Harsh Jones

The slums are called subdivisions. There's different ghettos all over the city. bkk still has its ghetto slums but i don't think they are this numerous. But 20 years ago , they probably were

Even the English is overstated. At White Beach Marinduque , i was having issues communicating with service staff of all types.

Yep. It reminds me of Mexico. The Default farang mode is American. In Thailand it's British/Europe which is better. All the 50's diner aesthetic is boring for a Canadian. We see it call in Canada and Mexico

Its the booze. It's not as easy as you make it seem. Many get caught. And barely last 2-3 years. Some do a lot of work to keep their papers legit. You make it seem like it's a big free for all.

Looks black in the pic

Why can't they just agree to slip these poor bastards out the back door and back to Burma

The poster is most likely a conservative female. Just putting that out there

Thats right. There's no justice in this life. They were in the worst place at the worst time. And that's that

I was a little surprised at the type of farang that i see around here. i expected the early 2000's type of dross that used to drift around Pattaya in those days. They were everywhere. But the farangs here look and dress fairly normal. There isn't very many either. i expected there would be lots when i arrived

Subic is part of the main island of the Phills and it's a similar distance to Manila and Pattaya is to BKK. It should have similar potential to Pattaya. It does have an SM Mall that is a bit bigger than Central Mall in Pattaya. There's a few nice hotels but they are scattered around too much. There's probably some unsavoury politics in the region that is holding it back. And bureaucratic nonsense.

When did i say i wasn't enjoying myself? I am just taking stock of a new country i find myself in. Do you ever think about where you travel and how it compares to other places

Its just the reality of their relative economic position. Being a random scattering of islands in the middle of the ocean is a big economic disadvantage compared to Thailand. Thailand is also doing a better job of balancing itself between the US and China. And probably has done so for many of years

It has to be a woman posting as a man or something. Nobody could be this delusional.

A closeted incel troll. Sigh ...

What is the price of a girlfriend for 24 hours in Pattaya these days ?

For those who've been to both. Having this cornered away in the Philippines section wouldn't be useful. I am just in Subic bay now for the first time. I'd say it is a good 18 years behind a comparable beach side city like Pattaya. But there are slow steps of progress in the right direction. Provided they don't scare away all of the Chinese investment. Just some of it I was in Marinduque in 2014 and the progress there has been substantial. White Beach Torrijos today felt like a good island destination in Thailand in say 2012. Crystal clear beach ,some shops with anything you need. Good wifi and beach infrastructure. There are 2 top end resorts under construction. One rumoured to be owned by Derterte's daughter. The other is already done and they are almost ready to open. But as far as Subic goes , it's lean over here. I'm not picky when it comes to beach frontage but this is too dirty and unkept. They should be able to do better than this. The water itself isn't terribly dirty. It's the garbage and the unkept shoreline. There's a nice hotel. Then dead abandoned space on either side. Maybe Subic is too far gone and it will never get developed into anything more than this. Who knows.

The motorcycle mongering sure ain't great here. I can hardly find a big bike to rent

I just came back from white beach Marinduque. That place is really heading in the right direction compared to 2014. There's some resorts under construction. The beach is mint. Lots of small vendors with anything you need. It wasn't like this in 2014.

This hotel and the SM Mall are nice. It has some pieces in place. The hotels and municipality should be able to do a better job keeping the beach front. It will come with time i suppose. But maybe not if they keep shooting themselves in the balls by making enemies with the Chinese.

I'm in Subic now. At the Coral Reef resort. It's a nice place. Subic feels about 15-20 years behind Pattaya. Just an observation. I walked out the front of the hotel for a puff and was swamped by hucksters and prostitutes. They were pretty though. 8.5/10. The beach water isn't that dirty. But there's a disappointing amount of garbage around.

I knew some would be defending this vile dross

I would. You'd get whooped.

Christ, who did he p**s off

(snip )-I have been looking at prices currently and there's still no comparison. Thailand is around 50% cheaper for what you are getting

This place in San Juan Batangas looks nice. But its 4-500 USD a night. In Pattaya, this would be $120 per night tops