First time Philippines?

[lopburi3]

6 hours ago, smotherb said:

However, the Philippine people are less Asian; most speak English and practice Christianity. The roads are safer and money can fix about anything.

Not everyone would consider the above items as in the plus column however.  As for roads being safer (perhaps because there are so few?  And many are one lane wide?) and money can fix anything (corruption is much higher).

 

A real positive for the Philippines, which is not often mentioned, is air quality which is normally much better than Thailand as it can blow out to sea in most locations.  

[elgenon]

40 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I would consider PI more dangerous than TL. So many houses have broken bottles embedded in their outside walls......

Because of the exchange rate of 48 p/1USD most things are cheaper. I've only been to Subic area so my views may be skewed. The girls in PI would love to come to the US and of course the entire family in due time.

For a visa run it should be a blast.

The exchange rate for South Korean won is 1064 won= 1 dollar. So I can expect things in South Korea will be 4x cheaper than in the PI? Thanks.

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, elgenon said:

The exchange rate for South Korean won is 1064 won= 1 dollar. So I can expect things in South Korea will be 4x cheaper than in the PI? Thanks.

The point was the exchange rate for USD is at the highest level in over 10 years whereas for Thailand it is downward and lowest in 4 years.

 

[Denim]

13 hours ago, snowgard said:

Where are the prettier girls?

Thailand or Philippines?

Neither.

 

Prettiest girls I saw were all in either Taiwan or Penang.

 

Taiwan doesn't get mentioned much because it is a bit out of the way but it is a very pleasant island with excellent infrastructure and hospitals. Food is good and beer price reasonable. Hotels more expensive than Thailand. Nice beaches down south and much more agreeable climate without humidity.

Found the girls not only pretty but very friendly. Went on a two week tour of the island with a girl I met and she insisted on paying her own way ! 

Pretty unique experience.

[EVENKEEL]

3 hours ago, elgenon said:

The exchange rate for South Korean won is 1064 won= 1 dollar. So I can expect things in South Korea will be 4x cheaper than in the PI? Thanks.

Break out the calculator next time you want to be a wisenheimer.

[inf]

I only know Cebu and Bohol, but my view of the Philippines echoes some of the others on this forum.

 

Beautiful scenery, things are cheap, but: the poverty is striking: Cebu City has 2 huge shopping malls which are like different worlds inside the city, which is why locals spend their weekends inside, amid the airco and the luxuries they can't afford.

High crime, with armed guards inside ordinary bank branches (never seen that in any other country before) and outside grubby-looking factories.

If you walk away from a main street in Cebu City, within minutes you're in the middle of a slum, though I have to say, I didn't feel any danger there, even there, people were very friendly and spoke fluent English.

The food is awful, fatty and oily, all meat and no vegetables, unless you are part of a tour and you get to dine at the best restaurants.

 

Conclusion: friendly people, cheap, sunny, but no comparison possible with Thailand.

[MaeJoMTB]

8 minutes ago, inf said:

The food is awful, fatty and oily, all meat and no vegetables, unless you are part of a tour and you get to dine at the best restaurants.

I only eat western food, so never care how bad the local food is anywhere in the world.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

45 minutes ago, inf said:

The food is awful, fatty and oily, all meat and no vegetables, unless you are part of a tour and you get to dine at the best restaurants.

 

Regarding Cebu, there's plenty of Western food eating options there, so I'm not sure why any visitor would feel the need to be eating local food, unless that was their desire.

 

Re the OP's original question, from what I can tell, relatively few tourists (as opposed to business people) look to spend their vacation time in Manila. It's a relatively expensive place, crowded, not easy to get around, etc.

 

Instead, most simply fly there and then quickly head out to other cities, or better yet, don't fly to Manila and get a flight to one of the other PH airports instead. AirAsia also flies to Cebu, Clark, Davao, etc.

[Gruff]

In my opinion the Phils is well worth a visit but flights between BKK and MNL tend to be expensive. It may seem an odd suggestion but take a look at flying via Jakarta it could well be your cheapest option as BKK / Jakarta and MNL / Jakarta flights are both very cheap at the moment. OK a lot of flying but get to see a little of Indonesia as well. Financial comparsons between the 2 countres have changed by 20% (in favour of Phils) because of strong baht / weak peso in last 18 months. 

 

Personally i feel safer in Phils than Thailand and just because there are armed guards everywhere doesnt imply it is dangerous. Most Filipino's i have spoken to like the presence of the armed guards.

[Gruff]

32 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

I only eat western food, so never care how bad the local food is anywhere in the world.

And Western food in Phls is cheaper than Western food in Thailand and beer and wine is much cheaper.

[CLW]

 
Regarding Cebu, there's plenty of Western food eating options there, so I'm not sure why any visitor would feel the need to be eating local food, unless that was their desire.
 
Re the OP's original question, from what I can tell, relatively few tourists (as opposed to business people) look to spend their vacation time in Manila. It's a relatively expensive place, crowded, not easy to get around, etc.
 
Instead, most simply fly there and then quickly head out to other cities, or better yet, don't fly to Manila and get a flight to one of the other PH airports instead. AirAsia also flies to Cebu, Clark, Davao, etc.

Air Asia direct flights to Manila and for promotional price are only available from where I've planned another trip already.
For 2019 they are awaiting government approval it says on their website.
However, I follow Cebu Pacific and they seem to have some good deals as well.
And not only limited to Manila.
So I might opt for Cebu City

[Gruff]

7 minutes ago, CLW said:

Air Asia direct flights to Manila and for promotional price are only available from where I've planned another trip already.
For 2019 they are awaiting government approval it says on their website.
However, I follow Cebu Pacific and they seem to have some good deals as well.
And not only limited to Manila.
So I might opt for Cebu City

 

Maybe just a small bonus but taxi drivers in Cebu seem to use the meter even from the airport.  Regrettably cant say the same for Manila airport.

[smotherb]

5 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Not everyone would consider the above items as in the plus column however.  As for roads being safer (perhaps because there are so few?  And many are one lane wide?) and money can fix anything (corruption is much higher).

 

A real positive for the Philippines, which is not often mentioned, is air quality which is normally much better than Thailand as it can blow out to sea in most locations.  

Not everyone would consider higher corruption a disadvantage; to me it depends upon the price of corruption vs. the inconvenience of the bureaucracy. 

 

There are more kilometers of roads in the PI than in Thailand. The fact that many are unpaved and not expressways is, as I said, part of the better infrastructure in Thailand. However, your argument for safer roads makes little sense; the roads in Thailand are better and fewer, yet there are more road deaths . . .  

 

The air quality is slightly better in the PI, but both Thailand and the PI are significantly below the world standard. However, I did not use air quality as an example of Philippine superiority because Manila is far worse than Bangkok.

 

One issue I did not mention is scenic beauty; I find the PI's thousands of mountains, islands and beaches to be more beautiful than Thailand.  Of course, you have to avoid the clutter and garbage in both.

 

 

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, smotherb said:

There are more kilometers of roads in the PI than in Thailand.

Totally false - Thailand has almost 5 times the roads as PI.  Thailand ranks number 9 in the world whereas Philippines is 25.

Thailand - 1,004,310 km in 2016

Philippines 217,456 km in 2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_road_network_size

 

8 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Not everyone would consider higher corruption a disadvantage

What can I say   - but am sure you are right - not everyone.

[marios]

6 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Not everyone would consider the above items as in the plus column however.  As for roads being safer (perhaps because there are so few?  And many are one lane wide?) and money can fix anything (corruption is much higher).

 

A real positive for the Philippines, which is not often mentioned, is air quality which is normally much better than Thailand as it can blow out to sea in most locations.  

Air quality better in Manila than in Bangkok? Not true according to my experiences. Elsewhere maybe because of the proximity to the sea of a large part of the country, as pointed out.

[smotherb]

On 3/10/2018 at 1:32 PM, Boon Mee said:

The PI doesn't compare. Food is inferior. The 'danger' factor is higher. 

Well, that sounds to be an untenable position; we are comparing them. As are most issues, food and danger are subjective.

 

Depends on what you call danger. I have spent roughly the same amount of time in each country; greater than 10 years. I have not been threaten with a gun in the PI, yet it has happened twice in Thailand. Thailand's roads are far more dangerous and apparently so are Thai balconies.

 

The Filipino cuisine has less spice, variety and imagination than Thai foods; however, western foods--not just fast foods--are widely available, some very good, and cheaper than in Thailand.

 

 

[lopburi3]

3 minutes ago, marios said:

Air quality better in Manila than in Bangkok? Not true according to my experiences. Elsewhere maybe because of the proximity to the sea of a large part of the country, as pointed out.

Was talking about country rather than specific city - in Thailand it is country wide - in Philippines it is basically Manila.

[smotherb]

55 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Totally false - Thailand has almost 5 times the roads as PI.  Thailand ranks number 9 in the world whereas Philippines is 25.

Thailand - 1,004,310 km in 2016

Philippines 217,456 km in 2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_road_network_size

 

What can I say   - but am sure you are right - not everyone.

Tsk, tsk, how naïve, using Wikipedia, eh?  Just read the garbage that is Wikipedia. Take it from Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, “You shouldn't really use Wikipedia as the sole source for anything, ever . . .” https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/feb/19/interview-jimmy-wales-wikipedia

 

My original stats of 180,000km of Thai roads and 213,000km of PI roads were from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2085.html

However, let’s try another viable source where it lists km of roads per 1,000km² of country area http://en.worldstat.info/World/List_of_countries_by_Density_of_road_network

Thailand has 350.9km/1,000km²; whereas, the PI has 710.5km/1,000km²  

Of course, then you have the know the area of each country. Don’t you?

Thailand has 513km² and the PI has 300 km²  https://www.google.co.th/search?q=area+of+thailand&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=aNukWrPhBYrmvATpiKXYDA and https://www.google.co.th/search?client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&ei=aNukWpHcG4fTvgSE3py4Cg&q=area+of+philippines+&oq=area+of+philippines+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i22i30k1l8.102602.105846.0.106515.12.11.0.1.1.0.166.1266.0j9.9.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.10.1276...0i67k1j0i10k1.0.9PZkUaGzBLA respectively

 

So, we now have to do some math, do we not?

TH 513 x 350.9 = 180,011.7—petty close to my original stat of 180km, huh?

PI 300 x 710.5 = 213,150—damn, pretty close again. 

Gee, two sets of viable sources which agree with each other.

However, feel free to go back to the sandbox and bring up some more unsubstantiated data

[smotherb]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Was talking about country rather than specific city - in Thailand it is country wide - in Philippines it is basically Manila.

Again, you need to do some research in sources other than wikipedia. Manila is the worst, but any congested area is pretty bad. As I said, the PI is only slightly better.

[lopburi3]

http://aqicn.org/search/#q=manila

[bubba]

On 10/03/2018 at 6:31 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Depends on your tastes, PI girls are a bit smaller than Thai girls (by about 5kg), prettier in a western look faces way, slightly less convincing in bed and considerably cheaper.

 

PI and Thailand are different, why limit yourself to just one place, flights are cheap.

That's interesting. While most of my visits to the Philippines have been over the past 12 years on business trips to Manila, my observation has been that the majority of women there are significantly thicker than Thai women. 

 

Prettier "in a western look faces way"? Umm...

[gk10002000]

On 3/10/2018 at 12:09 AM, lopburi3 said:

Indeed as they are formed by volcanoes.  You can visit Mt Pinatubo on the main island (the one that destroyed Clark Air Base) and a lot of the surrounding area only a few years ago.   Some of the other islands have very scenic roads so probably best to check on these to have some plans before travel.  

Ha.  When I was active duty and stationed at Vandenberg AFB, I had orders in my hand to go to Clark.  I was young and ignorant and fought the orders and while "negotiating" Pinatubo erupted and settled the matter. I ended up going East to Hanscom AFB.  Oh how different my life would have been.  I am sure I would have fallen for some cutie back then.

 

  My good friend had been to Thailand many times before we met up and later traveled to Thailand or met up there.  He loved the LOS. Then one day he went to the Philippines with some mates to watch a pool tournament.  While there he met and fell in love with a little PI gal.  He got engaged really quick, got her to the USA got married etc.  Since then he has gone to the Philippines many times, with an occasional side trip to Thailand.  He is now firmly convinced Thailand has gotten more expensive.  I am still surprised that after like a dozen trips to Thailand it only took him one trip to the PI to hook up with a girl there.  I think he really is Catholic oriented religion wise, and he would never marry other than that.  I still prefer Thailand, although the clean beaches are a bit of a pain. I live in Florida and I can literally drive a few miles up and down the East Coast and jump in the water anywhere, so I get frustrated with Thailand a bit.

 

  I can tell you first hand, that the requests for money and shipping things back to the PI have been non-stop.  She doesn't like to work much and it has been a constant issue as both of them confide to me when alone!  I am the mediator.  If you like Jollybee, go for it!

[elgenon]

18 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Break out the calculator next time you want to be a wisenheimer.

Thanks for pointing out the deterioration of my brain. The poster has since said what he meant by the post which is not how the post is written.

 

 

 

[AboutThaim]

18 hours ago, smotherb said:

Tsk, tsk, how naïve, using Wikipedia, eh?  Just read the garbage that is Wikipedia. Take it from Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, “You shouldn't really use Wikipedia as the sole source for anything, ever . . .” https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/feb/19/interview-jimmy-wales-wikipedia

 

 

 

My original stats of 180,000km of Thai roads and 213,000km of PI roads were from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2085.html

 

However, let’s try another viable source where it lists km of roads per 1,000km² of country area http://en.worldstat.info/World/List_of_countries_by_Density_of_road_network

 

Thailand has 350.9km/1,000km²; whereas, the PI has 710.5km/1,000km²  

 

Of course, then you have the know the area of each country. Don’t you?

 

Thailand has 513km² and the PI has 300 km²  https://www.google.co.th/search?q=area+of+thailand&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=aNukWrPhBYrmvATpiKXYDA and https://www.google.co.th/search?client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&ei=aNukWpHcG4fTvgSE3py4Cg&q=area+of+philippines+&oq=area+of+philippines+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i22i30k1l8.102602.105846.0.106515.12.11.0.1.1.0.166.1266.0j9.9.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.10.1276...0i67k1j0i10k1.0.9PZkUaGzBLA respectively

 

 

 

So, we now have to do some math, do we not?

 

TH 513 x 350.9 = 180,011.7—petty close to my original stat of 180km, huh?

 

PI 300 x 710.5 = 213,150—damn, pretty close again. 

 

Gee, two sets of viable sources which agree with each other.

 

However, feel free to go back to the sandbox and bring up some more unsubstantiated data

 

OK you win!!  I hope that effort really helps the OP decide whether or not to go to the PI.  I'm wondering if the PI has as many vehicles per head of population as Thailand and if so why is the road carnage not the same?  Maybe they have more people obeying the road rules or better drivers.

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, AboutThaim said:

OK you win!!  I hope that effort really helps the OP decide whether or not to go to the PI.  I'm wondering if the PI has as many vehicles per head of population as Thailand and if so why is the road carnage not the same?  Maybe they have more people obeying the road rules or better drivers.

I think it is somewhat naive to make a personal decision based upon the opinion of others; especially others with whom you have no familiarity. However, people do that all the time, just not me. What and where you like is so subjective.

 

Yes, there are more drivers in the PI obeying the road rules. In fact, I have to curtail my Thai driving habits when in the PI. Of course, since I ride motorcycles as well as drive cars; I see a wider spectrum of road issues.

 

I used to live in the PI, my wife is a Filipina, I know the country well, and I have family and friends there. However, we both decided to come to Thailand to live. Now, we tire of Thailand. We will try Vietnam, but I am sure we will return to the PI, for various reasons--family, medical care, visa issues, etc. However, I know I will still not be satisfied. I will never like the Philippine trifecta--no water, no paper and no toilet seat--the fact you cannot leave your home unoccupied--or it will get robbed--and the poor civil, social and technological infrastructure. Fortunately, all of that is improving; who knows?

 

 

[smotherb]

On 3/12/2018 at 1:07 AM, gk10002000 said:

Ha.  When I was active duty and stationed at Vandenberg AFB, I had orders in my hand to go to Clark.  I was young and ignorant and fought the orders and while "negotiating" Pinatubo erupted and settled the matter. I ended up going East to Hanscom AFB.  Oh how different my life would have been.  I am sure I would have fallen for some cutie back then.

 

  My good friend had been to Thailand many times before we met up and later traveled to Thailand or met up there.  He loved the LOS. Then one day he went to the Philippines with some mates to watch a pool tournament.  While there he met and fell in love with a little PI gal.  He got engaged really quick, got her to the USA got married etc.  Since then he has gone to the Philippines many times, with an occasional side trip to Thailand.  He is now firmly convinced Thailand has gotten more expensive.  I am still surprised that after like a dozen trips to Thailand it only took him one trip to the PI to hook up with a girl there.  I think he really is Catholic oriented religion wise, and he would never marry other than that.  I still prefer Thailand, although the clean beaches are a bit of a pain. I live in Florida and I can literally drive a few miles up and down the East Coast and jump in the water anywhere, so I get frustrated with Thailand a bit.

 

  I can tell you first hand, that the requests for money and shipping things back to the PI have been non-stop.  She doesn't like to work much and it has been a constant issue as both of them confide to me when alone!  I am the mediator.  If you like Jollybee, go for it!

Yes, in the PI, the language and culture are more similar to the West, the US in particular; but Jollybee is not the only burger available. Nonetheless, the "support the family" culture is found all throughout Asia. That is just one more of the selection criteria that needs to be settled before you choose a wife. If not supporting her family is a goal--it is for me--explain to her that you are marrying her and not her family; that you will give her family exactly the same amount of money they give your family. If that will not do for her, find another; duh. I also want a woman with a good personality, who is easy to look at, has as little baggage as possible--no kids, no exes, no bad habits--and who is educated, intelligent and capable. Hey, it is my selection criteria, why not seek what I want?  If you will settle for less; then, you have little room to complain.

 

 

[JaiLai]

The Women are much prettier and speak English, the danger factor in Thailand has increased dramatically, time to take your Rose Tinted Glasses off.

The women have moustaches and moles but hey if you like that....

Their accent I find most annoying also.


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[CLW]

The women have moustaches and moles but hey if you like that....

Their accent I find most annoying also.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Haha. Let's find out...