Grinder backpacking Asia round 2

Quote: gamerfreak

It looks like they were watching you.

The downside of taking pictures in a casino, you constantly have to play the “dumb tourist” card. “Oh I’m sorry I didn’t know I couldnt take pictures, sorry”

Quote: PokerGrinder

Fleastiff I actually read that article yesterday. Very interesting.

How did you get the time to read Forbes while walking all those clicks in the hot sun, bargaining with tuk tuk drivers, swilling beer, wolfing down free casino food and leaving all your belongings at a non-existent luggage check?

Quote: FleaStiff

How did you get the time to read Forbes while walking all those clicks in the hot sun, bargaining with tuk tuk drivers, swilling beer, wolfing down free casino food and leaving all your belongings at a non-existent luggage check?

That update was from 13 days ago... I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Ask Doc

Quote: PokerGrinder

That update was from 13 days ago... I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Ask Doc

As am I with reading the rest of these updates =P. I like to wait until I know I have time to read the whole update! Sounds like you've been a BUSY MAN running to tons and tons of casinos. Ugh, those are such exhausting days but I really also enjoy those crazy adventures because in every new casino you never know what you're going to get. I like the hunt of turning over each and every stone until I find that diamond in the rough. Is it the same for you with the poker rooms there, just trying to find a crazy game?

Yes and no. Depends what I’m looking for. When I found the game with the South Koreans I wasn’t looking for a game but I also couldn’t pass up how good that game looked. Sihanoukville’s poker scene is mediocre. There are about 8-10 games in town, most are either too small, don’t run on a regular schedule or the rake is insane. Or sadly a mixture of them all. I don’t understand why grinders live in Sihanoukville, definitely wouldn’t be my choice.

My main goal in Sihanoukville was collecting and having a good time with my friends that were there. My buddy Eric that I travel with came into town for a few days and I haven’t seen him in months between my travel and his.

I've lost track of your win/loss column data but am glad that it was the motorbike and not the rider that lost.

I enjoy the thread but even if I won some SuperLotto prize I would never visit South East Asia because it is all one giant steam room.

I’ve got a spreadsheet in my notes on my iPhone per city but I haven’t added them up yet. I know just based on cash flow that I’m firmly ahead.

Great.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I don’t understand why grinders live in Sihanoukville, definitely wouldn’t be my choice.

.

Many Barang's think they can take advantage of Chinese poker players. In addition, Sihanoukville attracted a lot of "low bottom ExPats" when Thailand cracked down on long term VISA's. Now Cambodia is starting to crack down, requiring "Work Permits" and enforcing it's "Retirement" VISA conditions i.e. prove your ability to support yourself. Lastly, although it doesn't apply to you, Snooky has long been known as the least expensive "companion" location after same was shut down in Phnom Penh. This of course has also been curtailed over the last decade.

Snooky is just such a craphole and the living expenses have doubled over the last year. Many better places in Asia to live and grind.

Good Morning Vietnam! (How many get the reference? Magda definitely won't)
Ho Chi Minh City is quite beautiful! We stayed out of the normal touristy area which was nice for two reasons. First prices on everything is cheaper and second we were able to see more of how locals live. Our hostel had a very nice breakfast, you got a choice of a few different meals. I personally had the spicy ramen noodles with an over easy egg on top and tomatoes. The breakfast also came with coffee and a little fruit plate which is a nice way to start the day.


During breakfast on the first morning we met some of the people staying in the hostel and we all decided to go to District 1 together as that is the main area to explore. Our Grab taxi for 7 people that covered 6 kilometers and took 40+ minutes was only 70,000 dong which is roughly $4 Canadin, crazy! We walked around the area for a few hours and eventually ended up at the Ben Thanh Market.
Notre Dame

First the group made an attempt at doing origami which I skipped and just watched cause I don't have the patience for it.
My sister the origami queen?!?

The market is enormous! They sell everything, souvenirs, bulk food, fish.meat, household items and they also have restaurants. I had shrimp salad rolls(which weren't great), noodles with veggies and meat and a really good strawberry smoothie. All this only cost me about $6 Canadian. After the market we ended up a pub as a few of the group wanted to grab a pint. I personally was so full after the smoothie that the thought of eating anything else did not going over well so I abstained. The group split up and we wandered a little more before 4 of us walked the 6 kilometers back to the hostel.

That night Maegan and I went in search of dinner and ended up at a restaurant that clearly didn't get tourists very often. The menu was in Vietnamese and none of the staff spoke any English. The waitress was very nice but the three of us just ended up laughing a lot as we couldn't understand her and she likewise. I eventually pulled up a translator on my phone and asked her to just bring us two meals of her choosing, our fate was in her hands now. The dish that came was very tasty!

There were cut up rice noodles, cucumbers, boiled pork, fried tofu, fried mystery meat (dog most likely :P) and some basil, mint and some other herb. The waitress then showed us that we should roll it up in the rice rolls provided and dip it into the sauce. The sauce was basic but she told us to add chilis, fresh lime juice and soya sauce to make it to our liking. All of this was done with no verbal communication, just a lot of laughing by all of us. The meal was very enjoyable and we thanked her using the google translate, paid and left.

The next day we had breakfast at the hostel and then took a Grab to the War Museum. Once there we actually went for lunch first at this fancy vegan place.

The reason for the vegan choice was one of the girls was vegan and spent the previous day struggling to find food so we were happy to go where she wanted even though it was insanely expensive (for Vietnam). I had vegan crunchy fried rice which was very tasty and the crunch was a nice touch, I also had a mediocre strawberry shake.

One of the guys ordered a giant soup/hot pot thing so we all helped him eat that as well. The broth was very tasty and you can never go wrong with tons of different mushrooms among other veggies and tofu. My rice and shake was about $12 CAD which isn't expensive for back home but it is for South East Asia.

After lunch we went to the War Museum and all I can say my G-D! I knew very little about the Vietnam War and I knew even less about the USA's involvement. The pointless bombings and the effects that are still being felt to this day, the USA should really stay home and mind their own business more often. Agent Orange is what you should look up if you want to learn more. I personally don't feel like writing about it as I skipped through more than half of the museum because it was all so horrendous. I know the museum is showing only one side of the story but it isn't like they are lying about the bombs that USA dropped. I bought a few souvenirs in the area and waited for the rest of the group to finish.
Big tank!

And a helicopter too!

After the museum we unwound by going for ice cream. I ate way too much ice cream and then Maegan and I left the group and walked around the nearby park playing Pokemon Go, yes we still play lol. Once we got back to the hostel Meg and I went with one of the guys (Shaker) for Pho. He took us to a really good local spot with amazing soup.

The next day after breakfast (I love ramen!) I went with two of the guys that we hung out with the day before and went to find a barber. I was thrilled with how thorough and good the barber was. The barber kept taking pictures of his work and the whole haircut was only $3 and I tipped him $2 (we payed in Dong obviously).
The barber is the short asian guy obviously.

We went with 3 others to the Jade Pagoda that Meg wanted to see. We went, there was no Jade and then we left, I am so templed out that I really didn't care much.

We ended up back at the Ben Thanh Market, we grabbed lunch nearby at a outdoor grouping of food stalls. I had beef pho because well, when in Vietnam I guess. After lunch we went to the Ben Thanh Market and grabbed smoothies from the stall where we got them the day before. We then ended up in a more posh area by the water.

The girls wanted to check out this apartment building that has been turned into 11 floors of mini shops (mostly clothing), coffee shops and restaurant/bars. It was a neat concept.


Later that night two guys from the hostel and I went back to the pho place that I had gone to the previous night because remember, when in Vietnam! On the way back to the hostel I had a terrible Banh Mi sandwich, I am glad that I had an amazing Banh Mi sandwich later in the trip because that would have been disappointing if that was what I remembered such a classic Vietnamese dish as.

That is all for Ho Chi Minh City as the next day we went to the Ho Tram Strip for a stay at a 5 star resort!

PG,I agree with you regarding Sihonoukville,it just keeps getting worse, 10 years ago it was such a sleepy tranquil place now I don't even care to go there.
The U.S.also Bombed Cambodia and then Nixon lied about it and denied it,in retaliation for Cambodia refusing to let the U.S. have an airbase there during the Vietnam war.
Great report

Don't care for origami? I bet your sister loves it.
All cellular reactions are mediated by enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that have become folded into a certain shape and shape is the most vital factor. The reactions take place in the dark and in a split second. Most medical research focuses on that folding process.
All centers of research in this country have subscriptions to the Journal of Origami.

Yes, the USA "bombed them into the stone age" but as one US advisor asked LBJ "what if they are already there". Don't feel so bad about the slaughter, just focus on all the killings that took place after South Vietnam fell to the Communists and on all the murders of villagers who were loyal to the South Vietnamese government or refused to pay taxes to the Viet Cong.

When you comment about "possibly dog meat" are you being serious or is this only a remote possibility?

Courageous to eat in a restaurant where not only no one speaks English but they obviously never have tourists who speak other languages show up. Must be a real 'locals" place for sure.

Quote: PokerGrinder

That is all for Ho Chi Minh City as the next day we went to the Ho Tram Strip for a stay at a 5 star resort!

lol.. from hostels to 5star hotel?

how much for the hotel?
and good luck gambling there. heard it was a nice casino.

there's a free shuttle from District 1 to goto that hotel if you have reservations at the hotel

I am very jealous of this trip. I traveled through Europe for 7 weeks one time and I really enjoyed it - but that is my only international travel similar to what you are doing.

Thanks for the continued updates PG. Looks like such a good time, as always... what, no drunken shenanigans? Girls, hospital trips? lol =). I assume there were no casinos in the city?

Quote: Romes

Thanks for the continued updates PG. Looks like such a good time, as always... what, no drunken shenanigans? Girls, hospital trips? lol =).
I assume there were no casinos in the city?

there are:
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling-outside-vegas/asia/29499-casinos-in-vietnam/

but none have poker (at least in Saigon when I went last year).

yeah, PG, no hottocs while in Saigon? :)
(no, that's not a misspelling)

Ok I’m going to try and reply to all of the comments.

Hunterhill I’ve heard that about Snooky.
The only reason I would ever go back would be for casinos and even that won’t get me back anytime soon.

Yes the US bombing Cambodia is part of the reason their people trusted the Khmer Rouge at the beginning.

Fleastiff I just don’t have the patience for origami but I really enjoyed watching the others attempt it.

The dog meat thing is a joke but I also wouldn’t be surprised if at some point I’ve eaten dog. Hard to know for sure.

It was very much a locals place. I’ve found those places have the best food if you’re willing to give it a shot.

100xodds I’m about 16 days behind on reports right now. I’m actually in Laos. We did take the free shuttle to the resort. The hotel was cheap, only $100 USD per night.

Acesandeights Asia is awesome. You really should really try and get out here at some point. I’ve never been to Europe but I’m thinking of going in the fall.

Romes Ho Chi did have a few little casinos but I’m not sure which are only electronic. I wasn’t able to figure it out and I didn’t have the time to trek to each place. Maybe next time I’m in Ho Chi Minh City cause I’ll definitely go back.

I don’t think I had even one drink in Ho Chi to be honest. Pretty tame after the shit show that was Cambodia.

100xodds I had to look up what that was. Um no I definitely didn’t visit one of those.

Quote: 100xOdds

lol.. from hostels to 5star hotel?

how much for the hotel?
and good luck gambling there. heard it was a nice casino.

there's a free shuttle from District 1 to goto that hotel if you have reservations at the hotel

My plan is to get caught up tomorrow on Vietnam as I plan on taking it easy during the day. Laos is insanely hot during the day and I don’t feel like going to a bunch of temples.

Laos is SO hot! It’s hard to spend more than a few hours outside during the day. I understand completely why they have the night market everyday at 6.

We left Ho Chi Minh City and took the free shuttle two hours away to The Grand Ho Tram Strip Resort. The Grand is a 5 star casino hotel with many pools, high end restaurants, a spa and a casino. The hotel was only $103 USD which is surprising for how nice it was. The room was comparable to a $200/night hotel in Vegas.
View from the room.


After check in we had lunch at the cafe. I had the seafood pizza which had shrimp, squid, octopus, scallops and mushrooms, it was very tasty. I paid about $13 USD which isn’t terrible since I could only finish half of the pizza for lunch.


After lunch I checked out the arcade and was quite disappointed. The arcade was tiny and lacking any decent games. Off to the big people arcade! Aka the casino!

I played BJ and won $178 over the short time that I played. The table was $25 minimum as was all of the table games that they offered. The casino was on the smaller side with about 20 tables and 100-150 slots. I got a free charge bar for signing up for a club card, the charge bar was terrible and I got rid of it within two days.

Maegan and I went swimming even though it was quite chilly and very windy outside. The hotel has about 7 or 8 decent size pools and one giant water slide. (The beach is also right there)

You have to climb 5 flights of stairs to get to the top. I shot out of that water slide so fast I couldn’t believe it. Meg and another girl both kept getting stuck in the slide, I have no idea why because I couldn’t have slowed down if I wanted to. We swam for a hour or so and I then I headed up to the room to shower. I ate the leftover pizza and found out that although I like cold pizza, cold seafood pizza isn’t very good. Put that piece of info away for future reference lol.

Meg ate at the steakhouse for dinner but I had had the pizza in the early evening so I wasn’t very hungry. I did however join her for tea and dinner bread and then I ordered the chocolate trio desert which was quite enjoyable.
I felt so fancy!


They had a Bellagio type fountain show but the wind was so strong that it blew the water around.


I spent the rest of the night relaxing in the comfy room and watching tv which I hadn’t done in months. More than half of the channels were in English which was quite surprising. Meg went for a massage which she enjoyed a lot. The next day we took the shuttle back to Ho Chi Minh City to catch our flight to Nha Trang.
A couple pictures of the resort.
Front lobby

Vietnamese restaurant we had lunch at.

You can see the water slide in the back.

So in my last write up I mentioned we headed back to Ho Chi Minh city but I forgot that we had lunch the resort first. It was a fancy Vietnamese place. I ordered spicy soup with udon noodles which was tasty but not hot (temperature) enough.

Meg and I also shared spring rolls/salad rolls (one of each roll per person) and a Vietnamese pancake. The rolls were awesome, the pancake much less so. Meg liked it, I wasn’t a big fan of it.

The rest of the day was mostly a waste of time as we were stuck at the airport waiting for our flight to Nha Trang. We spent about 5 hours at the airport because we had our luggage and therefore nowhere to go.

The funny part happened when we landed in what we thought was Nha Trang but we actually landed in Cam Ranh which is where the airport is. We had no idea since the ticket says Nha Trang. Luckily they run a shuttle for 50,000 dong ($2.50) that takes you the 45 minutes into Nha Trang. I had a splitting headache for most of that night which luckily went away by the time we got to the hostel.

Our first day in Nha Trang we woke up late after arriving around 1 am. I had the free breakfast of fried rice. Meg and I went wondering around the city and noticed that there was a huge amount of Russian on all the buildings. We later found out that the city is filled with Russians.

We walked by the beach for a few hours (got burnt) and stopped at a Beach front restaurant for lunch. I ordered the seafood platter which was beyond enjoyable. The platter had squid, fish, shrimp, mussels and rice.

We saw this weird statue of a samurai on a fire breathing horse throwing a bamboo tree spear... weird!


Later that day we met up with two people I met at breakfast to do the escape room that was in our hostel. I had never done an escape room before but for $3.50 it’s hard to say no. It was a ton of fun and we escaped in 40 minutes. The room was actually really hard and well thought out by the creator. I will definitely be doing more of those.


This is where the night got a little sloppy. Our hostel had free beer from 6-7 every night. A bunch of us partook and 4 beers later the free hour was over. I left with the group to go drinking on the beach. We stopped to get food first, shawarma on a Banh Mi bun, very enjoyable.

We also shared a bag of pistachios, salt and beer equals good! So we picked up some beer at the corner store and the five of us drank on the beach for a couple hours until we ran out of beer.
That’s a Ferris wheel at the amusement park btw.


At this point we ended up meeting a bunch of people at this club called Why Not? Because well, why not?

From there we drank and danced a lot! The locals wouldn’t dance but they were amused by the drunk white people. I was quite drunk at this point and I was literally bouncing around the dance floor for a hour. Everyone thought I was nuts but I’ve never felt so free in my life. A couple of the people I was with thought I was on something cause I was dancing so much, nope just having a good drunken time lol.


After the club we went for some street food, a mixture of “chicken” nuggets, fries and shawarma. We then called it a night/early morning.

I woke up with no hangover (score!) and met Gita and Tim from the night before for lunch. The place we stopped at was sooooo slow. I had seafood fried rice which was fine. Tim waited 45 minutes for his garlic bread and every time we asked about it they said soon.

Meg met up with us after lunch and her and I walked the beach again while Gita and Tim laid on the beach. On our way back to the hostel we noticed a Game Club which looked like a casino, it was! We grabbed gelato and headed back to the hostel. My plan was to check out the casino that night.

Before I headed out I found another casino that was in town about a 20 minute walk away so my plan for the night was to hit those two casinos. I got to the Muong Thanh Game Club and played $20 BJ since the poker wasn’t open. I lost $100 before moving onto the next stop. I got to Sunrise casino and one door leads to the slot machines and electronic table games, while the other side is a Chinese baccarat room. I walked in and changed usd into Chinese Yuan chips. Very odd that they use Chinese currency in Vietnam. I played baccarat for a bit and won $133.

I walked back, found a market that I bought some souvenirs in before grabbing a Banh Mi shawarma and calling it a night.

The next morning we headed to the airport around 4 am (45 minute drive) for a 6 am flight to Da Nang/Hoi An.

We arrived in Da Nang at around 7 am without much planned of what to do. I wanted to hit up the casino and then head to Hoi An where we had booked the hostel for 3 days. Maegan on the other hand decided at the very last second that she would prefer to stay in Da Nang for a day.

We took a Grab to the first casino and sadly everything was electronic which meant that there were no chips to collect. We had this absolutely terrible sweet, sour and spicy soup at this little place across the street from the casino hotel. The soup was pretty bad, the lady that owned the place was very kind though. We got a Grab to the next casino where I lost $20 pm $10 BJ before we headed back to the airport where we had stored our luggage.

Maegan booked a hotel for the night and cancelled one of her nights in Hoi An and I took a Grab to Hoi An. The hour long taxi cost me just under $20.

I got to Hoi An around 11:30 and sadly I couldn’t check in for 2 more hours. I was exhausted but I couldn’t do anything about it so I went walking around the town. I had lunch at the old market and it was not good. It wasn’t bad but it was half assed fried rice with random meat and very little flavour. I walked around until I could check in and headed back. I showered and took a nap for a couple hours.

When I woke up I went for dinner with the 2 German girls I was rooming with. We went to this local vegetarian place that was really nice. I had spicy noodle soup that weirdly had pineapple in it but it was very tasty. We also had some of the local brewed beer which was a little sweet but nice. The beer was only 25 cents!

Back at the hostel the three of us played Jenga and drank free rum and coke during the happy hour. I haven’t played Jenga in so long. It was a lot of fun.

After Jenga we went to the food festival that was running the whole time we were in Hoi An. There was music, dancing and more street food than we knew what to do with. I had a street taco which was excellent. Fresh veggies and meat cooked right there, what more could you want?

The whole town is lit up with these coloured lights, it really is beautiful.


Wanda, Valerie and I.


The next morning I had the free breakfast at the hostel and then a bunch of us decided to go to Hidden Beach. The beach is actually hidden so I’m not sure why it’s called that. I decided to rent a scooter again for the first time since India. I managed to get to the beach and back without any incidents, yay!

The beach was quite nice, the waves were huge and almost knocked me down in the water a few times. I haggled for a pair of sunglasses and paid next to nothing for them. Turns out that was good cause they broke within the day but they did there job while I was on the scooter. After a couple hours in the sun I headed back.
Chilaxin! (I make up words now)



Later that day Meg (arrived in Hoi An earlier that day) walked around the area and I ate random street food, some good and some not so good. I bought this weird thing that had whole shrimp inside of what looked like a corn dog. It was odd and I don’t ever want to eat a shrimp head again.
I got my Meg on the back which really surprised me, she wasn’t a fan.


That night we headed back to the food festival with the German girls and had tacos again. They were still really good!

Our last day in Hoi An was my relaxing day. Meg and the Germans went on some tour and I slept, a lot! I woke up, went and had the free breakfast and then went back to bed until about 1.

When the girls got back we went to this famous Banh Mi place that is supposed to be the best Banh Mi in Vietnam. It didn’t disappoint at all.

Anthony Bourdain visited on his show before parts unknown.
If you zoom in you can see his picture.

I had the normal one with 4 types of meat, some sauce (hot) and veggies. The Banh Mi was excellent and made up for the terrible one I had in Ho Chi.

That night the hostel was having a free spring roll making class (and eating obviously). We learned to make spring rolls and then they brought out the ones they fried earlier while they fried ours. We were then instructed to make a raw spring roll (or salad roll) and before rolling it we put the fried spring roll inside of the fresh one. They were excellent but we ate WAY too many spring rolls. After dinner I did the dishes and the workers were so confused. I just kept telling them, you fed us, I’ll clean. They seemed uncomfortable but allowed it lol.



I’m very proud of my spring roll!


I was in a food coma after the spring rolls so I packed and did nothing for the rest of the night. The next morning we took a 3 hour bus to Hue.

Quote: PokerGrinder

When I woke up I went for dinner with the 2 German girls I was rooming with.

Some parts of this story require further details.

Quote: TumblingBones

Some parts of this story require further details.

4 person dorm. If you read from the beginning I’ve been staying in mostly hostels.

Quote: PokerGrinder

4 person dorm. If you read from the beginning I’ve been staying in mostly hostels.

interesting they don't segregate by sex.
ie: boys only, girls only in a room.

how do girl travelers feel about mixed rooms?

I'm guessing none of these young folks really care. We certainly didn't back in my "wandering hippie" days. Back in the 80s the locker room at the Stanford Univ squash court was unisex. I gather that sort of thing has become even more common these days.

Most hostels have at least one dorm that is females only. I have found a lot of female travelers don’t care much about the mixed dorms.

Quote: 100xOdds

how do girl travelers feel about mixed rooms?

Usually quite in favor of them. SOME females do request the "females only" dorm room if there is space available in it, but usually traveling around the world on the cheap attracts females that just don't particularly care about such things and after all, they are there to meet people in every country they visit. If they let a male tag along on their adventures its the equivalent of a free guide/free bodyguard service.

In Australia there are usually FOUR categories for reservations: Male Only, Female Only, Mixed sexes and Family Rooms. The Family Rooms are usually designated En Suite (private lavatory).

Quote: FleaStiff

Usually quite in favor of them. SOME females do request the "females only" dorm room if there is space available in it, but usually traveling around the world on the cheap attracts females that just don't particularly care about such things and after all, they are there to meet people in every country they visit. If they let a male tag along on their adventures its the equivalent of a free guide/free bodyguard service.

In Australia there are usually FOUR categories for reservations: Male Only, Female Only, Mixed sexes and Family Rooms. The Family Rooms are usually designated En Suite (private lavatory).

Haha sorry this made me laugh a bit. (I’m not making fun of you btw) If they let a male tag along...? What are we puppies lol? I’ve “tagged” along with a bunch of females and never been a free guide. I’ve found in Asia like you said in Australia most places have mixed,most have female only and then there are usually private rooms.

Enjoying the write up PG!

Why did Maegan want to stay in Da Nang for an extra day?
Did you find resentment of the Westerners among the older folks in Vietnam?
Seems all the beaches you visited were filled with tourists. Do the locals go to those beaches too, or do they go to other places off the beaten path?

She stayed in Da Nang to go to the amusement park mountain/ba na hills and the sculptures garden. Also she went to marble mountain between Da Nang and Hoi An.

I didn’t but I walk around with a Canadian flag on my backpack so everyone knows I’m not American. I’m not sure if Americans were treated differently.

I’m not sure. We went to the touristy places, I’m not sure what beaches locals go to.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I didn’t but I walk around with a Canadian flag on my backpack so everyone knows I’m not American. I’m not sure if Americans were treated differently.

.

This is a deja vu for me! I don't even remember where exactly, but I was in a foreign country with an American who had a Canadian flag patch or something. I remember thinking that although I understood the rationale, I wouldn't do that.

No poker stories recently. No games at any of the more recent casino stops?

I’ve met a lot of Americans over the years who travel with Canadian flags on their bags. Everyone loves Canadians, Americans... well everyone loves Canadians lol.

I haven’t found a poker game since Cambodia. I was actually thinking today how nice it would be to play some cards. I’m going to my last casino of the trip tomorrow in Savannakhet, Laos but I doubt I will find poker.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I’ve met a lot of Americans over the years who travel with Canadian flags on their bags. Everyone loves Canadians, Americans... well everyone loves Canadians lol.

Canadians aren't trying to run the world like the U.S. and Israel are.

USA - run/destroy... what’s the difference?

Quote: PokerGrinder

I’m going to my last casino of the trip tomorrow in Savannakhet, Laos but I doubt I will find poker.

Please advise how your visit to Savanvegas went. Several of us here in Bangkok need to know. Specifically curious if the sports book looked, well...legit. Did they take action on the NHL and indicate American sports such as the NBA and MLB? It looks like a mere window online and of course must be linked into some Euro outfit much like Nagaworld in PNH. I assume of course they accept and pay winners in Baht? Thanks and kind regards.

I would think a mere window linked to some major sports book would be preferable than a sports book actually run by the casino since the casino couldn't bank it properly.

Quote: FleaStiff

I would think a mere window linked to some major sports book would be preferable than a sports book actually run by the casino since the casino couldn't bank it properly.

Most of the action in SEA remains on soccer. This particular casino(SavenVegas in Laos) has been in the news the last few years, some turnover or license issues etc.. It's nothing like Nagaworld in Phnom Penh. In Naga you can basically rely on the casino not to operate some two bit penny ante sports book. They are going to pay the winners. I made several medium four figure USD wagers there with no issues. That in contrast to being in remote Laos with an outfit which has problems busing dinner tables(I've read complaints for a decade) and is full of Thai's. Your point is of course valid, but getting paid a large amount would always be a gamble on it's own.

Just got caught up, great report as always =). Really cool pictures of all the places/food/people... seems like one hell of a trip! I had to chuckle when I saw you say "went to lunch with the 2 german girls I'm rooming with and we decided to eat vegetarian." Sounds like they did and you wanted to have a nice little lunch date with 2 ladies =). Whether that was the case or not, it made me chuckle.

Quote: Romes

Just got caught up, great report as always =). Really cool pictures of all the places/food/people... seems like one hell of a trip! I had to chuckle when I saw you say "went to lunch with the 2 german girls I'm rooming with and we decided to eat vegetarian." Sounds like they did and you wanted to have a nice little lunch date with 2 ladies =). Whether that was the case or not, it made me chuckle.

Hello Romes....German backpackers(female) staying in a hostel generally don't "date". In fact, most female "backpackers" don't want anything of that nature and have their guard up, which they indeed should. You, the male wanting to reproduce, are much better off with local women and knowing you should and indeed agree to "help them" with their financial plight.

I got back to Canada 24 hours ago. I’ve slept A LOT and I will continue the updates from the trip soon. Just getting settled in, doing laundry and what not.

Quote: PokerGrinder

doing laundry and what not.

Should have brought the two German girls with you for that task. Hostels are generally not hostile environments but they surely are not free love palaces. However hostels and ride sharing sites for festivals do tend to be well... rich ore.

Quote: NokTang

Quote: Romes

Just got caught up, great report as always =). Really cool pictures of all the places/food/people... seems like one hell of a trip! I had to chuckle when I saw you say "went to lunch with the 2 german girls I'm rooming with and we decided to eat vegetarian." Sounds like they did and you wanted to have a nice little lunch date with 2 ladies =). Whether that was the case or not, it made me chuckle.

Hello Romes....German backpackers(female) staying in a hostel generally don't "date". In fact, most female "backpackers" don't want anything of that nature and have their guard up, which they indeed should. You, the male wanting to reproduce, are much better off with local women and knowing you should and indeed agree to "help them" with their financial plight.

still boggles my mind that hostels put male and female strangers together in a room.

more surprised that the girls are ok with this??

Most cultures, esp Europeans, aren't as prudish and puritanical as Americans.

Quote: 100xOdds

still boggles my mind that hostels put male and female strangers together in a room.

more surprised that the girls are ok with this??

Rape is not a crime of passion as I assume you know....People staying in a hostel are generally of the same mindset IMHO and it isn't a big orgy etc.. Americans are excited by topless beaches but Europeans think nothing of women being topless. In France public urinals are outside and if full view of the public, sometimes with a half a wall. Our host, PG, wasn't looking for cheap ladies. He merely wanted to save money or not spend much on his accommodations. Same with the backpackers. Anyhow, we will await his report on the Laos casino.

Plenty of young men who go to Asian countries have morals such as to not take advantage of sex workers in these countries. PG is a good Canadian man and as someone from Winnipeg with plenty of travels, he is aware that the sex trade hardly ever does anything good for the workers.

What I loved about PGs' report has been the utter lack of racism and his respect and regard for other people's cultures and customs. His only complaints have been when he felt overcharged or ripped off because he was a tourist.

I've really a enjoyed his reports and would love to have a meal or drink with him. I would nota want to play Poker against him!!!

he must be the good Canadian.....i go to vegas i bang anything that moves.

Quote: ontariodealer

he must be the good Canadian.....i go to vegas i bang anything that moves.

Wondered what happened to that animatronic beaver in that court yard at Sam's Town.

I’m going to stop being lazy and finish my trip report.

Last I left off we were taking a 3 hour bus ride from Hoi An to Hue. It was a sleeper bus so the seats were in beach chair position. I’m only 5 ‘10’, pretty average I would say and I wasn’t overly comfortable. My sister at a foot shorter however was comfortable.

When we arrived in Hue we checked into the hostel and out to see the city. We walked aimlessly for a couple of hours. We stopped at this bakery/restaurant (mostly a bakery) for dinner. I ordered seafood pasta with a white sauce but got one with a red sauce. The pasta was fine but nothing to write home about (yes I see the irony in that statement as I write it). Maegan had a pizza that for some reason had more peppers than she knew what to do with. She picked them off and ate the pizza. We bought some deserts and headed back to the hostel. I have found that in SE Asia the western style deserts are just not that good, every so often I would cave and buy them.

When we got back to the hostel we found a convenience store across the street that sold freshly made kettle corn for .25 and it was pretty good. I ended up having a container of it everyday in Hue.

We slept in the next day as we got up early the previous day for the bus. We had lunch down the street at an Indian restaurant. I ordered the chicken Biryani (came as lamb) as I hadn’t had it since India. I love Biryani! I’m going to have to find a place in Winnipeg to get Biryani.


After lunch we took a taxi to the Imperial City which is a walled palace inside the citadel of Hue. It was beautiful and for the most part well maintained. The problem was that it was so bloody hot out! It was hard to keep going with how bad the heat was. After a while I gave up and sat in the giant shaded gazebo while Maegan explored. It was so peaceful sitting in there, people watching and just enjoying the views.
My happy place in the gazebo!

More photos from the imperial city.




I am deep in thought... not really.

"The sun is getting real low big guy" (Avengers quote)

After the Imperial City I took a nap to recharge. That night we walked by the water before stopping at Little Italy for dinner. I had fried rice with ham, shrimp and sweet sausage in it, I'm not sure what was Italian about it but it tasted good so who cares lol. After dinner we walked by the water again and found a night market. The market was heavily art based but had your standard knickknacks for sale. Meg and I each bought a key chain on our walk. After the market I grabbed my obligatory popcorn and called it a night.

The next day I slept in and had a lazy day while Meg went on some tour. She loves her guided tours where as I like to go exploring on my own. I'm not a big fan of a guide throwing 8000 facts at me, I usually end up tuning out the guide as I get bored. It reminds me too much of school.

I went for a 2 hours walk around Hue and when I got hungry I searched for Pho. I ended up finding it but for some reason the cook overloaded it with black pepper to the point where my lips were tingling. It was tasty but the pepper overload wasn't needed. I walked back to the room to cool off and yes I got another container of popcorn to snack on, I might have picked up an addiction in Hue. I went to a nicer Vietnamese restaurant across from my hostel for dinner. While I was ordering the wait staff brought out shots for the 15 person table and gave me one as well as I was the only other one in the room. The shots were fruity but quite strong. Before taking the shot we were all directed to say "Mor hy ba yo" three times. The staff drank with us. I asked what the reason for the shot was and why we said what we did but the language barrier didn't allow for a proper explanation. Oh well, Mor hy ba yo!!!

After dinner I went back to the river and walked, it is so peaceful at night. As I was walking I was approached by two 20 year old girls who asked me if they could practice their English with me. I agreed and we talked for about 45 minutes. One of the girls did about 80% of the talking but they both spoke pretty good English considering they were still learning. They said they go to university locally and they come down to the water to talk to tourists 1-3 times a week. After we were done I said goodbye and went on with my walk. It was a neat experience.
River at night.


The next day we took a very early flight to the Northern capital of Hanoi. We got to the hostel too early to check in so we walked around the giant lake for a couple of hours while checking out the area. The lake is actually the number one attraction on google, the lake is called Hoan Kiem Lake. Over our stay in Hanoi I probably did around 60 laps of the lake. We stopped for lunch and had these rice flour rolls with shrimp, mushrooms and pork inside. I ended up going back two more times in the next week.

We checked into the hostel and took a nap as we were up extremely early for our flight. After taking a nap we went walking/searching for food. We ended up having Pho that was probably one of the lower end ones that I had on this trip. It wasn't bad but it was odd. It was a chicken broth with odd stringy stuff (I think veggie) and chicken in it. We walked for a couple hours playing Pokemon as we went. At one point I stopped at a street sandwich vendor as they smelled great. I had a baguette with meat and veggies on it, the taste was phenomenal even though I never did figure out what I was eating. On our way back to the hostel I saw a sign that said "Gelato" so we stopped. Much to my disappointment the restaurant was called Gelato but they didn't actually sell Gelato or any ice cream for that matter, so disappointing.