Where Is The New Thailand

[BlueEasySleep]

I often hear old timers say how spoiled and touristy thailand has become.

So where is the new thailand? phillipines? indonesia?

I'd like to get in somewhere on the ground level.

[barka]

Go to ..LAOS or CAMBODIA...Try see wether you like them......

[PoeDogg]

It's a secret!

(Cambo)

[BlueEasySleep]

Go to ..LAOS or CAMBODIA...Try see wether you like them......

I went to both, and neither are the new thailand.

[NamKangMan]

Vietnam

Long coastline with many big and beautiful beaches. Great seafood. Girly bars, massage etc etc. Friendly and curious locals.

Edited January 9, 2011 by NamKangMan

[BlueEasySleep]

Vietnam

Long coastline with many big and beautiful beaches. Great seafood. Girly bars, massage etc etc. Friendly and curious locals.

Hmm. I find the vietnamese cold and a bit thieving. They'd have to warm up for me to trade them for the thais.

[NamKangMan]

Vietnam

Long coastline with many big and beautiful beaches. Great seafood. Girly bars, massage etc etc. Friendly and curious locals.

Hmm. I find the vietnamese cold and a bit thieving. They'd have to warm up for me to trade them for the thais.

The Thai's "suck up" to farang because they have the $$$$$$$$$. Fake smiles and friendliness. The Vietnamese are not a "false" as the Thai's.

[Ulysses G.]

Vietnam

Long coastline with many big and beautiful beaches. Great seafood. Girly bars, massage etc etc. Friendly and curious locals.

Communist government, more ripoffs than Thailand, aggressive people... I lived and worked in Vietnam for a while and could not wait to get back to Thailand.

[Ulysses G.]

The Vietnamese are not a "false" as the Thai's.

Have you been there?

[BlueEasySleep]

Communist government, more ripoffs than Thailand, aggressive people... I lived and worked in Vietnam for a while and could not wait to get back to Thailand.

This is how I view it. I'm looking more for a less touristy, more friendly and less greedy thailand.

[LivinLOS]

There is no 'new Thailand' by your definition as every place will have a slightly different twist. None will precisely mirror 'old Thailand' (whatever that is / was) even within Thailand you can find such wide differences.

Myself I would like to check out a few months of expat life in a few of the Central and South American countries.. Panama, Chile, Ecuador, even Suriname and bits of the Caribbean.

I have a friend who has spent a fair bit of time in Myanmaar in the last couple of years, if that government changes thats a place to get in at the ground floor.

[BillR]

Costa Rica is ok, but also becoming touristy. The women are way better than here, people are actually passionate about things, most people speak decent english and spanish is relatively easy to learn. Panama as well.

[ericthai]

Vietnam

Long coastline with many big and beautiful beaches. Great seafood. Girly bars, massage etc etc. Friendly and curious locals.

Communist government, more ripoffs than Thailand, aggressive people... I lived and worked in Vietnam for a while and could not wait to get back to Thailand.

i agree with you. I lived and worked in HCMC for 1 year and then still had to go back every few months for another 2 years. In HCMC there is hardly anything to do. The government is very strict and hard to deal with. the girls are so, so. Mr. "NamKangman" can you tell me where you went and where are the girly bars as you say. I never found any. Beaches are nice, but dont get that friendly feeling i get here. Met allot of nice friendly Vietnamese girls in Cambodia, i think they are all hiding when in Vietnam. Please let me know, as I think I will be going to Vietnam in a few months.

[KarenBravo]

can you tell me where you went and where are the girly bars as you say. I never found any.

Vung Tau, south-east of Saigon. Oil town of the country.

Hundreds of 'em, though it's not so "in your face" as Thailand.

[LivinLOS]

i agree with you. I lived and worked in HCMC for 1 year and then still had to go back every few months for another 2 years. In HCMC there is hardly anything to do. The government is very strict and hard to deal with. the girls are so, so. Mr. "NamKangman" can you tell me where you went and where are the girly bars as you say. I never found any.

You worked there for a year ?? And you never found ANY ??? Come on they are not that hard to find..

HCMC has girly bars, massages, loads in discos, hot tocs, etc etc.. Nah Trang same.. Hanoi also.

Get up north and your pestered by pimps non stop just in the streets.. Cao Lo, and even more so Do Son are literally crawling with hookers. You cant claim theres none there unless your blind.

[KarenBravo]

You cant claim theres none there unless your blind.

.............or, oh so respectable......

[olsen]

Where is "The New Thailand"??

Well....it is right at your doorstep! It is right here in Khanom, where I have lived for more than 4 years!

Khanom is like Thailand used to be 25 years ago!

Clean and unspoiled beaches and nature!

No pollution!

Not overrun by tourists.....at least not so far, and it will probably take another 10 years to reach the popularity of the major tourist spots like Phuket and Koh Samui.

Now you know my secret :-)

You can read more about Khanom here:

Edited January 10, 2011 by LivinginKata
Promotional link removed

[NamKangMan]

i agree with you. I lived and worked in HCMC for 1 year and then still had to go back every few months for another 2 years. In HCMC there is hardly anything to do. The government is very strict and hard to deal with. the girls are so, so. Mr. "NamKangman" can you tell me where you went and where are the girly bars as you say. I never found any. Beaches are nice, but dont get that friendly feeling i get here. Met allot of nice friendly Vietnamese girls in Cambodia, i think they are all hiding when in Vietnam. Please let me know, as I think I will be going to Vietnam in a few months.

Firstly, HCMC is to Vietnam what Bangkok is to Thailand. It's a BIG city with traffic congestion etc etc. You don't "holiday" in Bangkok or HCMC.

I've been to Vietnam many times and stayed for a month each time. I've traveled the place quite extensively. Mui Ne, Da Nang and Nha Trang are all nice beaches with plenty of good places to eat and drink and with a lot of girly bars and massage shops. In Vietnam, they are in a pub style bar where you can not see in through the front door/windows. There will be a neon light sign, usually in english, out the front and usually a security guy who parks your bike for you and looks after it while you are inside. Once inside, it's pretty much the same story as a Thai beer bar, lady drinks etc. These places are everywhere, not to mention large nightclubs with freelancers. There are no open air beer bars, next to each other, like in Thailand. Although, many open air beach bars have some staff that are "very friendly" and you can have a drink with them after work, if you know what I mean.

As far as "the Government being very strict and hard to deal with" - I do not, and don't want, to deal with the Vietnamese and/or Thai Governments. I just want to go un-noticed in any foreign country I go to. Vietnam closed it's boarders for a long time after the war but it's really gearing up for tourism and IMO will be Thailand's main competitor for tourism in the Region, in the near future.

[BlueEasySleep]

Costa Rica is ok, but also becoming touristy. The women are way better than here, people are actually passionate about things, most people speak decent english and spanish is relatively easy to learn. Panama as well.

I visited there and enjoyed it. The women are incredible.

However the country is fairly dangerous. I would be very worried about my safety if I lived there.

[BillR]

^maybe in San Jose, but thats not a place to live. As long as you are not involved with drugs its completely safe, they don't even have an army.

[BlueEasySleep]

^maybe in San Jose, but thats not a place to live. As long as you are not involved with drugs its completely safe, they don't even have an army.

Any recommendation on a good place to live? And what's the visa situation like?

[BillR]

I have been pretty much everywhere in Costa Rica but spent around 6 months each year in Jaco Beach, for about 4 years. Jaco is sort of a sleepy beach town, known for surfing but has all the amenities and is just a few hours from San Jose. In recent years it has become more touristy but is still a nice place. If you live centrally you can walk most places.

Visa requirements are easy for temporary residency which requires you to basically have 1000USD per month. Temporary residency permits can be from 1-5 years if I remember correctly and can be converted to permanent residency after a few years. On the temp residency, you can own business and receive income from business but cant work. This may have changed.

Jaco, in my opinion is the best place, has a small town feel to it, and its not too far from other coastal areas.

Some of the towns in costa rica do seem a bit dodgy, seeing guys with sub machine guns guarding banks etc, but its one of those things that if you don't get involved with dodgy stuff, bad things won't happen. In the 4 years I was there I never had anything bad happen, aside from a maid stealing my watch.

So, great place to live, party, surf, and amazing sport fishing.

[BillR]

some pics of Jaco 2009 (mods dont worry about URL, its dead)

Edited January 10, 2011 by BillR

[fiddlehead]

I liked Brazil when i was there in the 90's.

Lots of nice beaches and the women are hot.

But, crime is incredible. I wouldn't live there.

Also, Ecudor, parts of Mexico, but those latin, Christian places are full of crime.

I think you have to stick with Buddhists for the low crime rates.

Of course Phuket isn't Thailand.

Those beaches up by Koh Chang along the road to Cambodia were pretty quiet.

Lots of places in the world to explore.

Just go on a trip.

Phillipines is one place i'd like to try, but, again, Christians normally means more crime.

Why is that?

Been to some nice beaches in Malaysia. No women to be had, except travelers.

Yeah, Myramar if it ever gets their act together.

[BlueEasySleep]

I liked Brazil when i was there in the 90's.

Lots of nice beaches and the women are hot.

But, crime is incredible. I wouldn't live there.

Also, Ecudor, parts of Mexico, but those latin, Christian places are full of crime.

I think you have to stick with Buddhists for the low crime rates.

Of course Phuket isn't Thailand.

Those beaches up by Koh Chang along the road to Cambodia were pretty quiet.

Lots of places in the world to explore.

Just go on a trip.

Phillipines is one place i'd like to try, but, again, Christians normally means more crime.

Why is that?

Been to some nice beaches in Malaysia. No women to be had, except travelers.

Yeah, Myramar if it ever gets their act together.

Brazil is already getting ruined. It's also gotten pretty expensive. And with the olympics/world cup coming, it's going mainstream very fast. And yet still very dangerous.

Ecuador and Mexico are both not safe for a white guy. And I don't want to live somewhere I can't go out at night alone.

I'd like to try the Phillipines. There's potential there.

[KarenBravo]

Reasons why I rejected the Philippines to live.

The women are great, but, no legal divorce.

The men are great if they know you well, otherwise they are a macho bunch of pain-in-the-<deleted>.

Too much crime, especially with guns and machetes.

They are even worse drivers than Thais.

Utterly crap cuisine.

[ESB7]

What quantifies 'old Thailand' ?......If you want somwhere there isnt a 7/11 on every street corner, Tesco, Makro etc then plenty of places can still be found in Thailand....

[LivinLOS]

What quantifies 'old Thailand' ?......If you want somwhere there isnt a 7/11 on every street corner, Tesco, Makro etc then plenty of places can still be found in Thailand....

Exactly my buddy moved up to a no electric island where its very back in time, tho that place has got press lately and only has a few years before being 'Koh Lippe-ed'..

But huge stretches of Trang coastline are there.. And like a poster said above Khanom is at the right point on the balancing act.

[olsen]

I have been pretty much everywhere in Costa Rica but spent around 6 months each year in Jaco Beach, for about 4 years. Jaco is sort of a sleepy beach town, known for surfing but has all the amenities and is just a few hours from San Jose. In recent years it has become more touristy but is still a nice place. If you live centrally you can walk most places.

Visa requirements are easy for temporary residency which requires you to basically have 1000USD per month. Temporary residency permits can be from 1-5 years if I remember correctly and can be converted to permanent residency after a few years. On the temp residency, you can own business and receive income from business but cant work. This may have changed.

Jaco, in my opinion is the best place, has a small town feel to it, and its not too far from other coastal areas.

Some of the towns in costa rica do seem a bit dodgy, seeing guys with sub machine guns guarding banks etc, but its one of those things that if you don't get involved with dodgy stuff, bad things won't happen. In the 4 years I was there I never had anything bad happen, aside from a maid stealing my watch.

So, great place to live, party, surf, and amazing sport fishing.

Hows the pricing on condos and villas there? Can you as a foreigner own the land in your own name or is it the same as Thailand?

Hows the average living costs compared to Thailand?

[BillR]

Cost of living is about the same as the USA. Foreigners can own property outright and there are no restrictions on how much.

There is no real financial advantage to living there, things cost about the same, but it is much like Thailand in the regard it is very laid back, beautiful beaches, you can do what you please, and no one bothers you.

Jaco, for me, has everything. Great food, clubs, lots of real beach bars, easy to get around, only a few hours from the states, incredible women, no real language barrier.

Id be there if I wasn't busy here and when/if i get sick of Thailand thats where I'm headed.