Why Do Westerners Choose Thailand Over The Phillipines?

[Spee]

Thailand chose me, I didn't choose Thailand. Did have a few offers from LBFMs whilst in Japan, but not my cup 'o tea.

As for all the other stuff after that .... what's the saying ?? It goes with the territory.

[jackr]

It's practically a U.S. colony

That says it all for me...................

Beat me to it. If the op has such as hard-on for the fact, why not just stick with the US proper?

Ubiquitous corruption and crime. No thanks.

[Thules]

Interesting topic, and having never been to the Philippines, can't really comment. However, I would love to see the answers to the proposed question in reverse in a Philippino forum.

[DP25]

Uhh I wouldn't choose Philippines over ANYWHERE save the middle east and sub saharan Africa. It's dangerous and undeveloped. There's a reason 10 million of them work overseas and the rest are trying to. I'd happily live in Korea, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc instead of Thailand though, and that's only in Asia!

[IanForbes]

The Philippines DOES have a few things going for it. A foreigner gets pretty good value for his currency. Last time I checked it was 43 Philippine Pesos to one Canadian dollar. By contrast it is 29 Thai baht to one Canadian dollar.

Cost of imported goods seems to be lower in the Philippines

Booze is MUCH cheaper in the Philippines. I can get a bottle of reasonable rum for two dollars. Booze in Thailand isn't much cheaper than Canada.

There are 7000 islands to choose from and most have lovely beaches.

Weather is similar to southern Thailand, but maybe a bit wetter.

Accommodation is similar in quality and price. There is everything from a two dollar a night flop house to a $300 a night hotel.

Philippine women are almost as pretty as the Thai ladies, and every bit as accommodating... or more so.

Had it not been for circumstances I might be married to a Filipina if she wasn't heading tor Japan to be a hostess in a fancy hotel nighclub and I was heading home after a monthly holiday. She was one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Sparks were continually flying between us. Her father was Castilian Spanish and her mother was a Filipina. Patrina got her looks from her father and didn't look like a Filipina at all. I thought she was American when we first met. We kept in touch by mail for about a year afterwards until she finally met a lucky American man closer to her age. I think she's married and living in the States somewhere.

[Chunky1]

im too scared to go there. all i hear is stories of there being security guards with shot guns guarding grocery stores and everything else. how so and so got robbed at gun point in a taxi. etc etc. thais have a very low opinion of the phillipines.

[doggie888888]

I chose Thailand because I don't like volcanoes, earthquakes and typhoons. The parts of the Philipines that have none of these are usually infested with Muslim separatists, feudal warlords or are otherwise uninhabited, maybe uninhabitable due to lack of potable water on such islands.

Oh, and when I get stuck in a bus, I wanna be rescued, not shot at !!!!!

[IanForbes]

im too scared to go there. all i hear is stories of there being security guards with shot guns guarding grocery stores and everything else. how so and so got robbed at gun point in a taxi. etc etc. thais have a very low opinion of the phillipines.

Guns in the hands of guards don't scare me, but being alone with a bunch of nasty Filipinos who hate foreigners is not a pleasant experience. At least in Thailand most of the police are on the side of the good guys. Thai police might be willing to take a bribe or two, but they' are not really evil. Not so in the Philippines. You can't trust any policeman in the Philippines. Most run all the racketeering. I've never seen so many different types of scams as I did in the Philippines. They are masters at it, and it starts right from childhood. Just watch a Filipino card shark at work and you can't even spot him cheating... even when you know he is doing so.

There is some pretty bad stuff that goes on in Thailand, but you can stay away from it if you don't want to be involved. In the Philippines it is all around you. Maybe not so much in the villages, but certainly in all the cities.

It started with Marcos and his wife and trickled down from there. The Catholic church basically supports crime by encouraging people to have more children than they can afford, and yet the Catholic church doesn't do anything to help. It's a vicious circle.

[DP25]

The Catholic church basically supports crime by encouraging people to have more children than they can afford, and yet the Catholic church doesn't do anything to help. It's a vicious circle.

Their birth rate is one of the main sources of their problems. If they had started with birth control 30 or 40 years ago like everyone else and there were 30 million fewer people they would be much better off

Fertility rate births per mother

Philippines 3.27

Replacement level = 2.1

United States 2.05

Vietnam 1.98

China 1.79

Thailand 1.65

South Korea 1.21

Taiwan 1.14

Singapore 1.09

[PattayaParent]

'cos Philippines is a sh*thole that hasn't progressed in the last 30 years since Marcos gained power and bled the country dry.

Which shouldn't matter at all to the type of expat which Thailand is full of who just wants fun in the sun, lives isolated from the locals except for some women, and to live off foreign currency.

Yes, in general the bar girls in RP speak better English than the bar girls in LOS, but that's a generalisation. I've met many LOS bar girls that speak good English and many RP bar girls that don't.

The English language levels of the Thai and Pilipino engineers that I've worked with is pretty much the same.

But beer is cheaper in RP and San Mig is beter than Singha.

No other advantages though.

Edit: Forgot, if you're a UK pernsioner you can receive your annual pension increases.

Edited September 16, 2010 by PattayaParent

[Berkshire]

Their birth rate is one of the main sources of their problems. If they had started with birth control 30 or 40 years ago like everyone else and there were 30 million fewer people they would be much better off

Fertility rate births per mother

Philippines 3.27

Replacement level = 2.1

United States 2.05

Vietnam 1.98

China 1.79

Thailand 1.65

South Korea 1.21

Taiwan 1.14

Singapore 1.09

Interesting. Wonder what Japan is. .01?

[mdechgan]

I never really liked the PHI.

Beaches are beaches, my life doesn't depend on beaches and sand.

I eat all kinds of food and like some PHI dishes like their pork blood stew so food isn't a problem.

English isn't a necessity because Thai isn't that difficult to learn.

But PHI just doesn't have much more to offer compared to Thailand or impresses me that much.

I think Thais are definately more friendly than Filipinos and has a much more developed society. The Philippines are like 20-30 years behind in development.

They have three major problems:

1. Marcos really put the country back 20-30 years.

2. Their population rate was higher than their devlopment or GDP rate for the past 15 years. Must be something like 100 million people now.

3. Too many islands, its hard to develop something equally so separated. Bangkok has problems connecting east and west sides of the city.

Still I would prefer Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, some Chinese cities, Singapore, Auckland, Sydney, maybe even Japan or move back to the U.S. other than Manila. But I would prefer Manila over India any day.

[mdechgan]

Their birth rate is one of the main sources of their problems. If they had started with birth control 30 or 40 years ago like everyone else and there were 30 million fewer people they would be much better off

Fertility rate births per mother

Philippines 3.27

Replacement level = 2.1

United States 2.05

Vietnam 1.98

China 1.79

Thailand 1.65

South Korea 1.21

Taiwan 1.14

Singapore 1.09

Interesting. Wonder what Japan is. .01?

One of the few reasons why the Japanese have a really high standard of living. Their middle class is like 90% of the population and have a 99% literacy rate. Japan actually had more people 10 years ago than they do today, but is still quite crowded.

Its really simple, if one cannot afford or have the time for a child then don't have one until ready. Otherwise the quality of life of that child will suffer.

[jfchandler]

Ditto on that from me...

We may have marauding red shirts (and yellow shirts) periodically. But we don't have guards with semi-auto weapons needing to stand guard at every mall, or crazy police officers who take hostage buses of tourists... Nor do we have annual ceremonies where locals crucify themselves ala Jesus on the cross. Nor do we have Muslim extremists who kidnap and ransom foreigners, etc. etc etc...

I have nothing against PH people and have had close PH friends in the U.S. But their country is a mess, and that's why they want to move to the U.S. so much. Likewise, I really dislike PH food. Used to have PH neighbors who'd cook outside nextdoor...and always made me want to run inside and hold my nose.... And lastly, I'd argue, for all their own unique brand of craziness, that the difference between Thai and PH women is not "insignificant..."

Philippines are nice too. However, Thailand is much more comfortable. You can go almost anywhere here, relatively harmless weather conditions, better infrastructure, better food, nearer to most Expats home countries, safer, central located in SEA, way more exotic, Buddhist society etc etc......in many ways much more developed.

[cheynewalk]

I think posing that particular question here is a little like preaching to the converted. I suggest more appropriate responses may come from posting on a PI expat forum. The fact is there are many expats who obviously DO choose PI over Thailand for various reasons.

[jaideeguy]

Having lived 7+ yrs in the phil before comming here, i feel somewhat qualified to say that re: language.....in the Phil, you have the illusion that they understand English...here there are no illusions, you KNOW they don't understand!!!

plus the fact that the country is doomed with corruption, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, etc etc.

The people are wonderful and friendly but they can get 'in your face' a little more than here.

Also, LOS [mostly] has wonderful smells everywhere and the Phil stinks most places from the food, men pissing everywhere not to mention the garbage that is everywhere.

That's why I settled on LOS......

[chops]

Best to just stay away. Thailand is fine. Two countries I would rather not visit in Asia are Myanmar and Philippines. Too many problems and no foreigner should even be there.

[moe666]

All of the trips I have made to Thailand never shaken down by the cops. First trip to PI in 40 years out of the airport, on the way to daughter-in-laws family village, pulled over right now 500 p later on our way and we had 2 filipinas in the car with us.

The family was great lots of fresh pork and loser chickens every day but the way they were prepared uck!

My first trip to the PI was in 1963 and made many more over the years ,10 years in Navy, I really never took a likeing to the country

Daughter-in-laws uncle villiage captian he cares a 45. pistol every were he goes.

PI forget about it

Edited September 16, 2010 by moe666

[KunMatt]

Best to just stay away. Thailand is fine. Two countries I would rather not visit in Asia are Myanmar and Philippines. Too many problems and no foreigner should even be there.

That's some terrible advice right there. I had the best time of my life in Philippines and I very nearly ended up living there instead of Thailand now. It's only because a flight to Bangkok was easier from where I was at the time that I came to Thailand and here I still am, otherwise I would be probably be living in Boracay, diving everyday and hanging out with awesome locals listening to many brilliant local bands.

It's sure got it's downsides but they were strictly found in the cities for me. If you can handle a few hours of it as you transit to a beautiful Island then I definitely recommend a visit to Pl:

No two ways about it the cities in the Philipinnes are awful. Manila is a hole and being British just the sight of a loaded gun makes me uncomfortable and you see one every 5m in Manila, even guards carrying sawn off shotguns and AK47s are a very common sight in Manila. Airports are a nightmare and drug dealers and hookers are up in your face before you even get your first foot out the hotel front door. Cebu was better but still no where near as nice, developed or as well off as Bangkok or any Thai city. And people are POOR; children sleeping naked in the street kind of poor.

Despite all of these things, and these negatives were only in the cities, I can't exlpain how great a time I had when I got to the Islands. I never wanted to leave and thought I had found my own personal paradise. I'm still searching to the equivalent to Boracay in Thailand but I haven't found it yet. I find Thailand is just constantly about money which ruins the whole ambience when you know people are only being nice as long as you are willing to spend money or remain a customer. I never got this feeling once in Pl as people there were genuinely nice for the sake of being nice. Being friendly is a quality that Filipinas are very proud to be infamous for, I just wish they had the resources to cook a good meal!

Anyways, my point is, it may not be for everyone and the cons could outweigh the pros for some people but until you go there and experience it for yourself you will never know what you are missing. If it's not for you then you will probably appreciate what you like about Thailand more but don't just write off a whole country and culture without trying it out.

[bonobo]

I am in Manila now, getting ready to return to Thailand this afternoon.

Here was my yesterday:

Got up in my nice-ish hotel in Makati, one of the few clean places in Manila.

Joined the traffic to go to a factory about 25 km away.

Watch two young street kids make a break through traffic after evidently stealing something form the SM Mall.

Watched a cop chase them down and shoot one in the back right in front of me.

Got a little further before sitting in traffic for 45 minutes without moving.

Made it to the factory after almost three hours.

Had pork fat and tofu for lunch.  Tried not to make too many expressions of distaste.

Waited for customs to release my shipment (6 days after promised)

Finally left the factory at 9:00 PM.

As the sit-down  restaurants were closed went into a KFC.  Had to break through a cordon of pawing street kids and walked past a heavily armed guard at teh door.  Had a very lousy Zinger sandwich. 

Made to to my hotel at 11:30.  Was still hungry so I went to Greenbelt, a very upscale mall with open restaurants.  Had a very good Spanish meal, but as I was leaving, was propositioned by a rather road-weary prostitute while still in the mall.

Went back to my room and watched television--one thing far better than in Thaiand.

Despite the TV and the Spanish food, the Philippines does not hold a candle to Thailand, in my humble opinion.

[KunMatt]

I am in Manila now, getting ready to return to Thailand this afternoon.

Here was my yesterday:

Got up in my nice-ish hotel in Makati, one of the few clean places in Manila.

Joined the traffic to go to a factory about 25 km away.

Watch two young street kids make a break through traffic after evidently stealing something form the SM Mall.

Watched a cop chase them down and shoot one in the back right in front of me.

Got a little further before sitting in traffic for 45 minutes without moving.

Made it to the factory after almost three hours.

Had pork fat and tofu for lunch. Tried not to make too many expressions of distaste.

Waited for customs to release my shipment (6 days after promised)

Finally left the factory at 9:00 PM.

As the sit-down restaurants were closed went into a KFC. Had to break through a cordon of pawing street kids and walked past a heavily armed guard at teh door. Had a very lousy Zinger sandwich.

Made to to my hotel at 11:30. Was still hungry so I went to Greenbelt, a very upscale mall with open restaurants. Had a very good Spanish meal, but as I was leaving, was propositioned by a rather road-weary prostitute while still in the mall.

Went back to my room and watched television--one thing far better than in Thaiand.

Despite the TV and the Spanish food, the Philippines does not hold a candle to Thailand, in my humble opinion.

Yeah, Manila is a shithole.

Go to Palawan, or Bohol and then judge the country.

or to Boracay if you want a tourist spot.

Anywhere but the cities in Philippines.

[PattayaParent]

I am in Manila now, getting ready to return to Thailand this afternoon.

Here was my yesterday:

Got up in my nice-ish hotel in Makati, one of the few clean places in Manila.

Joined the traffic to go to a factory about 25 km away.

Watch two young street kids make a break through traffic after evidently stealing something form the SM Mall.

Watched a cop chase them down and shoot one in the back right in front of me.

Got a little further before sitting in traffic for 45 minutes without moving.

Made it to the factory after almost three hours.

Had pork fat and tofu for lunch. Tried not to make too many expressions of distaste.

Waited for customs to release my shipment (6 days after promised)

Finally left the factory at 9:00 PM.

As the sit-down restaurants were closed went into a KFC. Had to break through a cordon of pawing street kids and walked past a heavily armed guard at teh door. Had a very lousy Zinger sandwich.

Made to to my hotel at 11:30. Was still hungry so I went to Greenbelt, a very upscale mall with open restaurants. Had a very good Spanish meal, but as I was leaving, was propositioned by a rather road-weary prostitute while still in the mall.

Went back to my room and watched television--one thing far better than in Thaiand.

Despite the TV and the Spanish food, the Philippines does not hold a candle to Thailand, in my humble opinion.

Do they still interrupt the movie every 5 minutes for 10 minutes of advertising?

[jfchandler]

Wow Bonobo.... Are you having fun or what!!! You really know how to pick your vacations...

You bringin' home any of that tasty pork fat and tofu dish for leftovers???

[CanInBKK]

I find Thailand is just constantly about money which ruins the whole ambience when you know people are only being nice as long as you are willing to spend money or remain a customer. I never got this feeling once in Pl as people there were genuinely nice for the sake of being nice.

This is not meant as a defence for TH over PI but in all fairness Thailand was not always like it is today. It's quite possible you think Filipinos are genuinely nice is just that they haven't had a taste for money yet and what tourism means in terms of dollars and cents. I believe human nature us the same everywhere, but environmental differences bring out different aspects in different cultures.

[Crushdepth]

Too many guns, can't walk the street at night. Who would want to live there?

[bonobo]

Yeah, Manila is a shithole.

Go to Palawan, or Bohol and then judge the country.

or to Boracay if you want a tourist spot.

Anywhere but the cities in Philippines.

The Chocolate Hills are interesting, but Bohol is a little light on the creature comforts, and Cebu is a 2-hour boat ride away.

Boracay used to be nice and quiet, but it is rapidly becoming just another beach destination.

I haven't made it to Palawan yet but want to dive there, but the rest of Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Leyte, etc. are OK to visit, but for me, they would be a little austere for actually living there.

For me, I do need the things available in a larger, more international city, and Bangkok > Manila and Chiang Mai > Cebu. And for living there, Phuket > Boracay.

The Philippines has better beef, a better selection of international restaurants, more English speakers, a Veterans Administration clinic, some easier regulations for non-citizens, cheaper homes, and better television. Thailand has it over the PI in about everything else, in my opinion.

[Huey]

I chose Thailand over the PI because,

1) The Culture:

Thailand : It's own culture, it's own language, It's own religion.

PI : Feels culturally raped, It's language is some Spanish bastardization, they sold out to Christianity and abandoned the faith and ways of their forefathers.

2) The Food

Thailand: GOOD GOOD Food

PI: Good for nothing (Other than cooking some other nationality's food)

3) Crime

Thailand : Not great

PI: Pathetic

4) Business

Thailand : Exports , rice, garments, vehicle accessories, sea food

PI: Exports, people (I'm not opening up a employment agency to traffic Pinoys around the world)

5) I just like Thailand better, and I don't like Christianity so I would not want to live in a overly Christian country.

[KunMatt]

I find Thailand is just constantly about money which ruins the whole ambience when you know people are only being nice as long as you are willing to spend money or remain a customer. I never got this feeling once in Pl as people there were genuinely nice for the sake of being nice.

This is not meant as a defence for TH over PI but in all fairness Thailand was not always like it is today. It's quite possible you think Filipinos are genuinely nice is just that they haven't had a taste for money yet and what tourism means in terms of dollars and cents. I believe human nature us the same everywhere, but environmental differences bring out different aspects in different cultures.

I respectfully disagree. The money issue is not just limited in Thailand to the places where tourists have been spending a lot of Baht, I find it's as much, if not more, prevalent in the countryside.

I would say that in just about every single matter of anything I do in Thailand, money will be a factor or hot point of conversation and I can't bear it sometimes.

This whole fake friendly bravado thing is something I really dislike about Thais. I really don't like walking into a shop and having someone being very welcoming and helpful until it's clear that they don't have what I am looking for, so I say thanks anyway and smile, and the shop owner will ignore me and turn their back to me like I was never really there, or shoot me daggers like it's my fault their shop doesn't sell what I want. It's the same anywhere, this is the land of smiles as long as you are someone's customer, if not then you are not worth aknowledging.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way a hater, but this difference in character and values is something I found very different between Thailand and Philippines, and I cannot imagine Filipinas changing that much to be the same way as Thais when it comes to money. The sort of experience with money and greed that I see every day living my normal life in Thailand, I never saw once in anyone in Pl.

Perhaps I was just lucky, but I'd like to think not.

[Thakkar]

I find Thailand is just constantly about money which ruins the whole ambience when you know people are only being nice as long as you are willing to spend money or remain a customer. I never got this feeling once in Pl as people there were genuinely nice for the sake of being nice.

This is not meant as a defence for TH over PI but in all fairness Thailand was not always like it is today. It's quite possible you think Filipinos are genuinely nice is just that they haven't had a taste for money yet and what tourism means in terms of dollars and cents. I believe human nature us the same everywhere, but environmental differences bring out different aspects in different cultures.

I respectfully disagree. The money issue is not just limited in Thailand to the places where tourists have been spending a lot of Baht, I find it's as much, if not more, prevalent in the countryside.

I would say that in just about every single matter of anything I do in Thailand, money will be a factor or hot point of conversation and I can't bear it sometimes.

This whole fake friendly bravado thing is something I really dislike about Thais. I really don't like walking into a shop and having someone being very welcoming and helpful until it's clear that they don't have what I am looking for, so I say thanks anyway and smile, and the shop owner will ignore me and turn their back to me like I was never really there, or shoot me daggers like it's my fault their shop doesn't sell what I want. It's the same anywhere, this is the land of smiles as long as you are someone's customer, if not then you are not worth aknowledging.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way a hater, but this difference in character and values is something I found very different between Thailand and Philippines, and I cannot imagine Filipinas changing that much to be the same way as Thais when it comes to money. The sort of experience with money and greed that I see every day living my normal life in Thailand, I never saw once in anyone in Pl.

Perhaps I was just lucky, but I'd like to think not.

I'd say you're unlucky now.

Why? Because you're living in Thailand where you don't like the people (though, of course, you're not a hater) and where the people apparently don't like you unless you have money to spend. And you're not living where you like the people and where the people like you regardless of your spending pattern.

Woe is you, life is unfair, the locals don't adore you.

[MiG16]

I am in Manila now

[snip]

Made to to my hotel at 11:30.  Was still hungry so I went to Greenbelt, a very upscale mall with open restaurants.  Had a very good Spanish meal,

[snip]

the one thing they had that Bangkok doesnt, was the Max Brenner bar! when I stumbled upon it in GreenBelt I was very surprised, pleasantly so ofcourse. However, I have been told it has since shut. no reason for me to go back then