The Asian Guy Travel Thread
01-06-2011, 01:24 PM
Back from Europe.. wanted to share my experiences so here is a write up of my second Euro trip of 2010. Bear in mind, I took it pretty easy this time and didn't go out as much as I did in April.
I had to cancel some planned visits to Paris and Belgrade due to (1) French girl couldn't host me due to unfortunate timing and (2) couldn't find cheap flights or any feasible way to get to Belgrade.
Instead, I spent a couple of days in Munich, few more in Dublin, 4 days in Amsterdam, 2 days stopover in London (literally did nothing) and the remaining 1.5 weeks in Budapest. My overall impression was that winter sucks if you want to party in Europe, particularly in the lead up to Xmas and indeed over the holiday period (except new years of course). The problem with December is mainly two folds - people naturally go out less because it's freezing cold! I'm from Australia, 10 degree for us is cold, so -15 is unimaginable. Also, there is a mass exodus of students leaving capital cities and returning to their native towns around this time. I avoided Bratislava for this exact reason only to find myself in fairly empty bars and clubs across the countries I visited. Even Amsterdam was somewhat tame. Lesson to learn - time your visits to Europe in warmer months, precisely Apr to Oct if possible. You will see much more fly chicks to day game and even people's attitudes change (bit more conversational and friendly).
Now the breakdown of cities:
Munich - didn't stay long enough to get a true sense of what this place is like. I did pick up on the fact that there was a small but certainly noticeable minority of home grown German Asians. They seemed fairly well integrated into German society as it was not uncommon to spot a lone single Asian guy or gal in a big group. Also found out that a member of the German interior ministry is of Vietnamese descent and that Asian kids are typically high achievers in schools (sound familiar?). The overall quality of girls is above average by broad European standards. I was too tired to check out a club but did hear another traveller mention that the night scene is off the hook. I went to a typical beer hall and had a few quiet pints over semi decent conversation, the place was rowdy but everyone sat in their own booths so it wasn't exactly inducive to talk to random girls. Nevertheless, I saw enough of Munich to want to come back one day, perhaps to tie in with Octoberfest. I haven't figured out the Germans yet.. something tells me the women are fairly open to foreign guys but Munich and Berlin ooze the sort of snobbish attitude that puts even Sydney to shame. Or maybe I'm mistaking snobbishness for shyness??? More investigation needed.
Dublin - this place is a hole. I will forever regret spending close to 500 Euro (enough for a round trip to New York) for my flights to Dublin. Terribly expensive, ugly looking girls, lack of interesting sights and things to do. Come to think of it, I don't know what I was thinking! The nightlife is centred around Temple Bar and you can expect to pay London/Paris prices for drinks. Again, due to the timing I didn't get to check out a student party which is apparently the best way to immerse yourself with the local talent (told to me by a black French guy who had stayed there for over 2 months). I did a pub crawl or two but they were nothing special. Conclusion: don't bother with Dublin, go to Edinburgh instead.
Amsterdam - I mainly visited and stayed with friends in Amsterdam. You need to know where to go and what is happening each night to find a decent party. There are way too many venues tailored to backpackers in the city. Walking around the city night and day, I'm pretty sure more than 50% of the people out were tourists. The bitter winter chill drove me inside coffeeshops for lengthy spells at a time. My mate chatted up some 18 year old blonde who looked like Denise Richards in a pub, her friends were really friendly to us but were too aloof. My mate is working as a corporate lawyer in Amsterdam and potentially there for 4 or 5 years so I will try get the low down from him soon (dude is also Asian and only moved there recently, he is pretty aggressive in approaches so I'm pretty confident he will pull). I saw enough in Amsterdam and Dutch girls to warrant a repeat visit. I was also told that 30 mins away from Amsterdam is a small student town called Utrecht which is known for lively nightlife options. Perhaps worth considering if you decide to visit Amsterdam.
Budapest - ok I had high hopes for Budapest, perhaps too high. Budapest left me with a bitter sweet experience. I loved the place in some respects but hated it in others. Let me explain...
Firstly, Hungarian girls are comparable to their central/eastern European peers. You will find a mixture of blonds/brunettes and girls with slightly darker features (altho not Romani). You will also find plenty of expats and other Europeans in Budapest either studying or working. Overall, the talent pool is good. I still think Krakow is far superior though. I also think Hungarians dress like sh1t for the most part. You will often find hot girls with killer bodies dressed badly and presented very sloppishly.
Second, there are plenty of nightlife options. My favourite place was a bar called Szimpla which had a good vibe going every night of the week. It's chilled out but easy to strike up conversations. Drinks are also dirt cheap. I only went to 1 club called Corvinetto which played dub step most nights and occasionally hosted a live band. My Dutch wing man fingered his girl on the dance floor and I did see plenty of smoking hot girls. The problem with Corvin tho is the boy to girl ratio which is badly in favour of girls (about 6 to 1 on most nights). I didn't have too much success here, clubs are not really my forte anyway. Another place is Morrisons which is like a giant pub with 5 or 6 different sections tailored to karaoke, pop music, live bands etc.. I found this place to be the most variable.. had some really good nights mixed with terrible ones. The ratio is still bad but better than Corvin. You can hook up conversations fairly easily but most of the hot ones come with dudes so don't expect to have an easy time. Most of the clubs are on the Pest side of the city although Buda is the nicer, richer, and the more pleasant side.
Third, Hungarian people are generally not very pleasant. Unlike cities such as Krakow or Riga, Budapest is big and interesting enough that you will want to explore the whole city and not just stay in the sheltered old town (in fact I don't even know if Budapest has an old town???). This is both good and bad because outside the main touristy areas you will find dodgy characters and less well off Hungarians who are p1ssed off with the state of their country, the economy, and the gypsies.. I didn't cop any outright racial slurs but had people spit in my direction, push and shove me in clubs, give me annoying glances, and also received plenty of random "Koonichiwa". As an Asian guy, you will still stand out but not necessarily in a good way. I often found myself explaining that I'm Aussie before the girls would engage in a serious conversation with me. I think there are some small groups of Chinese in Budapest and the locals generally don't like them very much because they are very closed off. On the flip side, Japanese food is considered a luxury for most Hungarians and I saw plenty of Hyundai and Kia cars on Hungarian roads. Overall, I would say that being Asian doesn't help you at all in Budapest. I actually felt more comfortable in my own skin in Poland and Latvia. That said, it's not exactly a hindrance either. You just need to tolerate the ignorance of the locals and be patient with their lack of worldly views and general lack of class. A Hawaiian girl I met in Dublin told me that her cousin is dating supermodels in Budapest because he did a MBA at a local university and is now running a few business ventures in Budapest. If somehow you can set yourself up socially and mix with the high society of any central/EE country, you are bound to discover a goldmine.
Now the good bit - I managed to hook up with 1 girl on my trip (pretty pathetic given the 3 weeks) and she was a really cute Hungarian, easily an 8. Surprise surprise, it came from day game. I did my usual routine and asked about Xmas markets, took her to coffee, then ice skating.. made out on our first date and from there it was pretty easy. I also met some of her friends who were all very friendly altho no way near as pretty. Now the girls in Budapest all speak good enough English, problem is that they are typically very clingy. Overall I'm glad I went to Budapest and definitely think I could have been more successful with the right strategy and day gamed more but -15 temperature didn't help my course. Otherwise the city is really beautiful and certainly far more interesting than most European cities, I'd say it's comparable to Prague in this respect but hell of a lot more cheaper. It's worth a visit for sure and I think you could do well if you are white. I met a Latino guy from Miami randomly at a sports bar (wonder if he's from the forum???) who did very well striking up conversations with a group of girls when we hung out at Morrisons and my other Dutch and English mates also hooked up with girls. Don't bother if you are Indian or Arab looking, the locals will think you are a gypsy. I saw some black guys do ok in Morrisons but they were literally rubbing up against every girl and acting like cavemen.
I'm now a lot poorer after the two big Euro trips in 2010. My next destination is undetermined at this stage but I'm thinking about HK, Taipei, Bangkok, and Seoul in early July. I will then spend a few weeks in NYC/Boston/Montreal and head to Europe again in August. This time I'm going to Spain, Croatia, Iceland and the Nordics. Contemplating checking out Helsinki and Tallinn after reading youngmobileglobal's review of those cities..