Thailand V's Philippines

[NuggetTNQ]

Just got back from a business trip to the Philippines. Just wanted to throw this out to all. Which is better Thailand or the Philippines? My personal opinion is Thailand is much better place to live,work,visit. I did have a good time in Philippines, drinks,food ladies much cheaper but.........couldnt really compare to LOS. Thoughts/Comments?

[sargeant]

My best mate has just gone to live in Manila for the exact opposite to what you say . He says it is better lots of shopping malls (plus bombs ) and a lot cheaper . Funny how 2 people see totally opposite though

[DawnHRD]

I dislike the Philippines. Any place where you have to check your guns when you go into a supermarket (like you check your bags here) freaks me out. Filipino food is widely acknowledged to be pretty bad, whereas Thai food is widely liked. The driving is far worse in PI than in Thailand. It's the only place I've ever been that drivers have speeded up as I was crossing the road. Beggars etc are far more 'in your face' and can be scary, there. All in all, you couldn't pay me to live there. I certainly wouldn't feel as safe & generally secure (even after recent personal events) as I do here. Just my personal opinion, mind.

[lockwood74]

I have visited the Philippines on several occasions, the interesting thing is that it is made up of thousands of islands and offers great travel opportunities.
Poverty seems to be more evident, I have found Thailand a cleaner and more efficient place to be and Thailand is certainly less chaotic.
Philippines appears to me to be a more dangerous palce where crime is higher and more obvious.
When walking down the street in Philippines you are often confronted by beggars and touts, this is less obvious in Thailand.
Food is more expensive in Philippines and certainly not of the standard you can easily get in Thailand.
My partner is from the Philippines, trying to tell her that Thailand is a better place is not an easy one but I think she is starting to see the differences. Its best to check it out for yourself as rural areas differ widely from tourist areas as they do in Thailand.

[Big Boy]

DawnHHDRC wrote:

It's the only place I've ever been that drivers have speeded up as I was crossing the road.

Have you never been to France?

[hogus]

I also have been many times in the Phils and I appreciate it more and more.
Of course, the chaotically traffic is similar to TH, and also the infrastructure isn't much better.
Bad sides are the beggars and street kids as mentioned above already.
The crime rate seems to be higher as in TH, and don't forget about the natural disasters (typhoons, earthquakes ect.), too, depending where in the Phils you'd like to stay.

Good sides are, that you get much more for your money by using the same or even better more standard as in TH.
Also the actual regulations for foreigners (visitors, investors, pensioners) are more friendly and liberal as here.
The average Filipinos are better more educated than our Thai-friends.
May be an unforeseen result of the former US-occupation and a more ambitious mentality of the locals!?
IMO, the food there is great and cheap (if you can profit by Western currencies).

Decades ago the Phils wouldn't have any chance to beat TH as a base for foreigners in SEA.
Nowadays a lot of things changed and TH has lost a lot of his former attraction compared to the neighbor-countries...even the Phils!

So the Phils are a great alternative to TH in my eyes (similar to Cambodia and Malaysia).

[johnnyk]

In Thailand, I've yet to see people having to live at the foot of garbage mountains.'
A difference between poor and wretched perhaps.
LoS for me.

[Terry]

Lived and worked in Manilla for 15 months and sure, Manilla is not The Philippines, just as Bangkok is not Thailand. But

Cost of living P cheaper than T
Corruption T bad - P %&*£$!!!!!!!!
Security T ok P shite
People - same as everywhere - just want peace, food & shelter
Environment - P has quakes, volcanoes, typhoons - T has Songkran!
Violence T, some - P endemic.

It's simple - when you think that a nation has to survive on the monies sent back home by migrant workers, there's something seriously wrong.
The corruption has to be experienced to be believed and although there are 'rough' areas of Bangkok - they are nothing compared to the shantys of Manilla.

Unfortunately Thailand is starting to exhibit many of the bad traits of The Philipinnes.

In any event it's LOS for me.

[Rider]

For now it's Thailand but if things keep going the way they are, in a few years time the PI will probably be the new promised land for many farang in Thailand....
Manila is a sht hole in certain parts, but so is BKK. Outside Manila places like Angeles and Cebu certainly are what Thailand was like ten, twenty years ago.
But we'll have to see because the new government has yet to be elected in Thailand and things may get back to how they were....

[pfotoguy369]

I travel to the PI about every 3 months. I have a friend that lives in AC, had one that lived in Makti but he just moved back here. He said it was more expensive than Calif.

AC is a sht hole. reminds me of TJ Mexico 40 years ago.

everybody carries guns the police are all corrupt. My friend has had his apt robbed 3 time and was mugged once in broad daylight at a busy market and know one cared.

They put a small pebble under the cap of your tire valve and when you sit on your bike it let's the air out slowly and they follow you and rob you.

The hot thing now is to put either in your AC then come in and rob you while you're knocked out.

Why he stays there is beyond me.

I go for short visits but I don't travel alone.

It's LOS for me.

[NuggetTNQ]

Interesting to see all of the different opinions. Still LOS for me

[acerockolla]

I considered both Philippines and Thailand as places to live and although I have only spent a short period in both countries here's my feelings.
Transport Infrastructure - Thailand hands down.
Public Transport - Bangkok nice new clean Taxi's or Manilla piles of crap usually lacking air-con, brakes, tread on tires and often even petrol!
Shopping - LOS better than P. Quite a few people seem to say that P is cheaper I did not find that I think LOS is much better value.
The people in P are more polite and more honest about their motives
The women in P are more attractive (just),
the beggers are bad in both but more in your face in P.
Food LOS by a million miles, P just cannot compete food wise.
The crime in P is quite worrying and guns are everywhere.
The government in P is much more welcoming than LOS.
As a package LOS is much more attractive.

[buksida]

Having just returned I'll add a few things to this thread, the full trip report and images are on the way. The first thing to remember is that you can't take Bangkok and call it Thailand as you can't call Manila the Philippines - both are big dirty Asian cities with their inherent problems. If we're based in Hua Hin then the comparison must be drawn to one of the island resorts, I'll use Mindoro as that's where I went.

1 ) The people in the Phils seem a lot friendlier and more 'playful' and chatty with foreigners, this is probably due to the fact that English is the second language and they're not shy about using it.

2) The costs are cheaper over there, beer is often cheaper than soft drinks as there are no high government taxes, food, accommodation and transport are all cheaper than the Thai equivalent.

3 ) The food is far better in Thailand, much more variety and flavour. Filipino food is a little bland although there is no shortage of western fast food available.

4 ) The traffic in Manila is a nightmare as expected but since we're not comparing cities on the island it wasn't too bad. There are far less motorcycles, the cars are crappy old crates and not shiny new SUVs, driving standards though are no better than here and the road and transportation system in Thailand is far superior.

5 ) Although many people here have spoken about crime I didn't see any evidence of it or a single firearm. I did go to mainly tourist areas though which may explain this - the usual travel precautions were made which is advisable wherever you go.

6 ) Touts, traders, beggers and hawkers are a little more aggressive over there as they're more hungry for your tourist dollar. Thailand seems like an affluent nation in comparison and poverty is far more evident in the Philippines.

7 ) The religion there is predominantly Catholic so it is easier for westerners to relate to without having to endure often frustrating notions such as 'loss of face'. However Thailand does feel more exotic and Asian with its temples, monks, religion and culture.

8 ) Long term prospects and visas are currently easier in the Philippines, the government do not seem to be constantly trying to find ways to prevent you staying there. Tourist visas are renewable within the country and residency is comparatively easy to get.

Thats just a few observations from a week in a place called Sabang which is like a Thai island resort such as Koh Tao or Samui around 15 years ago. Trip report and photos are on the way!

[Super Joe]

re: the crime, i used to go there a lot, liked many aspects of the philippines but the crime in manila was just too much
we never attracted trouble in anyway by our actions, but had two seperate guns incidents in half a dozen trips

also last year had a friend from hua hin abducted in angeles, bundled off in a car, taken to a house to play cards for money, he managed to get away. police said the gang do it a lot, but they've never caught them

went back there last year and it seems to have gotten more desperate for the people on the poverty front
just dont feel safe walking around at night

also i find the philippines just too under-developed in respect to infrastructure, shopping, restaurants, sky train, hospitals, schools etc compared to thailand

'sabang' as in puerta galera, thats where we went a lot to dive
big and small la laguna, was some nice little bars there i remember, very friendly people
really nice place
.