Actually, It's Nice To Be Back in the US

Returning to the US and Reflecting on Travel

0:04 Hey, what's up everybody? I thought I'd come on here and do a live stream and give you guys an update on how I'm doing. I know it's been a while. So, I've been back in the US for about a month now and things are going well.

0:26 I should probably get into some of what I enjoy about being back and also talk about future plans. I've got a bunch of stuff I just haven't edited. My laptop is full as far as storage goes, and all of my memory cards are full. I've been focused on some other opportunities that are a better fit for me right now than YouTube.

1:02 Just to be transparent, it's nice to be back. I had been gone for about two years. I started off my trip in the summer of 2023 in Thailand. I spent about a year in Thailand, visited Vietnam for a month, went to the Philippines for eight months, spent a month in Indonesia, and then about a week in Seoul, South Korea before I came back.

1:30 So, I was gone for about two years, a little bit less, but really two years. And it gave me a lot of time to reflect and also think about the future, future goals, future plans. And there's a lot that I have grown to appreciate about life in the US.

1:45 Is it perfect? No, it's not perfect. I see it now as a trade-off. Living in the US versus living in Asia, neither one is better. People will probably ask me which one is better. I think it depends on the individual. I think it depends on the time in your life. Obviously, money is a major factor, where you're at in life. There's so many factors as to go into which is better.

Appreciating US Conveniences: Air Quality and Crowding

2:19 Personally, I'm really enjoying being back for a lot of different reasons. It's uh I still have plans to travel again in the future. I'm not done traveling. I'm not done forever living in Asia, but it makes more sense for me to be back here right now.

2:38 Some of the things that I like here, one, air quality. Some people would say, well, just buy an air filter, but you don't spend all your time at home. Certainly, when I'm living in Asia, I don't spend the whole time in my condo or my house or apartment. I want to be out and about doing stuff. I want to go out and enjoy the life there, like a vibrant lifestyle.

3:07 Air quality could be a real challenge throughout Asia, not just Southeast Asia. Even Seoul, South Korea is known for having some challenges with air quality. Crowdedness, right? Like something a little bit more. Yeah, crowdedness.

3:27 One of the things that I really like here is I can go to the grocery store and it's not that crowded, unless you go during peak shopping hours. Even in a big city, it's just not really comparable to how crowded Asia can feel. Broadly speaking, Asia is not one place. You know, you're talking about four billion people, but most of the places that we live in Asia are popular.

3:52 Most expats are not living in rural backwaters. Most of us want to have proximity to western-style restaurants, at least one decent shopping mall. I know there are some people that really like the provincial life, and I'm sure there's more than one or two, but most of the people I've met and talked to prefer to be in a decent-sized city.

4:19 So, if you're in a decent-sized city in Southeast Asia, you're going to deal with crowding, whether it be in traffic on the roads or in a mall. Where here, you know, I'm in the southern US, it's really not that bad, especially if I am not going downtown.

4:37 I can get to a lot of different businesses in about 10 minutes. And due to strict traffic enforcement, most people drive decent. There are some people that drive kind of wild, but I think a lot of people try to drive pretty decent here.

4:58 So, it's just not that crowded. I can go to the store. I can take my time to browse. I can look around. I can get a lot of different things and pick out what I want and then quickly check out. A big thing is self-checkout.

5:14 There's self-checkout here. I know some people don't like self-checkout. To me, that's a symptom of a higher trust society. Is it high trust? No, I wouldn't call the US high trust, but I really like that if I'm going in for, say, three or four things, I don't have to sit there and stand in a long line waiting for a cashier.

5:30 I just go up to the self-checkout, scan a few things, swipe with my card, and then that's it. I am not having to stand in line for a long time. I'm not having to figure out where things are because I've spent so much time living in the US. I know where a lot of the items are.

5:45 I'm not having to figure out like if I'm traveling around in Asia, each grocery store has a slightly different layout and different product selections. That changes by country, that changes by city. That could even change by the chain based on local populations versus here.

6:10 Grocery stores are very predictable. And that's something you have to do on a regular basis. Oh, thanks so much Paulo. I appreciate it. Yeah, I mean the Philippines, I'm sure I'll be back at some point in the future. There's a lot more I want to see of the Philippines.

6:30 But I had to really consider my future. Like as a foreigner, I can't work there in the Philippines. So that's another thing I'll get into talking about. Something I like about the US is as a US citizen, I'm permitted to work here in the United States.

6:47 So, in Southeast Asia, I'm not permitted to be working in any of those countries. I know there's a nomad visa, but even with that, I don't know. It just the line is kind of blurry from my perspective, knowing I'm not going to be able to qualify for citizenship in any of the countries in Southeast Asia.

Cost of Living and Bulk Shopping Advantages

7:14 Yeah. So, so I would say crowding is another one. Now, does this mean these issues that I'm pointing out, things that I prefer about living in the US? Oh, I'd never go back to Asia. That's not the case.

7:27 I'd love to come back to Asia in the future, but it's, you know, it really taught me to appreciate my time there. My two years in Asia taught me to appreciate some things about the US.

7:40 I could see how in the US, if you're on a fixed income, it could be difficult because things are expensive here. Definitely things are more expensive here in the US, like rent, food, transportation. There's nothing really cheap here, if that makes any sense.

7:57 Although some things are cheaper than being in Asia, like cheese is a big one. Certain meat products are cheaper here. Often you can buy in bulk here, right? So that can help moderate your cost.

8:10 Where in Asia, for the most part, you're not buying in bulk. Guess if it comes to fruit or produce, you could buy in bulk, but for a lot of other products, it's not going to really help you to purchase in bulk.

8:21 Where here, I've got a Costco membership. I can go and purchase all kinds of things in bulk quantities, and that can help me moderate my cost and also save time.

8:35 A big thing is when it comes to purchasing in bulk is like when I was in Asia, I was having to go to the market every day or every other day because things spoil faster. I think there's somewhat less preservatives on some products over there.

8:51 So, I'm having to go to the market all the time, and that's just chewing up my day. At first, that was fun and charming. I imagine if you had hired help or you could send somebody to the market to do that for you, that could be good.

9:07 I guess that could be a solution, but for me, I needed to go to the market a lot, and that could be tedious. There are days where I just didn't feel like going. I didn't feel like walking down there. I didn't feel like taking transportation down there.

9:19 I didn't feel like emptying out my backpack and then loading up my backpack. And now I've got a backpack full of food that could go bad, so I need to take it back to my place.

9:35 You know, some things like that are really charming and fun at first, but here, like I go to a few different stores. I purchase whatever I want. I put it in my car. It all fits in my car.

9:46 And then I drive home while I'm staying right now. And I unload all my purchases in one place. And it's, I'm not having to carry the stuff on my back. I'm not having to wait for a taxi to pull up. I've got my car. I've got my license. Everything is very efficient.

Reconnecting with Friends and Time Zone Challenges

10:07 I'll get caught up on comments and then kind of get back to some of the things I appreciate about the US. Let's see. Hey Nicholas, good to see you. Oh, hey. I hope you're having a nice day in Bangkok. Looking forward to my trip in Beid City in October.

10:23 You're welcome, sir. Enjoy Beolid, Paulo. I've heard a lot of nice things about Beolid. Shocked to hear you're giving up settling in Southeast Asia.

10:33 So, I probably didn't make this as clear as I should have. Nicholas, the last couple years were more of a test run for me. I knew that for various reasons, some of it's financial, but some of it's also just like friendships, relationships back home in the US.

10:51 I had never really spent more than a few months at a time outside of the US. And so to take it to the next level, a multi-year journey, I thought this is a test run. If I don't like it, I can go back to the US at any time I want.

11:07 I can buy a plane ticket and go back, and I have friends I can stay with. I have, you know, different opportunities that I could pursue as far as work goes. And so it wasn't really a permanent move.

11:20 And so it wasn't really a permanent move for me. I have a storage unit I'd have to get rid of, and I have a car here I'd want to sell. I have friends here that I really like staying in touch with and being able to hang out with, but living over there, the time zone makes it very difficult. Either I'm calling them as soon as I wake up in the morning, or I'm calling them right around the time they want to go to bed.

The Tedium of Heat and Daily Life in Southeast Asia

11:51 Some of these things can make it challenging, things I didn't really anticipate. A lot of people warned me, "Oh, it's so dangerous in Asia." That's not really true if you know where you're going, but it was the small things that started to wear on me after a while. I'd be happy to live in Southeast Asia again, and I anticipate living in Thailand again. I look forward to settling there, but living there long-term is different than visiting.

12:24 You have to set yourself up to live there successfully. You also have to become comfortable with certain things or accept certain differences, like a big one is heat. I know that would probably bother a lot of people, but after a while, I did find the heat could be tedious. It wasn't a situation where...

12:55 Oh, good one, Trucker. Yeah. Yeah, I, um, oh, no, Tony, don't worry. Don't worry at all, Tony. I'm doing well. But, uh, it's, uh, yeah. So, let's see here. Um, yeah, I don't want to work in Thailand as a truck driver. Probably not. That seems high stress.

13:17 Trucker, I do appreciate your humor though. Um, yeah, this is my first stream in a while, Tony. I haven't done a stream in several months. Um, Anano, hey, Anano, good to see you. Paulo gives a thumbs up. Uh, trucker made a joke.

13:33 Um, Thailand has too many foreigners. Love Tech Philippines. Well, I can deal with the heat. I wouldn't lie and say it's not a little oppressive, or I wouldn't change to moderate if I could. Yeah, that was something that I didn't anticipate not liking because where I grew up, I grew up in the southern US where it's hot.

13:52 I would say like at least four to six months out of the year, it's pretty hot during the daytime. It cools off some at night, but right now it's like 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside. To have that kind of weather 11 or 12 months out of the year can get tedious, right?

14:14 It's like, to me, it almost reminds me of living somewhere really cold as well. Like, I've lived in Colorado for several years, and half the year in Colorado, unless cold does not bother you at all, you're going from indoor building to indoor building. I'd go to the gym, the grocery store, Costco, and then come back home.

14:40 Yeah, there were a lot of sunny days. You could go out to a trail and go walking, but you're putting on a lot of clothes for that. It's not like California, where I lived in California, I didn't need to own a very big wardrobe. I could just go out in like a long-sleeve t-shirt, sweatpants, shoes, didn't have to have a jacket.

15:06 Didn't have to peel down to shorts and a t-shirt. Didn't have to always worry about, oh, I got to put my sunglasses on. Where in Southeast Asia, I felt like before I go out, every single time I have to prepare, okay, do I have my sunglasses? But at nighttime, I don't wear my sunglasses, so I've got to put those away.

15:23 Do I have, is my phone charged up? Do I have a power bank? You're having to go through all these things to be prepared. And also, as soon as I get home, I've got to go out and get in the shower. Some days in Southeast Asia, I'm showering two or three times in a day, changing my clothes several times per day.

15:49 I know some people would say, "Just stay at home, don't go outside," but it's kind of avoiding the reality of living somewhere that's really, really hot. That's something that, once again, it got to be tedious. I personally think the ideal for a lot of people is part of the year in Southeast Asia, part of the year back home or in a region with more moderate weather.

16:25 That's just what I suspect. I know some people may disagree with that, but for me, even though being genetically predisposed to handling hot weather, I still found that it could still be challenging. It's not so much after a week, or a couple weeks, or a month.

16:47 It's more like waking up after a year and a half and being like, "Okay, yet again, it's steaming hot outside," and I've got to kind of brace myself for that. There were times where in the especially hot months, it was kind of like the opposite of Colorado, where I'd go from building to building trying to stay indoors during the daytime.

17:11 I know some would say, "Well, just orient your life toward nighttime." But that's not necessarily as easy as it would seem. Plenty of businesses close at nighttime, and lighting may not be great in some areas. Also, I tend to be more of a morning person.

Morning Routines and Exploring Bangkok's Charm

17:32 I tend to wake up pretty early. So, I think there's a lot to love, and I'm not at all being overly critical here, but just talking about some of the things I appreciate about the US, where I can get up in the morning early and a lot of businesses open up fairly early here, such that I can go out and get all the things I need done in a timely manner.

18:09 Used to live in Denver. 75% of the year, very cold at night too. Night is almost always cold. Yeah. Love Tech Philippines. Even in the summer, Denver can feel quite cold, and even more so if you go to the mountains. A lot of people in Colorado like to go to the mountains in the summer, but places like Breckenridge in the summer, it's not uncommon to have temperatures 40, 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which could be pretty chilly.

18:41 Let's see here. What are other for? Yeah, I would push back a little bit on Kano. Like, uh, you in Thailand, you can pick some areas that have less foreigners. You're going to have to go off the beaten path a bit. Foreigners in Thailand, from my experience, they stick to this, what I call, well, what some vloggers call, the expat bubble.

19:08 Where there's certain cities or towns, and certain areas within those cities or towns, like Bangkok. A lot of people say, "Oh, Bangkok is so touristic." That's because a lot of them will go to the Sukhumvit line. If you go way off the Sukhumvit line, which I've done on my last several visits to Bangkok, the tourist numbers drop off like a lot.

19:34 So, I think in Thailand, the key is knowing you're in a pretty safe country and knowing that you're going to be pretty safe. I can't guarantee anything; this isn't legal advice or anything like that, but you're pretty safe most of the places you would go. So, just going off the tourist trail and keeping that to yourself, right?

19:57 If you find some place that's really charming and doesn't have a lot of over-tourism, then maybe you don't share that with other people. I have a few spots in Thailand. Even then, I have like I'm a fan of Chiang Mai. A lot of people don't care for Chiang Mai at all, and I still like Chiang Mai a lot.

20:14 It doesn't offer some of those things that you might call problem tourists are into. There's not that many bars in Chiang Mai. There's not that much nightlife type entertainment in Chiang Mai. So, Chiang Mai will never have some of those kind of rough and boisterous crowds.

20:34 There's a couple spots in the city, but like most people, you have to go out of your way to engage with that kind of nightlife, where for me, I just don't go to those establishments. And I find that it's very, I don't know, Chiang Mai is just a really charming city to me.

Finding Less Touristy Spots and Cultural Nuances

20:56 But some people find it boring, right? So that's part of it too, is looking out for places that other people might call boring. If you're more like me, you're more of a boring person, mild-mannered temperament, then going for those places that aren't, you know, aren't all over the internet or are not getting as much attention as some other places, because that's what I learned the hard way.

21:31 That was my experience. Love Tech Philippines. That was my experience when I was in Bangkok during COVID. It was really like I went to the Grand Palace with a couple of my Thai friends, and we went there in the middle of the day, and there was almost nobody there.

21:44 I have some photos of me there, and there's like no crowds, and it's normally packed. We went in, and we could sit down, and my Thai friends mentioned this place is normally wall-to-wall with tourists and locals. And it was so nice, Love Tech Philippines, to be able to go there and have that kind of experience.

22:12 So that I could appreciate that because, let's see. Like, so it has so many conveniences like foreign restaurants, shopping malls, obviously the BTS line, a lot of hidden stores. That's one of the first parts of Bangkok I ever explored when you first get to Thailand, if you haven't traveled much like I hadn't traveled a ton before I went to Thailand.

22:44 You're kind of dipping your toes in the water and trying to figure out what's around this corner. You've never been in a 7-Eleven at like 2 o'clock in the morning on Sukhumvit, and you start to get that sense of safety and intrigue. You start to get out of your shell a little bit.

23:11 But that feeling can be interrupted when you know, if you run into like a particularly...

23:18 Into like a particularly drunk foreigner or just, you know, kind of an oddball, if that makes any sense. I like Bangkok a lot for exploration. So I'm big into exploring cities.

23:37 You mentioned western socialization with high purity. I like it a lot because two of my closest friends in Thailand live in Bangkok. And so when I have time, when they have time really to hang out, getting to experience Thailand with Thai friends is, and legit Thai friends, you know, I've had people say, 'Oh, Thai people are transactional.' Yeah, because if you go to, if you spend the whole trip in Pattaya every time, if you go to the nightlife districts and that's the only place you go, yeah, you'll get the sense that Thai people are transactional. But my friends in Thailand have like normal jobs. They work in the corporate world. They're not like, I don't know how to explain it, like they're what I would call normal middle-class people, people that I would probably hang out with if they were here in the US, similar to the people I would hang out with here in the US, if that makes any sense.

24:42 And so, they get to show me a whole different side of Bangkok that I think a lot of tourists may miss some of these things or may not see some of these things and experience some of these things. And in turn, I try to find things to show them that because they're not foreigners, they might not be familiar with. Like I showed them some South American restaurants in Bangkok, and they've never been to South America. That's so far away from Thailand that they just would not be exposed to that in their normal day-to-day life. So we checked out a Peruvian restaurant. I wanted to show them a Portuguese restaurant. I found one, but our scheduling just didn't work out before I had to leave. So next time I go to Thailand, I want to show them this Portuguese restaurant.

25:27 They also like just help me better understand Thai culture because they've lived in the US for a short time and traveled around the US. So, like their English is solid. That's really made a big difference as far as my appreciation of Thailand is like meeting people who I would love to spend time with or who are similar to the people I love to spend time with back in the US.

26:06 Where I think some people, they're there for such a short time or they're there for a very specific reason, like nightlife, entertainment, that they only get like one tiny slice of Thailand. And it's almost like going to like Las Vegas and saying all Americans are degenerate gamblers, or going to Los Angeles and saying all Americans are shallow Hollywood types. By the way, guys, give us a thumbs up if you're enjoying this, or going to Silicon Valley and thinking all Americans are nerds, computer geeks.

The Mystery of Thai Society and Daily Life Logistics

26:45 There's so much in Thailand. And in some ways, I understand Thailand less after a year and a half total spent there than I did when I got there, because it's like you keep uncovering all these layers. There's so many layers to Thai society, where I just don't feel that's the case as much in the US. I feel like in the US, what you see is what you get. In Thailand, I just, the more I spend time there, the less I understand it. And the more mystery seems to come about, and the more I'm like, what am I looking at here?

27:23 Like I'm finding this stretch of this high street in Saton, and I'm like, what is this? Like there's an international school, and there's like a restaurant and a 7-Eleven, and there's all these places where all these cab drivers are hanging out. And you can't really, I don't speak Thai, so I can't really communicate. So there's a lot that just kind of can bend your mind. And the heat, and the pace, and the signage, and the neon lights. It's just a very, it's sensory overload.

28:15 Yeah, exactly. Love Tech Philippines. Yeah, if you need to do something at 2 p.m., a big one for me when I'm in Thailand, I'm having to go to immigration periodically. I try to get there in the morning because I'm not sure how long that it will take time-wise. I can't just, 'Oh, I'll show up at immigration at 10 p.m. I'm sure it'll be fine.' You know, I've got to get there when they open, get a ticket, and have my documents prepared the day before. So, the day before, if I've got to go to my language school to get those documents, I can't just, 'Oh yeah, I'll be there at 11 a.m. You guys will be there at 1 a.m., right?' No, we open at 10 a.m. So I got to get there at 10 a.m.

28:55 And so you have to like, you have there's things, there's elements of life in Southeast Asia where you cannot avoid, like if you're living there, you can't avoid mundane aspects of life. Like if I'm there on vacation for a week or two, I may never step foot in a grocery store. I'm kind of a nerd, so I'll go there just for fun, just to see what kind of products they have. But for a lot of tourists, they might never have to do that. Or if they're living there for a year, and a couple months in, they're thinking, 'Man, I really miss Jiffy Peanut Butter,' or 'I really miss this one obscure soda from Germany.' They're going to have to go there. And the grocery store typically in Thailand is not 24/7. So they're going to have to go there in the middle of the day. They could go there in the afternoon or evening. But a lot of these experiences are, you know, they kind of make you, they force you to structure your day a certain way because of efficiency and etc.

Expat Scene in Dumaguete and Toxic Online Behavior

30:06 So, yeah, great comments. Love Tech Philippines. You mentioned one of the reasons you left Dumaguete was because of low-quality expats. Can you elaborate on this? I look at it like the thing with Dumaguete, because it is in the zeitgeist, because it became so popular for such a long time, it's seen as what I call a low barrier to entry. So guys, a number of the expats I encountered there have never traveled anywhere outside the US. So they don't have that kind of global mindset. Not all of them. Some of the guys I met there are fantastic people I'm still in touch with to this day. But some of them have a very close-minded attitude. They have some bitterness or frustration. They're there solely because of cost of living, not because they want to live in the Philippines, not because, like I grew up around Filipino American, specific or three really, three Filipino Americans. So I was exposed to and met Filipinos from a young age.

31:38 I felt that some of the expats in Dumaguete are very much transactional people, and they see it as, 'I put money in and I,' they treat Dumaguete like a vending machine. Like, 'I put money in, I get experience out.' So, 'I want attention, I put money in. I want this, I put money in.' And they don't know that that's part of it, like I said, is just not having traveled much, not having much to compare it to.

32:18 For me, I've traveled to about 20 different countries, including the Philippines. That's not a lot compared to people like Gabriel Traveler, Walters World, who else? Sobatical, you know, I recognize that's not, but that's enough variety as far as different continents, cultures that I could compare Dumaguete to other places. And there's things I really appreciate about Dumaguete that if you haven't traveled much, and you're going direct from a small town USA to Dumaguete, you have kind of a, I don't know, just a certain kind of attitude. I think too, the cost of living being a big thing, like wanting to go to Dumaguete just because it's cheap, not because they want to be there. Like I had been to the Philippines, I'd spent about a month in the Philippines before I went to Dumaguete.

33:21 And I'm not opposed to going back to Dumaguete. But there's so much on offer in the Philippines. There's so many cool places to go. And I found too that they would get offended if I mentioned there's a lot of nice places in the Philippines, right? So, like I'm not an anti-Dumaguete guy, but I also like some of the places I saw in Manila. I also like some of the places I visited in Mindanao. And it's almost like there's this misplaced, like one foreigner is not from Dumaguete, right? So no matter how long they lived in Dumaguete, they're not Filipino, and they're not from Dumaguete. Dumaguete is great. There's a lot of great places in the Philippines. And so I felt like a lot of them could be very kind of just people I wouldn't hang out with back home. I don't want to harp on it too much though, because there's a lot to love about the Philippines. There's a lot of cool people in Dumaguete. It's certainly not all difficult, but I found that that expat scene got to be toxic after a while.

34:44 Yeah, I just found some of the expats there could be really toxic. Yeah, so I'll go back to the Philippines eventually. But that's something I have to be mindful of is just like the options in the Philippines that might be a little bit more laid-back, might be a little bit more chill.

35:11 I think that part of the problem with Dumaguete is that a lot of the expats in Dumaguete are terminally online. So you have people that will pretend to be nice to your face and do like foreigners that will pretend to be nice to you in person. 'Oh yeah, we're friends.' And then online or behind your back will talk bad about you. And that could be, you kind of got to the point where you're like, I'm wondering, okay, who could I really trust here? I have a friend that's a vlogger. Nobody I've collaborated with, acquaintance that's a vlogger, nobody I've collaborated with. But he had people that would tell him, 'Oh yeah, we're friends. We're friends.' And then behind his back be trolling him. And so it just got to be this weird thing where.

35:55 It just got to be this weird thing where it's like, I don't know, this toxic situation where the internet brought these people together that don't really like each other but have to tolerate each other. I just kind of got the sense a lot of these guys didn't really know much about the culture and didn't really have interest in the Filipinos. I noticed too, I would see this disconnect where some of the Dumaget Getty crowd would only hang out with other foreigners and would talk about how much they liked Filipinos, but then not actually spend any time with them.

36:41 I thought that was strange because I have Filipino friends, Filipino people I like to spend time with. I would go and hang out with them, and they would always say that some of the expats would always say that they like Filipino people, but then I would never see them actually back that up with action. So, to me, you're going halfway around the world, you better live in a place where you actually like the people and want to spend time with them, not just hang out with other people from your home country.

Running From Something and Freedom in Southeast Asia

37:20 Anyway, I don't want to harp on that too much because it can be tedious to discuss. Short-term housing stock in Sukumbit has gotten quite tight in January. I've never seen such a low choice on short notice.

37:38 Your description of who you'd mingle with does make sense. I've connected with some cool foreigners online in Thailand and Southeast Asia in general, but there's a fair amount that I've met that I think are running from something. Just to be honest, I think there's an element of that for me as well, where some of us are running away from something in Southeast Asia as opposed to running to Southeast Asia.

38:11 I don't think that's the whole story, but I think it's hard not to acknowledge that most of the guys I've met in Southeast Asia have been through a divorce in the West. They have tenuous relationships with their families, maybe didn't have career success in the way that they would have liked.

38:39 Just because you have those things in common with other people doesn't mean you could be friends with those people. That's not everybody. I know numerous guys in Southeast Asia that are very successful, had very successful careers, invested wisely, and have done well for themselves. But I find that some of those individuals also have to keep to themselves because they're in some ways a target.

39:04 If you're a foreigner running an investment scam in Southeast Asia, are you targeting broke expats? Are you targeting people who are struggling with poverty? No, you're trying to find out who and where the money is at. That same could be said for the United States, but you have to kind of be on guard more so when you're outside of your home country.

39:35 I found that hanging out with local people, if you evaluate relationships as purely transactional or people only looking to get something out of other people, then there's basically English. I could provide interesting English conversation to them, and in turn, they can show me around, and we have a great time together. But it's not a situation where they need money from me; they've got corporate jobs. It's not a situation where I'm trying to pressure them into being more than friends because there's plenty of dating options.

40:19 I just respect boundaries and I don't think of other people as solely what can they do for me. Some expats I think are in that position where they go to Southeast Asia thinking, I can afford to make these people do what I want, where back home, I can't. I can't afford to get attractive women to pay attention to me. I cannot afford to be in a bar every day. I cannot afford to live by the beach.

40:45 I'm not hating on it. If you haven't experienced much of those things in life, I could see why that would be appealing. But eventually, I think you have to find deeper reasons to want to be somewhere.

41:24 For me, there's a lot of different reasons to want to be in Southeast Asia. I like the non-confrontational culture. I like that people seem to work together more effectively. I like the architecture. There's a lot of interesting architecture throughout Southeast Asia. Of course, I like attractive women, but it's visually stimulating. There's interesting beaches and temples.

41:55 When I was in the south of Thailand, I got to interact with these monkeys that try to steal fruit from tourists or take your glasses and then demand fruit to get your glasses back. Because the guard rails are off, the safety rails are off. Like in the States, everything's got to be safe because it's a very litigious society. You don't get these interesting senses of freedom that you get in Southeast Asia.

Safety, Restrictions, and Access to Nature

42:26 In Southeast Asia, you can kind of tell there aren't the same restrictions on your freedom that they have here because it's not such a litigious place. It's not a place where people are suing each other all the time. Getting on a bus, for example, and there's no seat belts, or getting in the back of a cab, there's no seat belts. That's not a thing here in the United States at all.

42:59 On the bus in America, the bus isn't getting up to interstate speeds. I've been on buses in Southeast Asia where we get on the highway or the interstate and there's still no seat belt, whereas here, you're driving in a city at 25 miles an hour. You're probably not going to get that badly messed up if the bus gets in a fender bender.

43:23 Kirk asks, "Hi Alex, about exploring Bangkok. There's a lot of good hikes or walks. I like urban walking, but also parks and trees at hills."

43:35 I would say check out the Green Lung, south of Bangkok. You could do a bike rental there and explore. I would also suggest going a bit further out from Bangkok, like an hour outside the city, checking out Ayutthaya.

44:02 Bangkok is very much, in my opinion, a concrete jungle. Most of the city from my experience is paved. It's very, very urban; you could almost call it hyper-urban. There's condos like everywhere.

44:24 It's going to be tough. That's something that I've got to acknowledge; it's going to be something that's tough to really experience. I think you may also take a look if you're into hiking or outdoorsy stuff, Kirk, at Hua Hin. That seems to be a popular place in Chiang Mai as well.

44:39 I recognize that may not answer your question, but I find one of the trade-offs of living in Bangkok is its being more difficult to access nature. It's been more difficult to access green spaces. Something I appreciate about the US, to be honest, is that in the city I live in, with 50,000 to 60,000 people, there are three or four really nice parks just in this city. I don't even have to leave the city to experience those places to jog and run.

45:08 Where in Bangkok, where I lived, I felt like it was going to be at least these parks are 10 to 15 minutes away from where I'm staying. In Bangkok, I felt I'd have to travel at least an hour to get a comparable kind of experience.

45:27 What happens between DMK airport and Mai? I don't know at all. Love Tech Philippines, I'd agree. It's a lot to Thailand where I call it off the tourist trail, but it's harder to explore those areas without finding more loner types.

45:57 My connection is a little bit spotty, but you tend to find kind of loner types in some of those non-foreigner friendly areas. You go out to Kenan, for example, there are some foreigners out there, but I think that a lot of them will miss some of the conveniences that may be harder to find.

46:25 I've said it a lot that I'm partial to Chiang Mai, for example, in Thailand. Because in Chiang Mai, I find the only thing I'm missing is a beach. I'm not a beach guy, so Chiang Mai is fine. If you're a beach guy, you won't be happy in Chiang Mai, but everything else is great in Chiang Mai for me.

46:43 Shopping malls, if I order anything online, it can quickly get to my condo. If I want to order Grab or Food Panda, it's easy to get a variety of choices, not quite as much as Bangkok. But then in Bangkok, if you want to order something and it's on the other side of the city, do you really want to wait an hour and a half for dinner? Not really.

47:08 I want food in like 30 minutes. Where I stay in Chiang Mai, I can walk to several dozen restaurants in 15 to 25 minutes. I get a lot of those conveniences.

Return to the US and Future Travel Plans

47:32 So, yeah, no tax. Yeah. So, Duma, yeah, there's a lot to like in Dumagetti, but you just have to be...

47:44 Dumagetti, but you just have to be mindful of those things. Hey, Ron, I'm doing good. How about you? I'm actually back in the States right now, Ron. Uh, I think somebody asked earlier back in the US. Oh, Vince says, "Back in the US for good." Yeah, so I'll be here for a while. Uh, an indeterminate amount of time. I intend to keep traveling. Uh, in my time off, I'm, as far as work goes, I'm in the hiring process for a few different opportunities. I'm not going to be specific about that because I want to keep that private. Uh, but there are several different opportunities that I'm working on. And once I get hired and I get vacation time, I plan to do some more traveling.

48:22 I'm undecided. I'd really like to go back to Southeast Asia. Uh, it kind of makes sense for a few different reasons, but I'd also like to see some new places. Um, there are quite a few places I haven't been to, and that's the debate that I've got going on in my head that I've got to think a lot about: when I get limited free time to vacation, do I want to go back to Southeast Asia or do I want to explore a few new places in Latin America? Uh, also the Balkans. I'd like to see more of the Balkans. Even Western Europe, there are parts of Western Europe I'd like to see. Uh, but Southeast Asia, like Thailand especially, has captured my heart and there's more I'd like to see there. Even though I lived there for a year, I still haven't made it to Hua Hin. I'd like to visit Chiang Mai and go back to Bangkok and see some of my good friends there.

49:21 Uh, let's see. Keep posting vids. Thank you, Tran Fu, Quac Tran. Uh, that's very kind of you. I've got an interview I need to finish editing with a guy in Bali. So, I've got more stuff I filmed in Bali and also some stuff I filmed in Seoul, South Korea.

49:39 Um, lots of good points being made about Bangkok. Uh, they have some nice parks like Benjakitti and Lumpini, but the air quality is atrocious. Yeah, I mean, that's something that you cannot, other than leaving the city, you cannot really fix that. Um, you can get as many air filters as you want for your apartment in Bangkok, but if you want to just go out and explore, you've got to accept I'm going to be smelling a lot of diesel fumes and the heat causes garbage to rot really quickly. Like if somebody put their garbage out for trash collection, that's going to be there's going to be rats in there. Um, like just things to be mindful of that could be challenging. Uh, I find there's no place that's perfect and the trade-offs are worth it, but now, do I want to live there 24/7, 365 for the rest of my life? Well, no, because I'm a global traveler.

Bangkok as a Favorite Big City and Social Dynamics

50:43 Like some people are very different for me. They want to find a place and they want to stick to that place. And Bangkok is my favorite big city in the world, I will say that. Like it's my favorite big city. It's wild. It's chaotic. It's safe. Somehow, at the same time, I feel very, very safe. I walked all over the city at all hours. Um, the neon lights are gorgeous. Like it's just such a beautiful city. It's so much fun. Um,

51:30 Hey Stoic. Good to see you. Thanks for joining us. I found out about you because of the Passport Bros documentary. Now you're back in the States. What do you think of the Passport Bros? Do you still consider yourself one?

51:44 You know, I think it makes sense. Like 70% of young men in the West are single. Uh, I would venture many of those young men would prefer to have relationship opportunities and even to just spend time with women that are complimentary to them. Like, uh, several of my friends in Thailand happen to be women, and they see things in a different way for me. Um, they understand things. I find they're more emotionally intelligent than I am. Uh, they have patience that I don't have.

52:24 And here in the US, people aren't social in general. And, uh, I would still consider myself one. And not just like going overseas for romantic relationships, but even platonic relationships. Uh, I just find people here are not super social and, uh, people aren't as communicative. Um, people aren't as, like, unless you're in a big city, people aren't as curious. But you go to a big city and the people may be curious, but they're also tend to be very stressed out and easily irritated. Uh, and so because it's such a conflict, like there's so much conflict here as far as interpersonal conflict.

Passport Bros Movement and Making Friends Abroad

53:19 Um, one, it makes dating challenging. Uh, but two, it makes forming new friendships challenging. Um, the people that I hang out with here, uh, most of them I've known for over 10 years. So most of my friends are not people that are, like, I think getting, making friends in the United States as an adult is a lot harder than other countries that I've spent time in, especially in Southeast Asia where it's not uncommon to meet expats in Southeast Asia that in the span of a few years have made a ton of friends. Um, now that doesn't go for everybody, but I found that like that's something I really like. Um, so yeah, like romantic relationships are part of that. I intend to continue to date overseas when the opportunity arises. Um,

54:10 but I don't know. Like, there, the challenge about the Passport Bro movement is like going to countries with a lower quality of life only for a relationship. I don't really like that idea either. Um, some of the countries that I've spent time in objectively have a lower quality of life than the United States. So, that's what I think some in the Passport Bro movement don't admit is if it weren't for dating, I wouldn't be here, right? There's like, um, I don't want to poo-poo any one country, cuz most of them I'd like to go back to and visit again, but one of the ones that comes to mind, every single one of my friends there warn me about safety, right? So like if, you know, if I'm constantly being warned about safety in a country, is dating so important to me that I'm going to just ignore my personal safety? That's not the case, right?

55:11 Uh, exposure to pollution, right? Like, uh, one of my friends, it's a vlogger, I'm not going to mention the name of him. All of you guys would be familiar or most of you guys would be familiar with him, but he mentioned like, I like being back in my home country because it's really nice to have really high air quality. Like that's my issue with the Passport Bros movement is they, it's another one of those situations where they sell it as a solution to all your problems. Just if you like go overseas, that will fix all of the problems in your life where, yeah, it may fix the dating issue, but you're going to have all these other issues in that country that they're not going to publicize because one, a lot of these countries don't have free speech, so you can't talk about anything negative. You're not permitted to acknowledge any of the problems in those other countries. Two, uh, it could create other challenges, um, like just learning a new schedule.

56:10 Here in the US, I'm pretty like I know what I need to do throughout the day. I get up, I make some coffee, I get, you know, and I start to work on whatever I need to get done. Uh, I know when to go. Like I just, I spent so much time in the US, you could almost call it institutionalized, but it's, I don't, for another one, I don't have to worry about products being out of stock. Most of the countries overseas that I've spent time in, run out of stock of certain products, and then I'm going all over the city. Okay, this grocery store doesn't have it. Maybe that one will have it. Um, oh, now all of a sudden they've implemented a curfew because of unrest. Okay, so now I have to come home every night at a certain time. Um,

56:58 the Passport Bros movement doesn't acknowledge the complexity of living overseas. Um, and I think too, you have like grifters that are like selling people this idea, leave the United States, all of your problems will be fixed. I don't agree with that sentiment. Uh, I think too, like they don't acknowledge the opportunity cost. Um, there's a lot right now, the economy is not great in the US, but the US economy is likely to keep growing in the long term. Um, there's likely to be more new opportunities created. I think too, like just having people you've known for a long time is understated as far as the Passport Bros movement. Like, uh, my friend I'm staying with, I've known him for almost 30 years. Um, there's nobody I in Southeast Asia or Latin America that I could claim I've known for 30 years, maybe 10 years, but it's a little bit different when you've grown up beside somebody or a few people and you've been through difficult times. You have shared experiences, right? Like that's a big part of what I missed being in the US is, yeah, I have like solid friends in Southeast Asia, Latin America, but we just don't have the same shared experiences for the most part.

58:18 Um, we don't have like our problems aren't the same. I've talked about it a lot with one of my friends in Thailand is, um, I will gush about how much I love Thailand to one of them. I'll just tell her over and over, I love this country. I love these people. And she's like, "Yeah, Alex, like you're a foreigner and you have US dollars. It's fantastic to be here." Um, when you've got that purchasing power, but when you're in the grind, when you've got to work a corporate job, you've got to commute an hour, hour and a half each way, uh, you've got to deal with the day-to-day life in any country. She really helped me understand it's not a vacation. It's, uh, you know, when you're having to budget, like, and budget on a local income, like, I think for some people that could turn all these concerns off and just kind of detach from empathizing with other people. Um, then they can, they'll be successful Passport Bros. But I don't know. I've spent time on Passport Bro forums and it's just

59:30 On Passport Bro forums, it's just kind of shallow. What's the word? It's like you kind of get the sense there's this shallowness to the experience, like I'm off into the world to just take and to try to take advantage. I don't think everybody that dates overseas could be considered a passport bro. I wish the term didn't have such a loaded connotation.

59:51 Like people assume passport bro is synonymous with sex tourist, and I don't think that's the case. Like, I think it's interesting to date people in other countries. I think it's interesting to hear about their experiences. I think that they will teach you about their culture or their country or their people in a way that you can't really get the full picture of that country unless you have that dating component.

1:00:25 Like you see very few couples moving abroad to live this lifestyle. Well, there's a few like JP and Amelia. They're long-term slow travelers. You could say also like Vagabond Awake is somewhat that way. His long-term partner is from Malaysia, but they travel around the region.

1:00:46 I don't like the label either, Stoic. I think it's just a way to kind of marginalize guys that are, yeah. Yeah, I think it's just another term kind of used to marginalize men and like, oh, they're nothing but a passport bro. It's like, why can't I just be a traveler? Why can't I just enjoy traveling to other countries, meeting people from other countries?

Cultural Similarities and Dating in Peru vs. Colombia

1:01:10 It's like, why is it acceptable to say I like meeting foreign people in the United States, but if I want to go to those other countries and meet foreign people in their countries or people that are foreign to me, like it's just a kind of a double standard there. Like if I were to, um, oh, by the way guys, 27 watching, please give me a thumbs up if you can.

1:01:30 But yeah, if I want to experience other cultures in the United States, I get kind of a taste of other countries here in the US. Like I can go to Mexican restaurants. I can go to Latino neighborhoods. I can, you know, if you go to New York or Houston, Texas or Los Angeles, there's like, you know, LA has Armenian neighborhood Glendale. Um, if you like, the Bay Area has a number of different Filipino grocery stores.

1:02:12 Yeah, Nicholas, thank you for sharing that. Um, as far as neighborhoods in Bangkok, I'm a fan of like, uh, what's it called? As far as ideal goes, like I like Ekkamai. Ekkamai is really convenient. It's like right on the Sukhumvit line. You have access to a lot, but you're not quite as busy as being near like the Central World or MBK Center.

1:02:58 That's a pretty good one. I also like Aree, kind of like a little bit north. When I first landed there a couple years ago, I stayed in Victory Monument. Victory Monument, it's convenient if you need to get around a lot. It's like a transportation hub. So, nearby you have the BTS, you have the MRT, and you have the bus transit center.

1:03:27 So for me, if I'm in exploration mode, I would say one of those central neighborhoods that where you can get transit. I like Bang Kapi, like out on the far east side of Bangkok. They just put in an MRT stop, but when I first stayed out in Bang Kapi, the only way to get to the city center quickly was taking a boat, so you had to take a canal taxi, and that was pretty fun.

1:04:01 Let's see. Getting caught up here. Um, dating. Tony's asking about dating in Cusco. They were it was so-so. I found that Peruvians are a lot more conservative toward relationships. I found some of the foreigners I hung out with anyway, often dated other foreigners. I hung out with some people from Venezuela and Colombia.

1:04:30 I think you could date women from Venezuela and Cusco. I think the Venezuelans are more open to dating foreigners, just from my observation. I don't know if it's the same way, but when I was in Cusco, there were more Venezuelan women there. I have a couple of friends there that have married local women in Cusco, but it was a very long-term, slow process.

1:04:53 Like you're not, I don't feel like it was Colombia where I felt that people were more passionate. Like, I don't know if it's the weather, I don't know if it's just being in Cusco versus Lima, but I felt that it was much more conservative, much more slow-moving, like we can go on dates for like six months or a year and then maybe after that we can talk about being in a committed relationship.

1:05:23 One of the women that I befriended there, I'm not going to mention her by name, but she mentioned that infidelity was a problem. I can't speak from that from personal experience, but that was just what she said was like, it seems to be an issue in both directions. I'm not trying to generalize. I'm certainly not going to put down anybody from the area.

1:05:52 But it seemed like it seemed like it would be a harder place for foreigners to date local people. It seemed like the foreigners had more opportunity to date other foreigners than to date local people there. Some people may differ in experience. Some people may go to Cusco or Peru and have great dating experiences, but that's just what I noticed.

Peru's Charm and Long-Term Relationship Considerations

1:06:16 I had some local female friends and they were generally dating or paired up with other Peruvian people. Not all, but I would say many. I think if you're looking to date local people, Colombia is probably a better option.

1:06:35 Yeah, I that's just my opinion on it. Hey, good to see you, Doug. Welcome. Welcome. Hey, good to see you, Mike. I'm glad to see you here. Happiness, I agree. Like, happiness is a choice and a skill set.

1:06:55 Michael, like you got to choose to be happy. And I think if you're in a place that you don't like or care for, you got to find another place, right? Like that is why I call myself more of a traveler.

1:07:09 Is I think people that go to a place and they're like, I'm living here. This is it. If you haven't traveled around a lot, it's hard to know what to compare it to.

1:07:21 Now, Thailand is an odd case for me personally, where I went to Thailand and I'm like, okay, this is amazing. I bet there's other amazing places in Southeast Asia, and there are. But every time I went to other places in Southeast Asia, I found myself missing something about Thailand.

1:07:41 Now, I think some of that is just Thailand is the first Asian country I ever visited. It was a pivotal moment in my life where I decided I wanted to travel the world after going to Thailand. My first time in Thailand was so magical, and I felt that I spent a lot of time trying to recapture that magic.

1:08:00 And so even though these other countries in Southeast Asia are also amazing, you can't you can't you can only have one first trip to Asia, right? Like subsequent trips, yeah, they're still going to be awesome, but you're not going to get that magical feeling you get from your first trip.

1:08:17 So, yeah, let's see. I live in Vietnam. I date women. I date where I live. Yeah, nothing wrong with that, Stoic. I agree with you. Like, I've dated here in the US plenty. Haven't dated as much in recent years because I've been living overseas. I've been traveling overseas.

1:08:40 I'm not opposed to, you know, dating the US, but it's kind of not it's not as fun for me as dating in other countries. Just my opinion. Let's see here. But yeah, Tony, I would just that's just kind of my thought is I think it's important to temper your expectations in Cusco only because it's very socially conservative.

1:09:10 Just my opinion. Like people are very traditional-minded and there's less openness, I think in Peru to dating foreigners. Like even, you know, you look at like, uh, Chinese Peruvian or Japanese Peruvian people, it seems like they marry or date other Chinese or Japanese Peruvians.

1:09:34 Like I met a woman that was very clearly ethnically Chinese in Cusco. It didn't look like she was like half Chinese, a quarter Chinese, like she looked like somebody that came from mainland China ethnically, and she was very pretty, very attractive. But, um, and she was one of the women that I regret not trying to get her number.

1:09:57 I was just fresh off, literally, I had just come from the airport and I'd stayed awake the entire night before, and so I was kind of delirious, and I it was in a ceviche shop, and I couldn't remember how to work my way back there because I would have loved to like ask her out.

1:10:14 So it may be such that in Peru, maybe some immigrant communities, because she was kind of friendly and a little bit flirty with me, maybe it's the case in Peru. I can't vouch for this, that people that are from immigrant communities in Peru may have some more openness than say somebody who's more from like, uh, an indigenous background.

1:10:41 Where their history in Peru goes back hundreds and hundreds of years, maybe thousands of years, versus somebody whose history in Peru is like a hundred years old or 150 years old. Can't guarantee that.

1:10:58 That'd be worth like, um, it's I need to research that more. That's a really good question, Tony. I think too, like if you wanted to do a cursory thing, getting, now some people would be biased against this, but I think getting a dating app and using the premium service and changing location, like I know Tony, you're in North America, but changing your location to South America and just seeing like, hey, do I, based on my photographs, my descriptions of myself, do I connect with people?

1:11:27 And then going from there, like struggling up conversation, asking them, and depending if it's a low-trust country, they may not tell you the truth. Like they may, you may ask, hey, is it acceptable to date foreigners in your country? And they may feel pressured, oh yeah, yeah, I agree, I agree.

1:11:43 Yeah, I agree. When the reality boots on the ground might be, oh no, it's kind of frowned upon. It's not considered acceptable, but it's tough. I love Peru, but that was something I felt was a little bit more challenging there. Maybe if I had been intending to live there long term, then my options would have been better.

Philippines as a Relationship Option and Expat Challenges

1:12:09 I agree. Michael, you want a lifelong partner. I still think a Filipino will be my answer. I may be biased because I am with a Filipina. I think finding a country that you really like, the thing about Peru is if you really like it, Tony, and I know we've talked about it a lot, I love Peru. I think it's one of my favorite countries I've been to.

1:12:27 If I had to live there for the rest of my life, I wouldn't really complain. I like the weather, the microclimates. I think that the architecture is really interesting. When I was in Spain, like some guys gave me a hard time. I was like, I think there are a lot of beautiful women there.

1:12:43 Maybe Colombia gets a lot more press for various reasons, but I met some gorgeous women in Peru. So, I think if you were to say, like, I want to go live there for like 10 years or I'm going to commit to living there for five years or even two or three, because some of my Venezuelan friends only lived in Peru for a couple years and then they went back to Venezuela.

1:13:06 As far as I know, I haven't been in touch with them as much to be honest, but not because anything bad happened, just like, uh, one couple that I was friends with, they had a kid and so the kid's really taken up a lot of their time.

1:13:19 But, uh, yeah, I would say, you know, I would say just commit to a long trip there. Doing research, maybe trying the dating app, and then committing to a longer trip there.

1:13:42 And, uh, I don't know, like, I would say kind of like letting people know. Well, you don't really have to let people know that you're single. Like, people will figure it out.

1:13:51 But that's a really, yeah, that's got you're stubbing me, Tony, a little bit. I appreciate that because you're really getting me to think, my brain to work.

1:14:01 Nicholas Stoic live, I heard you call yourself a passport bro on Raise Your Race channel. Interesting. I'll have to check that out. I didn't know you did an interview, Stoic. Yeah, good to see you, Michael. I appreciate Ron.

1:14:14 So, I'm back in the U. I'll be vague about the exact location or city, but I'm in the southern US right now. So, I'm in the southeast. Uh, where, yeah, let's see.

1:14:33 Uh, let's see. What time is it there? Uh, now it's about a quarter till 3:00. Uh, so I think you're, uh, 11 hours behind, Michael. Yeah, I think you're about 11 hours behind.

1:14:54 I think the Philippines is a great option for finding a quality long-term relationship. There, I met so many nice women in the Philippines. Why did I not commit to one? Well, I've done LDR in the past and it just didn't work out for me.

1:15:12 Oh, thanks so much, Alex. I appreciate that.

1:15:22 Yeah, I talked to them for, they came to Dumaguete. They, we talked for several hours. I wish they'd used more of our conversation, but I think because I don't have hot takes, I don't see it as a status thing. Like, I'm not one of these guys.

1:15:37 I'm not anti-American women, contrary to what some people want me to say or want me to put out there. I have a number of friends that are in fantastic relationships with women from the United States. Healthy relationships, happy relationships.

1:15:52 They're treated very well by their partners. Very, like, you know, as far as I can tell, they're enjoying life. And I would never, oh, my friend doesn't know he needs to go find somebody overseas. Like, that's ridiculous, you know.

1:16:12 I think for some people, they're going to benefit a lot from going overseas, in part, in search for love. But there's also like a lot of people who don't find a quality relationship overseas because they have something they need to work on internally.

1:16:29 And I saw that a bit in the Philippines, like where the guy would be with a nice woman, but the guy was not so great. Now, is that all? No, I'm not also not going to bash guys that do that. There's plenty of awesome guys that find great relationships overseas.

Compatibility and Diverse Relationship Experiences

1:16:46 I see it as like there's 8 billion people on the planet. I think most people that are decent can find somebody, regardless of what country they're in.

1:16:57 I think that maybe it's, uh, some people are more compatible with, uh, Oh, hey, welcome back, Love Tech Philippines. Uh, compatible with other cultures. Like I, um, I find a lot of compatibility in certain countries and not so much compatibility in others.

1:17:17 That's just been my experience. Like, one of the best relationships I had when I was younger was with a woman whose folks were from Africa. I'm not going to specify which African country, but we had a good relationship.

1:17:31 Unfortunately, things didn't work out. But I don't, I'm still friends with her to this day. Like, she's going to Africa this summer. I'm trying to talk her into at some point making that trek with her and her mom because I want to go see more of Africa.

1:17:47 But it's costly. It's time-consuming. A lot of planning goes into a trip like that, especially once I'm working full-time. But, you know, I never once occurred to me during that relationship of like, oh, she's better because her folks are from another country.

1:18:09 It's just like, you know, the United States is fantastic in that the ideals are such that it's the least out of all the countries I've been to. I know people disagree with this. I personally feel it's the least judgmental country I've been to or it's the least race-conscious country I've been to.

Finding a Partner in the Philippines: Patience and Vetting

1:18:39 Let's see. Uh, Love Tech Philippines, uh, text making its rounds and I grabbed it on Kindle. Looks like it's going to be a confusing correlation with causation, though. I'll check this. Uh, somebody, one of you guys mentioned a book. I'll copy it.

1:19:01 That was a lot of fun, though. I'd like to do more documentaries in the future. And, uh, okay, so yeah, McDallo, a sizable, in my opinion, a sizable portion of guys who go to the Philippines to find a girl because nobody will put up with them in the US.

1:19:14 A lot of the expats I've met here in the Philippines are unhinged. Uh, yeah, there's a fair amount of that out there. Like, I know some really good guys over there. Guys like Michael, who we haven't yet met in person, but we've had a lot of in-depth conversations and he's a really easygoing guy.

1:19:36 He had a successful career in the United States. I have another friend who I'm not going to mention out of his privacy, but he, he's living in the Philippines. His significant other is Asian-American. But he, you know, I'm not going to go any further than that because I want to respect his privacy, but he's a really good guy. He had a successful career.

1:20:11 And well, that's the problem I think you've got. And I run into that even more. There's a guy I haven't met this person, but I have one of my friends here in the US and he has a friend and his friend's neighbor married a Filipina.

1:20:31 And they, a number of these guys also, I think they don't necessarily take their time trying to meet someone in the Philippines. I look at it like it's similar to the US. In the US, I'm not going to try to marry the first person I go on a date with.

1:20:45 Like some people are lucky and that works out for them. But for some of us, we're not so lucky and we ignore those red flags, we ignore those bad signs, and we try to force a relationship.

1:21:01 I was even manipulated by a Filipina at one point in Dumaguete. And fortunately, it didn't get out of hand. But I could tell after a few dates we went on, she wasn't interested in me, but rather she was interested in what I could do for her.

1:21:20 And is that all Filipinos? That's not at all. Exactly. Michael, you and Venus talked for a couple of years. You built something over a long period of time. You had plenty of time to figure out, is this the person for me? Is she the woman that I want to spend a long time with?

1:21:37 She also had time to vet you, like, hey, is this a good American guy or is this a guy who is not so good? So it wasn't like a snap your fingers and now you're in love with the white picket fence. It's really this buildup over time.

Transactional Relationships and Naivete in Dating

1:21:56 And I find a number of the guys that go to the Philippines are very impatient. They want to snap their fingers, and there's no, in my opinion, substitute for time. Time is money, but money is not time.

1:22:13 So going to the Philippines with a lot of cash and expecting that this money will make up for all, like, oh, I could just give her money and that makes up for the fact I just met her last week. It's like, no, no, no, that's not how it works.

1:22:28 You have to really think long term, and you have to think it's going to take me some time to meet the right one. I had, you know, the woman with whom it didn't work out, like I tried to maintain a friendly basis with her even though I ultimately rejected her.

1:22:50 And she didn't really care for that. She didn't want to be friends, and that's unfortunate, but that's just like, I think a number of us have attachment or abandonment issues that we go to Southeast Asia. We have been abandoned, and some of us, not all of us, but some of us.

1:23:08 We want so badly to feel that love or that solid relationship that we overlook flaws in a person that we might not overlook in the United States, right? Like, she's deceptive, but oh, whatever. Like, I don't want to be alone anymore.

1:23:29 You have to be like, wow, Love Tech Philippines. Yeah, I, um, I was in, I grew up in a narcissistic family system as well. So I can appreciate your experience.

1:23:55 Good to see you, Gerard. Welcome. Welcome. Uh, and I think too, I got to be careful to not bash every.

1:24:02 to be careful not to bash every expat in the Philippines. There are some great guys over there, but there's this repeated pattern of, I mentioned this before, there are guys that go over there, they're not looking for a partner, they're looking for a pet. They're looking for somebody that they can essentially say, 'I'm paying, so I get it my way.' Where I think healthy relationships are a two-way street. There's a lot that differs from relationship to relationship, but if you want to have a healthy relationship, there's give and take involved. If it's just 'I pay for everything, so everything has to go my way,' I'm skeptical that that can really work because you're entering the relationship from a transactional basis.

US Conveniences and Challenges of Living Overseas

1:25:08 I also found that some of the women I dated there were naive. They maybe had bad experiences dating local guys, so they wanted to trust foreigners more than some foreigners deserved. In their home country, a woman that looks like that wouldn't give him the time of day. But in the Philippines, maybe she's had some bad experiences where she's willing to give that guy the time of day. Also, it's a little bit different. If you're a younger guy dating in the Philippines, there may be an expectation from her that you're going to have a family. For me, I'm not so sure I want to have a family, and that could be a dealbreaker for a number of women.

1:26:05 Another thing is whether you want to move to the US. Not all women in the Philippines want to move to the US. One woman I was really interested in said, 'No, I would never move to America. I want to move to the UK.' For me, as an American, it doesn't make any sense to move to the UK. I'd pay less, get paid less, and have to go through an immigration process when I already come from a developed country with high wages. I don't know anybody in the UK, so I'd have to rebuild my social circle. I'm at an age where I need to be working and putting away money for the future.

1:27:00 So, the Filipina I want to meet specifically would have to be a woman that is okay with not having kids. Two, she's open to moving to the US. Three, she's okay with building something together, doesn't expect me to be a millionaire. Some financial where I'm not targeting to be financially stable. So, okay with moving to the US, okay with not having kids, okay with living in the United States. It becomes very specific, and that's something I found the passport bro movement doesn't acknowledge. If you're a young guy, most young guys are not financially independent if they've got a remote income.

1:27:52 Living abroad. One of the things I found challenging about living overseas and having to work, like doing my YouTube channel, is that while everybody else is having fun and going out, I've got to be editing. I've got to be communicating with subscribers and handling responsibilities. I'm used to going to Southeast Asia and having fun, going out, meeting friends, maybe going to the gym. Instead, I'm planning my schedule around a very busy work schedule where it's not just hanging out. Some passport bros conflate vacationing in a country with day-to-day life there.

1:28:41 The US for me just makes a lot more sense from a financial perspective, but also it's what I'm accustomed to. It's where most of my friends live. The pace of life is such that at my age, I get bored and restless in Southeast Asia after a while. I want to be going and doing stuff, but I'm having to work around the fact that I don't have a work permit. I'm having to work around the heat, the language barriers, not necessarily being able to get equipment easily. Here, if I break something, I can snap my fingers on Amazon and it's here in two days, or I can go to Costco and the grocery store. The US is very convenient in certain ways that other countries are not.

Legal Issues and Polarizing Expat Experiences

1:29:36 Love Techch Philippines asks, 'Do you mean criminal, gullible, something else?' Some of it's criminal. I met several foreigners in the Philippines that were breaking the law, and I don't want any part of that. I'm not going to get more specific because there are defamation laws, but I don't want to be around anybody or associate with anybody that does anything against the laws of any country I'm in. There are a lot of reasons for that. I think most of them are obvious, but I think very highly of the legal system in any country I go to, or I wouldn't go. Why would I go to a country and spend a lot of time there where I don't have faith in the system of justice?

1:30:36 When I met um, Love Techch Philippines, the best way I could address that is to Google 'foreigner arrested in the Philippines.' You'll see what they're getting in trouble for. It's not just one every few years; it's like every few months foreigners are getting arrested in the Philippines, and there are articles published about it. I don't do that for every country I go to, but that was a challenge in the Philippines.

1:31:27 Part of it is the English. If I'm being adventurous, I don't care what language they speak. I'll go to Japan, Korea, or Spain. A lot of expats want the lowest hanging fruit where they're afraid to go to a country where they're going to have to work around a language barrier. That's fair for long-term, but having to do that for years on end would make the Philippines more appealing. I found a lot of it in the Philippines too was extreme. I either met expats I'm friends with for life, or people I absolutely detest and never want to see again, with nothing in between.

Child-Free Lifestyle and Trauma's Impact

1:32:33 It wasn't like I met people I'm indifferent to, like in a number of countries I've been to. In the Philippines, it was much more extreme. I found people that were super mellow and easygoing, or people that the wind blows the wrong direction and they're throwing a fit. Polarizing is the right word. I met some guys that nothing would phase them, even if it was pouring down rain or an expat started shouting at them; they were cool as a cucumber.

1:33:16 Welcome. Would you be open to kids when you're more financially established? I don't know. I think it's tough. Like Love Tech Philippines mentioned, I grew up in a pretty traumatic and difficult situation, and I personally feel like I'm not necessarily prepared to raise a family from an emotional perspective. I don't necessarily have the skills.

1:34:01 Also, I'm not one of those people that's anti-natalist. I'm not one of those people that says nobody should have kids. I think people should really think it through. Some of it is family support. Money is one component, but I wouldn't want any of my relatives to interact with my children. I wouldn't want any of my relatives to interact with them. So, you get into this awkward situation where you have to explain to them, 'Well, they're objectively bad people. They're chaotic, abusive, manipulative, deceptive, and create problems out of nowhere.'

1:35:15 They themselves are not people I would want any of my friends to associate with. I look at it too, this is a counterpoint to that family when I'm an adult are people I choose. So I have friends of mine that I see as family, even though we're not blood related. We have so much in common and shared experience that binds us together. In the modern world, it could be described as a lifestyle choice. Do you want the lifestyle of parenting? Some people love the ability to mentor a kid, watch them grow, support them, and understand themselves.

1:36:06 Kind of give them a different perspective, right? If you're, like in the case of some of my friends, expats in the Philippines, they've chosen women who have a child or children from a previous relationship. And they love that ability to bring a different cultural perspective to those kids, like, 'Hey, I know you get the Filipino perspective. Maybe you also will benefit from having the American perspective, or the British perspective, the Canadian perspective.'

1:36:43 And then there's other guys like myself where it's like my trauma was so extensive that it took me until I was an adult to really get around emotionally stable people, people who conduct themselves in a pro-social way, people who take the law seriously, people who are generally not predisposed to getting violent, people who don't have aggression problems.

Generational Shifts and Optimism in Having Children

1:37:14 It's the same love tech Philippines. I didn't fully understand it until my late 20s. I got a sense of it when I was a child. I figured there was something wrong based on all the chaos going on around me and the abuse and things like that. I didn't understand the extent of it until my late 20s.

1:37:32 And I, you know, so for me, I guess like part of it too is having friends in Southeast Asia and here that have no intention of having children. I'm not, once again, I'm not anti. Quite a few of my friends have children. I would never say, 'Oh, you shouldn't do that.' Like, I think it really comes down to the individual.

1:37:55 Some people, the best decision they've ever made is having children. Other people, the worst decision they've ever made is having children. And I feel like I would regret. I think it's worse to regret having kids than regret not having kids.

1:38:18 Yeah, that's just kind of where I'm at. And the good thing is, like, as a guy, I still have time to think about it. I think it's harder for women, just to be fully honest. I think for women, you've got a shorter timeline with which it's healthy to have children.

1:38:34 But, you know, if I change my mind, I may very well change my mind. But I think the world is getting more friendly to the idea of people without children. Most of my adult friends that have children are 50 and up. Most of my adult friends that are younger than 50 do not have children.

1:38:58 So there's this kind of generational shift, I think. And certain countries are more friendly to being to not having kids than others. Like in the Philippines, it's a very family-oriented culture, I find anyway. I find the Philippines, life revolves around the family much more so than the individual.

1:39:18 You go out to eat, they have family portions. You go out to drive around, they've got carnivals for kids. Like, it's very much a kid-oriented culture, whereas other countries have lower birth rates, have fewer children, Japan as an example, where life and the urban development, that kind of thing seems to be more oriented toward single people or dual income, no kids.

1:39:43 So, I think both are awesome. I think it's beautiful to be in a country where people are optimistic about the future such that they want to have families. Like, to me, there's nothing, there's few things more optimistic, or stating that you're optimistic, than choosing to have children.

1:40:08 I'm not speaking about people that didn't choose to have children, but the people that specifically, like, 'I want to start a family,' that's a bet on the future. I don't know what better way to put it than to put it like that. Like, I believe in a good future. I believe that life has inherent meaning or value, and I want to do my part to contribute to that, and I think that's a beautiful thing.

Family Experiences and Child-Free Living Options

1:40:34 Simultaneously, being around a lot of families did wake up my trauma at times in the Philippines. Like, man, they're out having a nice family experience, and I can't relate. Growing up, I didn't have the nice family experience. It was just not something I got to experience.

1:40:56 So yeah, that's just kind of go back and forth on it. Like I said, I got real used to, and some of it's being in a bachelor for a decent chunk of my adult life, where my last serious relationship ended maybe 10 years ago. I've dated a lot in the last 10 years, but that was a multi-year relationship.

1:41:23 And so you just get used to freedom. Like I don't have to think about how my actions or behavior will affect others as much. Like, yeah, I still follow the rules, I still follow the law, I still act with decency, but I'm not having to, like, if I want to go for a run, I just go for a run.

1:41:45 I don't, 'Oh, hey, like, is it, you know, are you going to be preparing dinner? Um, do we have some function we need to attend to for the kids?' Like, I don't have to really think about certain activities or things that I want to do at all. Like, what movie do I want to watch? I'll watch whatever I want to watch.

1:42:03 I don't have to decide, 'Okay, is this okay for kids to watch? Is my girlfriend interested in watching this?' So, you get kind of set in your ways as a bachelor. I personally think, have I had a lot of good times in relationships? Yeah.

1:42:24 Like, I don't see myself as not ever having a serious relationship again, but I'm not convinced that that has to involve children. I have several friends in Thailand that are child-free. Like you said, I think Manila does have more of that, to be fair. If you're in the Philippines and you want to live a child-free lifestyle, you want to look at like Manila or Bonifacio Global City, maybe Cebu or Davao to a lesser extent.

Dating Differences: Philippines vs. Thailand

1:42:54 Whereas if you're going in the province in the Philippines, like, you're probably not going to, people are not going to understand child-free. I personally think, like, 'What do you mean child-free?' Like, wife hears about your family.

1:43:23 Yeah, you'll never hear the word child-free in the province. And yeah, friends can be like, 'I had an amazing Christmas last year with some different Dumaguete expats like Paul.' I joined Paul and a bunch of mutual friends. Mike couldn't make that one, he had other obligations, but it was fantastic. Like, we had such a nice get-together, and it was like one of the best Christmases I've ever had.

1:44:02 And ultimately, I think it's good for people to have the option. Like, I'm one of those people that I think, and this is maybe idealistic, all the people that want to have kids should have, want to have kids and are committed to it should have kids. All the people who don't, shouldn't.

1:44:20 And some Filipinos, I believe Filipinos should have the right to self-determination, and they shouldn't feel like they have to have a family to make other people happy. Like, they should have a family because it makes them happy and it gives them fulfillment and joy.

1:44:39 And was dating better in Thailand or the Philippines? That's a good question, Nicholas. I found it differed by city. I think that it was better for me in small to medium-sized cities in Thailand, and it was better for me in bigger cities or medium to large cities in the Philippines.

1:45:13 I found, like, I struggled in the province in the Philippines, and I struggled more in the bigger cities in Thailand. That was just my experience, but I'm also Asian, so I think it might be different if you're Caucasian.

1:45:28 I'm not sure if you're Caucasian, Nicholas, but I think that would impact it, where I found, broadly speaking, Caucasian guys or white guys will have better dating success in the Philippines, where I think Asian guys could do better in Thailand. Just my perception.

1:45:43 Some people might disagree. My Thai female friends have told me they prefer to date an Asian guy. And I think my Filipina, well, I don't know how many. It kind of depends too on like who they're exposed to. Like my Filipino friends are in bigger cities where they're exposed to more foreigners.

1:46:06 Maybe they're, I don't know. That's a good question. That was just kind of my broad experience. So, depending on the country, yeah.

Cultural Overlap and American Influence in the Philippines

1:46:24 Child-free, I think there's nothing wrong with it for people that they don't feel committed to it. My opinion may change. I may choose that I want to have children, and yeah, so.

1:46:42 Love tech Philippines, quantity easier for me in Philippines, Thailand quality, but I had to get lucky with day would be with one gal there still if I didn't have to become Muslim to do it. Yeah, I mean, I met several like when I was in the south of Thailand, I met several women that they indicated to me, like, 'Are you Muslim?' Because I have the beard, they assumed I was Muslim. I explained, 'No, I'm not Muslim,' and that's where the conversation ended.

1:47:08 So, in certain regions of the Philippines or Thailand, it may be like a religious barrier, right? Where you're thinking, 'Man, she's really attractive. I'd be really interested to get to know her better, but I'm not ready to make that commitment to her faith.' Have a good one, Michael. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you soon.

1:47:27 And I need to keep an eye out for your next live stream, Michael. I'm sure I'll see one pop up again soon. Nicholas says, 'I'm Latino. My perception is English being more widely spoken in the Philippines. It would be better there.'

1:47:43 Yeah, and I think too, there's just my opinion, there's more overlap between Latino culture and Filipino culture. The Philippines to me feels like a Latin country in some ways, and there's more similarities there versus in Thailand, when I brought up like having Mexican or Peruvian food to my Thai friends.

1:48:06 Mexican or Peruvian food to my Thai friends, they're like, "What's that?" Curious. Like there's definitely some level of curiosity there, but no familiarity like where all of my Filipino friends have some level of familiarity with Spain, with the Spanish influence in the Philippines. Um, there's in Thailand, there's not as much of that versus the Philippines. I think it might be better for you, Nicholas, to start in the Philippines. And then if you want something different, then try out Thailand.

1:48:47 But that was just my experience. I mean, of course, the Philippines is very much a Catholic country, like much of Latin America is heavily influenced by Catholic traditions. Also, like the naming conventions, I met a lot of Filipino people with what could be described as Hispanic names. Even some of my closest friends in the Philippines, if I mention their name, you might think, oh, they're from a Latin country or they're from Spain.

1:49:21 Um, where Thailand, like the names are very much not Latin, much more like Thai or Thai Chinese or maybe even Malay, Malay Thai, like in the south. Um, and English, yeah, English helps a lot with dating in the Philippines because they have more exposure to American culture.

1:49:53 Like I felt like in Thailand, many Thai see Thailand as the center of the universe, where in the Philippines, I felt like there's a like, hey, we're going to put on an NBA game, we're going to watch the NBA. I didn't experience that in Thailand. In Thailand, a couple of my friends are into Muay Thai or they're into running or jogging, they're into badminton.

1:50:17 Where in the Philippines, it was like, no, like let's watch the NBA. I want to watch this team play. I think if I tried to show my Thai friends NBA, they would just be like, what is this? I don't know what this is. Like I never saw any basketball courts in Thailand anywhere, not even in gyms. Like I go to work out at the gym, where in the Philippines, it seemed like every block had a basketball court or at least a goal. People would put up a basketball goal.

1:50:44 Um, you see a lot more of that American influence there. Um, well, you got Army Navy Burger, like in the Philippines, there's a chain called Army Navy Burger. Uh, you got American military bases there where you don't in Thailand.

English Prevalence and Exploring Indonesia and Bali

1:51:01 Um, Philippines. Hey, good to see you, Manny. Welcome. Welcome. Uh, you see much more of that American influence in the Philippines. I think an American, all else equal, would have, I don't know, an easier time communicating.

1:51:23 Uh, in the Philippines, if communication is a major factor for you, there's no way around it. English is like very prevalent in the Philippines. Um, yeah, southern Thai area is a thing. Scla up through Phuket. I was willing to LAR, but more concerned about my future children laring. That's funny.

1:51:50 Um, yeah, in Thailand, I, when I first got there, I dated women that did not have any English. And it was fun, but like, as far as deep conversation, no. Like we're using the translate app the whole time, like from start to finish. Um, there's not any conversation besides, hey, how are you doing today? And it's hot outside. Like that was the limitation.

1:52:11 Versus my Thai friends that have English, we, they kind of like switch their brain over to English mode and we can have a deeper conversation. Um, a lot of them that work in corporate in Bangkok speak English at work because they work on intern where they work with international teams. Um, but those are your what you could call your Bangkok urban professional Thais, as opposed to like the average person you're going to meet outside of Bangkok and especially outside of like the city center or people whose lives revolve around like the urban center of Bangkok.

1:52:50 Kind of like New Yorkers versus like people from the Midwest or southern US. Uh, ransom full court this week. Taiwan has a great basketball culture, at least in Taipei and Kawang. Indonesia has more basketball than I expected. Expected zero. You know, I needed, I need to go back to Indonesia. I really liked Indonesia a lot.

1:53:12 One of my friends lives there in Indonesia and it was fantastic. I had put it off for a long time because it's further, it's deeper into Southeast Asia, like it's not on the edge like the Philippines, where you can get to Manila in 12 hours from LA. It's not like Thailand, where you know, well known for tourism. Indonesia is awesome though. I had a great experience. I would really like to go back.

Thai Culture: Niceness, Toughness, and Approachability

1:53:39 Uh, one of my friends lives there in Bali and loves it, and he could live anywhere in Southeast Asia, but he chooses to live in Bali. I felt like Bali was awesome. I know people call it overrated. I had a great time in Bali. I'd like to go back to Bali.

1:53:58 Uh, frankly, I got super lucky with the Thai Muslim gal, English major in college, and grew up watching stuff like home movies, cartoons I'd never expect to Southeast Asia, native to have heard of. No, me either. Love Tech Philippines. That's wild. I grew up on Adult Swim as well.

1:54:16 Um, she must really have an affinity for American culture. My male Thai friend, he is similar. His folks lived in San Diego area for several years, and he grew up being interested in anime and like a lot of different American culture. So, he teaches English.

1:54:33 My, it's funny. I have a friend that's an English teacher in Thailand, and he's Thai. So he is just like his girlfriend, longtime girlfriend, is an American woman, and his English is fantastic. He actually just spent about a month as a Buddhist monk. Really a kind guy. He's awesome. I miss that guy a lot.

1:54:59 Um, he's just such a pleasant person. You can, when I'm around, like I asked him one time, and I need to interview him. I want to interview him in the future. I asked him, why are Thai people so nice? But then there's Muay Thai. And he's like, Thai people are not pushovers. And we laughed about it. And I'm like, yeah, that's a good point. Like you get this sense that there's a toughness.

1:55:23 Um, I kind of say like Thais are soft on the outside, hard on the inside. Like very approachable, very friendly. Um, and that, I don't know, that's just kind of my experience. Yeah. Gentle but powerful. Like very approachable, very like attractive people in general, but like you don't want to like try to push them around. There's this internal toughness that I've encountered with most of my Thai friends.

Underrated Southern Thailand: Songkhla and Hat Yai

1:55:57 When I say something stupid, they let me know right away. Like I have a pretty good filter being Asian-American, but Americans, we have strong opinions about some things, and sometimes they'll let you know like your opinion is not welcome or kind of dumb.

1:56:22 Uh, Met. Yeah, Songclaw is fantastic. Um, Love Techch Philippines. Like most people I know that are travelers in Thailand have never been to Scla, and I loved it. I wasn't expecting to be blown away. I was just trying to get away from the burning season in Chiang Mai. But I loved it. I loved Hayyai.

1:56:43 Uh, you get a lot more Malaysian tourists in Hot Yai in southern Thailand. It's got a very different flavor and it's not quite as touristic as say Phuket or Krabby. Um, so yeah, you meet a lot of interesting people in Sla too because they're not as used to foreigners, I think. Like that was just my experience. Like it was Sla was one of the few places where I had Thai people approaching me more, as opposed to like, oh, hey, there's another tourist like you get in Bangkok or maybe Chiang Mai or Phuket.

1:57:16 They're like, "Wow, like where are you from?" And like, what brings you here? And some even staring at me. Friendly, but like, wow, he's not from around here. And there's not an obvious reason for him to be here. Like you go to Bangkok, there's a million obvious reasons for tourists to be there. Um, Chiang Mai, they want to go to the temples. Um, you know, Phuket, they want to go to the beaches. Uh, but for Sunclaw and Hot Yai, it's like, okay, you're not from Malaysia, I suspect anyway, you're not from Malaysia, so like, what, you know, this is a very specific place for you to be.

1:57:50 Um, but yeah, I love durian, Nicholas, but certainly it's not for everyone. Yeah, I was very surprised too, like at Hayy, being able to go to the bus terminal. Like I went to the shopping mall, the central mall in Hayyai. It was fantastic. They had all your popular chains of restaurants. Uh, they had a Sizzler in the mall upstairs that was a throwback because you don't see them much in America anymore, if at all. Uh, you know, the Super Eight ramen chain.

1:58:35 Um, yeah, I know Memphis. I've been to Memphis a few times and it's not a place. Yeah, it's like I agree with you. It was surprising to be very off the beaten track in Thailand and still have that consistency. Like I had a condo across from or an apartment across from Prince of Song University. It's a beautiful campus.

1:58:57 They have a beautiful track. The track they have is comparable to track I'd have here in the US. Um, the women there I met like at the smoothie shop, really sweet. Uh, the gym I went and worked out at, the people were super friendly and nice. Like it was actually, it seemed like fairly affluent compared to what some people might think being away from Phuket, away from Bangkok, away from Chiang Mai.

Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans

1:59:31 I liked it a lot. I thought it was underrated. I'd like to go back. Uh, you might not have quite the same level of, you know, if you're somebody that you want to socialize with foreigners, you're not going to really have that.

1:59:58 Uh, the there's not as much like development I found in Sla, like near the beaches. Normally, you know, Thailand, you're near a beach, there's tons of condos to choose from, where I felt like there was a little bit less of that. Um, but it was cool. Like it just felt like really off the beaten path. I like Malaysia a lot. So having some of those Malaysia vibes was awesome. I feel

2:00:20 Malaysia vibes was awesome. I feel like Malaysia is underrated. It gets a lot of tourism, but a lot of the tourism seems to be from predominantly Muslim countries. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel like some of the Muslim places in Southeast Asia have this perception, but I felt very welcome. Maybe people suspect I'm Muslim, but even if they find out I'm not, I still felt that they were very welcoming.

2:00:46 I'd like to go back to Malaysia, visit Penang. Also visit Malacca, Johor Bahru, like the basically JB is a suburb of Singapore. And then one of my closest friends in Southeast Asia is from Malaysia. So, Malaysia and southern Thailand, I don't know. I think Phuket gets a lot of the attention, Krabi gets also a lot of attention, but off the beaten path, not as much.

2:01:18 But guys, my voice is starting to go. I'm going to head out. I'm going to go meet a friend for an early dinner here. I'm going to leave here in a few minutes. So, thanks so much for joining. If you haven't already, give us a thumbs up. Subscribe to the channel if you're watching this on repeat. Feel free to comment down below if you have any travel plans.

2:01:40 I'll let everybody know when I make my next set of travel plans. Thanks so much, Doomhau. I appreciate the support. I've seen some of your comments, Doomhau, on some channels. I love it. Some of you have some funny things to say. I appreciate it a lot.

2:02:00 Like, enjoy the multi-way discussion. Thanks so much, Love Tech Philippines. And yeah, like I said guys, comment down below if you have any travel plans. If you're watching this on replay, let me know what you think of the topics of discussion. Happy to discuss more talks in the future.

2:02:16 I just want to let everybody know like it's going well here back in the US. Maybe my opinion will change once I start working. We'll see how things go. But yeah, absolutely happy to exchange notes and yeah, so thanks so much everybody. We'll see you soon. Take care. Until next time.