which jeans to take to tokyo, okinawa, and thailand?

[mizanation]

wow, LeicaLad, i'm very happy to hear that a few of my threads and my blog have helped you out! now, i will definitely continue to contribute. i haven't been updating my blog recently because i thought no one reads it. i keep forgetting how big the internet is. i really appreciate the kind words and the awesome advice...

my wife (who is okinawan) keeps telling me that thailand is a "very special" country--in fact she uses those same words. she claims that it is "real asia" and that it is a very spiritual and deep place--more than any other place she's been to. i am looking forward to experiencing what you guys are talking about.

it's funny, before this thread, i probably would have gone with entirely the wrong wardrobe. you guys are lifesavers, for real.

my goals in tokyo and okinawa are to see friends and my wife's family. my goals in thailand are:

* see a couple friends

* maybe check out a muay thai fight, hopefully at lumpini stadium

* buy some cheap muay thai gear--gloves, shin pads, etc...

* see the countryside

* see the temples

* enjoy the nightlife

* shopping

* EAT!

i'm really looking forward to roaming the countryside and seeing the beautiful temples. kinda like a pilgrimage, if you will.

btw, my little sis did NGO work in nepal. she is going back there to do some more work there.

i also have a friend who lived in thailand and burma doing NGO work. he trained at a real muay thai gym (not a tourist gym) for 6 years--and he was a beast! that reminds me, i should give him a call.

hey LeicaLad, welcome to superfuture.

[nairb49]

I had a similar dilemma travelling through europe.

Definitely agree with poly, one pair is the way to go, and my vote is for the BKs.

Durable for hiking etc, but dark so you can wear them in clubs as pants and dress them up easily.

[LeicaLad]

Well, Miz, I’m not sure “helped” is the right word. Honed obsessions, induced risks to my bank account, increased my willingness to spend more hours on-line than I already do... These might be the right words. But I have particularly enjoyed your posts - along with DDML, DD, CMF, familyman, tweedlesinpink, and others, but yours have always caught my eye.

If you had time, you and your wife would probably really, really enjoy Myanmar/Burma. Yes, it is run by thugs, but it is a “nation of the educated ruled by the uneducated.” There is a time difference of 30 minutes between Thailand and Burma. We say that when you fly to Yangon, you set your watch back 30 minutes, everything else 30 years. It is really stepping back in time into old Asia. Visitors are both safe and very much appreciated by the locals. The temples are unlike any others. It is more of a mystical place, where it’s isolation has, paradoxically, protected it (aka: trapped it). I call it “the Albania of Asia.”

Thailand is special, but modern and well developed in comparison. OTOH, Thai food simply cannot be beat. The cheapest restaurants are great and the fruit selections are simply unbelievable. It is a place of fabulous pleasures. (And I mean entirely nice things.) Carry your calculator for shopping. Not all things are necessarily cheap (except in comparison to NY and Japan!!!).

The Lumpini stadium is one of two primary boxing stadiums, the Ratchadamnoen stadium is the other. That one is further down near the old part of town, close to Khao San Road - what used to be the backpacker haven. That area has now gentrified tremendously, but has become much more interesting in the process. Main temples and Grand Palace complex are quite nearby.

Shame I won’t be there to play host. My wife and daughter are there, but I’m doing project work up on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border. I really do wish I could be there. Ha.

Enjoy, but remember to dress light. I also agree that you're better to go with little, 'cause you'll be acquiring new stuff like crazy! Cheers.

[mizanation]

again, great stuff--especially about burma. i gotta print this out before i leave for thailand. and i'll also bring a pocket calculator

my wife and i are trying to find a non-new york place to live next and possibly raise kids. yuki is in favor of thailand, which is one reason for the trip.

don't get me wrong--new york is great, tokyo is great--but there really is so much more out there. also in the running: brazil and india.

must be great having a job where you can see the world (and help save it at the same time).

got in touch with my friend who did NGO work in thailand for 8 years. he's teaching ESL in mexico--and teaching muay thai.

[poly800rock]

i think burma was the most interesting place i have ever been to in my travels.

[LeicaLad]

Miz,

We may surpass the bandwidth of this thread, but just a comment or two about life in Thailand. There are many plus sides to both country and capital. Bangkok is unusual among the mega-Asian cities, in that it has multi-generational international sub-communities, including Jewish, Armenians, Brits, Japanese, Americans, and so on.

The city has a harsh exterior that many visitors are unable to get past. The clear majority of charms are best available to residents who take (and have) the time to dig a bit deeper. There are reasons for this multi-generational residencies.

School options for the kids are varied and excellent. I have a daughter in 4th grade at the big (American) International School of Bangkok (ISB), but many of my closest friends have their kids in the main British school (Bangkok Pattana). These are on opposite sides of the city. There are over a dozen excellent international standard schools, with more scattered about the country, including Chiangmai and Phuket.

The key will be employment, as the various shocks to the economy in recent year has made international employment less secure. The finance and banking sector definitely has possibilities, but I would certainly suggest you leverage those Wall Street connections.

Anyway, the quality of life CAN be wonderful. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll answer what I can, and offer references and suggestions where I can.

[mizanation]

thanks man, i actually have two friends who moved from new york to chiangmai for the sole purpose of starting a family there.

man, i really can't wait to go. i think i will do a little travel diary on my blog.

[poly800rock]

thanks man, i actually have two friends who moved from new york to chiangmai for the sole purpose of starting a family there.

man, i really can't wait to go. i think i will do a little travel diary on my blog.

i wonder what the logistics of getting a visa to work over there is.

[xcoldricex]

thailand is the shit. when are you going to be there? i'm still trying to visit my sister out in chiangmai. might end up going to vietnam while i'm out there too

[LeicaLad]

i wonder what the logistics of getting a visa to work over there is.

Basically, there are two key steps. One, you cannot be on a tourist visa. You can come in on one, but you'll have to go out of the country to get the new visa when it's time to work. You can shorten this step by getting a non-immigrant visa to begin with. Two, work permits come with a job, not the other way around. You basically cannot get a work permit without a job. Your employer provides the paperwork.

For years, people have worked on whatever visa they had, and played "border tag" to renew their multiple entry visas. Recently, the Thai gov't has tightened rules to force people on visas w/o work permits to be absent for 90 days. It's unclear how tightly this in being enforced, as certain industries (ESL, for example) utterly depend on these people.

Thailand is a land of loopholes, so it awaits to be seen just how these new rules will sort out over time.

Final rule. When ever you go to the Immigration Dept to seek their assistance on changing, extending your visa, dress up and be polite. They pay attention to such details.

[ang_kangkong]

*big sigh*

What a ridiculous thread, and newbies get flamed for asking about shrinkage?

have a good safe trip. stop at Mikes in chiang mai.

ps. for footwear try some nike air 87 safaris, should last

See cookie? Miz knows how to start threads. It doesn't seem like it's gonna be great, look where we got to from that simple question.

And it's still on topic, sort of.

[mizanation]

See cookie? Miz knows how to start threads. It doesn't seem like it's gonna be great, look where we got to from that simple question.

And it's still on topic, sort of.

lol, thanks ang.

[ang_kangkong]

No worries, miz.

Here's a similar thread, asking whether to even bring denim to Asia:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=17058&highlight=denim+asia

I posted this thread there, and now I'm posting that thread here.

I was surprised you didn't hadn't posted there yet.

[mizanation]

yeah, i saw that thread, but i figured someone would direct them over to here.

i'm suprised how much good info i got in this thread. definitely stuff you won't find in a guide book.

[poly800rock]

there was also a thread on styleforum about this too

[mizanation]

got a question, is it bad to wear a redmoon-style trucker wallet in thailand? i'm thinking it might attract the wrong kind of attention....

[poly800rock]

the first time i was traveling asia, i never carried a wallet, everything was on me at all times. when i went again, i got cocky and just started carrying a wallet.no one ever noticed, but if you're carrying a wallet that sticks out of your pants, i really wouldn't advise that...

[LeicaLad]

got a question, is it bad to wear a redmoon-style trucker wallet in thailand? i'm thinking it might attract the wrong kind of attention....

For the backpacker, riding public buses, etc., the answer would be no. OTOH, if you're not rubbing bodies, you probably have plenty of NYC street smarts to have no problems.

Random crime, including muggings, is actually rare in Thailand. Piss someone off, however, and revenge is assured. My sister, a small blonde with big chest, is a musician who came to visit me -- and stayed 5 1/2 years. As a total night owl, she declared Bangkok (as well as the rest of the country) safer than anyplace she'd ever lived (including NYC, Memphis & LA).

Like anywhere, don't be overtly stupid and you'll be just fine.

[mizanation]

cool, thanks. off to buy a guide book...

[xcoldricex]

i'd advise you not to take it to chatuchak (JJ) market. they lift EVERYTHING from you there. heed the backpack warnings. they'll cut your shit and take everything without you even noticing. just be aware of your stuff anywhere you go.

[poly800rock]

cool, thanks. off to buy a guide book...

buy rough guide over lonely planet

[mizanation]

thanks for the warning CR, i'll be careful. i took a trucker wallet to russia two times and never had problems, but that was a chain, not a leather braid.

bought two guide books (one of them was lonely planet, sorry, poly) and i'm excited more than ever to go to thailand. also, got a basic language course and a travel phrasebook.

also, looked for chacos, but they are hard to find in new york. i know one place, patagonia has them. while at the shoe store, i tried on some frye boots and looked at some birks... gonna hold out for the chacos though...

[CaptMomo]

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/

hey, check out this site if you havent done so.

loadsa useful information if you have the time to look.

[honghonglulu]

miz,

thanks for starting a nice thread. please post a pic of post trip wear. can't wait to see. have a safe trip.

[Analyst]

For the backpacker, riding public buses, etc., the answer would be no. OTOH, if you're not rubbing bodies, you probably have plenty of NYC street smarts to have no problems.

Random crime, including muggings, is actually rare in Thailand. Piss someone off, however, and revenge is assured. My sister, a small blonde with big chest, is a musician who came to visit me -- and stayed 5 1/2 years. As a total night owl, she declared Bangkok (as well as the rest of the country) safer than anyplace she'd ever lived (including NYC, Memphis & LA).

Like anywhere, don't be overtly stupid and you'll be just fine.

Leica, very interesting posts. Keep it up and welcome back

[xcoldricex]

miz let me know when you'll be there. i just bought my ticket to hong kong - will get to thailand by way of macau

[LeicaLad]

Leica, very interesting posts. Keep it up and welcome back

Well, I try. This has been one of the very few threads where I have something I might actually contribute, rather than just asking questions. Wish I were in Bkk, instead of just my family while I'm off in distant territories. sigh.

[chipopo]

Hi,

For Thailand I recommend anything but jeans. Walking with jeans in Bangkok can prove to be deadly (Heat+150% humidity). I've traveled to Taipei last week (Weather is very much the same as Okinawa) and faced the same question. Decided on taking a single pair of non-selvedge Diesels as they are less than 10Oz denim (Sorry for that). After spending the week there I realized it was a good choice. I would have been boiled in my SC47s and definitely in my PBJ XX-003.

Bottom line: For Thailand and Okinawa take your lightest & thinest denim. Tokyo is quite temperate now so anything goes.

P.S. BKK as well as most other major cities in Far-East Asia is probably safer than most American cities.

Chipopo

[xcoldricex]

i've survived thailand for months in jeans. i'm sure these hardcore denimheads could do the same.

[tweeds]

tropical weather + jeans = smelly like my apcs

but you certainly can survive. bring a bit of febreze though.