I notice a couple of the stalwarts on the other channel are actually discussing retiring elswhere. Up till now it has been the Philippines regardless. Now Cambodia and Thailand are coming up (in their eyes) as better options. How can this be? For the established Brit Fil folk it is well known that there are risks involved. How is it that it has taken recent events to open their eyes? Maybe that's the now. Maybe in a few months time when the dust has settled they will have forgotten..
Maybe they're on a downer due to recent events. I've worked with guys that live over in Thailand and from what they say expats certainly seem to have it easier over there with most of the aspects of living and lifestyle than the Philippines.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. But the Philippines has been getting bad press for a little while now and it can greatly shift an outsider's perspective in things.
Why not add Malaysia? Food: Thailand, especially Bangkok has awesome local and foreign food, especially in the major cities. Cambodia, is not so good on the local food, but very good foreign food is available especially in the capital. Philippines, local food is not to my taste, if you eat foreign food and it is surprisingly good, never go back, it was an accident. Malaysia, Local food can be very good, awesome foreign food available. Corruption: No problems in Thailand, Cambodia or Malaysia, but twice in the Philippines my taxi has been stopped by corrupt police, to extort money from the driver. Once in Manila I ended up paying (2,000 ??) (which the hotel driver never paid back (****), the other time I still feel bad about the driver, he lost his whole fare. Maybe tomorrow I will post my views on local Beer...
I am not a beer drinker. Though I have had the occasional San Miguel beer in Spain. Are they the same?
No. I thought so at first, but they are two totally different companies. This blog explains the details, I remember reading it a while ago.
For me, the lady in the case is Filipina but Cambodia might suit us both, down the line. Bob Couttie moved to Cambodia after thirty years in the Philippines - his significant other is Filipina
Try different places out first. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, are all places that I enjoy, all far busier than they were a few years ago unfortunately. As for the Philippines, I need to stay away from the memories for a while...
There was a good radio interview with him posted on here a few months back, it was very interesting to listen to him. Methersgate probably still has the link?
I am a beer drinker and by anyone's standards San Mig is not a great beer as Dave_E points out it is not the same San Miguel company as in Spain. However I do enjoy a very very very cold Philippine San Mig Light on the odd occasion, it's tap water but it's cheap and hits the spot for a bit of cold liquid consumption in a warm climate, it's actually quite refreshing when cold, more like cat pee when it's warm Luckily I do not drink spirits of any kind, in the UK these days I only drink Theakstons Mild, cheap and tasty, and I enjoy a nice glass or two of wine as well.
Unfortunately it looks like the link to my radio interview is AWOL. If I can find it I'll post it. David_EW mentioned Kampot, Cambodia, which is where I now live. If a quite, friendly town, lid back, no girly bars, is up your alley then it's a good place to be. A better class of ex-pat drunk than in the Philippines and the local do not assume you're American. After around three decades in the Philippines I found this place to be something of a revelation. Despite the Philippine reputation for being laid-back it can actually be quite intense. No earthquakes or typhoons. At risk of being accused of self-promotion, a fasirly good impression, other than the fictional murder, can be found in my online novel Temple of the Leper King at templeoftheleperking.wordpress.com. And if you enjoy film-making there is the ocassional opportunity to get involved, this pic is from a French film currently shooting in Kampot:
http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?7632-Radio-Interview-on-escaping-to-Asia&highlight= This was the posting....I did have a listen to it at the time.