Thailand advice

[throbber]

I've heard Manilla stinks of shite.

[Tight minge]

I'll save all my comments about the Philippines for the 'The Philippines should be nuked' thread. Of all the places I have lived and worked, the Philippines wins hands down as the worst. I had more threats against my life there (business and social), had every possession I had stolen from my house while travelling by my next door neighbour, who was the president of the homeowners association of the 'secure' compound I lived in. Every expat I know has been robbed or cheated in some way and the only foreigners that seemed content were the beasts and sex tourists. It's an abomination of a place with zero redeeming factors.

And I'll be back there in two weeks worst luck.

[throbber]

Oh my.

A guy i know who lives there has a joke with other Brits etc about how many Philipino's it takes to change a light bulb as people there seem to do practical tasks in the least practical ways possible. I have always found the people i have met from there to be nice.

[Tight minge]

Oh my.

A guy i know who lives there has a joke with other Brits etc about how many Philipino's it takes to change a light bulb as people there seem to do practical tasks in the least practical ways possible. I have always found the people i have met from there to be nice.

He is right, the people aren't wired up right and are, on the whole, like little children with virtually no morals. And yes, they can be friendly people, until they don't get what they want or have to follow up tasks.

Lived there for nearly three years and it was an experience and an eye opener.

[Burnie_man]

Patong is Pattaya on a smaller scale. Not really somewhere to take the wife.

That isn't the impression I'm getting (admittedly only reading online opinions). Yes there are similarities but not as full on as Pattaya and fairly easily avoided.

We don't do clubbing, so it would only be evening meals and drinks we'd be looking for, no need to step into questionable establishments lol

Maybe avoiding staying too central in Patong is also a wise move.

[Burnie_man]

Used to live in HCMC and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Vung Tau is the nearest beach to HCMC, accessible by hydro foil or road (circa 3 hours). However it isn't a particularly great beach.

Head to Mui Ne about 4 hours drive away or fly to Nha Trang or Danang further up the coast. Phu Quoc is a quieter island with great beaches as well.

Just google these places and I'm sure you'll get the picture, Nha Trang and Danang are the more developed tourist areas.

If you go north towards Hanoi, definitely go to Ha Long Bay which is a UNESCO site.

The street food in Vietnam is fantastic as well, but the same can be said for Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Philippines.

Cheers, I'll look into those.

Philippines didn't, even make my shortlist, a good move by the looks of it!

[throbber]

Cheers, I'll look into those.

Philippines didn't, even make my shortlist, a good move by the looks of it!

Just so long as you go to Hoi An if you go to Vietnam.

[Booker_d]

I'm in a minority of one out of virtually everyone I meet but I f'n hate Vietnam. Those in the south are a pretty horrible bunch of people. Does get better the further north you go. But hopefully I'll never be back.

Hoi An is beautiful though.

[Tight minge]

I'm in a minority of one out of virtually everyone I meet but I f'n hate Vietnam. Those in the south are a pretty horrible bunch of people. Does get better the further north you go. But hopefully I'll never be back.

Hoi An is beautiful though.

What was it with the people in the south that put you off?

In fairness, there is an underlying massive divide between the people of the south and the north and it's no guess as to why the biggest military base in Vietnam is just outside HCMC and populated by soldiers from the north.

[throbber]

I found everyone in Vietnam to be very nice. I did however find the people of Thailand a bit slippery at times.

[doulikefish]

We went to phuket and stayed in the holiday inn resort,booked a bungalow and had a seperate swimming pool so it was quiet,its far enough away from the gas cookers/lady boy bit that it was fine for me and the missus

Plenty bars etc for eating drinking and we did a few day tours,james bond island etc

Also flew glas dubai phuket

[Tight minge]

I found everyone in Vietnam to be very nice. I did however find the people of Thailand a bit slippery at times.

You could suggest 'slippery' about nearly every Asian regardless of country, especially in how they deal with westerners. But in a lot of ways that is our own fault and the common curse of 'face' in Asia.

The large percentage of westerners who go to Asia on holiday are backpackers, who look and act ridiculous and are crying out to be fleeced or 'weekend millionaires' who turn up for a holiday and throw money about like it is going out of fashion leaving many Asians the impression that anyone that is white is rich and has money to burn.

It's quite understandable for locals to have a lot of distain for westerners in the tourism sector as in most (not all) cases we bring it on ourselves and 'face' is something that takes a lot of time to get our heads round and understand, but it's very easy to cause offence in Asia without knowing it and the reaction can be unbelievable.

[Booker_d]

You could suggest 'slippery' about nearly every Asian regardless of country, especially in how they deal with westerners. But in a lot of ways that is our own fault and the common curse of 'face' in Asia.

The large percentage of westerners who go to Asia on holiday are backpackers, who look and act ridiculous and are crying out to be fleeced or 'weekend millionaires' who turn up for a holiday and throw money about like it is going out of fashion leaving many Asians the impression that anyone that is white is rich and has money to burn.

It's quite understandable for locals to have a lot of distain for westerners in the tourism sector as in most (not all) cases we bring it on ourselves and 'face' is something that takes a lot of time to get our heads round and understand, but it's very easy to cause offence in Asia without knowing it and the reaction can be unbelievable.

Yeah the face thing can get really frustrating sometimes, especially as it can be over such minor things that don't matter to us but come across as life or death to the locals.

Been to Vietnam a few times and never really had a good feel for the place whenever I've been there. I totally agree with what your saying about western tourists but also fleecing Westerners is part of the Vietnamese culture and one they are very proud of. You can't say anything bad about the Vietnamese as they think they're people are beyond reproach but there as well as the aforementioned petty ripping off there are plenty robberies, muggings and deaths that go unreported in Vietnam due the authorities refusing to acknowledge any bad words of any kind about their people, especially from us westerners. As well as a couple of unsavoury first hand experiences, I know people who work there who have told me a few stories and I know that a couple of the big oil companies have issued increased safety alerts to their staff. And ask any Cambodian what they think of the Vietnamese.

Having said all that there are plus points. The food is good, crossing the road in HCMC is something you'll never forget, the war museums are fascinating.

Apologies for hijacking the thread a bit just needed to get my hatred of Vietnam off my chest

Anyway, Thailand, got to Phuket, don't stay in Patong but stay nearby. Plenty things to do/see. nice beaches, various excursions, ticks all the boxes.

[hk blues]

I'd add that it is difficult to generalise about a whole country's population with too much accuracy. Even in the UK the difference between North and South is stark. Also, the difference between living or working and holidaying in a country is huge.

I'm not trying to make a case for the Philippines, but you cannot compare Manila to Boracay, for example. Even most Filipino people I've spoken to hate Manila!

Honestly speaking, when it comes to having to tiptoe on egg shells to preserve a relationship, dealing with the Chinese and Japanese take it to a whole new level.

Anyhow...Thailand would top my list of places to visit every time. Love Bangkok and everything about its craziness.

[Booker_d]

I'd add that it is difficult to generalise about a whole country's population with too much accuracy. Even in the UK the difference between North and South is stark. Also, the difference between living or working and holidaying in a country is huge.

I'm not trying to make a case for the Philippines, but you cannot compare Manila to Boracay, for example. Even most Filipino people I've spoken to hate Manila!

Honestly speaking, when it comes to having to tiptoe on egg shells to preserve a relationship, dealing with the Chinese and Japanese take it to a whole new level.

Anyhow...Thailand would top my list of places to visit every time. Love Bangkok and everything about its craziness.

Very true.

Also, Bangkok is one of my favourite cities in the world. Fantastic place.

[throbber]

I had written an entire post out this morning that didn't upload and I deleted it.

Basically - we did tour round mu ne in a pick up and the guy took us to these sand dunes were kids started swarming round us wanting money to push us down a dune in a sledge then demanded a tip for it

In Thailand I saw an english slag scream at hotel receptionist for charging her for her room despite her not sleeping in it even though her stuff was there.

In a cafe in Thailand the waiter brought our table chips instead of pad Thai, obnoxious folk we were with complained and the guy said he would get us pad Thai but to eat the chips anyway or they would go in the bin, minute later he changed his mind and came back to table and grabbed the chips from the people we were with who were eating at the time and then he took them to another table.

[Tight minge]

Yeah the face thing can get really frustrating sometimes, especially as it can be over such minor things that don't matter to us but come across as life or death to the locals.

Been to Vietnam a few times and never really had a good feel for the place whenever I've been there. I totally agree with what your saying about western tourists but also fleecing Westerners is part of the Vietnamese culture and one they are very proud of. You can't say anything bad about the Vietnamese as they think they're people are beyond reproach but there as well as the aforementioned petty ripping off there are plenty robberies, muggings and deaths that go unreported in Vietnam due the authorities refusing to acknowledge any bad words of any kind about their people, especially from us westerners. As well as a couple of unsavoury first hand experiences, I know people who work there who have told me a few stories and I know that a couple of the big oil companies have issued increased safety alerts to their staff. And ask any Cambodian what they think of the Vietnamese.

Having said all that there are plus points. The food is good, crossing the road in HCMC is something you'll never forget, the war museums are fascinating.

Apologies for hijacking the thread a bit just needed to get my hatred of Vietnam off my chest

Anyway, Thailand, got to Phuket, don't stay in Patong but stay nearby. Plenty things to do/see. nice beaches, various excursions, ticks all the boxes.

Probably a fair assessment. Foreigners do tend to get ripped off, a few dong there a few Dong here. Probably no more than anywhere else but the difference is, as you say, there open and proud about it.

When I lived there, there was a serious issue with bikers bag snatching which was going unaddressed by the government until a tourist posted a clip of a girl just about being dragged onto the road during a robbery. This is as much a government problem.

So can't argue with what you said, but for me still one of the best places I've lived.

[Tight minge]

I'm not trying to make a case for the Philippines, but you cannot compare Manila to Boracay, for example. Even most Filipino people I've spoken to hate Manila!

In the time I lived in The Philippines, I never once lived in Manila. Manila itself is just a god forsaken hole.

Still can't say one positive thing about the place or the people. Each to their own I suppose, having lived amongst them for long enough, I really can't say one nice thing about them or the place.

Tip toeing round face is a frustration at times and would agree that China and Japan would be the most difficult (many a time I've seen Chinese knocking lumps out of each other for no reason).

[hk blues]

In the time I lived in The Philippines, I never once lived in Manila. Manila itself is just a god forsaken hole.

Still can't say one positive thing about the place or the people. Each to their own I suppose, having lived amongst them for long enough, I really can't say one nice thing about them or the place.

Tip toeing round face is a frustration at times and would agree that China and Japan would be the most difficult (many a time I've seen Chinese knocking lumps out of each other for no reason).

I don't disagree with much you've said, but there are a few ok places. I'd include Cebu, Boracay and Iloilo just because i have some experience of them. I only mentioned Manila because it's most peoples image of the Philippines and it's a hellhole for sure,from what i've heard. I didn't choose the Philippines, i wouldn't have but I'm here and get by.

The face thing is a challenge, but worse for me is the varying concepts of what is truth. Again i use the Japanese and Chinese as examples of nationalities who are at the extremes on this.

It's not Dundee...

[Tight minge]

There are a few nice places in the Philippines, that's true. Parts can be visually stunning, but it's they way they interact, the lack of value on honesty and how they behave generally that makes it an unredeemable shithole.

A female friend of mine was sexually assaulted on one of the provinces by a German and asked for my support in making the complaint to the police. I obliged and the police took the complaint seriously. However as it involves a foreigner they had to apply to the BOI (immigration) for information on the foreigner. Even, in the presence of a senior police officer with all necessary paperwork the BOI representative refused to hand over any data without a payment. Once that was cleared up the BOI representative said that any case against the foreigner could take a long time, but for a fee, he could 'apply' a note to his records up to murder or indecent assault of a minor to ensure of his immediate arrest and deportation. Fucking mental!

A similar situation happened with a Norwegian friend. His ex-wife was Filipino (living in Norway) and he just had a child with his latest Filipino girlfriend. All of a sudden he was arrested and deported from the Philippines because of a crime he had committed and it turned out it was similar to the above and was told he would need to 'out bid' the money paid to have it reversed. He is now separated from his daughter and her mother because of jealousy. Again fucking mental.

My dealings with the police after the robbery on my house was frightening and too long to go into, but all in all everything ended up in Mindanao, and that is the land that time forgot.

I was asked to consult on the acquisition of a theme park between two Filipino companies. A theme park that had never opened in 19 years of existence and owned by one of the richest families in the Philippines. In short all parties, including the government were covering up corruption, extortion, assault and highly likely (but no proof) multiple murders. I obviously got the hell out of that and finally, on police advice out the country.

Maybe I ended up too involved in certain aspects of the country that maybe people don't see (and maybe goes on in other countries that I haven't seen), but it's fucked up and is a million miles from ever being resolved.

And I would blame education and religion as the two factors that cause the problem.