Beer Appreciation Thread

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I go to the pub once a week.
All the beer drinking alcoholics get fatter and fatter every week!

It's that unhealthy looking beer gut!
Beer guts are hilarious!
It means you're on the path straight to complications, which will cause a premature death!
 
CroydonDog

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Roll the Bones said:
How long you over there for? We're thinking of going over there later this year. Wouldn't mind a few tips about what to do/what not to do etc. We were in Canada for Christmas/New Years, lotsa great beers were had. I'll post a few photos.
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Only in Siem Reap for 2 days/1 night. Was actually a nicer little place than I was expecting. Side trip from Thailand without the kids so we couldn't stay too long unfortunately.
 
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Roll the Bones said:
How long you over there for? We're thinking of going over there later this year. Wouldn't mind a few tips about what to do/what not to do etc. We were in Canada for Christmas/New Years, lotsa great beers were had. I'll post a few photos.
Click to expand...
The travel agents tell you not to bother converting any money to the local currency (riel) because everybody takes American dollars. This is technically true, as the shops, restaurants, etc. have two sets of prices. What they don't tell you is the riel prices are intended for locals (mates rates) and the greenback prices are quite a bit higher. Forget about credit cards, etc. Convert as much money as you think you'll need and use it all the time - and don't be shy about haggling.
 
Alan79

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Roll the Bones said:
How long you over there for? We're thinking of going over there later this year. Wouldn't mind a few tips about what to do/what not to do etc. We were in Canada for Christmas/New Years, lotsa great beers were had. I'll post a few photos.
Click to expand...
My advice is to buy a lonely planet guide for the country you plan to visit. Not only useful for the do's and don'ts. It'll give you key phrases. Please, thank you, where is ......... It also gives respectful and disrespectful gestures, eg if you are in Thailand it's rude to point your feet at people. They consider feet to be filthy things. And lastly it's got good lists of things to do and where to do them. I wound up on a three day trek which was half a day walking, two thirds of a day elephant riding and the final day taking a relaxing cruise down very minor rapids on a bamboo raft.

But if you can stay for long and not follow a schedule rigidly, talk to other tourists. Most of the places I liked most wound up being less crowded with tourists and generally I learnt of these places through speaking with tourists. Find some people who do repeat trips, tell them what you like and let them give you ideas when you get there if you aren't the rigid schedule type.

This one's a big one to follow. You can confidently walk into the road in front of a sea of motorbikes and they'll part to let you through while maintaining their pace. This is how they've learnt to ride and they can do it on a 125cc scooter with the family of 9. Just maintain your pace and DON'T GO BACKWARDS. They'll be pretty likely to crash into you because they all know to compress on either side. You go backwards and they've got nowhere to go but into you. My mate got clipped this way. Like a hero I kept moving steadily across when he yelped though. I even helpfully pointed that I wasn't going back to the oncoming bikes. No Darwin awards for me.

But either buy or borrow a lonely planet guide from the library and you can plan where you go by looking up where activities that interest you can be found.
 
Roll the Bones

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Alan79 said:
My advice is to buy a lonely planet guide for the country you plan to visit. Not only useful for the do's and don'ts. It'll give you key phrases. Please, thank you, where is ......... It also gives respectful and disrespectful gestures, eg if you are in Thailand it's rude to point your feet at people. They consider feet to be filthy things. And lastly it's got good lists of things to do and where to do them. I wound up on a three day trek which was half a day walking, two thirds of a day elephant riding and the final day taking a relaxing cruise down very minor rapids on a bamboo raft.

But if you can stay for long and not follow a schedule rigidly, talk to other tourists. Most of the places I liked most wound up being less crowded with tourists and generally I learnt of these places through speaking with tourists. Find some people who do repeat trips, tell them what you like and let them give you ideas when you get there if you aren't the rigid schedule type.

This one's a big one to follow. You can confidently walk into the road in front of a sea of motorbikes and they'll part to let you through while maintaining their pace. This is how they've learnt to ride and they can do it on a 125cc scooter with the family of 9. Just maintain your pace and DON'T GO BACKWARDS. They'll be pretty likely to crash into you because they all know to compress on either side. You go backwards and they've got nowhere to go but into you. My mate got clipped this way. Like a hero I kept moving steadily across when he yelped though. I even helpfully pointed that I wasn't going back to the oncoming bikes. No Darwin awards for me.

But either buy or borrow a lonely planet guide from the library and you can plan where you go by looking up where activities that interest you can be found.
Click to expand...
Thanks mate, good info. I've been to Vietnam and Thailand before, but want to go back to Vietnam later this year, and also add in Laos and Cambodia. Always keen to get off the beaten track a bit and find a few hidden gems if possible. I always love talking and if possible, have a few drinks with the locals no matter where I am, well, maybe except for Texas :weary:
 
Alan79

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Roll the Bones said:
Thanks mate, good info. I've been to Vietnam and Thailand before, but want to go back to Vietnam later this year, and also add in Laos and Cambodia. Always keen to get off the beaten track a bit and find a few hidden gems if possible. I always love talking and if possible, have a few drinks with the locals no matter where I am, well, maybe except for Texas :weary:
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Laos was great when I went there. Had people trying to sell me and my mate pot when as we got off the ferry. Very handy when you don't even have to ask around :smirk:

You have to go tubing in Vang Vieng. It used to be a huge drinking trip. There were bars built in the middle of the river from bamboo. And off the bank. They were spaced close enough that even if you skilled your long neck you still couldn't stop at every bar. It's supposed to have safety regulations now. There's only a few bars on the river compared to when I went and the rope swings that used to cause 20 or more deaths per year have all been removed. But as a result it's a bit less crowded now according to what I read.

In Cambodia, aside from Angkor Wat (which deserves two days and maybe a touch of research so you can get to temples that specifically interest you. I only spent a day there and the temple I wound up watching the sunset from was meha crowded I'd probably try and see the sunrise at Ankor wat one day and if possible from and elevated place the next morning.

Phnom Penh offers two of the most sobering places to visit. S21 prison museum shows how the Khmer rouge treated anyone who had a semblance of education. And from Phnom Penh you can also visit the killing fields.

I can't recall much of specific interest from Vietnam. There's a village that specialises in stone carving which is a good souvenir destination. Also has a temple that's a long climb but worth it to see some of the bigger sculptures along the climb and in the temple. Amazing work. I bought a nice chess set there which I still have.

A couple of places along the coast offered mud crabs that wouldn't fit on a large plate. Served with garlic butter dipping sauce and a couple of chilli options.

Pai was probably the last hidden gem I got to in Thailand. There's great hot springs nearby (hire a scooter to get there). And hill treks rafting etc. I assume it's not so hidden anymore.

Anyway. Hope the trip goes well.
 
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Alan79 said:
Laos was great when I went there. Had people trying to sell me and my mate pot when as we got off the ferry. Very handy when you don't even have to ask around :smirk:

You have to go tubing in Vang Vieng. It used to be a huge drinking trip. There were bars built in the middle of the river from bamboo. And off the bank. They were spaced close enough that even if you skilled your long neck you still couldn't stop at every bar. It's supposed to have safety regulations now. There's only a few bars on the river compared to when I went and the rope swings that used to cause 20 or more deaths per year have all been removed. But as a result it's a bit less crowded now according to what I read.

In Cambodia, aside from Angkor Wat (which deserves two days and maybe a touch of research so you can get to temples that specifically interest you. I only spent a day there and the temple I wound up watching the sunset from was meha crowded I'd probably try and see the sunrise at Ankor wat one day and if possible from and elevated place the next morning.

Phnom Penh offers two of the most sobering places to visit. S21 prison museum shows how the Khmer rouge treated anyone who had a semblance of education. And from Phnom Penh you can also visit the killing fields.

I can't recall much of specific interest from Vietnam. There's a village that specialises in stone carving which is a good souvenir destination. Also has a temple that's a long climb but worth it to see some of the bigger sculptures along the climb and in the temple. Amazing work. I bought a nice chess set there which I still have.

A couple of places along the coast offered mud crabs that wouldn't fit on a large plate. Served with garlic butter dipping sauce and a couple of chilli options.

Pai was probably the last hidden gem I got to in Thailand. There's great hot springs nearby (hire a scooter to get there). And hill treks rafting etc. I assume it's not so hidden anymore.

Anyway. Hope the trip goes well.
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Laos and Cambodia are beautiful countries with lovely people. Both with some horrific recent pasts. Despite being poor AF, i never felt i was being ripped off by anyone in either. Can't say the same thing about Thailand :grinning:
 
Alan79

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CroydonDog said:
Laos and Cambodia are beautiful countries with lovely people. Both with some horrific recent pasts. Despite being poor AF, i never felt i was being ripped off by anyone in either. Can't say the same thing about Thailand :grinning:
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Only issue with Loas when I was there was the lack of ATM's. I'd like to have stayed a bit longer but with only 2 ATM's in the country I had to run back to Thailand to get cash out.

The money situation there was amusing. I think I would up with about 30,000 of their dollars after cashing roughly $200 Aussie dollars prior to crossing.
 
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CroydonDog said:
Laos and Cambodia are beautiful countries with lovely people. Both with some horrific recent pasts. Despite being poor AF, i never felt i was being ripped off by anyone in either. Can't say the same thing about Thailand :grinning:
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The fact that there are so many happy, smiling faces in Cambodia after what that Pol Pot did, is unbelievable. I still think fondly of our driver that we hired to drive us around Siem Reap. He’s a legend. I didn’t have the same experience as you re being ripped off. I bought a shitload more souvenirs from Cambodia than anywhere else I’ve been, but one thing still irks me. I was sucked into paying way more for a buddha pendant necklace than I should have. My mistake for taking it on face value only to realise later that it was plastic.
 
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