Modern Coding

Thailand is nicknamed "Land of the Smiles" in plural for a good reason: there are smiles to show friendliness and there are smiles that mean "10 seconds to countdown"...

Well, in India, they also have hijras. So unless they don't have similar problems with them, Indians should be aware of it.

White Lung not being mentioned??

Hope she will heal from this traumatic experience. Personally, have never ever trusted guides, be they tour guides, spiritual guides or whatever scammers. They all have in common to misguide people, leading them to dead-end roads! And when the guide is a guy misguiding a miss, it is even worse.

Nobody has ever said it is OK to murder people, whatever the reason is. But when you hand over the stick to get beaten, you must not wonder - if you ever get the time for it ! - about the counter reaction... If I know how local people are likely to react, I avoid being dumb enough to provoke them the Napolitan way...

They exist for this matter, but are they efficient enough to solve this kind of matter??

It is much safer here in Thailand than nowadays in many parts of Europe. The only thing is: never ever hand over the stick to get beaten!

Have lived in Vietnam, and they are by far the dumbest drivers I have ever seen. I feel sorry for my Vietnamese friends, the ones that are smart, but the maxim "Show me how you drive, I tell you what kind of moron you are" confirms itself each time! Thailand is nothing compared to there, which makes me wonder how come Thailand has road death record when Vietnam is even more dangerous.

This does not wonder me much: in Southeast-Asia, South Korean nationals are often involved in not recommendable businesses. Best example is Bùi Viện, the Saigonese Walking Street in Vietnam, where South Koreans have their own "comfort women" businesses and are regularly involved in fights, to the point that some of my Vietnamese friends told me to avoid that area when I was living in Saigon. It seems that South Koreans have the tendency to hand over the stick to get beaten!

Exactly like in Phnom Penh. However: wealthy does not mean business owner. You can be wealthy if you are a well-paid expat paid by a big corporation. In that case, you are EARNING A LIVING, and the highest risk is maybe being robbed. When you run a business, it is a different story: you are not earning a living but MAKING MONEY! And people are particularly jealous of people MAKING MONEY, even if that money is very little... In Thailand, there have been enough stories of people who were making money and who ended up in jail, because some jealous nationals secretly introduced some powder inside the premises and then called the police! I guess the question would be: do we hear such stories in the Philippines as well?

Thank you for this precision. I have read the hurdles you have with import-export. Fortunately, I don't have this issue, since I import nothing but export app development services, so just need decent internet. One more question: any kind of best city, where to run such a business? And cities that are not recommended? Besides personal preferences, which cities are great to be an IT entrepreneur? Manila, Angeles, Cebu, Davao, etc... ?

Thank you for sharing your experience. And congrats for your 10-year company time! 200k PHP (~ < USD 3,600) vs 2,000k THB (~ > USD 55,000)? Are you sure you didn't forget a couple of zeroes? If so, this is very advantageous. You are right about lawyer & accountant; here in Thailand, I have always gone through the attorney agency for incorporation & bookkeeping. About hiring / firing, seems to be a little bit easier in the Philippines... Seems to be a little bit easier in PH than in TH, am I right?

Thank you for your reply. I have also lived in Vietnam and while it was pleasant there, there are some reasons why I prefer to go there just for leisure or to meet old friends.

Greetings, Small IT business owner here in Thailand: I am thinking about running one in the Philippines too. A visit there is planned of course, but I am already collecting valuable information and experience on the field. If you have registered and are running a business in the Philippines, would you mind sharing your experience as a foreign business owner? Some questions that are coming to my mind are: how easy/hard is the incorporation? how is the bureaucracy? how about taxes? Tax filling, corporate tax,... how about some fancy rules when hiring or firing people? do you need to have a minimum amount of employees like it is the case in Thailand, or can you start solo first? do you need a local partner as it is the case in most other ASEAN nations? what rules do apply when hiring non-Filipino people? Do different rules apply between ASEAN and non-ASEAN people? how much is the required start capital? what are the very important things you need to know and that are specific to the Philippines? what are some unexpected things that would have never come to your mind and that you wish someone had warned you about before? Bonus question for people who have the experience running a business in Thailand and in the Philippines: how do you compare both countries? Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, this is not a Thai-only or Buddhist-only issue... Talking from experience, staying in different nations...

This photo might not match the reality, who says the "journalists" have not taken a random picture, probably related to the place, but certainly not to the event? The Thaiger being the Bild Zeitung of the Thailand expats, this would be no wonder to me!

And you need a brain

Meanwhile in China, a bag of rice fell to the ground...

South Korean at "work": does this wonder anyone?

Better bad press than no press at all...

What?? Danang, in Vietnam? I have lived there in the past, and it was very pleasant, although a bit boring... And now turning Russian?? Before, it was more Nha Trang that was a kind of Russian colony, now Danang and probably Hoi An next on the list??

So much about Stig's moral. This is precisely where the chewing-gum brand name "Stimorol" originated from...

Phnom Penh is not on the list, but should be. Saigon - I have lived there - ranks 5th but is much safer than Phnom Penh. In a nutshell, that link ranks 0 on credibility...

Wasn't the situation any different in the Philippines?

Well, if you spend time in Hua Hin just like I did, you would not make any difference between a Dane, a Swede, a Finn or a Norwegian either... They behave the same, namely the same s***, and s*** smells the same way, no matter who pooed...