Not sure if you're serious or just throwing ideas out there, but I’ll give you my 2 cents anyway since that’s what I do for a living (I run a digital marketing agency and have a few clients doing YouTube and online stuff full-time).
First off — yes, your iPhone is totally fine.
You don’t need a fancy camera. Plenty of successful creators shoot everything with just their phone and a cheap tripod or selfie stick. Focus on the content, not the gear.
As for ideas — honestly, just be yourself.
Don’t try to guess what people wanna see. Think about what you would actually enjoy making. That way it comes out more real, more fun, and people can tell when it’s genuine.
You mentioned being a single guy working full time, that's actually a good angle. There’s a whole audience out there that relates to that. You could document everyday life in Thailand from your perspective. Stuff like your experience with the police in Lopburi? That’s gold. People love real stories.
And yeah, there’s a lot of travel videos, but not a lot of you. Add your own spin, humor, opinions, struggles. That’s what makes it stand out.
Also, YouTube probably won’t be where you make most of your money.
Sounds weird, but most creators make the bulk of their income from:
Sponsorships
Merch
Patreon
Coaching / courses / collabs
I’ve got a client who did $90k USD last month and 70% of that came from a single sponsorship and one collab. So yeah, build the channel, but also build the brand around it.
Check out @RetiredWorkingForYou
He started posting in Koh Samui during COVID (Around June 2020 if I remember correctly) and now he’s got:
270k+ subs
40M+ views
His own merch, Patreon, Retreats, etc.
He basically turned his daily life into a full-time gig. Just by showing up and being himself.
Anyway, if you’ve got more questions or wanna bounce ideas around, feel free to DM me. Always happy to help.