thailand vs philippines

[pgrahmm]

There is a show on CNN his week about Philippine cuisine. That doesn't happen unless a few people enjoy it.

Exactly...there are more than 98 million people living in the Philippines who for the most part probably enjoy Filipino food.

But judging from the number of Filipino restaurants I have seen outside the Philippines...errr...not very many others enjoy it.

The reason is simple....its called marketing.

The only place you have them are in the sections of cities with a high concentration of Filipinos ..... In California - Stockton - parts of Los Angeles - East Bay Area......Other than that they don't flourish/prosper ......The filipinos assimilate easily into society & vary their diets to include western/other foods which - for the most part they prefer......At big get togethers they'll have the standard dishes......Once they get out of the PI they gravitate away from their old daily diet.....

I predict you won't be seeing Adobo Expresses (like Panda Express) any time soon......

Edited May 21, 2016 by pgrahmm

[arunsakda]

The Lechón featured on Tony Bourdain's show looked good, if your into that kind if thing (or whatever).

[arunsakda]

But tonight he is enthusiastically scarfing Jollibee in Los Angeles. Some respect lost..

[2fishin2]

There is a show on CNN his week about Philippine cuisine. That doesn't happen unless a few people enjoy it.

Exactly...there are more than 98 million people living in the Philippines who for the most part probably enjoy Filipino food.

But judging from the number of Filipino restaurants I have seen outside the Philippines...errr...not very many others enjoy it.

The reason is simple....its called marketing.

The only place you have them are in the sections of cities with a high concentration of Filipinos ..... In California - Stockton - parts of Los Angeles - East Bay Area......Other than that they don't flourish/prosper ......The filipinos assimilate easily into society & vary their diets to include western/other foods which - for the most part they prefer......At big get togethers they'll have the standard dishes......Once they get out of the PI they gravitate away from their old daily diet.....

I predict you won't be seeing Adobo Expresses (like Panda Express) any time soon......

Good panda express sucks poop anyways. Would hate for good PI food to be turned into that crap.

[tolsti]

Philippines advantages :

1.English is spoken widely ,

2.People seems to be friendly ,

3,Girls adore foreigner,caucasian ,

4,Booze and cigarettes are much cheaper,

5,Nice nature on islands

Philippines disadvantages:

1.In general much more dangerous than Thailand,special big cities ,

2.Internet is very slow ,expensive and bad

3.Electricity is very,very pricey(4-5 time more than in Thailand)

4.Much easier and much cheaper to get retirement visa in Thailand compared to Philippines;

5.Thai food is much better than Philippin food

You forgot one thing... flipper porn is better than Thai porn, especially live on the Internet.

[CMKiwi]

I didn't really like the food in the Philippines bit there is so much more going for their country.

Seafood is pretty good actually and a lot less expensive than Chiang Mai.

San Miguel is cheaper and better than Chang.

Lots of diving opportunities and that includes muff.

[Nowisee]

Is Thailand worse than Philippines? Why are you thinking of coming to CM to live?

TV is full of moaners... and you seem to be focused on that mostly in your question. Stay out of this forum to avoid your concern.

Why did you think Thailand is a much better place to live?

So which country is better? You decide.

[siam2007]

I have been to the Philippines for 3 weeks around 8 years ago .Now living in Chiang mai for the last 6 years .I think Thailand especially C.M,feels a lot safer .The infrastructure is also far better .Visas can be a hassle depending on your circumstances .I have heard that the Philippines is a lot easier in that regard .

It all down to personal preferences .Thailand can be harder to deal with if you dont know Thai .I use my Thai wife though to deal with certain things .First you should come visit before burning your bridges over there .

The epic and eternal THAILAND vs PINOYLAND topic yet once again.....

there is crime galore in both countries. In Thailand most farang will never learn of it unless a foreigner is involved/victim (which recently happened way too frequent), as most Farang cannot read Thai papers and don't watch Thai TV

The difference in my opinion is: Crime in the Phils is a lot more random and it can strike you at any moment and at any place. In Thailand, it is a lot easier to avoid crime if you maintain a common sense. Having said that, my common sense so far helped me to avoid being a victim of crime in the PH too, but I know of many others who weren't so lucky

[MyFrenU]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!
As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

[landtrout]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!

As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

Speaking strictly for myself, I've enjoyed your recent posts, and am already looking forward to 2021, when I expect we'll be hearing from you again!

[jamie obda]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!

As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

Genius point for you, sir.

[jamie obda]

Philippines retirement visa is infinitely easier than Thailand. Anybody who says otherwise has not looked at both.

Thai food is probably better, at the gastronomy level. I so enjoy jasmine rice, but really not interested in eating it everyday.

Whether the ubiquity of Thai restaurants is characteristic of the quality of food is debatable. I like Korean food. I wouldn't want to eat it everyday. Not a preponderance of Korean restaurants in the USA, unless you got to Korean enclaves. I enjoyed Costa Rican when I was there. I have never seen a Costa Rican restaurant outside of Costa Rican. Does that mean they have terrible food? It's a strawman, really.

I've tried to fiind a Philippines forum board where every BM offers up a surfeit of apologia of their host country. Help me out here. I can't find one. It's telling, though. If you like CM and LOS, more power to you. If you hate Phils, stay away. Something for everyone.

[junglechef]

I must say that I found the fare in Costa Rica quite underwhelming. I spent quite a bit of time there and never really found a distinquishable national cuisine, sure rice and beans with a bit of pork or chicken maybe with some plantain. Of course in this day and age when everybody needs to label everything they do have a National Dish, "Gallo Pinto" (Spotted Chicken) which is rice and beans stir-fried together, not a culinary feat in my estimation. The Ticos are lovely people and live in an absolutely gorgeous land.

But back to Filipino cuisine, I happened to come across this today and thought it would be appropriate to share. A list of 17 recommended Filipino restaurants in LA to show that their cuisine is popular in some other countries besides their own.

The Best Filipino Restaurants in LA

http://la.eater.com/maps/los-angeles-filipino-best-mapped

[Oscar2]

I have been to the Philippines for 3 weeks around 8 years ago .Now living in Chiang mai for the last 6 years .I think Thailand especially C.M,feels a lot safer .The infrastructure is also far better .Visas can be a hassle depending on your circumstances .I have heard that the Philippines is a lot easier in that regard .

It all down to personal preferences .Thailand can be harder to deal with if you dont know Thai .I use my Thai wife though to deal with certain things .First you should come visit before burning your bridges over there .

The epic and eternal THAILAND vs PINOYLAND topic yet once again.....

there is crime galore in both countries. In Thailand most farang will never learn of it unless a foreigner is involved/victim (which recently happened way too frequent), as most Farang cannot read Thai papers and don't watch Thai TV

The difference in my opinion is: Crime in the Phils is a lot more random and it can strike you at any moment and at any place. In Thailand, it is a lot easier to avoid crime if you maintain a common sense. Having said that, my common sense so far helped me to avoid being a victim of crime in the PH too, but I know of many others who weren't so lucky

i watch and read the Thai news every day and indeed there is an alarming amount of violent crime in this country.

[pgrahmm]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!

As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

[2fishin2]

As usual....why cant you guys just get along and post experiences without calling people or countries childish names? Its interesting to read experiences, cant we just keep it at that without all the juvenile bashing?

[pgrahmm]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!

As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

Here - while you are boning up on your knowledge & attacking people for no justifiable reason during your first foray/contribution here in 5 years....

Dust off your thinking cap & research this group.....This is the layer that sells themselves as "for the people"....They make themselves available to whoever has the money to pay them to make things/problems/people go away.....Highest bidder wins.....Police presence there is almost non existent in most smaller areas & scared of these guys & won't interfere....Army just kind of chases them.....

I have met these guys & they are a scary bunch.....A gal I knew's "Uncle" was a ranked officer for them & held strategy and council meetings at her house/compound.....It was here that I learned about them first hand....He always travelled with 4 armed body guards & his car looked like an armory....Think pay for play nationwide organized crime....

She was beautiful and quite interested in me - I thought - and we had a good time together.....But I think she was sizing me up for next in line.....

She had 2 children, so I asked if they ever visited their father (USA citizen) - - -

The answer I got back was - "he was declared dead after 7 years" - no tears or emotion - or explanations......I had been visiting with her for almost 2 months & watching what was going on during that time....She had a few houses/compounds & farms/land holdings & now the puzzle pieces started coming together.....

I watched these guys meet - watched them summon the police chief & the village elder and dictate what was going to happen & what they were to do....It is not hard to recognize what these guys were....

I was pretty sure her ex took one trip to many into the jungle....Her NPA relative happened to be there when I broached the question & just stared at me with a curious dead eye stare as did his men.....

Within a few days I found/made up a reason to 1- leave first 2- end the relationship - from afar.....

A foreigners life is not worth a plug nickle there - and, unlike here they don't even know where or when to start looking for you as there is no tracking system.....

So - before anyone starts spouting off about others half cocked they should possibly quit thinking about Elvis & UFO's.....

Some have actual experiences - of which this is one.....There's a lot more....

Just part of an interesting life....

Edited May 24, 2016 by pgrahmm

[pgrahmm]

This has predictably descended into the usual nonsense of people who have never visited the Philippines,or anywhere else in South-East Asia apart from Thailand slagging it off,idiots trying to goad people to get them banned etc. the usual Thai Visa experience nothing's changed,I haven't bothered posting on here for 5 years or so and probably won't again!

As for people making the outrageous claim that the Philippines is far more dangerous for foreigners than Thailand just pick up any English-language newspaper and read it <deleted>.The person claiming mysterious "disappearances" of foreigners in the Phils probably still insists that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being held on Diego Garcia by the Americans,Lord Lucan and Hitler are living in Rio De Janeiro and Elvis crash landed on the moon in his private plane,the ramblings of a madman nothing more!

IMG_20160524_170146.jpg

Here - while you are boning up on your knowledge & attacking people for no justifiable reason during your first foray/contribution here in 5 years....

Dust off your thinking cap & research this group.....This is the layer that sells themselves as "for the people"....They make themselves available to whoever has the money to pay them to make things/problems/people go away.....Highest bidder wins.....Police presence there is almost non existent in most smaller areas & scared of these guys & won't interfere....Army just kind of chases them.....

I have met these guys & they are a scary bunch.....A gal I knew's "Uncle" was a ranked officer for them & held strategy and council meetings at her house/compound.....It was here that I learned about them first hand....He always travelled with 4 armed body guards & his car looked like an armory....Think pay for play nationwide organized crime....

She was beautiful and quite interested in me - I thought - and we had a good time together.....But I think she was sizing me up for next in line.....

She had 2 children, so I asked if they ever visited their father (USA citizen) - - -

The answer I got back was - "he was declared dead after 7 years" - no tears or emotion - or explanations......I had been visiting with her for almost 2 months & watching what was going on during that time....She had a few houses/compounds & farms/land holdings & now the puzzle pieces started coming together.....

I watched these guys meet - watched them summon the police chief & the village elder and dictate what was going to happen & what they were to do....It is not hard to recognize what these guys were....

I was pretty sure her ex took one trip to many into the jungle....Her NPA relative happened to be there when I broached the question & just stared at me with a curious dead eye stare as did his men.....

Within a few days I found/made up a reason to 1- leave first 2- end the relationship - from afar.....

A foreigners life is not worth a plug nickle there - and, unlike here they don't even know where or when to start looking for you as there is no tracking system.....

So - before anyone starts spouting off about others half cocked they should possibly quit thinking about Elvis & UFO's.....

Some have actual experiences - of which this is one.....There's a lot more....

Just part of an interesting life....

As candid as I can be:

Anyone that doesn't know/isn't aware of this has No right to post an opinion about the PI......They just do not know enough facts to base/post an opinion....IMHO...

This is just only One facet of a complex societal structure - of which most foreigners know nothing about.. ...

There's a lot more....

Forget the diet/food part of it - that's minor compared to the "living"

part of it.....

Edited May 24, 2016 by pgrahmm

[MyFrenU]

"I was pretty sure her ex took one trip to many into the jungle."

Last time I looked there wasn't any "jungle" in either Manila or Cebu,or any other big Filipino city for that matter so where exactly are you talking about?

From Wikipedia:

"The Government of the Philippines, however, has delisted the NPA as a terrorist organization in 2011"

They're soooo scary they don't even qualify as a terrorist organisation in the Phils anymore,unlike the &lt;deleted&gt; (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) who are apparently still at large on xvideos and a few other websites!
So the foreign ex-husband of a gangster's daughter is sleeping with the fishes in some Filipino backwater or jungle,are you honestly trying to say this never happens in Thailand?

"Anyone that doesn't know/isn't aware of this has No right to post an opinion about the PI......They just do not know enough facts to base/post an opinion....IMHO..."

Ah that old chestnut,the oldest chestnut on the chestnut tree.You and only you are party to enough information on the Phils and no-one else may challenge your superior authority,it all sounds a bit Southpark to me!
I've heard of the Kuratong Balaleng in the Phils who are a far more active anti-communist mafia in the Phils and carry out gangland executions of former members,I remember one in Mactan/Lapu Lapu I doubt very much if you have:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuratong_Baleleng
All these gangs in the Phils,remember in Thailand university student gangs chop each other's hands off and murder each other,stick to killing their own unlike in Thailand where every single day of the week a foreigner is shot,stabbed or thrown off a balcony it's not even a secret anymore!Should you stumble into a gangster's wife or daughter anywhere in the World you can at some point expect to disappear,it's just bad luck or judgement or both on your part!
I will stick with my original prognosis above thankyou very much!

[MyFrenU]

M I L F is a banned word on here?

Also from Wikipedia about the New People's Army:
"The NPA conducted attacks on October 3, 2011 against three large-scale mining corporations in Surigao del Norte. The attacks spanned only three hours but resulted in grave damage, including the burning of ten dump trucks, eight backhoes, two barges and a guest house."

Some terrorist organisation then,there are gangs of feral 14-year olds in most UK towns that could do more damage than that after a can or two of White Lightning Cider!

[bubba]

"I was pretty sure her ex took one trip to many into the jungle."

Last time I looked there wasn't any "jungle" in either Manila or Cebu,or any other big Filipino city for that matter so where exactly are you talking about?

From Wikipedia:

"The Government of the Philippines, however, has delisted the NPA as a terrorist organization in 2011"

They're soooo scary they don't even qualify as a terrorist organisation in the Phils anymore,unlike the <deleted> (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) who are apparently still at large on xvideos and a few other websites!

When you quoted that Wikipedia reference, you conveniently left out the sentence that preceded it, which is:

The NPA is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department and as a terrorist group by the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Considering that they abducted five policeman just two months ago and continue to hold them hostage, they do seem to have some tendencies similar to that of M I L F, don't they?

[arunsakda]

On different forum I participate Scunthorpe gets blocked. Old filtering software that blocks substrings. Whakatane is blocked by some sites that do phonectic analysis.

[MyFrenU]

"When you quoted that Wikipedia reference, you conveniently left out the sentence that preceded it, which is:

The NPA is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department and as a terrorist group by the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Considering that they abducted five policeman just two months ago and continue to hold them hostage, they do seem to have some tendencies similar to that of M I L F, don't they?"

What does that have to do with the safety of foreign tourists in the Philippines though?...NOTHING!

[CMKiwi]

I think any country has areas which are not particularly safe to foreigners/tourists. Sure...some more so than others. The South of Thailand is a verrrable cauldron of unrest, much like Mindinao in the Philippines.

Some areas are wise to be avoided but in saying that I've worked in Baghdad and Kabul and never felt threatened.

One learns to be aware of their surroundings and act accordingly.

[douglasspade]

There are more to Thailand than just what the majority of foreigners come here for. If you do not fit in then best keep your trap shut and move on to your Philippines, as many foreigners went the extra mile and has found good mates, business and a future here.

Get out of the foreign shit holes and into the countryside and experience what Thai really is.