I may leave Vietnam earlier than expected

Introduction and initial thoughts on leaving Vietnam

0:22 Hey everybody, how's it going? We'll give it a little bit just to see if some folks are available to hop on. It's Saturday morning in North America and Saturday night here in Southeast Asia. I wanted to talk about how I may be jetting out of Vietnam earlier than expected. I'm not sure yet, I don't have anything booked, but I'm just thinking about it. I'm not decided yet, maybe that'll pop up more later in this chat. I don't know, there's just some challenges that I've been running into here that I didn't fully anticipate, and it does have me thinking about heading out earlier than expected.

1:34 It's definitely been a valuable learning experience so far. Nothing dramatically bad has happened, but there's just been a few things that have kind of made me think about jetting on to my next destination. So yeah, we'll just give it a bit for folks to be able to join on.

Traffic dangers and daily close calls

2:00 Today, I had a close call riding my bicycle here in Da Nang. I needed to make a left turn, and the traffic is so chaotic here. Somebody, these people will pass on the left all the time, so they'll pass in whichever direction. This couple was literally, 'Oh no, what? You know what? I don't care that you're making a left turn, we'll just pass you on the left anyway.' So it nearly caused a collision. I yelled at them, and the woman riding on the back looked shocked that I would have a problem with this behavior.

2:34 I've had some similar experiences here where it's just some concerning situations in traffic and petty scams. It's just kind of wearing on me, if I'm being honest. Some of the people have been extremely nice, like the ladies that I rent this studio from, also my favorite coffee shop. Some of the people can be super, super nice, but the traffic is so bad that it makes me not want to go out. It makes me not want to leave the apartment.

3:24 That's just in Da Nang. I can't even imagine Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, but it's so chaotic and so bad that it becomes a challenge just to go anywhere or do anything. It's not fun to feel trapped at your apartment, so that's quickly becoming tedious where it's like, 'Do I want to go out and deal with the chaotic road situation?'

4:05 You know, there's close calls happening every single day, and I feel like my safety is at risk, if I'm being fully transparent. Or, you know, do I want to just, you know, like for example, I go to a different vendor for sugar cane juice.

4:33 You didn't find this traffic issue in Thailand at all? Yeah, so Thailand has some traffic issues, but in Thailand, I wasn't needing to ride around, so I would just walk around. Also, there's substantially more public transportation in Thailand. So if I want to take a red truck like in Chiang Mai, I could just hop on a red truck. It's less than a dollar to ride across Chiang Mai. In Bangkok, I can hop on the BTS. I've also used Bangkok's bus system a lot, but those public transportation options don't exist here.

5:14 So you've got two options: one, walk everywhere, which gets very tedious very quickly, or two, ride a motorbike, or three, ride a bicycle. My host here has been very gracious to allow me to borrow her bicycle. But like that doesn't, you know, there's no sidewalk, so it just, it's becoming very quickly tedious.

Noise, scams, and wearing down

5:48 Also, people screaming in the street like every single day. The noise is wearing on me. It's, you know, once again, like really some wonderful people here, but there's this lack of, you know, in Thailand, it's this good mixture of chaos and organization where there's enough chaos to make it exciting and fun, and enough order for things to be somewhat predictable. Here, it feels like things are so much to one side as far as the chaos.

6:34 I'm just really concerned about my safety. That's really what it comes down to. I'm really concerned about my safety as far as riding a bicycle. I don't want to get hit. I don't want to end up in a hospital here. I get tired of having to be on the lookout.

6:48 Unless I've gone to a vendor before and established trust, having to constantly be wary. There's a number of vendors that I'm just like, like fruit vendors, for example, I want to check out, but I'm like, 'Ugh, it's going to be some kind of scam.' So there's this frustration that I'm dealing with where it's like, I don't even want to spend money because I don't know what I'm going to, somebody's going to try to pull a scam.

7:10 Some people will say, 'Oh, you just got to get over it.' And it's like, no, no, no, no. I don't have to get over it. I can choose not to spend my money. I can choose to consume less. I can choose to not go out. And you know, like that's not really my loss. That's the loss of the vendors who, I know they must be struggling. I know that it's not easy. I know that this country has been through a lot.

7:42 Well, the problem with that is that I don't even like to have to argue over the price. Like I go to different places and there's no price on the menu. I'm not going to argue over it. The price is the price. I'm not willing to make that major time investment. And I know some people would say, 'Oh, you have to do that.' And I did that to some extent in Thailand, but in Thailand, it was very rare somebody would try to pull one over on me, whereas here, it's like almost every single day, if not every single day.

8:25 It's just so much work goes into that. I mean, so it's just so much mental energy to try to avoid that because it's kind of humiliating. It's like being taken for a mark, you know, being taken for like a fool. And I don't like that sensation.

8:50 I've been reading more and more stories online of people getting scammed and being with friends that speak the language, and then the scammer laughing about it, like, 'I'm going to rip this idiot off.' That's not cool. I'm all about respect. I think respect and honor are two extremely important things, and I think that a lot of people here do have those qualities. I've met a lot of sincerely really nice people. I found this amazing coffee shop not too far from my apartment. The people there are very kind. I'm the only non-local I've seen there, and yet they don't treat me any differently.

Considering leaving Vietnam early

9:33 And the people, like I said, that have the studio, wonderful people, very helpful and super responsive, very, very fast as far as responding to my questions or inquiries. But yeah, as far as leaving, I'm trying to make a determination right now. I was intending to stay for three months. I don't know if I'm going to make it here three months. There's just a cumulative kind of stress that's happening to me here, just like feeling kind of discouraged, if I'm going to be honest.

10:13 I intended to go to the Philippines after here. I haven't been to Indonesia, and a lot of people really seem to like Indonesia. I know one of my subscribers, Christopher, he lives in Indonesia, and I think that's a pretty big testament to his enjoyment of the place. His significant other is Indonesian, and I've known a lot of people that go there and enjoy it, and not just Bali, right? Like a lot of people might be thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to go to Bali.' But I'm looking more at like Yogyakarta.

10:48 So I'm going to start to kind of look at that and maybe in a few weeks, go to Yogyakarta. But if I don't go to Yogyakarta, then the other option is the Philippines, where I have a bunch of friends, a bunch of expat friends too, locals and expat friends that I'm friends with through the internet, locals through who I'm friends with from a previous visit.

Comparing Vietnam's traffic to Thailand and the Philippines

11:21 And you know, the Philippines has some challenges, but like I connected so well with the people, it was very easy to overlook some of those challenges logistically, right? I mean, you're talking about a chain of 7,000 islands. Hey Christopher, I was talking about you actually. I mentioned that you're in Indonesia. I'm thinking about rolling out of here a little bit early. It's just kind of wearing on me, and you know, I'm starting to think about trying to do something a little bit different.

12:06 Okay, so the Philippines. We were talking about the Philippines a little bit. Yeah, so there's some issues there logistically, right? You're going to have to take ferries sometimes. Those ferries take longer than what you want. Sometimes things are out of stock, right? There's some challenges there, but like I connected so well with so many different people when I was there that it was like, 'Ah, okay, whatever.' Like at least I'm surrounded by smiling and happy people.

12:40 So Christopher, just a kind of a brief rundown, it's just running into some issues here with very dangerous traffic. I'm starting to get a little bit concerned about my safety here in Vietnam as far as transportation goes, such that it's starting to make me not want to leave my apartment a whole lot.

13:01 Like today, I was making a left turn. Somebody behind me, I'm on the median, right? I'm not even midway through. I'm not in the far right trying to cut across the left. I'm in the median trying to make a left turn, and this couple just passes me on the left on a motorbike as fast as they can go, even though they could have passed on the right. There was plenty of space on the right. There was no reason for them to do so. So instances like that are really starting to wear on me where it's like, okay, I can't even trust these people to drive in a manner that is keeping my safety in mind.

13:45 And I, you know, I yelled at him, and the woman that was riding on the back, she has this shocked look on her face, like, 'How dare you have a problem with this?' And it's like, look, my safety is of utmost priority. I don't care where I go. If I don't feel safe simply going around, like I...

Concerns about road safety and scams

14:06 I don't travel to just sit in an apartment, a studio, or look out the window. I travel to actually see and engage and experience stuff. It's not just that some people get on a bus; like some of the ways I've seen some of these bus drivers driving, I don't know if I want to ride on these buses.

14:32 I have a picture and I don't know how I could put it up on the screen, but there's traffic bumper to bumper. A bus is trying to pull in, decides he doesn't want to pull into the normal lane, so he's going to drive around them and drive in the wrong direction. The traffic is on the other side, fully backed up, and so then he's having to back up the bus into another lane of traffic because he tried to cut around a full lane of traffic and drive in the wrong direction during rush hour. It's also nighttime, so nobody can see anything.

15:08 I see that kind of stuff every day. You mentioned that Dang is chill if you don't like Dang, no way you like Coin Men City or Hanoi. I don't know if this is considered chill; I don't know what to say. I cannot imagine dealing with that in Hanoi or Coin Men City. I've seen pictures and videos, and it looks like just a headache.

15:39 Not here to say all people have these kinds of habits or that everything is this way, but it's just been this repeated issue where I try to overlook it, try to ignore it. Maybe today traffic will be a little bit different. I don't want to be overly negative on this stream, but I wanted to give it a chance. If something happens to me, I can't bring you guys content. If I get in some kind of issue or get hurt, it's unlikely the petty scams are going to bankrupt me.

16:22 Sometimes you go to a place and there's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it's just not the right fit. You mentioned people love it or hate it. I'm down to give it another chance in the future. I also want to get out of Dang, but once again, it's the traffic. I want to check out Ha Long or Hanoi.

16:45 I know one of my subscribers, Jake, a great guy, we met up again this week and had some fun. I think he had Bun Me. We plan to meet up again tomorrow. He's really enjoyed it; he's been here for several months and has actually gotten out of Dang to check out some of the surrounding areas and loved it. Maybe my location, he's in a more convenient location closer to the heart of things, and maybe it's having to ride a couple kilometers to get to things and back.

17:25 It's just kind of wearing on me. The Philippines is the most respectful country on Earth. It's worth it for the people alone. I love the Philippines; the people are some of the nicest I've ever met. They were willing to give me the shirt off their back.

17:58 The Philippines is a country where, more so than many other countries, I felt like I was accepted. I don't know if it's just me, but I felt like the Filipino people, and I've experienced this from like one of my Filipino American friends whose family is from the Philippines, from Siargao actually, are very level-headed, high EQ. I would say Filipinos, on average, of course, I can't speak for all Filipino people, but many Filipino people have high EQ. They are very, very emotionally intelligent, much more so than many Western people and more so than myself, if I'm being totally honest.

Positive experiences in the Philippines

18:56 There's so much that I can learn in an environment like that. There's so much for me to better understand. The traffic is terrible, but I felt pretty safe on the roads there. I rode in several cabs in Siargao, never had any issues. I rode in Jeepneys in Siargao Island, never had any challenges there. Also took some cabs here in Cagayan de Oro, never had any issues.

19:52 Like it being an island, certainly traffic can be a challenge, a series of islands. Traffic can be a challenge there. I miss it, and every time I talk to my Filipino buddy who lives here in CDO, we just have such great conversations. I don't know; we have been friends for a while. I'll say he and I have been friends for like seven years now, and so we've gotten to know each other better.

20:34 It's hard to really recreate that organic kind of friendship very easily, at least not for me. Especially when I was younger, I was kind of socially awkward, and so to be able to connect with people there like it meant a lot to me. It really meant a lot to me.

21:00 I don't know about the authentic framing. Everywhere is authentic, right? Like the United States is authentic, Europe is authentic. Christopher says, "Sounds like you need a different neighborhood there, dude. Maybe it's just the vibe of the area where you're saying." That's a fair point, Christopher.

21:31 Maybe when my time is up here at this building, maybe I'll go and check out some places in some different parts of the city where they're a little bit more pedestrian-friendly, where I'm not having to hop on the bike to get around. I've also noticed in my neighborhood people giving me dirty looks. Some people have said there's some like it's an ethnic thing, like if you know you're brown, then you know people, you're not going to be well received.

22:05 I've heard mixed stuff on that. I've heard some brown travelers say they didn't have any issues at all. I've heard others say they were not treated well. It's kind of weird because when I talk to brown people, they consider me white, and when I talk to white people, they consider me brown. But yeah, you know, I'm willing to try out some other neighborhoods. I'll do some more research online about it and maybe find a different area where I feel like maybe I can walk around a bit more. It's easier to navigate on foot; I'm not having to hop on a bicycle to go do anything.

Perceptions of overseas travel and regional differences

22:43 But yeah, I just I don't like getting dirty looks. Now, some people have said you don't want to smile here because people here will think that you're an easy target if you smile.

23:10 Do you think traveling overseas is overrated? No, I don't think so. I think it's underrated, to be honest. Well, to be fair, I think it depends on where you're from. Coming from the southern US, people are terrified of overseas travel. They think like I'm going to Armageddon. There's this weird perception of time in the South where people still think that the conflict is ongoing in Vietnam when that ended a long time ago.

23:52 I think it's just a pride thing where they want to feel like they have something to be proud of. They look outside of the US and think, "Oh, it's so terrible we live here." Maybe some of these individuals don't have much to be proud of in their personal lives, maybe they haven't had successful careers, maybe interpersonally they're not very successful. But if they can attach themselves to the geography and the GDP numbers, then they've got something to aspire to.

24:50 People from places like New York or California were a lot more well-traveled. Most of those people, if they haven't traveled overseas, they're willing to; they're open to it. They're starting to dip their toes in the water if they've had some upward mobility in their careers.

25:09 The reception I get when I tell people I'm a traveler when I'm talking to people on the West Coast or the East Coast tends to be way warmer, like, "Oh wow, you've gone there." Maybe it may be a disposable income thing too. It seems like people have a lot more disposable income in California or New York versus the southern US.

25:34 It's also easier if you think about going to Europe; it's way easier to go to Europe from the East Coast. If you're thinking about Asia, way easier to go to Asia from the West Coast. If you're in the South, I guess you could go to Latin America or South America more easily.

25:53 So, like I don't think it's overrated; I think it can be overrated depending on how much research you do. If you're somebody that wants something more familiar, maybe like you're in the US and you have some Mexican co-workers and you've eaten Mexican food, and you're thinking, "I want to go to Mexico." Then you go there and enjoy the hospitality, the delicious cuisine, you find the people to be super friendly and warm; like that's not overrated.

26:36 But like if you've heard about Colombia and you think as soon as I step off the plane, I'm going to be like Leonardo DiCaprio, and then you go there and you don't get that reception. So, I think with overrated or underrated, it comes down to expectations, research, education, and different people will find different places to be under or overrated.

Negative experience in Morocco

27:07 One place that's overrated, I don't see myself going back to for a very long time, if ever, is Morocco. I went to Morocco about a year and a half ago, and I just, yeah, the experience I had...

27:20 I walked up to a restaurant and there was nobody there. I stood there for a few minutes, and after a couple minutes, I got tired. I thought, 'This little design here on the front of the building looks cool, I'll take a picture and then I'll go on.' So I snapped a photo and started walking away.

27:44 Then this guy comes out of the restaurant and starts saying, 'Hey!' I was like, 'No, no, I'm going to go find something else.' Basically, he starts walking and then grabs my shirt. I started screaming, 'Police!' because I thought, 'Oh man, I'm about to get my kidney stolen here.' I'd never met this guy; all I did was snap a quick photo. I didn't take a copy of the menu, and I didn't leave without paying.

28:17 So I started screaming, 'Police!' and now we're walking down the street, and he won't let go of my shirt. I'm thinking, 'Okay, I'm about to have to take it to this guy. I'm going to have to ruin his day and potentially end up in Moroccan incarceration.' Fortunately, after I started yelling 'Police' a few times and people started staring at him, he let my shirt go.

28:47 I turned around, gave him the middle finger, and some colorful vocabulary. Then I uploaded the picture of his restaurant. I found his restaurant after I got out of Morocco and looked up his restaurant on Google Maps, leaving a nasty review explaining how this guy came out of his restaurant, grabbed me by the shirt, and I told people I actually ate at this other restaurant and spent about double what I would have spent in his restaurant. I spent double that amount at a Turkish restaurant down the street, which was amazing. That other restaurant I found was fantastic, one of the best restaurants I ate in last year.

29:26 I can't think of the name, but the place I ended up going to was fantastic. That experience was basically like Morocco. I don't care for that experience, and I'm not looking to repeat it. I've heard of people who go to Morocco having this experience where they're expecting to pay for photos. I get paying for a photo if somebody is dressed up as a character or it's their job, like in Hollywood. But taking a picture of the front of the building, not even like an art thing, no.

30:17 I'm not going to go back there and spend money. I was like, 'What if he didn't like, called out a few buddies and tried to rough me up?' The situation could have spiraled out of control into a physical altercation, and I felt like I did nothing wrong. I'd admit it if I had said or done something, or if I had ordered something and then didn't pay, or if there was some kind of issue I could notice within my behavior. Then, yeah, I'd own up to it.

31:00 But that experience was like, 'Never again, Morocco.' Maybe in 10 or 20 years, I'll forget about that experience. I loved Spain so much and had such a great time there; I'd rather just go back to Spain. I could go back to Spain a hundred times and do something different every time and love it. Spain is actually a country you could consider living in; it's that wonderful.

Planning a return to the Philippines

31:31 I have so many positive things to say about my experiences in Spain. I did have some nice experiences in Morocco, like I met this group of young men who worked in sales, and we all hung out and had a great time. Those guys were wonderful.

31:51 Let's see. GMM, good evening from Bangkok. You're leaving Vietnam for the Philippines? I'm strongly considering it. I'm trying to sort this out because every time I talk to my buddy from the Philippines, he's like, 'You know when you get here?' He reminds me of how much I had such a good time in the Philippines five years ago. I can't believe it's been that long since I've been there, but I miss the Philippines for sure.

32:35 This time, GMM, I want to do something different. So we've got the Philippines pulled up here. I'm trying to plan out what it would look like. Traveling to the Philippines is much more complex than a lot of countries because I think the Philippines is still on the up and up when it comes to tourism. They're still trying to figure out how to organize it. It's not like Thailand where you can hop on a train or a bus easily; a lot of the transportation involves ferries or airplanes, which requires a little more organization.

33:07 So I'm trying to decide because I also have my passport renewal coming up. How do I want to handle this? Do I want to wait until next summer to go to Manila and renew my passport, or do I want to try to get that done as soon as I get there and not worry about it?

33:37 We'll see what happens. As far as going there, I was thinking, like, fly to Dumaguete. I actually have to fly to Manila and then fly to Dumaguete, probably spend a month there. I'm sure all of you guys have heard about Dumaguete; there are so many bloggers there, several of whom are my friends. I've been invited to do interviews with them, so that's a top priority just because I help them make interesting content, and then in turn, I'm able to reach out to their audiences, get to know their audiences, chat, and discuss my story and talk about things that would be interesting to them.

34:23 I also get to meet some of these people because some of these vloggers, like Paul with Old Dog New Tricks, I became Facebook friends with him five years ago. His channel was a year or two old at that point. I sent him a message like, 'Hey man, I'm coming over here, I don't know what to make of this place.' I was so inexperienced. He said something, but I can't remember what.

34:58 Meeting people like that would be wonderful because I think they inspire a lot of people to take a chance and do something different. Also, Mike with Mike's Philippine Retirement, he and I have chatted a bit. I think he does a good job of orienting his content toward practical, boots-on-the-ground advice, not trying to sell a dream but trying to give people who have never traveled outside their country some insight into what it's like to live there and what you have to think about that you wouldn't have to think about back home.

35:53 Ronell Most PE says most people can't even travel because of money and time. To add to that, Ronell, is health. Some people have tried to tell me, 'You need to wait until you're at retirement age to travel.' I don't know if I'll make it to retirement age. My grandfather had his first heart attack at 38. My dad definitely had health issues. If I had my first major cardio event at 38, and I turn 32 in a few months, that's six years. Do I want to travel the world if I have that kind of issue? I don't know. That seems like I'd have to be really conscious of the risk I'd be taking for recurrence.

36:31 He had another four over the course of the next 24 years he was alive, so every five or six years he's having a major heart issue and had many surgeries. Fortunately, he's in the military, so he had that covered. I didn't join the service, so if that happens to me, I may be done. Five or six years from now, you guys may not be able to watch me anymore. Not to be too harsh, but health is alongside money and time.

37:02 That's why some might say, 'If you can't go and do these trips on a luxury budget, they're not worth doing.' I totally disagree. I'd rather do them when I'm younger and I've got the health to do it. I know I have the health to do it now, then assume I'm still going to be in great shape and also have the money. I could have some issue happen; any number of different things could happen such that health, time, or money are a problem.

37:33 But yeah, great point, Ronell. I just wanted to add to that. I think that is very insightful. Twister said, 'Could be the area around what Brown Puppy said, a localized perception of you based on first glance.' Sure, absolutely. I think that's fair, and you know, some local areas they may feel like, 'Hey dude, go live in the tourist area. This is the locals' neighborhood; we prefer to live around other locals. You should be in the more touristic area where people more like you prefer to live.'

38:09 You can't judge the Philippines based on Manila. I think there are some things to like about it, but it doesn't make sense as a place to live unless you have a job there, a business there, or maybe your significant other's family is from there. When I compare Manila to living in more of a beach destination or an island destination, it's antithetical to that.

38:46 It's antithetical to that. It just doesn't have the small town vibe. That's something I love about the Philippines; it's just got this small town vibe in many different parts of the country. You just feel like everybody knows everybody, everybody's related. I remember asking my buddy because I went on a date with this woman in Cagayan de Oro, and my buddy was like, 'Hey, what's your name? You're going on this date tonight? You guys are going to meet up and have dinner together. Tell me your name.' So I told him her name, and he gets back to me and he's like, 'Oh yeah, I just checked the coconut grapevine, basically asked around and found out, hey, she's from a good family, like nothing to worry about there.'

39:40 And so you have this really just like a small town vibe everywhere you go. It reminds me of the US when I was a kid there. And for some of our audience that grew up in the US, maybe even 10 or 20 years before I did, the US, like in a lot of different places, just had a small town vibe where everybody knew everybody. People were a lot more connected, and that's what I loved about the Philippines. It's just, you feel this really strong sense of connection to other people.

40:26 To me, Vietnam has more youth, more energy, more optimism, more clean. I did live in Iloilo for a while. I'm not sure how I feel about those things. I don't have enough experience in the Philippines in a while to compare. I may be able to get back to you on that if I stream from the Philippines.

Discussions on health, finances, and travel

40:57 Let's see, GMM did live in Iloilo for a while. That's the cleanest city in all of the Philippines and really booming with infrastructure. Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot about Iloilo. It seems like everybody loves Iloilo. It's like super easy to live there. You have, I think there's the college there.

41:22 I've heard the mayor there is super forward-thinking, and I've looked at videos and pictures of Iloilo. Why don't we pull up Iloilo? Actually, I don't know if I'd make it up there on this trip because I'm looking at going back to Mindanao, but maybe in a future visit. I'd really like to see it. You know, it could be changed a lot more by then. It's one of the most popular, from what I'm hearing, cities in the country. You can see here, like really wide, nice roads. God, it's developing very nicely.

42:06 I'm sorry to hear that, Brown Puppy, that your dad passed unexpectedly at 48. Yeah, I mean, you know, my stepdad's kind of in a similar boat. He's, well, not agewise, but like he's 72 now, and he's still like trying to work. And I get it, you know, people that work hard, like that orient their lives toward working hard. It does become somewhat of a sense of identity.

42:44 But I'm sure there's part of you that's like, wow, I wish we'd done some more vacations. And I understand finance is part of that discussion too. Not trying to pry, but you know, once people are gone, they're gone. I lost my mom at 47, so I can relate in some way. Well, when she was 47, I should say, so I can relate to your experience.

43:28 The freedom, riding a motorbike with a lady behind hugging you, dating several women a week, the food, the good weather is worth it to me. I only go to Manila because there are many casinos there. I was playing poker in the card room. Yeah, I've heard that's a really popular thing to do. I saw a little bit of that in Cebu.

43:45 Yeah, I've heard that it's super popular in Manila. Christopher says, 'Manila is a great place to go work and earn for many Filipinos.' Yeah, I think Manila's got a ton of opportunity. Like you've got, I think I may have mentioned in my last stream, but I actually knew an American, well, a friend of a friend, moved to Manila because their office is in BGC. They worked for the same company for about a year. Their Philippines office is in BGC, and I kind of regret not staying there because if I'd stayed on, maybe I'd have a nice American corporate job but be living in the Philippines.

44:24 Which could be described as somewhat of an ideal, having the American wage but living in the Philippines. There's a couple of concerns I have. Well, one main concern, I'll bring it up after I catch up on comments here. I feel there's a lack of women in Manila because they all travel abroad to work.

44:47 Hey, you know what? That's fair. Manila is super international. I'm sure a lot of those women work in different industries where they may work with international people, right? Like if they're nurses, for example, they may have American clients. If they work in IT, they may work with professionals from other countries, and they may hear about the different advantages as far as wages go or perhaps career growth that could exist elsewhere.

45:15 Elsewhere, there's a lack of cats in Manila. Yeah, it seems like when I was in the Philippines, it's a lot more dog-oriented country. I saw a ton of dogs. I just watched an interview stream recently, and the person being interviewed mentioned that they do have a lot more issues with dog bites in the Philippines, even people's pets biting them. So I noticed a lot of unfixed dogs, which can be a risk just because they can be territorial and aggressive at times.

45:58 That's something I liked a lot in Thailand was seeing a ton of cats, especially around predominantly Muslim areas, because it really helps keep down the rat population. Like I never saw rats in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods in Bangkok or like in Hatyai City. Something I like a lot, I love cats, I'm definitely a cat person.

Comparing Thailand and the Philippines

46:32 Salute, sir. Are you heading back to Thailand or do you like the Philippines better? So, I think they're both have a ton of their own merits, Jay. I could technically go back to Thailand. I actually have been in touch with my education visa school. They could provide me with another six months, at which point I'd probably have to transition to like a Muay Thai visa, which would probably be good for me. I could probably use more regular Thai kickboxing training.

46:59 I trained last when I was in Thailand four years ago on that trip. I did train a bit and I love it. It's so much fun to train Muay Thai. It's exhausting, but you get in such good shape. It's one of those things that is just such a strong contrast to how friendly Thai people are. It's like confusing to be around these friendly people and yet they are super tough and talented.

47:31 I think Muay Thai is awesome. Somebody made a joke, they were like, 'Ah, the only people in Thailand that care about Muay Thai are the old men.' And I'm like, I've officially graduated to being an old man because it happened. I was walking in Hatyai, and I heard like what sounded like screaming coming from a phone.

47:59 This isn't a bad thing. So I walk up to this group of Thai men, they're all taxi drivers, maybe in between shifts or something like that, and they're watching Muay Thai, women's Muay Thai, on one of the guys' phones. So I just walk up and join them, just sit down with them and start watching Muay Thai with them. They're asking me like, where I'm from, how long I'm staying in Hatyai, and if I needed a ride, which is kind of funny.

48:28 But I let him know, 'Hey, I'm from the US. I just want to watch Muay Thai with you guys. I don't need a ride, and I'm here for a month.' They were surprised. 'Like, a whole month?' And I was like, 'Yeah, this city seems super cool.' Which I love it. I feel like Hatyai is the most underrated city in Thailand, like super cool, very different from the North or from the center.

48:53 Let's see, Ronell says, 'When you have a pension, you're golden and passive income life is easier.' Yeah, but by the time you have your pension, you're old and lifeless. I have mixed feelings about this. So, Ronell, I think it's a good point. When you've got your pension, you've got your passive income, I think that's the ideal. You're not stressed about, 'Hey, where's the money coming next month?'

49:52 I'm not there yet, right? So that does feel more up in the air as far as my travels go. But, you know, you do have the concerns about health. So it's mixed. There's people that come to Southeast Asia and they spend a big chunk of their youth living over here and they don't have anything to show for it. They haven't contributed to Social Security, they haven't contributed toward a pension.

50:24 I mean, there's guys that join the military at say 20 and they are in the US military for 20 years. They come out at 40 with the retirement. Whereas for me at 40, like, you know, if I don't make a lot of money in my career, like I am interviewing now, I've got an interview set up for next week. At 40, I could very well still be working away.

50:53 You know, I can save a lot. I'm turning 32 in a few months, so that's eight years of saving and investing, and I could build myself a pension. But it's not as clear-cut as, like, the government's going to give you X amount of money and then it's going to go up with inflation, you'll get COLA adjustments. And I wouldn't call 40 old. So that's for a lot of people.

51:17 For me, knowing my background, my genetics, 40 arguably might be old for me. When I did the interview with Tyrus Times, somebody said I look 51 instead of 31, and then the rest of the people decided I look 41 instead of 31, which was kind of funny.

51:37 Which was kind of funny, but, yeah, I mean, if something major happens to me at 40, the flip side of that is, well, who cares how much money I have in the bank if I'm on my way out? It doesn't matter if I've got a dollar in my bank or a million dollars in my bank, my time's up. So, I think it's really important to have that balance there and work towards your financial goals, and also enjoy yourself. Don't discount, you know, some guys will extend their lifespan by living overseas. Like you see guys like Paul or, um, Mark Thornton. I know Mark is a controversial figure at times, but there's definitely guys that have gone over there and by reducing the stress in their lives, have probably extended their lives. That probably bought themselves a substantial amount of time by not being in the rat race and the grind.

Cambodia as a hidden gem

52:31 So, that's where I would say, like, Ronell, you know, if you've made it to the point where you've got a pension and you're living in a cheaper country, and that pension didn't buy much at all back home, but buys you a very comfortable life overseas, then you could really be doing well. Whereas somebody like me, who's lived fast and partied hard when I was younger, lived wild, I feel like a cat that's used up nine lives sometimes. Then, you know, I'm like, it's really dependent upon the individual. I think the ideal for everybody would be having money and being young, but unfortunately, very few people get to live the ideal. We have to make the best of our circumstances.

53:23 Brown Puppy says, 'Life is meant to be enjoyed in your 20s, 30s, 40s, maybe 50s, 60s, and 70s. Is over 60s and 70s the time for meditation, contemplation, work on being spiritual?' Yeah, I mean, like I said, I kind of stand by this. I think it's important to have a mix. You don't want to live too fast when you're young because, like, I have friends that have enjoyed their lives too much to be fair. Friends that met an early end, like I have friends that aren't with us anymore, even though I'm only 31. I have friends that have serious records that are going to prevent them from having gainful employment for the rest of their lives. Likewise, I have friends that are successful investors that could probably afford to retire overseas right now, but prefer to live in the United States. So, I have friends of all different backgrounds, and I think it's just up to the individual.

54:24 I think most people would prefer to be financially stable, all else considered equal, because when you figure out the money aspect, it solves your money problems, and you can focus on solving your other problems. Right? Cambodia is a hidden gem. Totally, totally agree, Ronell. Cambodia is one of my favorite countries. If I had the time, I'd like to go back there. It's just so charming, the architecture, the people are so friendly. Like, one of my friends that lives there, she still flirts with me. She was trying to convince me to stay at her hotel; she owns a hotel near the airport in Phnom Penh, and she's gorgeous. She's probably four or five years older than me, maybe three or four years older than me. She's like, 'I mean, she is gorgeous.' Like, I've met a lot of beautiful women in this part of the world, and she's one of the most beautiful women I've met over here.

55:27 But I've got some other priorities right now. I do intend on going back to Cambodia at some point, but there's some other things that are really pressing that I've got to handle. Hey Michael, good to see you. Welcome to the stream, Ronell. Yeah, so my Mara situation is stable right now. Cambodia is expensive. I readily admit, like, Cambodia ain't the cheapest destination, especially for, like, well, the thing in Cambodia is that everything is imported twice. So, everything gets imported to Thailand or to Vietnam, and then from there, things get imported to Cambodia. So, that's part of what makes it more expensive is that you're having to pay for double import. Right? Because it is kind of geographically sandwiched in between Thailand and Vietnam. And plus, they're dollarized, so they use the US dollar, which also, I think, makes things a bit more expensive. But I'd be happy to go back at some point. I had a wonderful time in Phnom Penh. It's charming, it's beautiful, really nice locals.

Travel experiences in Laos and Myanmar

56:50 Jim's been in Myanmar many times and driving around there with a motorcycle before, following the Mekong River, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and back to Thailand. That sounds wonderful, Jim. I'm jealous you've done that on a motorcycle. You're a real adventurer. Yeah, that sounds incredible. So, I haven't been to Laos, I haven't been to Myanmar, so those are of interest to me. Well, and Brown Puppy, Laos obviously, like, are also additionally, like, I had a friend go there six years ago, and I asked him about it. I was like, 'What's it like up there?' I was new to Thailand, I'd only been in Thailand for like a week or two, and he's like, 'Well, the people are super friendly.' He was telling me, like, people in Laos are super, super friendly, but there's nothing to spend money on. So, like, if you're the type that you're in Thailand and you're used to going out to shopping malls, going out to nice restaurants, going out on dates, like going out to different cities, like traveling around Thailand is very, very vibrant with this kind of frenzy of like options. He's like, 'In Laos, that's just not there. You're just not going to have the options to go out and spend money.' And so you could enjoy it, like, enjoy kind of a simple lifestyle in a village, but it's not going to have that vibe you have in Bangkok, where like you can, you know, basically you can get whatever money can buy in Bangkok. Laos, the infrastructure to spend money is just not as much there. I'm not like, I wouldn't say it's not worth going to. I haven't been there, I've just done a lot of research on it. I've been to, at this point, I think all of the surrounding countries or most of the surrounding countries, and I do, I'll make it up there eventually. It's just kind of inevitable if I spend enough time in East Asia. I even thought about going there if I wanted to extend my time in Vietnam, not sure that's going to happen at this point, but yeah, it's just, you know, it's one of those places if you're looking to enjoy yourself a bit, there's not much there to spend money on. And my buddy from Japan, like, down in Koh Samui, he's like, 'I like Laos, it's just real country.' So if you want more country setting, he's a fan of Pai as well. Pai, Thailand. He's like, 'If you want a country setting, you want to just chill out, not do a whole lot, Laos is awesome.' But I think for some of us that are more outgoing or trying to run around, the pacing there is not going to be what we're looking for. Once again, not a downer on Laos, I think a lot of people can have a great time there, but it's not necessarily what I want right now. Now, I could see why a retired person would want to live there, you know, slow pace, probably have decent food, you're not going to be pressured to spend more, you're not going to have as much temptation to blow your budget like you might in a city like Bangkok. So yeah, there is no right or wrong place. I think it's more about the individual and what the individual is seeking.

Cost of living and infrastructure differences

1:00:45 Jay, so is the economy and cost of living better in Thailand or the Philippines? Yeah, so Jay, I would say Thailand is the cheaper country. Dollar for dollar spent, like I've done a lot of research in this because I just want to understand what's going on. In Thailand, it's part of the Mainland. So let's just back up here. Thailand is part of the Mainland, it's part of this larger geographical region, Southeast Asia. You've got goods being able to be brought in. You're able to bring goods from all over the region overland on trains. What else do you have here? I'm trying to think of what helps to kind of reduce the costs in Thailand. I think you've got a lot more available farmland. Like, I think half of the land in Thailand is rice paddies. So Thailand actually exports food. That's a big part of why Thailand is affordable is Thailand produces more food than they consume, especially certain staples like rice. So that helps to bring costs down. Right? Whereas in the Philippines, they import most of their food. Like, a lot of the food you have in the Philippines is imported. Anytime in the Philippines, you're getting a steak, for example, that's imported. I don't know about seafood, not as much. Like, I had some fantastic seafood in the Philippines. I think that part is local. But yeah, they're importing a lot, not just food, like clothing. Thailand has a solid textiles industry where they actually make a lot of clothing, and you can buy a lot of products. Like, one of the things that surprised me when I was living in Thailand is that you can buy a ton of different products that are actually made in Thailand. Where in the Philippines, that's not as easy to do. Infrastructure-wise, too, a lot of stuff has to be brought in by boat or by airplane. Also, the Philippines doesn't have the fuel subsidies that you have in Malaysia. Like Malaysia and Indonesia both are big in the oil and gas business, so they're able to actually subsidize the cost of transportation. So, the Philippines, I would say, is like the second most expensive country in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore. Singapore, I would say, is more expensive, but setting aside Singapore, the Philippines can be expensive. Yeah, I would say, Jim, the nightlife scene is definitely...

1:04:12 Yeah, Brown Puppy, $1,000 a month for a condo in Manila. Yeah, I mean, I didn't see prices quite that high, like, but Manila is certainly more expensive than Bangkok. I would say, just like Ronell, it's more expensive. Your food's going to be more expensive.

1:04:28 Your food's going to be more expensive in Manila. I think Manila is more sensitive to the cost of transportation because in Thailand, even if oil goes up, you can still, like, it's easy to bring rice to Bangkok. It's easy to bring pork into Bangkok. Some of these products, you know, it's going to be harder to get them to Manila or more expensive, more time-consuming.

1:04:52 Thailand is a higher middle-income country. The Philippines is a developing country, just above Third World. Thailand, especially Bangkok, feels super developed. My friends in Bangkok have professional jobs; they're doing jobs that any Western person would recognize.

1:05:23 In the Philippines, it's a little bit harder. I've heard it's harder to find gainful employment.

1:05:40 I was a 19-year-old, first time in Thailand in 1994 with a backpack, a prop, a paper map, and an old tourist pocket guide, long before Google Maps and YouTube. That is super adventurous. I cannot imagine going to Thailand without Google Maps. That's how spoiled I am by Google Maps, being able to just search, 'Hey, where can I find this?' and 'Where can I find that?'

1:06:02 I did that so much in Shanghai and in Bangkok, like, 'Okay, I want to go find this thing,' or 'I want to go find a fruit market,' or 'I want to go get some clothes,' or 'I want to try some interesting restaurant.' I can't imagine having to just walk around and figure all that out. Even going between cities, like the train, my buddies rode the train between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and I couldn't imagine doing that for the first time, being like, 'I hope I'm going the right direction.'

1:06:34 Laos is called Thailand's little brother. It's often like going in a time machine to how Thailand was 30 years ago. I do need to check it out because I love Thailand. I am curious to see what Thailand was like in the past because Thailand is very developed and it feels very advanced in a lot of ways.

1:06:56 You see this combination of beautiful traditions, right, in terms of temples and monks and places like Doi Suthep that have this 700-plus year history. But then you also see people driving really fancy trucks and modern condo buildings, so it's eclectic. Seeing how things were in the past would be really nice.

Passport Bros and travel expectations

1:07:28 Brown puppy, the shop owner pays. Wow, Ronell, what's your honest opinion on Passport Bros? That's a good question, Ronell. I don't have a problem with it. I think it can be a bit corny at times, and a bit too on the nose. I think guys should learn to enjoy traveling for traveling's sake, and if they meet a nice lady, then, you know, it's great.

1:08:17 But when guys focus too much on relationships and dating, it's... maybe I'm just spoiled. Especially when I was younger, I never had any dating issues. Part of that was going to college where it was like one dude to every like four women. So I'd go to class and be one of two or three dudes, and there'd be like 12 or 15 women in my class. I never really had issues.

1:08:56 I just think it's important to have internal happiness. When I was in a relationship, I was in a long-term relationship when I was in college. I put a lot of my happiness on my significant other and felt like it was their job to make me happy, even though it was my job to make me happy. So I think some of these guys are going to be really disappointed.

1:09:22 One YouTuber I subscribed to, I'm not going to mention names, but he mentioned, 'Oh, some of these guys are going to run into legal issues.' That's not the risk. The risk to me is wasting a bunch of time and money chasing people to fill a void in your heart and your mind. So that's a bigger risk, for what? Just from my perspective.

1:09:58 Landlocked? Okay, yeah, that would make sense. Brown puppy, I didn't really think about that, but yeah, that would make perfect sense that everything has to be trucked in from somewhere else.

1:10:10 Ronell, do you mean the Passport Bros on YouTube? Look at any red-light area, and you will see them sitting there. To me, if it's just the evolution of that scene, it's like putting lipstick on a pig, trying to dress up something that's not ideal.

1:10:42 J.Sh. says, 'Thanks GMM. GM, if you compare the standard, what I get in Thailand is triple priced in the Philippines.' Yeah, I mean, the Philippines, I was really surprised at some of the pricing there. I'm happy to share with you guys eventually. I'm going to stop talking about it if my channel gets big enough, but I'm looking at going here.

1:11:09 Part of the reason is that Malaybalay is the breadbasket of the Philippines. I've been talking to my buddy about pricing. He's from Cagayan de Oro but lives up here part-time because he worked in Malaybalay. This area is surrounded by plantations, so they produce tons of food. All the crazy pricing you see in Cagayan de Oro, but even especially in Siargao or in Manila, is not as bad down here because they don't have to move the food very far.

1:11:54 There are so many plantations, and he's friends with some of these people that grow pineapples, coconuts, and have places for fishing and rice paddies. All these things they have right there make it affordable. So it's kind of a hidden gem, and I talk about it because I don't mind you guys learning about it.

Malaybalay as an affordable option

1:12:17 If my channel gets bigger, I'm not going to be talking about this place because I don't want everybody to move there. A couple of people that have channels are there right now or have been there recently. I know Regular Guy talked about Malaybalay recently, and another guy who does a channel called Expat Lifestyle is living there right now.

1:12:49 But I still think it's kind of niche. Yeah, it's... I'm looking at this spot because part of the reason is that it's going to be economical. Having a friend there helps reduce costs. Sometimes I just pay the tourist price because I wasn't there with a local friend. I didn't know anybody there, so I'm paying a primo price on things that can be much cheaper.

1:13:17 I don't mind paying expensive stuff. I don't mind if a place is expensive or not the cheapest, but I also don't want to overpay for no reason. If something's normally five bucks, there's no value in paying $10 for it. If something is five bucks in Malaybalay but they charge $20 for it in Manila, paying $20 for that $5 thing didn't really make it a better experience for me.

1:13:49 Rentals are cheap in Malaybalay as well. If I can rent an apartment for say $100 a month, and that same apartment will be $400 or $500 a month in Dumaguete, is it really that much better? Malaybalay has a college. Now, I know Dumaguete has much closer proximity to the beach, and that's something I'm going to have to go down the mountain if I want to do. But if I'm paying $100 a month for an apartment, whatever, I'll leave for a week or a weekend.

1:14:30 That's on the high end. My buddy's paying like $60 or $70 a month for his place in Malaybalay, and he's trying to find a place for $30 or $40 a month. Coming down here, he's got a cousin in Cagayan, so it's time-consuming, but it's doable. It's also like five or six hours from Davao, and I want to visit Davao next time I make it to the Philippines. It's definitely high on my list to see Davao.

1:15:00 I wanted to see Davao last time, just didn't have time for it. It's supposed to be super organized and it's definitely developing fast.

Dating experiences in Da Nang

1:15:22 Brown puppy, 'What's your new dating story in Da Nang?' Always great to hear. None. I'm kind of giving up on dating here in Da Nang. I just don't think it's going to be a good use of my time here. I think I'd have a better time in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

1:15:41 Yeah, and it helps so much to be chatting with you all. It's I feel so much better and not just stuck in my head. Am I really experiencing this right now? I don't know. It's ironic because I've gotten along really well with Vietnamese American women. I dated a Vietnamese American girl in high school for a few months, and then when I was older, in my mid-20s, I had a Vietnamese American friend, and her boyfriend was jealous of our friendship.

1:16:14 He had dreams about me trying to get with her, which I respected their relationship. I'm not about that. But she and I, you know, there's definitely chemistry between us, and it never went beyond that. So that one part is really weird to me: I really enjoyed my time with Vietnamese American women, but here, I don't know if the chemistry is there.

1:16:44 I've tried to talk to them a bit on the dating app, but I don't know if it's too late. Their profiles are always like, 'No sticks and no friends with benefits.' You know what? That's just an awkward way to start a conversation because they're so burnt out from online dating or trying to meet people online, and guys being like, 'Hey, when are we gonna go back?'

1:17:24 If a woman has baggage from that, it's like I'd rather talk to somebody else because I'm not looking for that. Right off the bat, you know, kind of thing. I think that when I was younger, I probably was like a lot of young guys are. But I've had an experience in Thailand where I was talking to one woman and I talked about taking a nap, and she just blew up. She was like, 'Oh, I'm not doing that,' and this and that.

1:18:00 It's like I can't even talk about taking a nap without like you're that hypersensitive to guys trying to talk you into that kind of fun, that I can't even talk about certain subjects that have nothing to do with that without you blowing up. And so, you know, that kind of thing, I'm starting to get kind of tired of the dating apps anyway. And if I go to the Philippines, my buddy's like, 'Yeah, I'll introduce you.' Like, you know, I'll just introduce you to people because I'll have vetted them.

Stereotypes and realities of Thailand

1:18:34 He's even started sending me profiles of women that he works with or women that he's friends with or in his community. He's married with children, so he's not a chick boy or whatever you'd want to call it. But there's much more to Thailand than those districts. I ignore propaganda.

1:19:13 Good on you, Jay. I absolutely agree. People act as though that's the only thing in Thailand. Thailand is a big country, like I would say medium-sized country. We'll scroll back over here. Close to 70 million people. And if they think 70 million people are involved in that industry, they're out of touch.

1:19:32 Thailand has a manufacturing industry. Thailand has the culture, of course, the Buddhist culture. Thailand has beautiful nature, like temples. I mean, you don't have to scroll very far looking at the artwork. There's like an art scene in Thailand. There's so much more to Thailand.

1:20:00 There's all these coastal areas, like these tiny coastal villages and towns. People that's all they think about. You know, I talked about in a recent video, I was saying, okay, so if Thailand is all about that, then everybody in America lives in Las Vegas, right? Everybody in America has a gaming problem, right? Because of Las Vegas, one of the most famous American cities in the world.

1:20:23 If you were to say Las Vegas, a lot of people outside of America would recognize it. But if you told them, 'Oh, I'm from Billings, Montana,' I've never heard of Billings, Montana. I have no idea what that is. People weaponize stereotypes. Social media has brought us together to tear us apart our society.

1:20:48 They take the like they've already decided they don't like somebody for whatever reason, and then they try to just find things to reinforce that. They try to find things that help them to attack or to tear people apart, when really they should be listening and asking questions.

1:21:07 But yeah, I agree with you, Jay. Like it's not worth it. And the red light activity is high risk. It's inherently high risk. I have an acquaintance, and he's had several, um, steed horse related illnesses, and he's had to go and get treatment several times. He's not, this is just with regular ladies too, not ladies of the evening.

1:21:35 So if an individual is totally focused on the red light scene, they can expect that they could be exposing themselves to certain health risks in any country, whether it be the United States, Mexico, Colombia, any country that you go to. And that's your sole focus, it's a high-risk activity.

1:21:59 Tony said, 'Oh, that's the reason why the country.' Yeah, in that GMM, you know, I agree. Like Thailand has everything. I mean, really, the only thing that I, if I were to say there's one thing that I wish, I wish all Thai people spoke English sometimes. And my one Thai friend joked around, she was like, 'Sometimes I wish we were like colonized, like, because then maybe we'd all speak English.'

1:22:26 I don't know that I agree with that, but yeah, I'd like the culture, like the people, like the food, like the nature, like the ease of getting around. Super easy to get around Thailand. There's nothing I could point at that I don't like in Thailand.

1:22:44 I had that nagging feeling before I came here like, 'Do you really want to leave Thailand? You're very comfortable here in Thailand. You figured out your way around Thailand. You've got a bank account here in Thailand. You've got some potential romantic interests here in Thailand. You are starting to have a little bit of basic Thai. You are understanding Thai culture better.' Do you really want to leave?

1:23:07 And I was like, 'Uh, I'm comfortable here. I need a learning experience. I need to mix it up.' And so, against my better judgment, I was like, 'Okay, let's go do something different.'

1:23:19 And what I'm dealing with right now, part of my stress is that I'm missing Thailand. If I'm going to be totally transparent, it's, I've been talking to my Thai friends this week, actually.

Vietnam vs. Thailand cultural differences

1:23:40 Tony says, 'Just getting here now. Welcome, Tony. Good to see you. Looks like Vietnam may not have been a home run for you.' Yeah, you know, there's been some issues with traffic here, like just crazy driving. Also petty scams.

1:24:04 I think too, like I didn't leave Thailand for a year and I got so used to it. And Vietnam is like much more different from Thailand than I would have expected. Cambodia to me is more similar. I know this isn't controversial, but Cambodia is part of the Indosphere, like Thailand is part of the Indosphere, heavily influenced by India. Vietnam is part of the Sinosphere.

1:24:31 So Vietnam is much more influenced by China, and so culturally, they're just very different from one another. And it's been stressful, just to be honest with you, Tony. So, you know, it's not been an emergency. I'm not going to come on here and say, 'Oh, it's been all this and that.' It's just the changes and the stress is just kind of wearing on me a bit.

1:24:55 It may be the neighborhood. Like I talked a bit with Chris earlier in the stream about it. Maybe that I just chose the wrong location. It may be that I need to be in a different neighborhood. I need to relocate to a different part of the city to have a different experience.

1:25:14 Part of it may be that I'm not a major beach guy. I'm just, I feel like I've been spoiled when it comes to beaches. Growing up in America, going to beaches in Florida that are like pristine, or beaches in the Philippines. We've been talking about the Philippines. I mean, the Philippines has like the beaches in the Philippines are, and more so the water. Like spending time in the water is on par with the United States.

1:25:48 And so those two places are like setting the bar for me, and anything like not quite there. I'm just going to compare it to that. It's like, once you had the difference between the best, and everything else is that everybody is satisfied. You know, by places like Florida, and also the Philippines.

1:26:18 Let's see. Hostels unless you can get a private room. If you can get a private room, I think hostels can be fine. I stayed in a nice hostel in Bogota, Colombia, and I had a private room there, and it was wonderful. If you can get a hostel that's like a co-working space style kind of place where you're catering to people who are like remote workers, and they've got private rooms, that I like that idea when it comes to sharing rooms.

1:27:07 Like I stayed in a hostel in Helsinki, Finland last summer. Not for me, you know, just having to worry about waking people up, having not having as much privacy. Yeah, it's just kind of uncomfortable. Some people don't mind it. Like I'm a fan of Gabriel Traveler, and he's like, I think he's around 50, and he was doing hostels even a few years ago. So some people don't mind it at all.

1:27:39 I'm just, I don't know, I've had some kind of weird feelings about hostels when I didn't have a private room. And yeah, may just be me. But yeah, I agree. Brown Puppy, a is like can be pricey, but it's for me, it's worth it. Like even being 31, I prefer to try some other methods because I'm more of a loner and I'm not really into the idea of meeting lots of other people because I'm typically got a lot going on and I want to go at my own pace.

Cultural and religious influences in Southeast Asia

1:28:28 GMM, let's see, and I'll try to get caught up here a bit. Having a long-stay expat or local friend always helps you from stop doing the tourist mistakes and learn the place and prices. Fast, yeah, absolutely agree. GMM, my when I went to Chiang Mai for the first time, hanging out with my buddy that was living there, that got me up to speed super fast. Like it really did.

1:28:53 Rono, I personally recommend you to watch H Zamboanga. Yeah, I don't think Zamboanga is nice for me. It's, you know, it's in one of the areas that just wouldn't be for me. Of course, I know Marcus, I think his name is Marcus Butters. He's been in Zam Zamboanga recently.

1:29:29 So I think the difference, Brown Puppy, is like I said before, it's the Indosphere versus the Sinosphere. So Thailand, like it's heavily influenced by India. You can see a lot of Thai people have Sanskrit influence names. Buddhism is heavily influenced by Hinduism, and so like Thai culture is similar to Indian culture in a lot of ways.

1:29:57 Some one of my Thai might not like me saying that very much, but it's true. Vietnam is much more influenced by China and is much more, much more culturally similar there. The cuisine is more similar there. It's yeah, like and my Thai Chinese friends consider themselves to be Thai. So even though they would be ethnically Chinese, they would call themselves Thai people.

1:30:26 They've got Thai names. Their parents don't teach them Mandarin, and they learn Thai as their only language. And they consider themselves to be Thai people through and through. 10% of Thais have Chinese ancestry.

1:30:44 Ten percent of Thais have Chinese ancestry. Like, one of the Tai women I dated for a while, her grandmother had one Thai grandparent and the rest were all Chinese. But it's much more of an assimilation thing. So, yeah, Vietnam is the least religious country in Southeast Asia. I notice it may just be me, but I notice a lot less religious influence, whereas in Thailand, you see many temples everywhere, you see monks everywhere. It feels like a pretty religious society, all things considered.

1:31:43 Yeah, I agree. GMM, absolutely. Absolutely agree. Like on America being only hamburgers and over-people. Yeah, I mean, it's a cheap attack. It's people that they can't live in Thailand or they can't visit Thailand, or they're insecure that people would find Thailand to be a better country than their home country. They have some hang-up where they can't say, 'I just don't like foreigners.' So they attack something that they perceive to be more palatable or socially acceptable to attack. Why can't they just be honest and say they just don't like foreign people? Own it.

1:32:34 I certainly don't feel that way in Thailand. I think Thailand has something for everybody. In fact, I talked to some friends in the US, and one of them, a buddy of mine, he and I went to high school together and have stayed in touch ever since. He's since gotten married, and his best friend is married with a child, and those two couples are going to come to Thailand together. Do you really think that those guys are going to bring their wives to engage in red light activity? Absolutely not. They want to come for the culture.

1:33:14 I think one of the guys' wives wants to get a tattoo to commemorate their trip. They're looking at going to museums. It's a family-friendly place like Thailand. Unless you seek out the nightlife, it can be very family-friendly. I saw families all over Thailand; it's families from all over the world. Thailand has something for everybody, in my opinion.

1:33:44 Yeah, I mean, it kind of feels like Buddhism to name only here. I don't know, it's kind of like the visual of Buddhism without, I don't know, it just doesn't feel as Buddhist as Thailand, just my personal opinion.

Homesickness for Thailand and beach experiences

1:34:05 My heart is in Thailand. Homesick for Thailand? I feel you. Absolutely. Thailand feels like home much more so than back in the States. It's just such a beautiful country. The people are gems. I have so many heartfelt interactions in Thailand, so few negative experiences. Like maybe once every few months in Thailand, I have a not-very-good day. But yeah, there's a reason so many millions of people want to go there and spend time there.

1:34:55 And yeah, Laos and Cambodia also fit into that, and they're similar. I mean, that's why I enjoy Cambodia so much. You're in the expat area, former French colonies. Getting caught up here, beaches are fun for three or four days, then it gets boring. Sand where you don't want it, and well, boring.

1:35:17 Yeah, GMM, you know, I didn't feel that way when I was younger, but I'm starting to feel that way more as I get older, where it's like I want to be doing something. You can't really have your electronics out much on the beach. Like, the saltwater doesn't go well with the electronics. Also, the sand doesn't go well with electronics.

1:35:54 Yeah, I just, and you know, to be fair, I've enjoyed some times on the beaches when I can enjoy the water. Like, if the water is clean. In the Philippines, you've got beautiful beaches where the water is like, the visibility is fantastic. Like I saw all, when I came here to Caman, we can pull up Cigan because I think a lot of you guys, maybe more recent subscribers, but like here, I mean, this is just stunning. This is one of the places I went, and I was warned by my guide, 'Don't touch the clam because it will close on your finger.'

1:36:35 So seeing stuff like this is like I could go back, even though I've seen this spot once before. It's so beautiful. And they, I wish they had some different pictures. I guess people don't have. Okay, so yeah, here you can see the smaller ones, and they're doing restorative work here, but the coral is beautiful. You see these fish here, totally stunning, like totally stunning to look at.

1:37:12 I wish there were a little bit more variety in pictures here, but it's gorgeous. Like it's something that I could entertain myself for a long time out here.

1:37:35 Yeah, in hostels in Bangkok, like I get it. If you're trying to make friends and you want to meet people, then it's, you know, not the worst idea. But from a cost perspective, hotels are so cheap in Bangkok. I paid $20 a night for fantastic hotel rooms in different parts of Bangkok. So I think the most recent one I paid $18 for in Bangkok. So at that price point, it's hard for me to be like, 'Oh, well, I could get an amazing one for eight bucks.' At $18, like, you know, I like my privacy. I prefer to have my privacy, my peace and quiet, and I can really decompress.

1:38:22 Funny thing is that hostels often cost the same as cheap hotels. Yeah, yeah. I mean, hostels have definitely gone up in price, and I think in Thailand, like hostel owners know that people are willing to pay to socialize, and so they can charge the same price, or they can charge within a few dollars of the price of a hotel room. And for me, it's like, I'll pay the extra to have my privacy and not have to risk getting my things taken or dealing with some people I don't really like or whatever.

Crime and safety in Thailand

1:39:16 Hostels, you get free breakfast and bed bugs. I'm not a big breakfast guy, so that may be part of it too. Like, I usually don't wake up with much of an appetite. Sometimes, if I am drinking coffee, I may even do just dinner. Like, I'll go out and work out really hard after I have my coffee and then go about my day. But breakfast, I usually just don't wake up with much of an appetite.

1:39:45 Ronell asks, how is the crime and safety in Thailand? Low, Ronell. I'm not going to say it's perfect, because I know there is no perfect country. But I, you know, I ran into very little crime in Thailand. I got scammed a couple of times, which was frustrating, but it wasn't the end of the world. And I learned from my mistakes, you know, what I could have done differently to cause those situations.

1:40:25 Safety, you know, the roads can be a little bit iffy. Traffic safety can be a concern in Thailand. But I never felt threatened by any Thai people. Never had an instance of somebody making me feel scared. You know, you sometimes run into some street dogs that are kind of sketch. But yeah, Thailand overall feels very safe. People are super helpful. I would have people pull over and try to offer me rides if they saw me walking.

1:41:06 Yeah, let's see. Alex getting scammed 10 times a day in Vietnam. You know what? It hasn't been I catch it. Like, I catch it a lot of the times. To me, it's like, I get frustrated because like I land at the airport, and as soon as I land at the airport, I go out to call a Grab, and this guy is trying to scam me and talking to me like, 'Hey, just get in my cab.' 'Hey, let me see your phone,' where they're going to grab my phone and cancel my... Don't touch my phone. And so eventually, I just start screaming in the guy's face, 'Get out of my face, dude. I'm not going to sit here and try to stop you from scamming me.' I'm going to tell you once, and if you keep pushing it, there's going to be an issue, primarily that you're going to waste your time, because you're not going to scam me. I'm Indian, man. Like, that's all I could say about that is like, I've got some kind of genetic BS detector that didn't activate when I was a kid. I used to be really naive, just due to my upbringing, but especially as an adult, and especially after living in San Francisco and just traveling the world, I'm very good at catching scammers trying to rip me off.

1:42:33 For me, it's the principle of the matter. I don't care if it's for 10 cents. It's, I wouldn't worked for this money, and you should work for your money. Everybody should work for their money. That's part of what gives money value. I understand there's inflation, I understand there's money printing, I understand life's not fair, but I don't try to scam people. And I expect to not be scammed, and it hurts. It hurts the people when people get the impression that scamming is a problem. They tell their friends. Like, I'll tell my friends, 'Hey, you know what? People are trying to scam me constantly.'

1:43:15 You know what? I got two weeks of vacation a year. Maybe I shouldn't go to that place. Maybe I should go somewhere else. As an example, somebody talked about having some kind of visa issue, not being able to get in, so they flew instead of paying the $500 rush visa fee. They just flew to Thailand. How is that winning for a place when somebody can't get in, they're like, 'Ah, whatever, I'm gonna take all this money I was going to spend here and spend it next door.' So hopefully that changes. Hopefully, it's not a permanent thing. Hopefully, in the long term, there are steps taken to address this. It's not going to hurt me, but it is going to hurt people that work in tourism. It is going to hurt people that want to sell more food at their restaurant or want more bookings at their new guest house or that want to rent some equipment to tourists at the beach.

Scamming experiences and travel advice

1:44:19 It's not personal, but you know, it is my time, right? It is my finite time, and I prefer...

1:44:28 My finite time and I prefer to just not deal with those issues. I've been to a lot of places where people are struggling. At least smile, man. At least smile at me if you're trying to take advantage of me, especially in a mocking way. That's definitely not a way to my good side, or anybody's good side for that matter. It's not so much about me; it's identifying things that would bother anybody. I don't know anybody who's like, 'Oh yeah, I just want to get scammed. I like getting taken advantage of.' Who says that?

1:45:11 So that's my feeling on that. Also, I have to be able to be honest with my friends in real life in good faith. Most of my friends haven't traveled as much as me, and the worst thing that could happen is my friend sees I go to a place, thinks, 'Oh, I want to go there too,' and they don't get the truth. Then they waste their two weeks of vacation, have a bad experience, and get taken advantage of. That's far more important to me than selling somebody on how awesome a place is.

1:45:49 That's what I don't like about some YouTubers. They're trying to sell that place as awesome, and that's not the case for everybody. Every place is not awesome for everybody. There are places I have loved that people don't like, and conversely, there are places that aren't for me that other people would like. But we can't go around saying you should go to every country because it's awesome. That's something that to me is just a bit disingenuous.

1:46:19 People going out there and saying, 'My favorite countries are Venezuela,' and, you know, 'My favorite country.' Like, there are clearly some challenges going on there that we have to be mindful of, irrespective of how nice or not nice the people are. It's important to be respectful, but let's see, that's enough of my ranting or preaching.

1:46:49 The star system hotels are very different from the West. Even a two-star hotel in Bangkok is often very clean and cheap. The only thing is they don't have pool breakfast, etc. Five-star is perfection. Yeah, I know what you mean, GMM. Because when I was in Phnom Penh, when I first went to Phnom Penh, I stayed at the New Season Hotel. When I was checking in, there was a guy, I don't know if he was from England, but he was from some Western country, and he was like, 'Oh, do you have a room facing the Riverside?'

1:47:31 I was like, 'No, my room is internal.' He's like, 'Oh man, you're going to miss out on the view.' And I'm just like, 'Ah, I can just walk out the front door of the hotel and be out there, and it's no big deal.' So yeah, I've stayed in hotels that some people would say, 'Oh, it's just two stars,' or 'Oh, but it's nice, it's clean.' The service has been mind-blowingly friendly to me in Thailand. I accidentally double-booked a hotel room, so I had to do a visa run to Bangkok immigration.

1:48:13 I had to do a visa extension here, and I booked two hotel rooms by accident. I booked one room, and then I booked another room a few months later. So I emailed them and said, 'Hey, something came up. Can I move the hotel room stay to three months from now when I come to do my next extension?' They were like, 'Oh yeah, sure, that's fine.' So then I showed up at that hotel, they didn't have a record of it, but I showed them my message from booking, and they were like, 'Oh, okay.' They gave me a free upgrade; they upgraded me to the suite. So that's how awesome the hotels can be.

1:48:51 I'm not going to say that will happen for you, but I found incredible service at all these places in Bangkok for $20 a night. Even in Chiang Mai, spending as little as $14-15 a night, the rooms are clean, the shower has hot water. I didn't use a television, but the beds were comfortable. Some would even have a mini-fridge and come with free water, towels were nice, some had balconies. The value is still incredible because hotel prices have gone way up in the United States, and hotel prices are still quite reasonable in Thailand.

1:49:45 Water is brown and muddy. Do you see your progress in your gym workout? I would if I had a better diet. I need to get more disciplined about my diet. I just like pizza sometimes and Indian food sometimes. So yeah, I'm definitely making some improvements though, since I now have a gym across the street and a gym in my building in Vietnam. And that might be the thing that keeps me here: it's just so easy to work out here. Vietnam, I give Vietnam a lot of credit. It's easy to work out, it's easy to go to the gym, and that's so important, right?

Sidewalks and walkability in Southeast Asia

1:50:32 That's so important. It's understated. Ronell says, 'I heard there are no sidewalks in Thailand or Southeast Asia.' Yeah, somewhat. It kind of depends. Bangkok's pretty good, but it's definitely not going to be what you're used to in some of the bigger cities in the United States, or bigger cities in the UK, or Germany. Yeah, Ronell, probably more walkable sidewalks than many American cities that are built around the car.

1:51:16 The other flip side of that, Ronell, is that I've been actively discouraged from walking in the US. In my hometown, if you try to go out walking, people will call the police on you. They'll call the police and say, 'Hey, this guy's walking around. We don't do that around here.' And I know that may sound crazy, but in certain areas, it's just heavily discouraged. They feel like, 'Around here, we have enough money to have cars. If you want to work out, you need to go to a gym.' They're so paranoid about other people; they think if you're running around or walking around, you're trying to case houses to maybe come in and break in later.

1:51:57 All right, Ronell, have a good day. It was great to see you. I hope you have a nice day ubering today. Ronell, yeah, we'll probably wind down because my voice is starting to go a bit here in the next 10 minutes. Anybody has any thoughts to share or ideas? I know, like, perhaps moving to a different part of the city is something I need to do. I'll try to get out this week and explore more.

1:52:36 Yeah, I'll try to get out a little bit more, go take a look around some other parts of the city and see if I find something that's a bit more to my liking, a bit more to what I'm used to. I've had some people tell me, 'You should go to this side of the river.' Some people are saying, 'Why don't you stay in HCMC because it's going to be more lively in the evening? You're going to have more longtime residents as opposed to over here where it's more touristic. You're going to have more local foods.' I've heard the prices for... so that looks good. So that might be something I do this week in the evening: take my bike over the bridges and see what it's about over there.

Planning an exit from Vietnam

1:53:51 Yeah, GMM, that's a good idea. And I need to plan my exit anyway, right? My visa is a max of three months, and I've already been here for two and a half months. So, two and a half months from now, I'm going to have to go somewhere. It's better to go ahead and start to get that planned out so I'm not trying to scramble last minute trying to book a flight, trying to do all the preparation that comes with exiting a country, entering a new country.

1:54:26 Yeah, because I'm going to have to sort out like crashing on my buddy's couch in Mali Bai while he helps me line up an apartment, or if I end up in Indonesia. Who knows? We'll see what happens. But yeah, thanks so much everybody for watching tonight. I really appreciate the support. I know this was maybe a bit of a downer. There's still a lot I really like about Vietnam. The food is fantastic, my hosts here are fantastic, the coffee shops are fantastic, and some of the people in the service industry are wonderful here.

1:54:58 But I can't ignore my safety, right? I can't ignore some of the issues of traffic. I can't ignore the persistent petty scamming. Yeah. So yeah, thanks so much everybody for joining tonight. If you're watching this on a rerun, please subscribe to the channel down below to see more videos like this. I've been streaming a couple times a week lately and I'd like to keep it up. If I go to the Philippines, you know, signal, Wi-Fi can be a mixed bag there. But yeah, give us a thumbs up too. It helps to boost this in the algorithm, and we'll see everybody soon. Thanks so much. Take care. GMM, enjoy your Netflix.