Thailand vs Philippines

[madmen]

29 minutes ago, Momofarang said:

Funny you say so, I have have never stayed long term in Malaysia, but I have some past with Algeria and Morocco, and both countries are way more receptive and open to western values than Thailand. The only thing that's western in Thailand id GREED, but works only for a tiny minority.

Don't forget to write.

[DaRoadrunner]

On 12/27/2019 at 1:16 PM, tomauasia said:

Anybody that has stayed in the Philippines knows the foods bad.

True. But WHY is it so bad?

 

I am also puzzled why there are so many opposing opinions on this particular thread.

Edited December 28, 2019 by DaRoadrunner

[Destiny1990]

1 hour ago, DaRoadrunner said:

True. But WHY is it so bad?

 

I am also puzzled why there are so many opposing opinions on this particular thread.

There is lovely foods try their fresh barbecue Merlin fish steaks 250 pesos only. They got all international and local food options available and cheaper than in Thailand so stop making a scene please !

[tomauasia]

9 hours ago, Don Chance said:

What about Indonesia?  Aussies love it there, even crowded Bali. Lombok looks good. Indonesian are laid back and secular from what i hear.

Food is suppose to be very good, safe, modern country.

I stayed in LOMBOK 2 weeks deserted but what a lovely place 

[tomauasia]

9 hours ago, possum1931 said:

The poster, I won't bother trying to print his username, is definitely not a native English speaker, but you cannot

blame him for that. 

Yes lm lazy with my phone. LOL

[tomauasia]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I suspect the Op was burned by a Filipino

Not at all. Im just missing the place l.eft. I also just left my wife no chance of being burned by a pretty abbo 

[DaRoadrunner]

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Actually, I rate British food highly. If I were ever on death row, a roast beef or lamb dinner would definitely be on the short list. 
I also absolutely love steak and kidney pie, best one I ever tasted was in Anglesey. Had a to die for roasted pork belly in a great little pub in Tarporley a few years ago. Mushroom with Stilton - how can other starters possibly compete with that?

Also best ever apple pie I ate was baked by an English girl. 

Roadrunner wishes to complain! Apart from being off topic, you are making me hungry! And no, the food in Da Phils will not make you hungry.

[keysersoze276]

What kind of fool would make the OP without any details on why it was necessary to leave at the time, or why it was a mistake?

The OP should have been removed as a troll post instead of being in the news feed. 

[Gweiloman]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

There is lovely foods try their fresh barbecue Merlin fish steaks 250 pesos only. They got all international and local food options available and cheaper than in Thailand so stop making a scene please !

Filipino food may be cheaper than Thai food. That doesn’t make it good unless that’s all you can afford to eat. 

[Destiny1990]

54 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Filipino food may be cheaper than Thai food. That doesn’t make it good unless that’s all you can afford to eat. 

Point is if u care about healthy foods and or local and international dishes than that’s just as much available in both countries while Phillipines slightly cheaper if that matters for u.

[Tagged]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

Filipino food may be cheaper than Thai food. That doesn’t make it good unless that’s all you can afford to eat. 

You never cook yourselves? 

[Bangkokazy]

People who criticize countries. Don't have the finances to live there.

 

Thailand has its charm, difficult living for over 90 days
The Philippines has the advantage that most people understand English.

[Gweiloman]

1 hour ago, Tagged said:

You never cook yourselves? 

I eat out 60% of the time. More convenient, not having to stock up on too much perishables as well as washing up (which I fortunately don’t have to do). 

[Gweiloman]

1 hour ago, Bangkokazy said:

People who criticize countries. Don't have the finances to live there.

.

You might want to rethink that?

[CG1 Blue]

Spent a bit of time in Cebu City. They had an airport style security scanner and sniffer dogs at the entrance of my hotel. Security at the airport was hellish. Those two things alone suggested that violence is commonplace there. I found it difficult to find decent local food anywhere. The local food I did find was pretty bland compared to the food you can get in virtually every Thai eatery. 

I didn't manage to find any decent nightlife. 

Most of the people I encountered were friendly enough. 

 

Personally I couldn't wait to get back on the plane to Bkk. But maybe I didn't give Pi a fair crack of the whip, i.e. didn't travel around or give it more time.  

Edited December 28, 2019 by CG1 Blue

[yogi100]

On 12/27/2019 at 11:46 AM, BobBKK said:

I have been to Phil 45 times and owned a condo there. Both places have their benefits but there are some big ones here in Thailand. Internet and Infrastructure are far superior in Thailand. If you could swap the Thais for Filipinos (who are far more polite and warmer) you would have heaven but alas we can't have everything.

When I first came to Thailand (Bangkok & Pattaya) in 1984 it was the people that impressed me more than anything else. They were kind, helpful friendly and my opinion of them was shared by everybody else.

 

But that's history now it's been destroyed by greed, commercialisation and a worsening attitude. 

 

I dunno how people can still keep a straight face when they refer to it as The Land Of Smiles.

 

I just visit Pattaya and although people say that Pattaya is not representative of Thailand it is to me.

 

I went to Davao and Cebu about 15 years ago but while the people were generally very friendly neither place was remotely comparable with Pattaya in any respect.

 

The people had no pride in their surroundings nor much ambition apart from wanting to leave the PI. I could not blame them because I was bloody glad when we left to be quite honest. It was quite simply a dump.

[saengd]

1 hour ago, CG1 Blue said:

Spent a bit of time in Cebu City. They had an airport style security scanner and sniffer dogs at the entrance of my hotel. Security at the airport was hellish. Those two things alone suggested that violence is commonplace there. I found it difficult to find decent local food anywhere. The local food I did find was pretty bland compared to the food you can get in virtually every Thai eatery. 

I didn't manage to find any decent nightlife. 

Most of the people I encountered were friendly enough. 

 

Personally I couldn't wait to get back on the plane to Bkk. But maybe I didn't give Pi a fair crack of the whip, i.e. didn't travel around or give it more time.  

I haven't been to Cebu since 2005 but agree the airport security was scary, even back then. The poverty was also a lot worse, loads of people sleeping on pedestrian flyovers and everyone was panhandling, depressing. The high walled luxury resorts on Mactan island were a remarkable contrast to the rest of the island.

[shdmn]

The PI has one huge thing going for it that no other SE Asian country has.  They almost all speak and understand English.  As much as I love Thailand and have issues with the PI, that overrides everything else for me.

 

You can get good food in the PI but you sort have to know where.  The supermarkets have good fresh fruits and vegetables and there are really good barbecued chicken places everywhere.  So not so bad if you live there and can prepare you own food.  Maybe a little harder if you are a tourist and don't know where the good cheap restaurants and takeout are.  Also, you can get good western food in the PI like Mexican, which I happen to love.

 

My biggest issue with the PI is bad infrastructure. It's probably 10 or 20 years behind Thailand.  But the tradeoff is that a lot of things are cheap. I think the PI is moving into that sweet spot Thailand was in for the last couple decades where it was still sort of 3rd world pricing but more like 1st world infrastructure in some ways.  The PI is spending billions on infrastructure right now.  Elevated freeways, subways, the worlds largest airport (at least 5 years away though).  The new Clark Airport terminal will double their capacity in the next few months so it will be easier to avoid Manila.  They are building a brand new city from scratch "Clark City".  There is already a giant stadium and some gov't offices.  

 

If you want to be near the ocean there is Subic and lots of world class beaches are a short cheap flight away from Clark Airport.

Edited December 29, 2019 by shdmn

[tomauasia]

10 hours ago, Tagged said:

You never cook yourselves? 

Yes lucky for me l cook

[448glb]

22 hours ago, Tagged said:

@448glb

you must have got up on the wrong foot today! How you feel now after your long rant, and some parts tvice as well? 

Feel good thanks ???? I am just sick of people bashing Thailand, it’s a very easy country to live in. 

[Tagged]

6 minutes ago, 448glb said:

Feel good thanks ???? I am just sick of people bashing Thailand, it’s a very easy country to live in. 

I think the same, Thailand still the best country so far for me to. 

 

One more advantage for me, is direct flights from Europe to BKK, Phuket and Krabi, and alot more easy travel than to Phil, or any other Asian country. 

[kekalot]

11 hours ago, saengd said:

I haven't been to Cebu since 2005 but agree the airport security was scary, even back then. The poverty was also a lot worse, loads of people sleeping on pedestrian flyovers and everyone was panhandling, depressing. The high walled luxury resorts on Mactan island were a remarkable contrast to the rest of the island.

I was in Cebu city in 2013 for 3 weeks and what you describe was still similar, I got circled by gangs of little kids trying to beg, pulling on my bags and possibly about to pickpocket me, offered all kinds of stupid things such as Cialis, maps, fake raybans. was my first time in Asia and it made me think I had done my research poorly as it was supposed to be one of the "better" cities in the Philippines.  

 

no doubt there are nice places, nice beaches, lovely people (I did meet some friends there in the 3 weeks there) but the only thing that was nice about Cebu City was Ayala Mall (note, I don't like malls in general)

I cut my planned 2 months stay down at 3 weeks, had enough. Came to Thailand hoping I wasn't making a huge mistake and have never seen anything similar here since then.

 

It was supposed to be 2 months in Philippines, 2 months in Thailand and 2 months in Vietnam, then make a choice but I cancelled my one way ticket to Vietnam and never made it.

Edited December 29, 2019 by kekalot

[tifino]

7 hours ago, shdmn said:

The new Clark Airport terminal will double their capacity in the next few months so it will be easier to avoid Manila.  They are building a brand new city from scratch "Clark City".  There is already a giant stadium and some gov't offices.  

all arisen out from the (volcanic) ashes...  a volcano on their

PI can boast having a volcano handy near their doorsteps 

 

 

[seancbk]

On 12/27/2019 at 12:33 PM, Don Chance said:

Philippines seems to have much less smog, nicer beaches, less developed. Not sure heading their soon.

I would think air quality would be important for any expat. Even in Manila it seems not too bad.

 

Less developed is not a benefit. The more developed the better.  

[tomauasia]

9 hours ago, 448glb said:

Feel good thanks ???? I am just sick of people bashing Thailand, it’s a very easy country to live in. 

 

2 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

Less developed is not a benefit. The more developed the better.  

True

[shdmn]

9 hours ago, tifino said:

all arisen out from the (volcanic) ashes...  a volcano on their

PI can boast having a volcano handy near their doorsteps 

 

 

Of all the things you could pick to try throw rocks and you chose that one?  The bashers around here are entertaining sometimes.

Edited December 29, 2019 by shdmn

[shdmn]

Regarding PI Typhoons.  It's only a problem on the east coast as far as I can tell.  The eyes often come close to Manila and about the worst that ever happens is some flooding and power outages for a day or two.  The storms tend to weaken considerably by the time they they get to Manila or other places around Luzon.

Edited December 29, 2019 by shdmn

[tifino]

3 hours ago, shdmn said:

13 hours ago, tifino said:

all arisen out from the (volcanic) ashes...  a volcano on their

PI can boast having a volcano handy near their doorsteps 

 

 

Of all the things you could pick to try throw rocks and you chose that one?  The bashers around here are entertaining sometimes.

simple acceptance of the probable reality of a repeat of a modern times Pompeii... 

 

... the last one; had the (Ex-from previous life) wading knee deep in the afermath ash pool of collateral damage, where she worked on Clark... 

 

and 'that' is the area of the new 'city'

 

[Don Chance]

On 12/29/2019 at 8:56 PM, seancbk said:

 

Less developed is not a benefit. The more developed the better.  

Why not Spain or Portugal than?

I like the feeling of being in a old world culture.

[Tagged]

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

Why not Spain or Portugal than?

I like the feeling of being in a old world culture.

Im here in Spain now, very nice prices on food I like, and ...... but it stops there. First day walking in the streets, cold weather, and cold people. I wish you or those who consider spain good luck in this depressed part of world, with no smiles at all. I was so suprised when I got one smile from a blond young girl I almost walked in to a light pole. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Tagged
Insert pic