JimmyJake

You haven't spent much time in Vietnam if you think there is not a wide range of international food available in the big cities. There is no problem finding high quality Japanese, western, Indian in any big city there.

Most of the world is lactose intolerant as adults. Only people with European ancestry and some regions in Africa tolerate lactose as adults. Most mammals develop lactose intolerance when they reach adulthood. It's a natural way of getting them to stop drinking the mother's milk. There is not any significant lactose in cheese however, so if she got sick after eating cheese, that's not the cause. You can buy lactose free milk in most any supermarket in Thailand.

Taipei is not so bad these days. Lots restaurants and shops, but a bit crowded sometimes. I really like the fact that if you are flying from the US and transiting there, you never have to go through security there.

In any country, if you need a visa, you don't use the international transit--You need to go out through immigration, get stamped into the country and then back through departures. You were very lucky they let you through without that hassle. Guessing wherever you bought that ticket gave you separate tickets for each airline. Better to buy tickets direct from an airline and check the transit requirements before buying.

I would imagine Iraq has a high percentage of unemployed, so no need to import labor. Iraq is a very strict muslim country. Not many women work at all. It's likely impossible to find a local woman who would work as a live in domestic helper, so probably many filipino domestic helpers. Educated filipinos are also working skilled jobs all over the world. They are in high demand for their combination of good english skills, decent education, and low wages they will accept. Many work in hotels, airports, hospitals, schools.... The fact that the Philippines bothers to have an embassy there is a good clue that there are a significant number of filipino workers.