 

[TeamSatan]

I'm back to China in May. This time 3 nights in Beijing, back to Hong Kong & Guangdong for 8 Nights for work related crap & then 5 nights in the Philippines on the way home. Staying in Cebu & heading over to Leyte for a night for an engagement party.

Any advise for Beijing & the Philippines? I havent been to either before. Beijing we are staying about a block away from The Forbidden City, so that should be pretty easy to check out. Will most likely book a guided tour to see The Great Wall, but not sure what else to tie in with it. Apparently the hotel is also close to the Wangfujing Night Market, so will definitely sus that out as well.

Allow much more time than you think is normal for travel in the phils..Everything takes forever and is always late.
Leyte is the backwoods be careful there.
If you are white then you will be judged to be wealthy therefore a huge target for every vendor, beggar within 10 miles...Also you will be charged much more than the locals for everything cause racism is alive and well in the phils.
Try not to get frustrated at their totally illogical way of doing everything just go brain dead like the locals.
Always carry small peso bills cause they never have change.
Never stand in line for ferries behind the locals..the old pinay's will argue at the window forever and they cut in line all the time. Go to the line with more foreigners.
You will have to line up 2 or three times to buy a ferry ticket cause one line for the ferry and the others for terminal fee's and other bogus taxes..If there are 2 or 3 people travelling together then get each person to go to a different window to cut waiting time.
If you are white the security or customs may ask you for a "gift" give them nothing.
It's better to travel with a local to avoid these problems cause they tell them to piss off.
Avoid jeepneys unless you want a bad disease or to be robbed by a huge number of scams.
Never assume that the phils is anything like the rest of Asia...its not, it's far worse.
Of course filipino's will never tell you the truth about it cause for them its all fine but for the foreigner it is quite often the most stupid place on earth.

I go there for WW11 shipwrecks...Diving is good there...its run by foreigners LOL.

 

[Misanthrope]

China trip is coming together well.

Managed to score a free Great Wall hike and a free two day city tour, and making some headway on locking down free accommodation in Beijing as well.

If I can lock down something in Nanjing too, my only expenses will be booze and food. Of course, those'll be a lot :lol:

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

But the question remains, can Mis push past the pain barrier and live off of cumin + lamb?

 

[Misanthrope]

Why would I need to do that?

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

Your distain for lamb has been well documented in the FFB.

 

[Misanthrope]

Lamb is shite, it's true. China does it particularly poorly.

 

[Twizzle]

Lamb is good shit, I like it in Indian food

 

[Misanthrope]

Anything is good in Indian spices. It burns away the other tastes :lol:

 

[soc123_au]

Lamb kebabs in China are awesome from my experience. In saying that meat, spice rub, cook over charcoal is a pretty difficult thing to f**k up. This time in 2 weeks I should be looking for a good spot to pee off the Great Wall.

Thanks for the heads up Team Satan. Fortunatly we will be hooking up with a local when we head to Leyte. She is Aussie now, but Philo born & raised. We have 2 days in Cubu before she arrives though. I have been doing a fair bit of reading & am both excited & a bit nervous. Scams I should be ok, seen enough attempts in China to switch on early. We probably will go and get plastered at Mango Square one night though, I think that night I will leave everything in the safe at the hotel & just carry enough peso's to get through the evening to be on the safe side.

 

[Misanthrope]

Actually, you're right there. With the right amount of spice rub and charcoaling, I do enjoy a good lamb skewer.

Assuming it's actually lamb.

So f**king excited to be able to eat jaozi, Beijing duck, xiaokao, and all of my other favourites in six weeks time :crazy:

What part of the Wall are you heading to, soc?

 

[soc123_au]

I'm pretty sure we are hitting up the Badaling section. Most likely check out the Summer Palace on the way back. We should get to the Hotel in Beijing around 2.30pm on the 2nd of May, so we will have a few hours that arvo & night to have a look at the Forbidden City etc & hook into some authentic Beijing Duck.

Sunday is the tour to the Wall etc, and hit the night markets in Wangfujing. Then we have Monday free to do whatever. Most likely try & find some Hutongs to explore. Tuesday we will have until around lunchtime until we get picked up to go back to the airport.

Should be a pretty full on few days. I am hoping it isnt too crazy being during the May Day festivities.

 

[Misanthrope]

Headed back to my home town next week to attend the Australian Celtic Festival. Lived in the area since was 12 and haven't ever been.

Should be... interesting.

 

[Dutchy]

I'll be in Peking May 1-5.

 

[soc123_au]

Where are you staying? We will be at the Prime Hotel in Wangfujing.

 

[Dutchy]

http://t.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/King-s-Joy-International-Hostel/Beijing/8410

 

[t-ba]

Quick question as I sit in the not so ghetto AirAsia terminal at KL.

Anyone got a must try stall or restaurant in Penang? I already have a list a mile long but I don't neccessarily trust Indonesian opinions on non-halal Chinese and Indian food.

Mutianyu for the great wall. They have a f**king sleigh ride!

 

[Misanthrope]

I contemplated Mutianyu, but the idea of riding a tobaggon down the wall seemed a bit tacky to me. I want to see it as a historic site, not an amusement park.

I believe Bazal has some strong feelings re: Penang.

 

[t-ba]

If you want an historical experience the sections near Beijing will not be scratching that itch. Restored up the wazoo often without traditional techniques. Sheer insanity in terms of people especially as it gets closer to the northern summer. May as well have some fun with it!

Yeah, I guess the Penang one is a paging call for Bazal. Plz to be halping!

 

[Misanthrope]

If you want an historical experience the sections near Beijing will not be scratching that itch. Restored up the wazoo often without traditional techniques. Sheer insanity in terms of people especially as it gets closer to the northern summer. May as well have some fun with it!

Yeah, I guess the Penang one is a paging call for Bazal. Plz to be halping!

Yeah, restored sections and crowds aren't for me either. I'm going to head out to Jinshanling and Simatai East/West while I'm out there. Partially restored, but parts of it are still crumbling. Should be good.