Roadjunky Travel Forums

I like travel. Allow me to post my controversial opinions


Gentleman, I present my rough draft of:

WHY SE ASIA IS AN OVERRATED PIECE OF SHIT

First of all, people seem to get the impression that SE Asia is a great tourist destination. To each his own. If you're in to beaches, vices, and overrated bullshit, than SE Asia is for you. Otherwise, hear me out

Lets get in to vices. Now before you colored babies whine "DUH MY CULTURE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT!" lets just get fucking real here. Some would call it sugar coating if I were to dismiss say, Japanese discrimination. This, despite the fact that one could CONCEIVABLY take a two-week trip to Japan and be surprised at the LACK of bigotry.
Can we say the same thing about SE asia and rampant vice? Hell no. So shut the fuck up. Please.
Now back to vice. No, you are not being served drugs by clad gentleman on a silver platter in a den full of liberal and safety minded companions. Its dipshit pushers like anywhere else. Don't buy from them, you fool. It's still illegal, so you're still better off buying weed in your own country, unless you like cops suspecting you because you're an SE asian tourist.
Hookers?
Yeah, a step up from anywhere else. Khmer hookers are surprisingly polite. Thailand specializes in this sort of thing. Nothing notable about filipina hookers other than how rampant they are. In fact, precisely BECAUSE prostitution is so rampant, you might even meet a NICE hooker. Should you give a shit? NO.

Go anywhere else in the world and all you have to do is buy a lady drink and dinner, a few compliments, and the possibility of a green card. Do it in SE asia and you have to ask if shes a whore or a transexual first, and thats not the best way to start a conversation. A MAN HAS THE RIGHT TO BUY A WOMAN A DRINK WITHOUT WONDERING IF SHE IS A PROSTITUTE OR TRANSEXUAL. YES, IT IS THAT RAMPANT IN SE ASIA. DO NOT GO TO BARS OR CLUBS FOR PHONE NUMBERS.
PS SE asians stop becoming trannies damn that shit is nasty.


Also, SE asians are aggressive shitty businessmen. Its fucking annoying. Dealing with both passivity and then bullshit on a daily basis until it rots your soul. That's what SE asia feels like.


Cambodia is poor. The women are friendly, but are generally conservative both culturally and sexually (unless they're prostitutes), so it is not an ideal place to meet women. The internet is as slow as whale shit (so, if you are reading this and use the internet you shouldn't go to Cambodia). It is very poor, yet no cheaper than Thailand.

Beggars, orphans, and poverty everywhere. I would actually have liked Cambodia best, if it weren't so damned FILTHY, even near good restaurants. Guys, let me introduce you to a bar of soap. Then you will want to try Thailand

THAILAND: Surprisingly boring, Khaosan road is an overrated piece of shit, and most Thais would agree. Don't go there; no need to write an essay about it. Find out if there is another interesting point of reference. Thailand is boring; food is good but not as good as you'd think; plainly not a match for Japanese or French cuisine. Piss poor nightlife although too many claim otherwise.

Eventually, you will get tired of being referred to as "Farang" despite it being a supposedly neutral term. Thailand is not a bad destination, but it simply does not deserve all the tourism it gets, unless you're Australian or a sex tourist I suppose.

While not the worst place to meet women, they get enough tourists, and know the reputation Thailand has, so don't count on playing the exotic card. While this sounds like a moot point, it really isn't.

Malaysia: I wasnt there long enough to form a good judgement. Surprisingly nice guys, but I still wouldn't call Kuala Lumpur a notable tourist destination.

Philipines: Ah, the joke of the century. Easily the worst place on this list. At first, it appears wealthier, and thus more presentable than Cambodia. A bit cleaner, and better internet too, but there it falls apart. Lets take a look at this fucking piece of shit:

VISA SITUATION: Only 21 days, have to pay for an extension. Fuck that shit. Moreoever, airports charge for both ENTRY and DEPARTURE. That's right; that cheap plane ticket ain't so cheap anymore.

BEACHES: Only went to Boracay, fuck that contrived touristy piece of shit.

People: Filipinos are the most inneficient people logically possible. They are aggressive shit businessmen even by SE asian standards. Their society is vice crippled even by SE asian standards, with no redeeming features (ie their hookers aren't as polite as Khmer hookers).
They help tourists, but then go on to demand money in return.
Many beggars and orphans, but unlike Cambodia there is just no excuse for that crap. While filipinos have some hospitality skills, manners are by no means refined, not even professionally. Cambodia made some nasty mistakes and deserves a short term break. Philipines royally fucked over their own country despite a democratic government and no need for defense.
Food is crap; it is not a place renowned for its cuisine



WOMEN: Ugh, don't let the nurses, mail order brides and e-sluts fool you; this is the LAST place you should look for a lady. Don't expect any intellectual classy ladies here; that requires efficiency beyond the capacity of this sick culture. Oh, and if you did happen to meet one, there is a striking chance of Chinese blood; no seriously I'm not Chinese.


Fellow tourists, China is underrated. So, I guess if you've been to China and liked it, stick with it and avoid SE asia is like a plague.

Eventually, constant harrasment from beggars, orphans, salesmen, Tuk tuks, drug dealers, prostitutes, transexuals, will make you feel more like an objectified money/dipshit machine more than any other place you have been to. Do NOT go to SE asia, do NOT give in to the hype.

What's with the rant?

haha, I half agree with you, but not with the philippines. I found it to be an excellent country. If boracay is the only beach you've seen, you haven't seen anything at all. The food does suck though. In fact, the food is shit in most of SE asia. You seem to understand cambodia a little better. It is pretty much a shithole, but it could be worse. I live here now, and don't completely despise it, even if I bitch all the time about it. I agree that SE Asia is overrated and there are too many tourists here to justify it.

I like the bit about having to ask yourself if she's a working girl or transvestite not being where you want to start the conversation...

In many way the culture that's grown up around expats in south east asia says more about us than them...

se asia is one of those places you have to enjoy for what it is when you go there; you won't really leave with that feeling that you really did something new.

admittedly, i didn't read the whole original post because it got long, ranty, and it had poor grammar. regardless, i don't really get the motivation behind angrily explaining that se asia is full of whores, ladyboys, beaches and drugs. i was pretty certain that was part of the appeal.

ohio, i'm amused to find that you ended up in cambodia. teaching? i haven't been posting as usually, but i'm in china so we should meet up for a drug-fueled khmer whore gangbang on a beach. from my experience in cambodia, we'd only really have to pay tuk-tuk fare.

Yeah, this is such a psychotic country... I can't believe I'm stuck in this fucking society. Alot of people love it, though. I can't understand it for the life of me. It's only good of you want to lose your mind. On the other hand, it's actually gotten alot more developed and sane since my last experience here 3 1/2 years ago. I'll be here until June, probably, if I don't just move to Vietnam or something.

Your metrics for deciding whether a country is good for traveling through include how polite the prostitutes are, how aggressive and "shitty" the businessmen are, how fast the internet is and, paradoxically, how touristy it is?

Seems to me like you're traveling for different reasons to the thousands of people who genuinely enjoy the experience each year.

I haven't been to all the places you mentioned but I have been to Thailand, Cambodia and China. Personally, I loved Thailand. All the people I met were extremely friendly and I enjoyed the Buddhist outlook on life. I loved the food and thought all the temples were gorgeous (but too overcrowded with tourists). Bangkok and Chiang Mai are nice but like any big city (dirty, corrupt, and full of hookers). Once you get out into the country it's gorgeous and you can really feel the history of Thailand and how the people used to be (Buddhist and friendly). The weather is also perfect. I liked Cambodia also, but not quite as much. The food isn't quite as good and the country isn't as beautiful but I still felt that most people I met were friendly. I'm not too big a fan of China. Of course it's beautiful, but the people aren't nearly as friendly as other people in South East Asia. Most natives were not too friendly or willing to talk to me. In Thailand, however, I found myself in long conversations with natives who spoke no English.

Yeah, one mistake I made was playing SE asia like I would China; staying in the cities but away from the countryside. I guess the difference between China and other third world countries is that in other third world countries you want to stay AWAY from the more famous cities

Of course I could be wrong, but there are so many reasons not to go to SE asia

For instance, as an American I would rather go to California for vices than SE asia; It ain't cheap, but at least marijuana is semi-legal, the cops aren't as corrupt, the pushers at least TRY to be smooth, and locals in to vices try to have semi-intellectual discussions about why drugs and vice aren't so bad.

Oh, and less sex tourists. Cali probably isn't the worst place in the US to try and get laid or pay for sex either (admittedly that isn't saying much)

I'm not in to vice, I am just trying to address multiple perspectives; I really am kinda mystified as to why anyone would want to go to SE asia

Oh no!.. hahaha.. I've been in Philippines it's a nice place to visit, to have fun and etc. Filipinos are hospitable.

hmmm,,you haven't seen all the beaches there. I think you need to know more about "philippines