Grinder backpacking Asia

I will chip in half Soopoo

Very interesting thread, thanks for posting.

I have the financial ability to travel extensively, but choose not to.

My curiosity is satisfied by reading what others have to say about foreign locales, viewing travel shows on TV and DVD, and my current favorite vicarious travel tool: youtube.

As the great Buckaroo Banzai once said: "No matter where you go, there you are."

Romes HK isn't going to have much in store for me this time around. I'm getting a hostel for one night cause 36 hours in the airport would suck. I'll probably head to the market later just for something to do and maybe try to find something nicer than street food for dinner.

Aye Abal does look PO'ed but it's just a bad picture I think as he's very happy go lucky. Yes these places do make a lot of extra from upsize and booze and we partook in neither.

Each subway ticket was $1.50, I seriously debated about going back or not. It was less than five minutes away so whatever. Also I had nothing better to do.

I currently have six little snow globes and a couple more souvenirs for family. Not too bad overall.

SooPoo I really appreciate the kind words. I totally agree about travel, new people, food and places are an amazing thing. Thank you for the dinner offer, I will take you up on that next time I'm in Niagara Falls. I'm guessing the American side?

Mr V those are all fun but the real thing is so amazing. If you have the financial ability to travel I can't see why not to travel. So much enjoyment to be had.

I try to travel (backpacking) as much as I can now. Money was severely lacking during my college years and I didn't get to travel as much as I wanted. Now time is the constraint. I get so envious when I meet the 20 somethings at the hostels saying they're on 90 days, 9 months trip and there I was rushing through 2 countries in less than 2 weeks. Hostels are really nice for the solo traveler. You get to meet people.

Great thread!

FYI, you can download files on Google Translate so you can use it without WiFi.

Quote: Konbu

Hostels are really nice for the solo traveler. You get to meet people.

That is why Couch Surfing has become so popular. In Asia, native speakers of English are valued and I wonder if travelers could market their asset in return for better housing than is available at a hostel.

I know of one native English speaker who was attending graduate school in Asia and she received free room and board at a private home solely on the condition that whenever she happened to be home for dinner she speak English at the dinner table and engage the children in conversation in English. She had a central residence in a very upscale neighborhood, free of any charge and she had free dinners but no particular restraints on her time, so a social and academic life could still be available to her.

The man and woman who formed English House sold their multimillion dollar business and retired to a yacht of some sort. They had each formed businesses that were English language immersion programs for foreigners. (Residences in NYC and SanFrancisco wherein foreigners received a hotel, a restaurant and a language school all in one facility wherein it was forbidden to speak anything other than English) They had also run 'matching services' with Americans who wished to teach English abroad and foreign English schools.

One yachting couple wintered in Norway, getting free education for their two children with the teacher and most of the parents being ecstatic that their children were being exposed to native English speakers rather than to Norwegian instructors.

Perhaps there is a market for short term sojourners to trade English skills for private home housing and private home meals in Asia? Anyone know of any Brokers handling such short term vacations? Pokergrinder might well be able to make a return triip that is even cheaper than this recent one.

Homeboy on the left is what I'd look like if someone took a picture of me. I hate pictures.

Quote: djatc

Homeboy on the left is what I'd look like if someone took a picture of me. I hate pictures.

He really looks like he hates having his picture taken too!

Quote: FleaStiff

That is why Couch Surfing has become so popular. In Asia, native speakers of English are valued and I wonder if travelers could market their asset in return for better housing than is available at a hostel.

I'm sure couchsurfing is a viable alternative for some but personally not for me. My first concern would be safety. I know there are websites/apps that allow people to leave reviews and have ratings, but I would still be very concerned. Also, if it comes with any obligations then it's not really a vacation to me anymore. I travel exactly to get away from obligations :D

I totally agree Konbu. With couch surfing I think you are expected to spend time with the host and most likely buy dinner one night. That's fine if that's what you want but I'd rather a hostel where I pay a small amount and I have no obligations to anyone.

I'm on the subway to the airport. I fly to Vancouver in two hours. I will post my update of the last 36 hours (which turned out to be a lot fun) while I'm in the airport.

Quote: PokerGrinder

SooPoo I really appreciate the kind words. I totally agree about travel, new people, food and places are an amazing thing. Thank you for the dinner offer, I will take you up on that next time I'm in Niagara Falls. I'm guessing the American side?

Either side. Speedycrap is a local as well, as is Face, ontariodealer, boymimbo. With enough warning I think I can arrange a get together.

Cool sounds good I will definitely let you know the next time I'm in Niagara Falls. I have been two previous times. I have a close friend who moved there in grade 12 so I like visiting there. As of right now I think the next time I will be heading that way would be at the earliest next January when my sister needs help moving back to Winnipeg from Ottawa.

Also obviously I was wrong, I didn't get the last two days written up before the flight and forgot to do it on the flight. I'm in Vancouver and probably will just do it tomorrow as I'm exausted.

Pg, did you take a bunch of money with you or can you use your ATM card over there. I assume credit cards csn be used as well but the fees probably suck.

Quote: GWAE

Pg, did you take a bunch of money with you or can you use your ATM card over there. I assume credit cards csn be used as well but the fees probably suck.

I used an ATM card in Cambodia, Thailand, and China. No problems. Just 'warn' your bank in advance that you will be doing so.

Now, the bank 'warning' is easily performed over the web though I'd sure be careful about foreign atms having card readers in them.

Quote: FleaStiff

Now, the bank 'warning' is easily performed over the web though I'd sure be careful about foreign atms having card readers in them.

Are most American cards converted to the CHIP cards yet? makes a huge difference in the fraud committed with bank machines

Buddy that is world travelling has a spare ATM card with him not inside his wallet ...just in case he wallet gets taken.... replacement cards for TD Bank are hard to come by in ... most countries he has traveled

Grinder must be curled up in front of the fireplace trying to keep warm.... minus 13*F windchills back home
good time to plan that next trip

https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/mb-38_metric_e.html?unit=imperial

What was that country he described as a whole sweat box... Malaya ?

GWAE I took all my currency with me. There is a place in Winnipeg that gives you much better rates on foreign exchange than any bank could or would. It doesn't bother me at all to carry 3 grand Canadian (in foreign currencies) on me while I travel.

Coilman it is definitely a bit colder here than Asia but nothing I am not used to. -13 isn't really cold weather lol.

FleaStiff I am assuming you mean Malaysia. I did say that I was sweating non-stop there because of how hot and humid it is there.

I had said to Romes that I wasn't planning on doing much for my 36 hours in Hong Kong before flying home but I guess I lied.

I got to the hostel around 11 AM and tried to check in so that I could sleep a little bit as I was exhausted. The bed wasn't ready yet so I waited an hour and checked in. My room for the night was 110 HKD in the same hostel that I stayed in last time. I got to the room and met a Chinese guy, a French guy and a Canadian from Alberta. I talked to the Canadian for a few minutes and then they all left the room for the day. I slept for the next 3 hours or so. When I woke up I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the night. I remembered a restaurant I had found years ago and wanted to try but didn't earlier in the month.

The restaurant is called Tim Ho Wan and it is very famous. It is a dim sum restaurant with a Michelin Star. I google mapped it and walked the 20 minutes there. I got in with no wait since it was before dinner hour. The restaurant is very nice but not super fancy. I ordered 4 dishes and waited while sipping tea. First to come was the steamed dumplings in chiu chow style.

I was not a fan of these dumplings. They had a lot of stuff inside but no great flavor. They were fine but I wouldn't order them again. Next was the steamed fresh shrimp dumplings which were pretty good. They were better than the ones I usually get back home.

Then the magic started. Next to arrive were the deep fried dumplings filled with pork or as they are known to me back home, Chinese perogies.

These were the most amazing tasting dim sum I have ever had. I am not sure exactly what made them so much better than the ones I have at home as they were made with the same ingredients. I just know that Tim Ho Wan used the ingredients much better than anywhere else I have had dim sum. At this point I was seriously debating ordering more of the Chinese perogies but I decided to wait and see if I had any room after my last dish. The last dish blew the previous one out of the water. The Baked bun with BBQ pork was the best tasting thing I had in Asia period!

Freshly baked buns with barbecue pork inside . On top of the bun was a crunchy sugar that made the bun that much better. Something so simple and yet like I said it was the most amazing thing I ate all month. All the food was only 80 HKD or $14 CAD, crazy for a Michelin Star restaurant.



After dinner I went to the Mong Kok market (Ladies market) and walked the 5 blocks of shops. I didn't find anything, I just enjoy walking there. Next I took the subway to the Temple Street market and did the same and didn't find anything. I went back to the hostel and wound down before going to sleep.

The previous night Dane (the Canadian) and I were talking about Tim Ho Wan and he decided to join me on my return trip for lunch before my flight home. Yes the food is that good. We walked there and waited around 20 minutes for a table. Once in I ordered the shrimp dumplings, the Chinese perogies and the pork buns, everything was amazing again. After lunch we went to this market Dane knew of, it was huge and sold some really weird stuff. We ended up in the mall looking around when we found an arcade, We bought 100 tokens for 110 HKD and split them. We then had a hour of fun for about $10 CAD each. We then went to the food court and ate a Japanese curry place he likes there (he lives in HK now). I ordered the pork cutlet that comes with rice and Japanese curry. It was a really nice final meal in Asia.


We went back to the hostel and I grabbed my bags and headed to the airport. I got lucky and my flight from HK to Vancouver (11.5 hours) was half empty. I was able to find 4 middle seats together and make a comfy bed with blankets and pillows.

A Canadian drinking a Canadian on Air Canada on my to Canada lol.

I usually can't sleep on planes but it was still nice to lay down and watch TV that I had downloaded from Netflix. The flight went amazingly fast and didn't feel anywhere near half a day. With two hours left I fell asleep for a hour and then we landed. Vancouver got two inches of snow and they don't know how to handle snow so all the planes were delayed or cancelled.

I was lucky and only got delayed by 1:15. Then I was unlucky and we sat on the plane for almost 2 hours since they had problems with the cargo pit. We eventually took off and landed safely in Winnipeg just over 2 hours later. I have been sleeping a lot since I got home and now I have finished updating this thread finally. I will have one more post where I will update you all on the complete expense of this trip. Other than that I would like to thank everyone for the interest that you all have taken in this TR. I am amazed the following that I received. I am about to start planning my next trip (seriously).

Quote: PokerGrinder

I got to the hostel around 11 AM and ... met a Chinese guy, a French guy and a Canadian from Alberta.
...
Dane (the Canadian) and I were talking about Tim Ho Wan and he decided to join me.... We then went to the food court and ate a Japanese curry place he likes there (he lives in HK now).

Please excuse my clumsy edits in selecting the portions of your post that I want to ask about.

Do I understand correctly that this Canadian, Dane, now lives in Hong Kong and that he lives at the hostel? Is that common? It seems that the continuous change of multiple roommates in a limited space would make full-time life there outrageously hectic.

Those BBQ buns are dainty but look so delicious with the "pineapple" crust. I'm going next month so looks like I need to visit them.

Quote: PokerGrinder

GWAE I took all my currency with me. There is a place in Winnipeg that gives you much better rates on foreign exchange than any bank could or would. It doesn't bother me at all to carry 3 grand Canadian (in foreign currencies) on me while I travel.

Coilman it is definitely a bit colder here than Asia but nothing I am not used to. -13 isn't really cold weather lol.

FleaStiff I am assuming you mean Malaysia. I did say that I was sweating non-stop there because of how hot and humid it is there.

So you carried about 275 USD?
Bazinga

Nice report. I am hopeful to be able to make a trip like this someday

3 grand =3 thousand

Quote: PokerGrinder

...to carry 3 grand Canadian...

Quote: GWAE

So you carried about 275 USD?
Bazinga

Your calculation doesn't sound quite right, even given the current favorable rate. (Or was that a snide joke that I'm too slow to catch onto?)

Quote: Doc

Your calculation doesn't sound quite right, even given the current favorable rate. (Or was that a snide joke that I'm too slow to catch onto?)

I thought my bazinga gave it away as a snide joke to canada.

Funny, I never really heard of a Michelin Star rated anything except tires.
What does a bloated rubber guy know about restaurants and food? Is this a Canadian thing?
I only see him at car shows. I didn't know there was such a thing.

PG - Happy you're home safe and sound.

Quote: sammydv

Funny, I never really heard of a Michelin Star rated anything except tires.
What does a bloated rubber guy know about restaurants and food? Is this a Canadian thing?
I only see him at car shows. I didn't know there was such a thing.
P p
PG - Happy you're home safe and sound.

No it is worldwide. Michelin is a huge honor but in the states they are usually 5 star $50 steak type places.

Quote: sammydv

Funny, I never really heard of a Michelin Star rated anything except tires.
What does a bloated rubber guy know about restaurants and food? Is this a Canadian thing?
I only see him at car shows. I didn't know there was such a thing.

No offense, but if you knew nothing of the Michelin star rating system, your knowledge of the world seems to be fairly limited.

It's been around for a long time.

Heck, I saw a movie about it a few years ago.

Here ya go, in furtherance of your education:

The Hundred Foot Journey

Quote: PokerGrinder

I... Next was the steamed fresh shrimp dumplings which were pretty good. They were better than the ones I usually get back home.

These are called "Har Gow" at the place by me.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Then the magic started. Next to arrive were the deep fried dumplings filled with pork or as they are known to me back home, Chinese perogies.

"Ham Siu Dok"

Quote: PokerGrinder

...The Baked bun with BBQ pork was the best tasting thing I had in Asia period!

"Cha Siu Bao" (pronounced "Chaw Shoo Bauw" These come steamed in this white dough too. But I like them baked. Cha Siu is the bbq pork and Bao means "in dough??" (Just a guess)

Quote: PokerGrinder

... I ordered the pork cutlet that comes with rice and Japanese curry. It was a really nice final meal in Asia.

"Tonkatsu Curry" ("Tone Kaw tsew")

Glad to hear you arrived home safe. Thanks for taking us all along. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to the next one.

Said it before, but I'll say it again after finishing up the thread... GREAT TRIP REPORT =).

I'd also love a trip report of one of your more "business" trips (if you take them) where the focus is gambling and making money =p.

Quote: Romes

Said it before, but I'll say it again after finishing up the thread... GREAT TRIP REPORT =).

I'd also love a trip report of one of your more "business" trips (if you take them) where the focus is gambling and making money =p.

I do have one more post to make on expenses after I go change all my currency back into usable money tomorrow at the currency mart. I will know exactly what I spent on the trip.

As far as "business" trips I have thought about doing that but I don't think it would be too interesting unless I were to go into great detail on every session and to be honest I'm too lazy to do that.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I do have one more post to make on expenses after I go change all my currency back into usable money tomorrow at the currency mart. I will know exactly what I spent on the trip.

As far as "business" trips I have thought about doing that but I don't think it would be too interesting unless I were to go into great detail on every session and to be honest I'm too lazy to do that.

Eh, coming from a poker player as well I don't think you'd need to go in great detail... More so:
1) Where you went
2) What limit you selected
3) Any table changes due to stale table, or give reasons why you stayed at current table
4) Identify any fish (how did you identify them)
5) Maybe one or two big hands of the night
6) How you ended up after the session


...10) Profit? =P

Good pics could be of the different poker rooms around the world (or wherever you happen to want to travel) as well as casino pics or surrounding areas/food/etc =). I'm just trying to selfishly travel and gamble through you, as the 9-5 doesn't "always" permit it every day, ha.

I really enjoy reading trip reports and this was an especially good one! I'm glad you had fun PG and thanks for taking the time to share your adventures with your WOV family.

Ditto on really enjoying the thread. I owe you a few beers when you're back in Vegas.

To AB21 and MaxPen and everyone else thank you for all the kind words. I am glad you all enjoyed reading my TR.

Now done to the money!

Flights:
Round trip Winnipeg to Hong Kong $1147.01
HK to Kuala Lumpur $141.15
KL to Singapore $49.61
Singapore to HK $196.80
Total = $1534.57

Cash spent in Asia was $1552.60

I had two credit card charges for Uber totalling $14.82

I paid for my hotel at Resorts World in Malaysia and the deposits for all the hostels on credit card.
Resorts World $16.43
Hostel deposits $53.41
Total = $69.84

Add in the $150 or so of expenses before the trip.

Grand Total spent = $3321.83 ($2526.39 USD)

I think that's pretty cheap for a month in Asia to be honest. I was expecting the trip to cost closer to $4500.

Just watched "Hostel" a 2005 film executive produced by Quentin Taratino. I understand there are two sequels to it. I don't think I'll watch them. Pokergrinder's experiences in the various hostels were much more pleasant than those depicted in the films.

Quote: FleaStiff

Just watched "Hostel" a 2005 film executive produced by Quentin Taratino. I understand there are two sequels to it. I don't think I'll watch them. Pokergrinder's experiences in the various hostels were much more pleasant than those depicted in the films.

Hehe... Just stay out of Slovakia... and always carry gum to bribe the kid gang.

I hadn't realized it was a horror film.... thought it would be typical American boy meets VERY experienced foreign girl and struggles between his love for her and his shock at her long history, experiences with multiple men at a time, etc. Slovakian officials actually protested and producer said.. Hey, despite all those Texas Chain Saw Massacre movies, tourists still flock to Texas.

Gum? Kid gang would just take the gum and the gum giver's money, car, life.

I'm not one for scary movies so I think I will take your word for it and pass. I have never understood why someone would want to be scared sh*tless??? Who knows, maybe they like washing their pants when they get home lol.

10K views, pretty cool and I only accounted for about 9500 of them :)

Quote: PokerGrinder

10K views, pretty cool and I only accounted for about 9500 of them :)

It was informative and fun.

Wait until we do it all over again next January. I am planning 8-10 weeks in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I am planning 8-10 weeks in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.