Cambodia, Vietnam, Or The Philippines?

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I really do like Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Life is slow paced, beaches are beautiful, nearly everything is cheaper and visas are easy. Plenty of people speak English and the supermarkets have a good variety of farang food. Unfortunately I'm not so young anymore and healthcare is a major concern. I live in Thailand for mainly that reason.

I read enough about Snooky that I think I should visit! I hope to head over there in the next 2 weeks. Maybe stay a week. I love to sit on the beach and read a book.

A decent/inexpensive place in Snooky to stay is Orchidee (something like that) and it has a pool (very near the Lion statues). You can rent a motorcycle there (come to think of it I do not ever remember being motorcycled scammed there like in Thailand) and go all over. Some of the beaches are not so nice and others are really nice. The last time I was there they were tearing down most of the old shacks on the beach, but it still had a 60s like atmosphere in a few places. In one place I was sitting and watching the waves and next door somebody was playing Jimmy Hendrix tunes and smoking pot (can we say pot on TV?). There are very exclusive and expensive places w/ private beaches and very inexpensive places that are a bit creepy. What struck me about the place is its huge potential; mostly untapped potential. It reminds me a bit of Pattaya-Jomtien 25 years ago. It really needs some condo units on the beach, but even though I hope that happens I also hope the development stops at some point and does not reach the level of say, Jomtien. There are ATM machines that do accept Visa/Mastercard from Thai banks. As far as health care is concerned, I would not want to get sick there but Thailand is very close to Snooky. There are professional dentists in PP.

[leo12345]

Thailand is probably the WORST choice in terms of human environment; what I mean is that people there are shallow, uninteresting and very unfriendly( they LOOK friendly, but are not).BUT: in terms of food/accomodatation/transportation/security/ease of life/cost of living it's abolutely the BEST country in South East Asia.

Philippines: HORRIBLE food, more expensive, security problems

Cambodja: lack of quality at all levels, NOBODY speaks english, depressing atmosphere, everything is just imported from Thailand

Vietnam: nobody speaks english, quite hard people, lack of infrastructures

Malaysia:BOOOOOORING.... more expensive than Thailand, but in terms of quality of life the best choice after Thailand.

Indonesia - really - if you can afford it then Bali, if not on the main Island of Java or perhaps Sumatra.

I think it is slightly less foreigner friendly than Thailand and the other options you mention when it comes to visa'a etc.. but it more than makes up for that in other areas.

I would spend a few months there on a tourist visa before committing to a longer stint.

Malaysia is also worth looking at as it is possible to own property there.

Simon

Agree with everything except the description of Thai people. Maybe your experience was in the bigger cities/tourist areas? I've found most Thais I've met to be very friendly and very helpful. Exceptions for the ones working the hard core tourist areas...like the people who rent jet skis or work in the red light districts.

Actually not true

I have been working in hospitality here for over 5 years.

There are nice people but there are many back abbing 2 faced as well.

Now I do live just outside BKK and work in BKK.

My next door neighbor hates my guts because I am a young foreigner and have a nicer house. One time he wanted to fight me and yelled at me to go spend my Farang money on another place far from him.

On the other hand I have other neighbors that are nice.

I do not live in a tourist area and do not associate with red light district girls.

Some Thais are friendly and some are purely smiling assassins.

[craigt3365]

I really do like Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Life is slow paced, beaches are beautiful, nearly everything is cheaper and visas are easy. Plenty of people speak English and the supermarkets have a good variety of farang food. Unfortunately I'm not so young anymore and healthcare is a major concern. I live in Thailand for mainly that reason.

I read enough about Snooky that I think I should visit! I hope to head over there in the next 2 weeks. Maybe stay a week. I love to sit on the beach and read a book.

A decent/inexpensive place in Snooky to stay is Orchidee (something like that) and it has a pool (very near the Lion statues). You can rent a motorcycle there (come to think of it I do not ever remember being motorcycled scammed there like in Thailand) and go all over. Some of the beaches are not so nice and others are really nice. The last time I was there they were tearing down most of the old shacks on the beach, but it still had a 60s like atmosphere in a few places. In one place I was sitting and watching the waves and next door somebody was playing Jimmy Hendrix tunes and smoking pot (can we say pot on TV?). There are very exclusive and expensive places w/ private beaches and very inexpensive places that are a bit creepy. What struck me about the place is its huge potential; mostly untapped potential. It reminds me a bit of Pattaya-Jomtien 25 years ago. It really needs some condo units on the beach, but even though I hope that happens I also hope the development stops at some point and does not reach the level of say, Jomtien. There are ATM machines that do accept Visa/Mastercard from Thai banks. As far as health care is concerned, I would not want to get sick there but Thailand is very close to Snooky. There are professional dentists in PP.

Thanks! I'll look for that place to stay. I usually just show up and find something, so this will be on my list for sure!

[Gary A]

I think that the main reason that Sihanoukville isn't more popular is because it is not easy to get there. If you go overland, you have to find a way to the border. There is no bus that goes directly to the border. By the time you get to the border, you will likely have to spend a night near the border crossing. You then have to run the gauntlet of touts when crossing into Cambodia. Once in the country you need to find a taxi or bus to take you to Sihanoukville.

I like to go but I don't go overland. I fly to Phnom Penh, spend a couple days there and then take a decent bus to Sihanoukville. It's about a four to five hour ride from Phnom Penh in an air conditioned bus.

The strange thing is that there is a new airport in Sihanoukville that is already falling into disrepair. Apparently they just can't interest any airline to fly there.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I think that the main reason that Sihanoukville isn't more popular is because it is not easy to get there. If you go overland, you have to find a way to the border. There is no bus that goes directly to the border. By the time you get to the border, you will likely have to spend a night near the border crossing. You then have to run the gauntlet of touts when crossing into Cambodia. Once in the country you need to find a taxi or bus to take you to Sihanoukville.

I like to go but I don't go overland. I fly to Phnom Penh, spend a couple days there and then take a decent bus to Sihanoukville. It's about a four to five hour ride from Phnom Penh in an air conditioned bus.

The strange thing is that there is a new airport in Sihanoukville that is already falling into disrepair. Apparently they just can't interest any airline to fly there.

http://www.sihanoukv...le/airport.html

The airport thing is a mystery. If and when it ever does take off, so will Snooky.

Orchidee Guesthouse: http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/sihanoukville-businesses/orchidee.html

Edited August 17, 2011 by Awohalitsiktoli

[SkyRider]

One thing that is confusing me, every once in awhile I read a post on a message board where someone says that rent prices in Thailand are lower then in The Philippines. But I found a cost comparison website called numbeo that says rent prices are 36.87% lower in The Philippines. So why do some people think the rent prices in Thailand are lower? Are they saying that room conditions like electricity are better in Thailand, so you get more bang for your buck for a room?

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

Edited August 17, 2011 by JetterSetterNYC

[SkyRider]

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp Edited August 17, 2011 by JetterSetterNYC

[craigt3365]

Those numbers concerned me. I would guess the PI are cheaper than Thailand, but I would never have thought by that much. Maybe I found a reason? If you look at their city comparison page, they only list Bangkok for Thailand...yet have 4 cities for the PI. Including Davao, which I would guess would be like comparing Khon Kaen or Surat Thani here...both much cheaper than Bangkok. If their comparisons are only to Bangkok, the prices will be skewed for sure. BKK is very expensive...more so than probably anywhere else here...except maybe Phuket.

Like I mentioned to you in an email, there are nice rooms for rent near my house, and 200M from the beach, for 2500B/month or less. They are new and nice looking...but I'm sure no proper kitchen and no AC.

Just some thoughts...seems rents are skewing the prices quite a bit in favor of the PI????

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings.jsp

[SkyRider]

Sorry, I was having trouble trying to post the link that I wanted in my previous post - everytime I posted the link to the exact page I wanted to post, it didn't work, it took you to the page you saw - which is not the cost comparison page that I had thought I posted.

If you go back to the website link, on the left side of the page - click on "Cost Of Living Comparison" -- there you can break down almost any major city in Thailand, to any other major city in Thailand, or any other major city in the world. You can compare city to city or country to country. Here's a link again - hope it works this time http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

[PattayaParent]

One thing that is confusing me, every once in awhile I read a post on a message board where someone says that rent prices in Thailand are lower then in The Philippines. But I found a cost comparison website called numbeo that says rent prices are 36.87% lower in The Philippines. So why do some people think the rent prices in Thailand are lower? Are they saying that room conditions like electricity are better in Thailand, so you get more bang for your buck for a room?

http://www.numbeo.co.../comparison.jsp

The rooms are just not the same standard in Philippines so for commparable rooms they are cheaper in Thailand.

eg. a room that is 1,000 Baht in Manila would only be 500 Baht in Bangkok.

Edit: same with renting a condo.

Edited August 18, 2011 by PattayaParent

[phuketrichard]

I think that the main reason that Sihanoukville isn't more popular is because it is not easy to get there. If you go overland, you have to find a way to the border. There is no bus that goes directly to the border. By the time you get to the border, you will likely have to spend a night near the border crossing. You then have to run the gauntlet of touts when crossing into Cambodia. Once in the country you need to find a taxi or bus to take you to Sihanoukville.

I like to go but I don't go overland. I fly to Phnom Penh, spend a couple days there and then take a decent bus to Sihanoukville. It's about a four to five hour ride from Phnom Penh in an air conditioned bus.

The strange thing is that there is a new airport in Sihanoukville that is already falling into disrepair. Apparently they just can't interest any airline to fly there.

The airport opened a few years ago and the first flight crashed. Two years ago Bangkok Air was going to fly in to SHK-then up to Siem Reap before heading back to Bangkok BUT never started it

According to sources I have in SHK there are just not enough rooms in town to warrant an airline to fly in. They need something like 2,000 rooms ( not backpackers gh ) IT will happen

Take a look at the future of Ko Rong, http://www.kohrong-island.com/

[genobkk]

I have lived in Thailand for 10 years. And I am living in Thailand now. When I say that thai people are not friendly, i do not mean that they are not friendly in daily life.I mean something DEEPER.I mean they are totally uninterested in other people and cultures, I mean that they are totaaly selfcentered and lacking any form of curiosity for what is not thai.In my eyes they are the less interesting people i nSouth East Asia. This having been said, yes, they are EASY in daily life, nothing more and nothing less.In this respect I found Filpinos and cambogians much better and more interesting, much more' challenging' ( especially women...)

About Cambogia:yes, things are changing quick, my experience is related to a couple of years ago in the capital and Shianoukville, it's possible that things are different now.

I think this is a fair assessment .

I been in Thailand for 10 years and yes in general I agree, it is like being back in the USA and people thinking they are the only ones that exist in the world. I find Malaysia very interesting and the people friendly and curious about other people. I have had several just start talking to me on coffee shops, etc. I feel Malaysia gets a bad wrap for sure. If you are a drinker it would not be so good as the cost of drinking is hight

[4evermaat]

I want to add something to my post .I am now living in Thailand with a filipina girlfriend, and i think it's a reasonable solution.I suppose that living in Thailand with a Cambogian girlfriend could also be attractive.However I have to admit that, IF I were a little bit younger ( I am now 55) I would not HESITATE to chose forCambogia or even for the Philippines.It's just that I am TRAPPED in this comfort of life, which undeniably is the best Thailand has to offer.But it also makes me ( and many peole around me) sleepy, taking out a certain sense of CHALLENGE which, I think, is also very important in life.it depends how much the atmosphere around you affects your feeling of happiness.it is also, in some way, an ARTIFICIAL way of leaving, with little or no contact ( I mean REAL, human contact) with the locals).It works - so far- for me, but I can UNDERSTAND it does not work for some other people.

Thailand is probably the WORST choice in terms of human environment; what I mean is that people there are shallow, uninteresting and very unfriendly( they LOOK friendly, but are not).BUT: in terms of food/accomodatation/transportation/security/ease of life/cost of living it's abolutely the BEST country in South East Asia.

Philippines: HORRIBLE food, more expensive, security problems

.........

For cambodia: is security referring to petty theft (pickpocket)? or apt/room break-ins?

For Thailand: In response to some comments that people made about Thais being disinterested about the outside world, well isn't that why we moved away from the West? The constant drive for perfection and having to stick our nose in everyone elses business, instead of minding our own. Ever since I was a child, I was re-programmed to constantly live up to expectations many of which are completely un-natural without considering my own desires. It's one of the many dualisms of life.. the less knowledge [opinions] one has of what life should be, the greater the likelihood of self-acceptance is in that human [accepting life how it actually is]. When you remove the jugements and opinions, you see that the same basic truth of human behavior is the same everywhere. Now add back all those points of view of the world, and that's what gives us the illusion of uniqueness. They want your money and security, you want your piece of mind and sanity. It's as real as it gets, and it's a match that works. The buffet table is there. You go and pick what you want.

for Philippines, there is supposed to be a website of someone who advertised that you can retire on $750 / mo. I think the same guys wrote a website for thailand retire on $550/mo. I think their focus was on Chang Mai

edit: thailand: http://www.retire-on-550-month.com/

Philippines: http://www.retire-on-750-month.com/

Edited August 26, 2011 by 4evermaat

[drdoom6996]

I have lived in Thailand for 10 years. And I am living in Thailand now. When I say that thai people are not friendly, i do not mean that they are not friendly in daily life.I mean something DEEPER.I mean they are totally uninterested in other people and cultures, I mean that they are totaaly selfcentered and lacking any form of curiosity for what is not thai.In my eyes they are the less interesting people i nSouth East Asia. This having been said, yes, they are EASY in daily life, nothing more and nothing less.In this respect I found Filpinos and cambogians much better and more interesting, much more' challenging' ( especially women...)

About Cambogia:yes, things are changing quick, my experience is related to a couple of years ago in the capital and Shianoukville, it's possible that things are different now.

I think this is a fair assessment .

I agree completely. I am looking at leaving Thailand after 24 years. That's why I am reading this forum.

[drdoom6996]

One thing that is confusing me, every once in awhile I read a post on a message board where someone says that rent prices in Thailand are lower then in The Philippines. But I found a cost comparison website called numbeo that says rent prices are 36.87% lower in The Philippines. So why do some people think the rent prices in Thailand are lower? Are they saying that room conditions like electricity are better in Thailand, so you get more bang for your buck for a room?

http://www.numbeo.co.../comparison.jsp

In my opinion; there is nothing cheap about Thailand except eating local. Housing in some cases, but you have to look hard.