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Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand Bangkok is the best place for cheap shopping of all kinds. They are renowned for their authentic-looking rip-off designer goods, and clothing is amazingly cheap. Best markets/places to go include: Chat Tu Chak (although it is really hot and crowded can become overwhelming), Sum Lum Night Bazaar is good for a night out, MBK (Mahboonkrong) Center sells great bags and clothes (and is wonderfully air-conditioned), but by far the best place for shopping (and just to check out the scene) is Patpong. It is certainly the Thai experience.
I kinda hate Bangkok, as it is a falling down mess, but the shopping and food are unbeatable. I suggest being adventurous buying from the street sellers... they really make the best food although it looks dodgy. Great places to visit are: The Royal Palace, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and taking an hour or so train to the abandoned city of Ayutthaya (although I suggest seeing Ayutthaya before ever going to Cambodia for Angkor Wat). After Angkor Wat, Ayutthaya is quite disappointing. Good tip? (+5) Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong (SAR) Temple Street market is a great place for cheap food and a relaxed atmosphere amongst tacky yet beautiful souvenirs, head to Kowloon side and get off at Jordan Station, cant miss it!
Bubba Gumps on Victoria Peak is good food and good views over HK and buy an Octopus card for travellign if you are there for more than a day or two, you can use it on ferries, buses and the MTR. Good tip? (+3) Phnom Penh, Cambodia Be careful of the kids when you're going through this checkpoint!! DO NOT GIVE OUT FOOD OR MONEY of any kind!!! They will mob you. The kids in this area are trained to look as cute as possible, but if you watch them, they run and give the money to someone else (usually an adult) who is sitting off to the side and out of site. And a lot of times, the smaller kids get mugged by the bigger ones. Just don't fall for it. I know they're all so cute and you'll want to keep one or two (or all), but just don't do it. Good tip? (+3) Coron, Palawan Island, Philippines Coron is perfect for those who want to escape urban life. Much of Coron is a group of islands and the view is breath-taking! Sunglasses can help you enjoy the sights a little longer. Good tip? (+3) New Delhi, Delhi & Surrounding Region, India arriver en inde, il faut toujours dire que c est votre deuxieme sejour,, il vous laiseront plus tranquille,, et ne parter jamais dans une agence de voyage,, allez de vous meme,,l inde est tres bon marche,, donc ne perdez pas vous sous pour des conneries Good tip? (+3) Ko Lanta, Andaman Coast, Thailand Hotel: Relax Bay. Geiles Hotel, echt Good tip? (+3) Tokyo, Kantō Region, Japan Tokyo is a busy city for tourists who like city.
If you want to stay really cheap, you can stay in `Manga-kissa` or `Karaoke`. There is no key on the door but it's no prob if you watch your property out. It costs £6-7 for ataying overnight. The next cheap accomodation is hostels. Japanese traditional hotel `Ryokan` isn't so cheap, but you could have very interesting experience there. You can also choose a hotel.
You can take trains, underground, buses or taxi. The best transport may be underground but you can't see any view, of course.
When you came to Japan, try to eat real Sushi. It's completely different from Sushi which you can eat abroad.
I think Tokyo isn't such a expensive city as you think. There is much more way you can save your money than I could write down here. Good tip? (+2) Dalian, Fujian Province, China When most Australians go to live abroad for the first time, they usually take the "safe" option and go to the UK. If they are feeling extra adventurous, maybe they'll go to America or Canada. My best friend and I decided to go to Dalian, China, and I have no doubt in my mind that it was the best experience of my life.
When Chinese people refer to Dalian, they allude to one catch-phrase - "Dalian is a beautiful city," or "the pearl of the orient." While the beaches don't have the pristine sands of Western Australia, or the magnificent skyline of Melbourne, Dalian is undoubtedly one of the nicer cities of China.
Dalian is one of the smaller Chinese cities with only a population of about 6.2 million(yes this is small), but only has and urban population of about 3 million including a developmental zone.
Dalian governs the entire Liaodong Peninsula of North-East China, while mountains surround the northern end of the city, which makes for many-a lovely hiking trip through the mountains and surrounding townships. As Dalian is a seaside city, there are also plently of opportunities for strolls along the coast when weather permits.
As with most of China, there is also plenty to do and costs were minimal. As an English teacher, I was able to live on about 500RMB per week(about $70US) and this included eatling out every night, and having an active social life. Having travelled in most provicences of China, Dalian definitely had the best food, as unlike the rest of China, it food was niether sweet or laden with MSG. For $1 US, you could enjoy a tasty Chinese BBQ with lamb sticks and Corn bread, before heading out for an evening of drinking and playing Jenga or connect 4 at Noahs Ark or Dave's Bar.
In the summer, Dalian comes alive in it's many paks and squares where you can join in with the locals and play Hacky Sack(with a feathered ball thing), or a version of Duck Duck Goose they play where someone walks around everyone who are standing in a circle and drops the hankey behind you before being chased (sadly I got caught and ended up having to stand in the middle with the other losers singing "We Will Rock You". In Zhongshan Square, in the city, they also do dancing. In our mis-guided attempts however to learn the steps, we ended up leading the locals in dancing the "Nutbush" to their music!
Don't get me wrong, Dalian had it's drawbacks. Hygiene in retaurants, a hole in the ground for a toilet, the beaches had pebbles instead of sand, and communicating and accepting the beuracracy of their customs was often frustrating -as you would expect, but overall, Dalian was a fabulous experience, and I highly recommend it. Good tip? (+2) Kanchanaburi, Central Thailand, Thailand Wear bug repelent!!! (Normally they don't bug* me but here they were EVERYWHERE!) Also, the famous Bridge over the river Kwai is walking distance from most accomodations along the river, so don't get scammed into paying $20 for a boat to it unless you want to see all the extras the boat trip includes- (there are far more impressive versions of most extras accross Thailand.) Good tip? (+2) 10. KS's Tip on Bali Bali, Java, Indonesia Well what can I say. Was an interesting place didn't really go the narrow streets etc. Was quite a dirty place. However if anyone ever heads that way the tours were excellent especially the Kintamani volcano Tour and the Monkey Forest and Temples Tour. Be wary if offered a friendship bracelet or the like as my friend and I were ripped off $280AUD each the first day we were there if you do find yourself in this situation and not knowing the value of their Money all you need to do is say the word police and they back right off. Great weather, really hot. We stayed in Kuta at cheap accommodation but if you go there i would recommend going for something around the 3.5 - 4 star mark as the accommodation we had was only 2.5 star and the sheets were washed daily but they were kinda brown and blood on the walls of our unit. Kuta Beach was lovely but they have a lot of people selling stuff that tend to hound you. lol. The shopping absolutely amazing and very cheap. We were offered drugs by some guys .............no we didn't take them neither of us were into that but however if you are game to purchase off of them do be warned that as soon as you buy it they go to cops and report you then you have the balinese police on your back. Overall was a great place especially the tours, kids ride moped thingees to school and the balinese drive crazy.........yes there were times we thought we weren't goin to make it back to NZ. Was a real eye opener for us. These people work so hard for so little. Good tip? (+2) |