I'm staying here, but would like to go to Laos for a longer trip (once Covid has receded a bit). How is life different in Laos, compared to rural Cambodia? (besides the double-price/corruption - neither of which I experience much).simon43-1 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:18 amBack on topic
Laos:
I've been living and working in north Laos (Luang Prabang) for about 2.5 years now. Teaching science online, with an annual business visa and work permit. It's a very quiet place, especially since Covid-19 killed the foreign tourist trade. But no hassles of any sort, no corruption (that affects me), no double-pricing (I shop in the local market and pay the same as locals etc).
Not the kind of place if you want a 'wild' time. More the kind of place to sit and watch the silent and mighty Mekong river over a cold Luang Prabang beer
Plan B - where do Expats move next ?
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It is only safe to tour on a bicycle if you take adequate precautions and always maintain a total awareness of your surroundings at all times.Guest wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 5:02 amCycling is my favourite form of transport however outside of Holland I am scared af. Is it safe in asia? Any near misses you cyclists encountered?
...After many years of trips and thousands of kilometres, I never had a mishap worse than falling off my bike because the air was too thin and the path too steep in Tibet... ( I stopped moving and fell over sideways... )
I must say... The only real secrets for safe cycling...
- Take the empty back roads, and ride buses over main roads to reach the empty roads
- Pull off the road if you hear big trucks or fast maniacs coming up from behind on narrow roads.
Anyway, despite the dangerous drivers, the far north of India is wonderful, especially up in Ladakh. Also, next door, Nepal is a paradise, excepting the road between Kathmandu and Pokhara -- avoid cycling on it...
Some of the best cycling in Asia: the islands of Indonesia, including Flores and Sumbawa -- with many wild camping spots beside mountain rivers warm for bathing and deserted beaches...
Sri Lanka is lovely up in the hills and tea gardens, and there are deserted beaches on the northeast and southern coasts... camping easy... some good food at the buffet vegetarian restos... but no good dinner-time restos in Sri Lanka, except in Colombo city... In Sri Lanka, a 600ml bottle of beer costs about $1.40 at a local distributer, which are a challenge to find; but in touristy dumps like Arugam Bay, you can't buy a beer anywhere for less than $3.50... I think there are some nicer beach places on the south coast... (Avoid tourist zones to save on food and drink...)
South Korea is great, too, with plenty of bike trails and empty mountain highways with roadside gazebos off the road, where you can camp... cheap convenience shops with nice rice sandwiches and hot, real coffee...
I never had an accident after all these years...
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
...Hannah Arendt
...Hannah Arendt
I uses to love going to Laos for work. Great place. Lovely people. Calm. Quiet. Great food and LAOS BEER !
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Rated R for Ricecakes
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My plan for the next place to live is wherever Ricecakes is currently residing.
That place is always AWESOME
That place is always AWESOME
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Cycled around Laos in 2015, and by motorcycle in 2019-20, January... Really great smooth paved roads in most places, which up in the mountains are nearly 100% empty of all traffic! I think there is no better place for cycling mountains... The bottled beer is super fresh and better than anything available in Cambodia, lol... The food, however, can be difficult... Only major truck junctions seem to have decent restos, and many villages have absolutely nothing but noodles in packets, etc... It is hard to find good food in Laos outside the touristy places like Phonsavan and Luang Prabang, etc...
Anyway, it is worth it, the cycling is safe and gorgeous, whether it be along the Bamboo Trail up to Champasak from the 4000 islands, or all the way up in the mountains... I think the only unfortunate thing I noticed was -- between 2015 and 2020 -- the Mekong had suffered some serious floods, and the Bamboo Trail along the riverside has been eroded and almost effaced in places... People are being forced back away from the river as the flooding takes big chunks out of the river banks... But you can camp along there, and jump in the rivers anywhere in clean Laos...
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
...Hannah Arendt
...Hannah Arendt
My friend says his friend is living in Tsblisi Georgia and it’s cheap and awesome.
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Yea, it's also a small, cold city in a post Soviet country, very far from the ocean (the Black Sea is depressing and the holiday "resort town" of Batumi is shit), heavily reliant on Georgian/Russian languages, shithole countries next door (OK, the Turquoise coast of Turkey is excellent, but that's a several day bus ride away - northeastern Turkey is as exciting as Stung Treng), and not exactly a culinary destination - there are only so many kinkali and khactchapuri you can eat. Oh, and there was that very violent protest/demonstration in July. Check it off the bucket list, but I don't think it's a comparable quality of life to here.Bruce Highway wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:28 pmMy friend says his friend is living in Tsblisi Georgia and it’s cheap and awesome.
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Don't seek any further Cambodia is the last bastion for Westerners.Miguelito wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:23 amYea, it's also a small, cold city in a post Soviet country, very far from the ocean (the Black Sea is depressing and the holiday "resort town" of Batumi is shit), heavily reliant on Georgian/Russian languages, shithole countries next door (OK, the Turquoise coast of Turkey is excellent, but that's a several day bus ride away - northeastern Turkey is as exciting as Stung Treng), and not exactly a culinary destination - there are only so many kinkali and khactchapuri you can eat. Oh, and there was that very violent protest/demonstration in July. Check it off the bucket list, but I don't think it's a comparable quality of life to here.Bruce Highway wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:28 pmMy friend says his friend is living in Tsblisi Georgia and it’s cheap and awesome.
Many westerners in the northern hemisphere dreaming about living on an island in the south pacific. Little do they know about the challenges there.
The Marshall Islands
https://www.latimes.com/projects/marsha ... evel-rise/
The Mururoa Atoll , French Polynesia
ttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/09/f ... arch-finds
France has also conducted nuclear tests in what was once a french colony ALGERIA
So before you decide on your next destination better check out what to expect once you get there.
The Marshall Islands
https://www.latimes.com/projects/marsha ... evel-rise/
The Mururoa Atoll , French Polynesia
ttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/09/f ... arch-finds
France has also conducted nuclear tests in what was once a french colony ALGERIA
So before you decide on your next destination better check out what to expect once you get there.
Any thoughts on The D.R.?
I got the suggestion for Paraguay. No tax on income from abroad, and you only have to show up in Paraguay once in 3 years to continue the tax registration in the country.
I was there in 1987 for a year, I have good memory from Paraguay it was like living in the 50s.the cost of living was moderate then, the nightlife was lively even at the Carousel Club where Josef Mengele spent long drinking nights in the 60s. But now with Internet and cell phones it might be quite different.
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My thoughts? What is the D.R.?OriginalMix wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:52 pmAny thoughts on The D.R.?
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
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