I will miss you Vietnam

Introduction and Discord Community

Balancing the Dream of Travel

0:36 Hey everybody, welcome to the live stream. I just wrapped up a conversation with Unfriendly Stoic and Tony, our first channel member, and also, I think Christopher might have been on there as well. We had a great discussion over on Discord. Feel free to join the Discord; the link to the Discord is in the description below. It's a great opportunity for us to communicate outside of our normal discussions. We had a great discussion talking about the tradeoffs that come with long-term travel, with living overseas, and some of the things that I think a lot of people don't talk about.

1:17 Some vloggers or some channels, they're trying to sell the dream. They're trying to present you with this idealized image, and I don't like that. I feel like the most accurate way to talk about these things is to be balanced about it and to try to accurately assess what's going on. Not just sell you the dream, but then also not make just a complaining video, because I think sometimes things go one way or the opposite way where it's like, 'Ah, this is the worst decision ever,' or 'Oh, I can't stand this or that.' And then others, you know, they're only talking about the upside. So it was a really great conversation that we got into.

Vietnam's Personal Space and Culture Click

2:03 There are some challenges with this lifestyle, and I definitely experienced some of them. But yeah, in Vietnam, you know, kind of what I wanted to get into is Vietnam has grown so much on me. I had this click moment today where I got it. I was struggling to understand it. I haven't really been to mainland China, for example, and there were things that were bugging me about being in Vietnam that I understand now that no longer bug me.

2:38 An example of this would be people in Vietnam. Due to population density, there's a different idea of personal space. So, in the United States where I'm from, we're used to having a lot of space in between us. If somebody gets too close to you, people are going to get suspicious or skeptical. They're going to be concerned, like, 'What are you doing? Why are you getting...' Oh, hey, what's up, Gerard? Good to see you. Um, yeah, so I'm just talking a bit about Vietnam.

3:14 But yeah, now, you know, today it finally clicked. It's okay to be close to other people. It doesn't necessarily mean something bad is going to happen. In the US, especially in the larger cities, you're concerned about conflict, potentially somebody trying to reach in your pocket and take your wallet or something like that. And I'm not being dismissive of that; that can be an issue in some areas. But yeah, it just kind of clicked. Hey, you know, that's just the way traffic is. People are keeping an eye out. That's why a lot of people do go more slowly. You notice people being able to cross traffic. You kind of just push your way through it. It took me a long time to adjust to that, and it's something that I'm understanding now. I'm adapted to now.

4:03 And yeah, it's just something I had to adjust to. Another thing that's been super helpful for me in Vietnam is getting to know other people, becoming a regular at certain restaurants where people are really warming up to me. And it's, I'm also having to come to terms with the history. Like some people are wondering about why things are the way they are. And from what I've heard, some of it is to prevent another instance or situation of colonialism, right? Because there's tragic history there in Vietnam of colonization, the negative impacts of that.

4:47 And so I'm just getting it, it all kind of clicked for me today, and now I really like Vietnam. The things that were, I didn't understand karaoke, traffic. I understand now, and I like it a lot. It's, it all kind of came together for me. I hate that it's happening kind of last minute, where one week from tonight, actually, from right now, I'll be flying to the Philippines.

Comparing Vietnam to Thailand's Tourism

5:15 One week from tonight, actually, from right now, I'll be flying to the Philippines. And so, I'll be going to the Philippines one week from today. And you know, I kind of wish I had more time here, but I booked the flight. And the upside of that is that I'll be able to come back here to Vietnam in the future. I like it a lot. I've finally gotten it. I get it now. It's taken me more time because I was expecting like in Thailand, the second you get off the plane, the whole experience is set up for you to enjoy yourself. You exit, you go through the airport, there's brightly lit, beautiful neon signs in several different languages. So if you speak Mandarin, you'll see Mandarin signage. If you speak English, you'll see English signage. You have the ability to pick up a SIM card in the airport. You've got, if you land in Bangkok, you've got the MRT system where you can take it to the city center, or you can catch a taxi. You've got nice Wi-Fi at the airport.

6:23 Not to say that Vietnam doesn't have these things, but everything is just set up for ease. Tourism is not, I think it's around 2% of the Vietnamese economy. And while they want to increase the tourism, they are still trying to sort out how they want that to look. And so I had to adjust to not being in a place where you are experiencing a place that is oriented toward tourism.

Understanding Vietnamese Skepticism and History

7:10 And so much so that it's hard to discern between the tourism bubble and the real world. Vietnam doesn't seem to have the tourism bubble near to the same extent, such that when you get off the plane, you're interacting with real Vietnam. So yeah, I found like my favorite restaurant, they're so kind to me, they're so sweet. Like I understand why Vietnamese people can initially have some skepticism of foreigners, right? Because every time in the past with the colonization, they've had foreigners trying to do horrible things. So I'm understanding that now. I've, I get it. It all kind of clicked today.

7:53 I just wanted to get that out of the way. Gerard says, 'You're going to miss the big city traffic.' So yeah, I'm going to Dagupan in the Philippines first. Dumaguete Metro population, it's probably much smaller than Da Nang. So like 134,000 people. So it's going to be significantly smaller than Da Nang. And I'm actually staying down in Bong which is between Dawin, the kind of resort dive resort or beach area, and then Dumaguete proper. But it should be quite quiet down there, pretty quiet down there, really close to the beach. I'm going to be able to spend some time in the water swimming, which I really am looking forward to.

8:32 Samuro, hi, welcome, welcome Samuro. And hey, great to see you, K Tony. Always good to catch up with you. I really appreciate the message. Samuro says, 'Have you ever woken up and said really loudly, Good morning, Vietnam?' No, I never have said that. It's a film. Oh, in Robin Williams, I am a fan of Robin Williams films. I watched, of course, Mrs. Doubtfire, his classic comedy, but I'll take a look at it this.

Family History and Avoiding Pain

9:11 I've got a lot of content to catch up on because I just never really was aware of all the content surrounding Vietnam. It was admittedly a bit of a, I don't know if you'd say a sore spot, but a difficult situation in my family. So my grandfather, maternal grandfather, mother's father, served in the Vietnam War. And he went through a lot. He definitely came back with PTSD. My mom was deeply disapproving of his service in the Vietnam War, so it was a point of contention between her and him. And so I never really, I never really looked into it. I never really wanted to learn about it. I never really felt that it was something I needed to go uncover anything about because it was going to be, I don't know, a sore subject, but like painful.

10:07 And so there's been times in my life where I've tried to avoid pain or tried to avoid these difficult situations, and I'm trying to be better about that and just tackle those things. That was something that was great about sales. If you want to develop a thick skin, working in sales definitely did it for me.

Weekend Plans and Travel Aspirations

10:35 Great, Samuro says, 'Great film.' Yeah, I'll definitely check it out. Thank you for the suggestions, Samuro. How's everybody's weekend doing? Wow, we've got nine people on here. I need to do these on Saturdays more often. Anybody have any weekend plans?

11:01 Solo, how are you doing? I'm not sure where you are in the world. If you're in North America, or if you are in Europe, or if you are in Asia, it's Saturday night here in Vietnam. And I went out and had dinner at my favorite restaurant here in Da Nang. It's a lively night. People are getting together. I was riding through the city, passed by people doing karaoke, which is always kind of fun to see people getting together with their neighbors. I'm more and more noticing the community aspect of Vietnam that I noticed before, but it's like compounding where I see more and more people getting together.

11:44 Samuro says, 'My girlfriend just left for Greece, so I'm home alone for the next month. No major plans, just chilling.' What's home for you, Samuro, if you don't mind sharing? I understand if you're not comfortable sharing where home is. Greece sounds amazing. One of my favorite YouTubers, Gabriel Traveler, he often talks about how Greece is his favorite country. And some of my favorite videos of Gabriel's have been in the Greek Islands, and he's done some Athens content as well. I don't know, he's probably done something on Thessaloniki, I think that's how you pronounce it, Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, which is interesting to me.

Jet Lag and Travel Time

12:39 At some point, it may be when I get my next role where I have some disposable income to go to Greece because it seems to lend itself more to like one or two week trips. Where with Asia, I feel that, you know, I'm going halfway around the world, I'm spending probably two weeks in each direction, de-getting over jet lag. Right, usually takes me one day per one hour time zone difference. So if I'm going 12 hours, then it's going to be around 12 days for me to fully adjust, and that's each direction. So with Asia, I like to go at least...

13:16 Direction so with Asia I like to go at least one month, but with Greece, you know, it's a place you know maybe eight days or so I could adjust. And so it won't be ideal, but usually by the end of that 10 days, two weeks, I'll get over the jet lag. Coming from California, it would be several hours less than if I were coming from the East Coast. It would take several days less to adjust coming from the East Coast. I'm envious of my New Yorker friends that go to Europe.

Teaching English and Stream Routine

13:52 Tony says, and you just started streaming, in another half hour, you might have 20 to 25 people watching the stream. Yeah, thank you, Tony. I appreciate that. It's, um, I need to try to do more of these on Saturday. Normally, I teach English on Sunday night, but, you know, with teaching English, you tend to repeat and cycle through the same topics like, where are you from? What do you like to eat? What's your life like? You have some lessons as well, you can use that. It feels like riding the same amusement park ride over and over again, if I'm being honest.

14:28 No disrespect to the students, 90% of them are wonderful people earnestly trying to improve their English skills. And I have some regulars, one from Turkey, one from Brazil, that are really lovely people that I would talk to any day of the week. They're just enjoyable, they're fun, we have a great rapport. But it's so nice to be able to hop on here with you guys and potentially gals as well, and just have a meandering kind of conversation.

Traffic Dynamics and UK Travel

15:04 Gerard says I'm being sarcastic about the traffic. I know, okay, Gerard. Yeah, I mean, they have their own dynamic, and I'm starting to see the people here make it work. I, you know, knock on whatever this table is made out of, haven't seen any collisions, which is very fortunate because those are tragic. I saw some of those in Thailand, and it's something we never ever want to experience.

15:39 HOSA says watching you UK. Oh, very cool. UK, beautiful country. I visited the UK for the first time about a year and a half ago, and I loved it. I liked it more than I expected. Like whenever I'm talking to people from the UK, they tend to critique the weather, which can be dreary and cloudy. But, you know, on the other hand, growing up, I would always listen to these streams or replays of raves. They do these raves in Brixton, typically in these warehouses, and so somebody would record it, or the DJ would record it and put it up online, and that was kind of my initial interaction with the UK.

16:25 And also, one of my buddies growing up down the street, his family is all the way back, you know, you go far enough back in US history, they came to us from England. He's got, so he's 90% English, 10% Spanish. He's an interesting guy. I miss him for sure.

California and Influential YouTubers

16:44 Cal solo transient, Cali here. Oh, very cool, California, represent. Excellent. Yeah, I lived in California for several years, and I'd love to go back. I had the first stage of an interview process with a business based in around San Francisco, and I hope to move forward with them. They're doing some interesting stuff in the fintech space, which I really like working in that space.

17:21 Samar Ro says, I'm in England. This is where my girlfriend is from. Okay, very cool. Yeah, it seems like a more manageable city based on my research, Samaroo, compared to Athens, which seems like just really big and really busy. I watched some of JP and Amelia's vlogs on Athens, and I don't think maybe they just did one vlog on Athens, but it does seem like a really big city.

17:51 Tony says, Gabriel Traveler was probably one of the first bloggers I watched. A lot of people, so, uh, so let's see, one of the first travel bloggers I watched. Yeah, so Gabriel Traveler. Something that I like about Gabriel is a lot of people call him like the OG vlogger. I like Gabriel Traveler a lot because he has this, it reminds me almost like if Hunter S. Thompson was a vlogger, setting aside some of the wild partying that Hunter S. Thompson was known for. This stream of consciousness where you feel like you're watching the experience through Gabriel's eyes, as opposed to having a cultivated experience where you're in vacation mode and you see the beautiful beach and you go to the restaurant.

Gabriel Traveler's Vlogging Style

18:51 He's just got this low-key vlog style of vlogging that I really like. And I like too that he's willing to go to some places, particularly in India, that are not the hippest place. You know, not the Portugal, which I love Portugal, but Portugal is very popular right now. Nothing wrong with that, but it's definitely, I can appreciate that he's willing to go through some of the places that would be ascribed to somewhat of a hardship. Right, when he went to Bangladesh, I was watching that vlog and thinking, man, he's got, you know, he's got a lot of patience to go there and to vlog from there.

19:46 And Gabriel Traveler also, Tony, inspired me a lot, just because he was one of the first vloggers that went off the beaten path. I started watching him and Walter's World around the same time, and Walter's World focuses on Europe and to a lesser extent, Latin America, and also the US. And these are awesome. I'm particularly a fan of Latin America out of those three. But, you know, he's got to have a different sort of setup because he's taking a family, where Gabriel Traveler is like, hey, I'm solo traveling, so I can squeeze into those places that may not be as family-friendly for traveling for different reasons, logistics, lack of development, safety, right?

Meeting YouTubers and California Weather

20:34 So yeah, huge fan of Gabriel Traveler. I almost crossed paths with him a few times. So when I was living in Berkeley, California, he a couple of times stayed in Berkeley like around the corner from my apartment, but we just didn't meet on the street. And he was just there for a day. And so I reached out in the comment section as well, and I didn't understand at the time, but like when you get a channel of that size, around that time, he was probably around 400,000 subscribers, maybe 450, you've got people wanting to meet you constantly all over the world, everywhere. He probably gets recognized depending on where he goes, like if he's in a place like Thailand with tons of international travelers, he's probably getting recognized at times, or Europe, that also gets lots and lots of travelers.

21:22 Sumaru says, many to choose from. Mainland also has nice places, but island life is unbeatable. Yeah, island life looks ideal from the stuff that he's shown and talked about as well, just exploring these villages. The weather too, like that's one of those things that after I lived in California, it was really hard for me to leave California because you get accustomed to this predictable, repetitive weather where you're thinking, what do I want to do? I can do anything any day of the week. We're not going to have monsoon season, we're not going to have rainy season. We're not going to need to really, I know they do have a kind of a rainy season, but if you pick the right time of year, you're talking about like you could get months without rain, right?

22:13 That's what I experienced in California. And so that's what I think is part of the advantage of Greek travel is that you're, you know, you're able, at least for my research, you're able to really immerse yourself there and to have that free form kind of experience where you feel like I can do whatever I want and whatever order I want.

Berlin's Cultural Scene

22:43 Hosia says, slow travel. Raves, house music is far better in Berlin. I'll take that into account, Hosia. Yeah, Berlin seems super cool. Haven't been there yet, but definitely on the list. It seems like it's got a lot of interesting, interesting scene there for sure. This one woman that I was interested in when I was younger, she was a huge fan of Berlin, so she did her study abroad in Berlin, and then whenever she gets extra money together, extra time off work, that's her favorite city. Even though she's an American, lives in the US, then she feels like Berlin is where it's at. It's got this cultural scene, you've got the museum scene, you've got the cafe scene. It's got some people say hipster vibe, perhaps like parts of Brooklyn.

Teaching English and Cambly Platform

23:44 Tony says, wait, you teach English? I didn't know that. I thought you weren't too interested in teaching English. So I have mixed feelings about teaching English. I do it one day per week just to make like a little bit of money. It's, you know, it's not something that makes a big difference. It's probably arguably it would be better for me to work on some other things. But, you know, Tony, in our conversation we had earlier, you talked about wanting to maintain a connection that you've considered doing something similar, not because you would need it, right? Because you talked about your journey, but because you wanted to maintain that connection.

24:39 And I think that was part of it for me is that when I started doing it one night a week, I just do it on Sunday night in Chiang Mai because I felt like I'm not going to Chiang Mai University. I don't really like, I don't know how I feel about hanging out in coffee shops. I don't know if I'm the type to just cold approach people in coffee shops. There's also like Chiang Mai does have some of that, I don't know if you'd say grifter crowd, but like just the hustle bro kind of culture.

25:19 Yeah, so it's, it's on an online platform. I use Cambly, but like I said, I only do it one night per week, and some weeks I skip. Like next weekend, when I'm in Daggett, I'll probably skip because I'll probably be pretty tired Sunday because I fly to do MTI at I get there around 6 AM and I've got a three-hour layover in Manila. Yeah, Cambly is not a great platform. It's not something I would rely on to do.

Chiang Mai Post-Pandemic

26:02 I was in Chiang Mai full-time, but Chiang Mai, in some ways, hasn't recovered from the pandemic. My first time in Chiang Mai was in 2018, and it was a super vibrant city. Pre-pandemic, Chiang Mai was really vibrant. We would go out to clubs, meet up with people, and go over to friends' apartments. In my more recent stint in Chiang Mai, there was a lot less of that. Quite a few of the people who were there in 2018 have moved on; many have moved back home, some have moved to other destinations, and some have had falling outs with mutual friends.

27:02 Our mutual friend who introduced us may have had a falling out, so it feels a little bit less connected. I was living near Chiang Mai University, and there's a new bar that they built. Several new buildings were built, but they built this new kind of bar that was totally empty. You'd walk by on a Saturday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and they'd be playing music. It looked cool, but folks didn't show up.

27:36 I think I dealt with that, wanting to have something to contribute and also something to pad my resume with a little bit. I'm feeling a bit self-conscious about the gap on my resume. The platform itself is kind of annoying; they just use AI and software to solve a lot of things that need the human touch, and they're not very forgiving either.

Variety in Content and Rewarding Teaching

28:24 I have looked at some other platforms, but I don't know, it just... The thing that I liked a lot about sales, and this is something that I like about YouTube as well, is the amount of variety. It feels like, I mean, I've been shocked that we still have interesting stuff to talk about. If I'm being totally honest, I thought by this point we would have run out of conversation points, but it seems like the more we have these conversations, the more things we uncover to discuss.

29:05 Of course, there are things happening in real-time that add a lot to these conversations. But yeah, that's a little bit of the struggle with English. However, there is the other side: it's very rewarding. If you're able to help somebody through English teaching to advance their career, to potentially move to another country, or to pass a certain examination, then it's really an excellent thing.

Financial Independence and US Dependency

29:45 Hosia asks how I'm going to move my dependency on the USA and travel permanently. The secret truth is, I'll never be able to remove my dependency on the USA. My long-term goal is the Financial Independence, Retire Early situation, where I'm financially independent through investment income. I have dividend-paying stocks; that's my preference. Of course, this is not investment advice, but all my dividend-paying stocks, except for maybe a few like one in Canada that I'm interested in, are US-based.

30:18 I'm going to skip these ads. I've got to swap to a more conservative option when it comes to ads because I need some ads just for a change, to get a cup of coffee, but I don't want it to be overloading and annoying. So, back to what I was saying, Hosia, as far as dependence on the US: owning US securities and getting dividend payments from US stocks means I'll be dependent on the US economy for the rest of my life.

30:52 Many countries are affected when the US has a cold; the world has the flu in terms of the economy. So, the US economy, when they started raising interest rates, it started breaking other economies like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which quickly started having major financial crises. You're seeing this in other countries as well, that basically the US, for better or worse, has an outsized impact on the global economy.

31:30 It's still something like 12 or 14% of the global economy. So, being an American, I'm somewhat averse to investing outside of the US, with a few very small exceptions that aren't super relevant to this point. So, even when I become financially independent, I'll never be able to fully escape that dependence on the US. I also don't foresee myself ever giving up my US passport.

31:57 It's over in my backpack right now, but I don't foresee anywhere, anytime in the near future, where it would make sense for me to give that up. Even people in my personal life have asked me that, not as an argument, but just like, 'Hey, does it make sense for you? Do you think you'll get to that point?' I would have to start a company and sell it for hundreds of millions of dollars for the tax implications to be worthwhile to pursue citizenship in Singapore or some obscure European country or Caribbean island.

Maintaining US Passport and Financial Strategy

32:35 I think for most people who are citizens of Western democracies, it makes sense to maintain your passport. It's a great backup plan. You know, if something happens and I need to go back home, then... So, for what it's worth, I feel that I'll always be dependent.

32:57 Now, you may be asking how I'm going to get rid of the financial side where I can travel long-term. That's through investing. I'm currently in the process; I've been interviewing for the last six or eight months but haven't got an offer. However, I haven't been pressed for it either. I'm in a situation where I spend far less in this part of the world than I would back home, and in interviews, I can be far less desperate.

33:22 When you're back home in an expensive country and you're basically setting fire to your money because it's so expensive, you're going to be desperate in your interviews. I know because I've been there; I've done dozens of job interviews where they can sense that desperation. They know this guy doesn't have the confidence in himself that he's going to be able to sort out whatever he's got going on.

33:51 Whereas when I come from a place of calm and like, 'You can hire me or not hire me, I don't really care either way,' it's paradoxical, but that's been more likely to get me lucrative opportunities. It doesn't make any sense, you'd think that somebody that was hungrier and more like, 'I want this job,' would be more appealing. But it's almost like dating, where at times you have more success when you act like, 'Yeah, we can date or not date, I've got options.'

Living Below Means and Financial Goals

34:24 That kind of attitude I found is very productive. So then, let's say I get back into a role in the US, it's just living below my means. I've gotten really good at that, just living on the super cheap. My money goes so much further outside the US. It's not as hard for me to do. I've got different tricks up my sleeve like living in studio apartments, limiting takeout, limiting vacations.

34:54 There's a lot of different ways. The US is wonderful in that regard, and I think all the Western democracies have that to some extent, where if you're able to moderate your expenses, then you can really get ahead financially. So then, when I get to the point where I'm thinking like maybe $1,500 per month, maybe $2,000 per month, that's kind of a rough idea of where I'm thinking, then I can leave and then I'm not reliant upon external sources as much.

Social Security and Travel Vlogs

35:28 That's where I think it can get kind of sketchy. Also, if I put in that time, that should move me pretty close to or at a time when I can draw Social Security. I'm guaranteed, basically, if you work 10 years in the US, you're going to get Social Security, assuming you have 10 years of qualifying quarters. I think you've got to make at least $2,000 in a fiscal quarter, which is minimum wage in many states for like a month. So, it's not hard to do, as you can tell by the amount of expats trying to live on Social Security.

36:19 Hosia, Hosia, I like Bald and Bankrupt. He's very successful according to Social Blade. He's got some interesting vlogs; I like his blog in Bolivia. That was a really interesting one. Tony and I have talked a lot about our respective visits to Peru, and I think Bolivia has some overlap with that kind of Andean Highland culture. Now, of course, he does go to some what some people would describe as sketchier places, but I think it's definitely interesting up there.

Unique Content and Channel Membership

36:52 SRO says, 'For people in the chat, hit the like button, subscribe, or take out a membership to help grow the unique channel. It's very affordable.' Yes, and actually, I'm so glad you brought that up, Tony. One of the things that I'm working on right now, I've actually already got my first video, is that I'm going to try to do unique content as long as I'm on this trip and ideally into the future.

37:18 Even if I'm back home, I can still do that, putting out content that I would describe as too spicy for the general public, topics that may be controversial. I think that would help to make channel membership worthwhile, is that you get access to content that is exclusive to channel members.

37:45 You may not feel... I don't know, it's... That's kind of the way I feel like I'm tending to go. I'll probably, depending on where the channel goes, if it gets to a large enough membership base, doing things like exclusive members-only streams may eventually move the Discord or create a Discord for...

38:08 Discord or create a Discord for members, but something where I'm able to have that type of dialogue where we're able to focus more on a small group setting because that's super powerful. Sometimes when your audience grows to a certain point, some people feel constricted by their audience, like I can't make stuff, I can't push the envelope, I can't talk about spicy stuff, I don't want to rub people the wrong way. Not even from the perspective of financial, but just like how can I make stuff that's valuable to people if I have a smaller group that I'm putting out special content for? I can get direct feedback like, hey, this was good, hey, this was not good, maybe expand upon this, this maybe a little less time to.

Workout and Book Writing Ideas

39:11 Getting into that, that's where I think it can be really helpful. To my shoulder, I did a hard workout before I went and had dinner, and my shoulder is definitely feeling it a little bit. I did the shoulder press, shoulder workout, and did some pole exercises as well, but it feels a little bit like I maybe pushed it too hard. I probably should have warmed up a bit more too.

39:33 SoMo says you should write a book. You are pretty glued in on a lot of subjects. That's a good idea, and that's something that I've put off for way too long, just making excuses. Also, having too many book ideas, like I've thought about probably four or five different ideas where I'm thinking that would be a good book, but I need to just sit down and do it. Thank you for the prompting on that.

GMAT Prep and Educational Goals

40:03 It's also trying to figure out the one that's most beneficial. Like if I do a book on Thailand, but some of my audience is not considering living in Thailand, you know, there's limited value in that. But if I do something too generic or too generalized, it's like, okay, well, I could have just read Lonely Planet. So, trying to find something that's really unique, talking about things nobody else is talking about, and then just sitting down and doing it.

40:34 One thing that I would like to start working on is I've been thinking about taking the GMAT test. So that's something where now I'm thinking, okay, maybe for the next three or four months, Monday through Friday, I'm just trying to grind out GMAT prep. GMAT is basically a test people take before they apply to Masters in Business Administration programs.

41:04 But also, I looked at going back to school for it, and my alma mater, for their Master's in IT program, if you don't have an IT undergrad, they want you to do the GMAT. So that's where it's starting to look like the GMAT is the next step that I need to take. The score is very important. If you score high enough, then it can offset a weak GPA.

41:27 My first time around, I didn't have a great GPA when I went back to college. I had a great GPA, but I need to provide an explanation why I didn't do great my first time around in college. And then also, it can factor into scholarships. So if I want to have assistance, have some scholarship money, then scoring high on the GMAT will make a big difference there.

Time Management and Agreeable Nature

41:56 So it's like I'm much more always feeling short on time than I am on options. And maybe it could just be my agreeable nature. Sometimes agreeable people just don't know what they want.

42:15 Is your English class in person or on Zoom? Kemy, Kemy is just informal practicing of English with drop-ins. Something like that. Tony, hi Ed. Eastern Dreamer. Okay.

Teaching English Methods and Challenges

42:31 Sometimes I feel like I should change the name because Ed is an unfortunate acronym. I think you know, there's some humor in that. Tony says, when I was in Mexico City, I met an elderly, 80-plus US expat who had been making a living teaching English privately by cold approaching people in coffee shops. Didn't look like a very appealing way to make a living.

42:59 No, you know, that sounds kind of stressful. With sales, like I'm used to cold approaching, but it's something that just kind of got worn out on. My tolerance for rejection somehow went down, especially for services like that. It's one thing if I'm getting rejected for offering them some kind of multi-million dollar financial software. Most people are not going to just sign up, ready to drop, ready to write a check for seven figures or eight figures.

43:46 But when it comes to smaller lessons like that, it's like limited upside and potentially more downside. If you end up asking the wrong person who's connected to people that are concerned about... I don't know, I guess I'm overly cautious. Once bitten, twice shy these days. But if you've got somebody feeding you lessons or something, and you've got the one area where I think it could be enjoyable is let's say you're teaching like you've got 10 doctors in a classroom, or you've got 10 university professors in a classroom, or you've got a select group of people that already have a baseline level of English where they're already communicating at, say, a high school graduate level, and they want to take it up to a college level. That's where I think it could be interesting.

Teaching English as a Career

44:40 But it's still something where I don't know, it's tough to have those conversations on repeat. I mentioned a bit earlier, but the challenge with English, you really have to look at the more rewarding side of it, helping people. And I feel less at the content until you build up regulars. But even then, it's just harder than what it's made out to be. I think some people are like, oh, if you're not at your fire number, if you're a young person just moved to Southeast Asia, you can just teach English.

45:23 But you know, I think there's it's not necessarily a career in the way that it's made out to be. I know some people have told me, well, yeah, you can go to Hong Kong, or you can go to China, or you can go to Saudi Arabia. But I think, you know, a lot of people want to pursue an expat lifestyle. Their preferences are Latin America or Southeast Asia. Western Europe is super popular. I think some places are just not as much on the radar as others.

Learning Thai Language and Triaa School

45:59 And it would be, you know, it would be a lifestyle. It wouldn't be a job that they were pursuing for a certain lifestyle.

46:10 Gerard Palmer, how do you suggest for one to learn the Thai language? Great question, Gerard. I'd recommend, and I'm going to go ahead and throw their name in the chat. Gerard, I recommend reaching out to Triaa Language School. That's how I got my 11-month Thailand visa. They have Thai lessons via Zoom two days a week, three hours each day, and they can provide you with a visa to stay in Thailand for the duration of the language courses.

46:44 But then also, they have great instructors. They're based in Ratatui. Ratou. I'm still, I still struggle with the H because in English, the H is not silent, and in Thai, sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. But yeah, check out Triaa Language School, Gerard.

Thailand Visa and Travel Logistics

47:06 Oh yeah, did you say how much Triaa costs? Sorry, I missed. So Triaa, they charged me 30,000 baht. See, 30 for the cost of lessons plus 2,000 was it 4,000 baht per extension? Two to 4K.

47:48 2 bot per extension every three months. It works out, Michael, it roughly works out to about $100 US per month. And on top of that, your transportation costs. So Triaa is based in Bangkok. I signed up with them in Bangkok. I chose to travel around Thailand and continue my classes online. I also spent time in Chiang Mai.

48:24 So I would fly back every three months. So I started off, how I did that was I started off in Bangkok to start the visa. After I got the ball rolling, I went down to Pattaya for a month. I'd never been to Pattaya before. Pattaya wasn't really my jam. So after that, then I took a bus back up to Bangkok, flew to Chiang Mai. I lived in Chiang Mai for six months from September to March.

49:00 So I had my extension in. I had two extensions in when I was living in Chiang Mai. One was in October, I had to fly back to Bangkok. I came back to Bangkok for like a long weekend, went to immigration, extended my visa. You have to swing by the school. And then I did the second extension in January. So I flew back to Bangkok in January for a long weekend.

49:30 Sorry, burping. Kind of gross. For a long weekend, and then came back down. No, then I flew to Hai, which was in the south of Thailand. Then went to Krabi. Krabby, after Krabby, I came back to Bangkok and extended my visa for the final time. That was in May.

IT Certifications and Welcoming New Viewers

50:06 Hope that helps, Michael and Gerard. So, Unfriendly Stoic, I was thinking about getting the IT certification. I'm not familiar with that certification. I'll have to look that up. Information Technology Engineers Examination. That looks really interesting. Yeah, I'm going to read about this. Thank you so much for mentioning it, Stoic. That's super helpful.

50:35 Mau Streets de Mau, hi folks, good to see you. Welcome to the stream, Mau. Michael says, yeah, Ed is somewhat unfortunate, but that's okay. It's not a big deal. Okay, I'm glad to hear that, Michael.

Working in Asia vs. US and Singapore Lifestyle

50:50 Unfriendly Stoic, you can work in the same field in Asia that you did in the States. So there's limited opportunities with software sales. So, Stoic, I primarily worked in software sales, and the market is not quite to the same extent that it is in the States. You can do it. I'd probably need to look at...

51:16 GMM's not on here, but I know he works in Bangkok, and I don't think he's a teacher. I think he's got more of a corporate type of a job. But you need to probably be in Singapore, and in Singapore, it's more of a, I would say...

51:33 In Singapore, it's more of a traditional career move than a lifestyle. I'm sure some people would love the lifestyle there, but it felt, I've been to Singapore about five years ago, and it felt quite busy and developed. It is enjoyable; Singapore is a gorgeous country with very safe, delicious food and great public transportation, making it easy to get around. But it's a place where you're going to have to work a lot because people paying those high salaries have high expectations for you to be producing a lot. So, you're not necessarily focused on lifestyle as much, which for me, lifestyle is quite important. It's a major part of why I like to live in Asia.

INSEAD MBA and International Opportunities

52:24 Now, if I was able to get into a place like INSEAD, which is a French university with an outpost in Singapore, that would probably open up a lot of doors. I actually had some engagements with a billionaire based in Latin America who did his MBA at INSEAD in Singapore. I thought, okay, if this guy can build this massive business with his education from Singapore, even though he's a Latin American man, then there's got to be something there that's international and well-regarded. He could go anywhere, probably in North America, but he chose to do it in Asia, which definitely speaks a lot to the quality of the opportunities there. I think he did it at the Singapore location.

Thailand Education Visa Process

53:43 Gerard shared the address for the AAA. Michael asks if this is something you can do once you are there, or if you had to apply before coming to Thailand. Either one, Michael. I think that you can do it outside of Thailand. Some language schools allow it, while others prefer you to do it in person. Some say it's cheaper to do it outside, while others charge more once you're inside. I think there may be some fees to transfer you from a tourist visa, so I came in on a tourist visa and had to transpose to an education visa. That's where some of the extra fees come in.

54:30 I recommend reaching out before you come to Thailand because you may find that they offer some kind of discount or there's some kind of advantage where you're able to come in and start straight away. I had to pay for a tourist visa extension, which added to my cost. It wasn't major, like $60, but that $60 could go towards something else, like having some delicious Thai food or going out on a date. So, I'd reach out beforehand and just run it down with them. They have great English, so if you have any concerns or questions, they have really talented English speakers and will be able to communicate with you very well.

Thailand Visa Options and Pattaya Experience

55:17 I feel like I should be asking them if they're open to sharing some royalties with me because I know I've sent several people their way. I did a video on them, and they also offer six months, Michael, so if that's something you're interested in. Now, some people have said to do the tourist visa for two months, extend for one month, and then come back for an extra two months. You could do that without paying the 18,000 baht if you want to do the six-month option.

55:57 Maau Street asks, have you been to Pattaya? What was the best thing you liked about Pattaya? I have been to Pattaya; I spent a month there in August. It's not really for me. The main challenge in Pattaya is that it revolves around the nightlife industry, and I don't have any judgment for that. I think people from around the world want to come to Thailand for many different reasons. For some, it's to engage in the nightlife, go out to the bars, and have fun. But for me, it's just not my preference; it's not my priority.

Thai Culture and Alcohol Allergy

56:34 I come to Thailand because, I know some people roll their eyes when I say this, but I really like Thai culture. I think it's interesting, and I think the Thai people are often endearing and warm. It's just a really special place with so much to see and do. I'm also not a drinker, being part Japanese. I turn red when I drink alcohol, and if I drink enough, I'm bright red even the next day. That's actually a sign that you are allergic. So, I realized after doing a little bit of research that I probably should not drink at all.

57:36 I have no judgment for my subscribers who do drink. I know quite a few of my subscribers don't have that experience or allergy. So, Pattaya is not necessarily my jam. Would I go back? Probably. I didn't make it out to the Sanctuary of Truth, this gorgeous wooden structure. I do want to go back to see this in person. I meant to get over there, but in Thailand, time seems to just not work the same way.

Koh Larn Island and Greeny Travels

58:35 Another thing that I'd like to see is Koh Larn. Koh Larn is really nice; you take a ferry over from the port, and it's a beautiful island with some really nice beaches. It's not nearly as crowded as you'd think being so close to Pattaya. For whatever reason, they're able to disperse the tourists. It may be that the ferry ends early, as the last ferry runs around 6:30 PM back to Pattaya. So, it's not a place people go to party, but it's a beautiful island. Newal Beach is gorgeous, and I didn't see the monkeys.

59:38 Thank you for letting me know, Maau Streets. Please let me know when it pops back on if you guys can see it. But Koh Larn is gorgeous; it feels like just a beautiful, beautiful Thai island. I did want to check out, I know Greeny Travels, I watch Greeny's videos. He's a retired detective from Detroit and lives in Bang Saray, which is south of Pattaya. He likes it; it's chill and laid-back.

Pattaya People Watching and Interactions

1:00:32 I'm just going to skip the ads for now because they're just wearing them out. What was the best thing you liked about Pattaya? I would say the best thing to me was the people watching. If you go to Pattaya, there are some interesting characters. I saw a lot of people from around the world; it's just really interesting people-watching. It's super international feeling, almost as much as Bangkok, but a lot of different people from around the world. You walk around Pattaya at night, you will see something interesting.

1:01:13 I saw all kinds of characters; I was approached by strange people. It's just a city for people-watching. If you want to see some funny interactions or strange bedfellows, then Pattaya is the city for that. The I connected well with the Thai people that worked there; that was something that really shocked me. I moved for work, so I came from a town in the Midwest or Midsouth in the United States. I moved to California for work and was out of my element. I wasn't from California, and I was having some health issues.

Pattaya Healthcare and English Levels

1:02:06 I have struggled with some autoimmune issues, and I went to a dermatologist in Pattaya. She spoke great English; I need to find and link her because she was just really nice and good at what she does. We were talking about Chiang Mai because she knew I was planning to go there, and we had a great conversation. I also spoke with some of the massage therapists I saw in Pattaya; they also speak great English. They're all from Chiang Mai, so I feel like half the Thai people that work in Pattaya are from the north.

1:02:42 It's very common for people from all over Thailand to move to Pattaya for job opportunities. There's such a high demand for services in Pattaya that it outstrips the local population, such that you meet people in Pattaya from all over the country that had to move there for work. I really related to them, and they speak English well because they're constantly interacting with Western tourists. Their English levels really surprised me, actually, much more English than Chiang Mai in my personal opinion.

Pattaya Food Scene and Jomtien

1:03:22 Other things about Pattaya I like are the food. If you like international food, then you've got every option in the book in Pattaya. There's just such a big variety of foreigners there. I mean, walking down the street, I would regularly pass by an Italian restaurant, a Swedish restaurant, a Russian restaurant, a German restaurant, a Spanish restaurant, and of course, American-style cuisine, Australian-style cuisine, British food, anything you can imagine. Sushi, there are some great sushi restaurants in Pattaya. Like any kind of cuisine you want, you can have in Pattaya or in Jomtien.

1:04:14 So I stayed in Jomtien, a little bit more laid-back compared to Pattaya, but still kind of wild. I would go back; you know, I don't know that I could live there long-term. There's kind of an interesting crowd there, like you do see some people you don't want to run into again. There are some strange characters, like I saw a guy that had tattoos indicating he's...

Pattaya Characters and Chiang Mai's Charm

1:04:49 He was covered in tattoos indicating he's a fan of a certain German leader from the 1940s. Not my scene, and so I didn't engage with this person. He probably wouldn't like me based on the way I look. But yeah, there are people of all kinds. Overall, my experience was decent.

1:05:09 After a month, especially not being somebody who's into some of the more well-known attractions of Pattaya, I was ready to go to Chiang Mai. Even in spite of perhaps not as much English as Bangkok or Pattaya or the islands, Chiang Mai is just such a beautiful city. It's one of my favorite cities in the world, and my six months there definitely reaffirmed that.

Chiang Mai's Laid-back Atmosphere

1:05:39 It's just a country town, like it reminds me of the city I grew up in, where people are friendly, down to earth. The tourism there is more laidback. It doesn't feel as hardcore as Pattaya or Bangkok, where people are hustling hard to make their money. Chiang Mai just seems more laidback. Not saying people don't work hard there, but it didn't seem quite as hardcore for short-time tourists as some other parts of the country where you're coming in for a week on spring break or two weeks on your yearly vacation.

1:06:22 They're not as concerned about long-term whereas in Chiang Mai, I was regular. I got to know the ladies that managed my... I became a regular at quite a few places.

Regular Spots in Chiang Mai

1:06:58 There's one that comes up, I'll zoom in here. Hopefully it pops up. It's here, Boton. So I became a regular at this restaurant, a really down-to-earth sushi restaurant. The Thai man who had worked as a sushi chef in Bangkok then moved up to Chiang Mai to start his own thing. Fantastic restaurant. Also was a regular at Maya Mall. I'd come to Maya every morning for coffee.

1:07:29 Where else was I regular? Oh, at this gym, Gold Hill Side Gym and Fitness. This gym was really nice, good value for money. I think I was paying around $23 a month. I paid 5,000 baht for six months, so very reasonable.

Singapore vs. Home and Career Building

1:08:12 Pattaya, I could go on and on about it. It's just a strange city for sure, unfriendly, stoic. Would you rather work in Singapore or back home? Stoic, you know, for lifestyle. Even though I'm going to contradict myself a bit here because I talked earlier about how Singapore wouldn't necessarily be my first preference for lifestyle, I would give it a shot for a couple years.

1:08:32 If I could go to Singapore, work for a well-known brand name to put on my resume, like Google Singapore or Amazon, they have an AWS presence there. That would really add a lot to my resume, and I'd earn an outsized income and get valuable experience. Also, assuming I had a work permit, weekends outside of the country, maybe going to Bali for a weekend, then it would be an awesome lifestyle play.

1:09:23 If I was purely concerned about income, I think I would technically work out better in the Bay Area, just because the Bay Area income, salaries, wages, earnings potential is among the highest in the world, alongside New York City. Yeah, I'd give it a shot. You know, if I didn't like it, I'd just probably stick it out until I get to a stopping point and then maybe transfer to the US branch or apply for jobs in the US. But it would be a lot of leg work compared to working in Northern California or in New York.

Thailand Tourist Visa Plans

1:10:12 Michael says, 'Yeah, I'm coming on the tourist visa in November, not 100% sure if I'm staying in Thailand for a year or if I'm going to bounce around Southeast Asia on tourist visas.' Said, 'Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Wait till you get here to design. You may find that you want to go try out some different places. Nothing wrong with that. You'll get a better sense of what you like and what you don't like, places you want to spend more time, places you're okay with not coming back to.'

Expats Not Speaking Local Languages

1:10:41 Yeah, great idea. So sorry guys about when the screen went black. I do apologize for that. Thank you for alerting me to it.

1:10:52 Gerard says, 'I'm stunned with the amount of expats that can't speak the native language.' Yeah, I mean, it's to be expected, Gerard. Some of these languages are very niche. If you learn Thai, for example, you could put a lot of time into learning Thai. Thai doesn't really have a lot of applications outside of Thailand.

Language Learning Value and Transferability

1:11:17 I love Thailand, beautiful country, one of my favorite countries. But you know, as much Thai as I learned, which is fairly rudimentary, I can't use that here in Vietnam. So even though I'm just a couple-hour flight away, all the effort and the time that I put into learning the language, it's not applicable here in Vietnam. And same with Vietnamese, I could put a lot of effort into trying to learn Vietnamese. Vietnamese is ranked a level six, so it's one of the hardest languages you can learn, up there with Korean.

1:12:03 So you put all this effort into learning the local language, only for it to be irrelevant if you hop on a plane and go to a neighboring country. It's also valuable for the locals to have transferable experience. Let's say somebody's aspiration is to work in the United States, which some of my Thai friends have. They hope to work in the United States at some point. If they get their English skill set, that really gives them a strong advantage to being able to move to the United States.

1:12:42 They have to take certain tests to go to the US. Maybe they're wanting to work in a corporate setting in the US. They have so much more advantages from learning English than we have from learning their local language. Because they could go to any English-speaking country. They learn English, they're good for Canada, they're good for the United Kingdom, they're good for Australia. We learn Thai, maybe we'll run into a Thai person in our home country or outside of Thailand, but it's there's limited usability.

1:13:17 Now, do I enjoy learning some basic words? Absolutely. I think it's a lot of fun to see the local faces light up when you show that respect for their culture, for their language. You show that appreciation for something unique about their country. You have that connection. Also, you surprise them. I would catch people in Thailand a lot where I throw out my very, very rudimentary Thai, and you'd see their face just light up, just beaming that I'm not just barking at them in English, that I actually really care a lot about their country and their culture.

1:14:01 It's valuable to learn if you're passionate about it. Don't necessarily feel bad if you're not. They're going to get a lot of benefits from learning English, not just in the immediate. They may want to pursue a long-term career in an industry where English is very helpful. And they have curiosity. I have a Thai friend, and she loves practicing English with me. Every time we get together, she makes it a point that we do practice English, and she tries to get me to help her with her pronunciation.

Understanding Accents and Japanese Heritage

1:14:40 Some would say, 'Oh, don't condescend with the English.' I don't see it as condescending at all, as I think a lot of people find value in learning English regardless of their background.

1:14:58 Gerard, 'Some of those expats can't even speak their own language.' That's a great point, Tony. I mean, I'm not here to pick on anyone, but my Thai friends have told me people from certain English-speaking countries are much harder for them to understand compared to myself. I don't know if it's that I've had to speak for a living in the sales world, or that I've done some English teaching, or even here on YouTube, but they have told me certain people we just can't understand them, even though they speak English, even though they're native speakers, their accent is very difficult for us to wrap our head around.

1:15:35 Part of it may be that I grew up listening to my grandmother speak Japanese, so I understand the tonal language, kind of the way a person speaking a tonal language thinks. And I also have spent a lot of time listening to the way that Thai people speak. Sometimes I just, to mess with my Thai friends, throw a Thai accent on my English just to tease them a little bit, not to be rude, but just as a kind of tease.

Japan's Expat Experience and Visa

1:16:11 Gerard, 'Part Japanese, have you considered buying an IKEA abandoned house to live in to show us Japan?' Yeah, I mean, it's definitely intriguing to me. Being part Japanese, I would never be accepted as Japanese, so that's the tragedy of Japan. I would always be regarded as a foreigner.

1:16:33 In Japan, it's a kind of a binary. You're born in Japan, you speak Japanese, you're culturally Japanese, everything about you is Japanese, or you're a foreigner. So they don't really perceive somebody who's mixed in the same way. I think it's changing somewhat with the younger generations. They're being exposed to the world outside of Japan. Japan's economy is also struggling, where there's more pressure and temptation to move to the UK or move to the United States.

1:17:12 I've taught English to some Japanese people that told me, 'Yeah, we want to get out of here because the economy, the long-term prospects, at least in the context of our lifetimes, ain't looking so good.'

1:17:25 So I'd be open to it, maybe if I won the lottery or had some windfall and I had the free time. I mean, it'd be wonderful.

1:17:40 It'd be wonderful, but my grandmother told me no. She said I'm not going to support that; you don't need to go to Japan. You're not going to be accepted.

1:17:55 It was a tough conversation because if she signed some paperwork, I would actually qualify for like a one-year visa in Japan. I could probably keep working that if I really wanted to live in Japan long-term and turn that into a longer visa, maybe even get permanent residence.

Rural vs. Urban Japan and Foreigner Interactions

1:18:20 But yeah, that's just kind of where I'm at with Japan. It'd be interesting, but I want the visa support so I know I'm not just buying this house that I eventually have to ditch because they're telling me, 'Hey man, you can only come here three months a year and you need to stay outside of Japan the other nine months a year.'

1:18:44 You're also, if I were to live in Japan, I don't know how much I'd want to live in the total rural area. I've looked at some newsletters, and you're often quite remote, so they're not as frequently in like Osaka or Tokyo.

1:19:04 It's one thing to live in urban Japan; it's a whole another thing to live in rural Japan, where you might be surrounded only by people retiring. You might have probably nobody who speaks English.

1:19:26 So if you're trying to have some English dialogue, which is much more common in Osaka or Tokyo or even Fukuoka, Japan is much more insular than parts of Southeast Asia, Thailand for example.

Japan's Insularity and Foreigner Loneliness

1:19:43 Thailand people are very warm to foreigners in my experience. I had lots of warm, friendly, positive interactions throughout the country. In Japan, they're just, I mean, most Japanese that aren't actively trying to learn English or pursuing a career outside of Japan are just less concerned with the world outside of Japan and less concerned with interacting with foreigners.

1:20:18 From what I can tell, it's one of the lonelier countries for foreigners. That could be just my perception, maybe it's my own issue of feeling at times culturally Japanese because I was raised by my grandmother and I feel so influenced by that, but visually not passing.

1:20:40 Now, if I shave and I'm spending a lot of time indoors where my skin gets really light, people speak full-on to me in Japanese. So when I'm in Japan and I shave and I dress decent, I can actually pass for Japanese. But my facial hair starts to grow in, and I quickly go back to being a gaijin.

1:21:01 So yeah, that's just been my experience in Japan. At times I could pass, but as soon as I open my mouth, it's obvious or evident that I'm not.

Thailand Content Ideas

1:21:10 Gerard says, 'I have a funny feeling that if you did a blog on Thailand, it might get you at least 40 or more views.' Yeah, I could do some more stuff on Thailand. I miss Thailand.

Philippines Adventures and Focus Challenges

1:21:24 We'll see how things go in the Philippines. So I'm flying to Dumaguete in a week. I plan to stay for several months. It kind of depends on how things go.

1:21:37 If I feel like it's too much of a fun atmosphere, I may go back to Thailand. Not that Thailand is not fun, but Thailand can be many different things. I find that the Philippines, my experiences there are very oriented toward having fun.

1:21:51 Like when I went five years ago, I just had a blast. The whole trip was a blast. I was having so much fun, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get some of the things done that I needed to get done because people are just so fun-loving, happy, smiling, laughing, 'Hey, let's go to the beach,' 'Hey, let's go swimming,' 'Hey, let's go on a date.'

1:22:14 I have like friends there that I really connected well with. If I'm trying to pursue my education, trying to do GMAT prep, trying to write a book, it's like, 'Okay, do I want to sit here at my Airbnb on the computer, or do I want to go out there to that beautiful ocean and go swim around and look at the fish?'

1:22:33 Or do I want to hop on a ferry to the next island over and borrow a bicycle and ride it around the island? Or this gorgeous woman is talking to me online, do I want to sit here and study, or do I want to meet up with her on a date?

1:22:48 The Philippines is amazing. It's so amazing that it can at times be challenging for me to focus. We'll see how it goes.

Dumaguete Stay and Offline Maps

1:23:00 This is my second time to the Philippines. Maybe some of that intense novelty will have subsided. I'm also staying in Dumaguete for at least a month, so it's not like my last trip where I bounced between three different locations in the span of a month.

1:23:23 So yeah, I don't know why it says six years ago, by the way. Gold Hill Side Gem and Fitness, I was there seven months ago, six, no, five months ago.

1:23:35 Why don't we zoom over to the Philippines here? So yeah, I'll be staying south of the city, probably about a 25-minute ride from the center of the city. I've downloaded the map; that's something I recommend, by the way, everybody.

Approaching People and Cultural Differences

1:24:02 Download an offline map of the city you plan to go to. That way, if you lose Wi-Fi, if you are unable to get a SIM immediately for whatever reason, then you've got a copy of the map on your phone and you're able to take a look at that without losing connection.

1:24:36 Super, super helpful. Michael says, 'It's kind of funny a fan of certain German leader, Mich, go to Southeast Asia. I talked to him just to see how he feels about the locals.'

1:24:44 Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, Michael. I think that's a great point, and that could be good content. Yeah, I need to get better about approaching people. It's the Japanese mindset of not wanting to bother or disturb people, but I got to get over that, right?

1:24:59 I used to not think that way. For whatever reason, when I was in Peru, I don't know if it's just cultural similarities, I don't know if it was just the weather, I don't know what it was. I didn't feel strange about approaching or talking to people.

Content Plans and Paul's Life Story

1:25:16 But it may have just been the stress of my last job, just getting so rejected so much, like is typical in sales, that it kind of dissuaded me a bit. But I need to get back on it. There's a lot of potential interesting content out there.

1:25:36 I do have some stuff lined up with Mike from Mike's Philippine Retirement, also Mark with Every Man Has a Story. Also, Paul and I are going to sit down and have a talk.

1:25:48 I reached out asking about doing some content with him. He said, 'Why don't we sit down and talk first?' which is great. I wanted to reach out to Paul because I've been watching his content for like five years now.

1:25:58 I let him know, 'Hey, I'll be on your channel.' Because, you know, I know it's somewhat of a business for Paul. I know he doesn't rely on it to pay his bills. But I didn't want to be yet another foreigner that sees, 'Oh, cool YouTuber, 100K subs, I'll be the most interesting person he's met yet.'

1:26:20 Paul could meet with anybody, any number of people. He's the Godfather of Dumaguete. I just laugh at this stuff because it's strange how history repeats itself, how we see so many parallels between the culture that we're familiar with, the history, the zist, and how he sort of captured the limelight in his retirement years.

1:26:52 He has the personality just working in sales to talk with people. So yeah, I'll be sitting down to chat with Paul. We may or may not make content. I'm happy to sit down and chat with him. I didn't want to just be another person to ask him, 'Hey, you know, what about me? Like, you're so cool, let's just sit down and chat,' without some tangible benefit to him.

1:27:11 But knowing that he's happy to just chat, you know, he's an interesting guy. There's a lot for me to learn from somebody like him with the life experience that he has and the trials and tribulations that he's been through.

1:27:29 He's definitely an interesting character. To some extent, knowing about his background, he does have kind of a tragic background. And I'm always interested to get to know people that have experienced these different kinds of tragedy to see how they overcome it.

Overcoming Tragedy and Learning from Others

1:27:50 There's a lot I've experienced a lot of tragedy in my life, and to see people who are able to overcome it. He seems to be a happy guy from what I can tell. He seems to have put a lot of that stuff in the rearview mirror and has made an interesting life for himself.

1:28:10 There's a lot for me to learn from him. I'd love to interview him and share some of his insight with my audience. One of the things that I would ask Paul, I need to make a list of questions just in case we do line something up.

1:28:23 What would be your top insight to share with young expats or young people who are younger than yourself that want to pursue the lifestyle that you have here? That they see you've been able to go from difficult situations back in America to now you're building a house, and you are married, and you've got this vibrant friends circle.

1:28:47 Yeah, just kind of getting his perspective. There's no prescriptions, right? You can't copy. None of us can copy what Paul did and end up with the same result that he has.

1:29:00 But there's a lot that he has to offer in terms of knowledge. I think a lot of the guys that he talks to are the same age as him and in a similar position in life as him. And there's a whole lot of guys that are watching his channel thinking, 'I want to be there when I get to his seniority.'

1:29:18 I want to be living that life. Maybe not exactly in the Philippines, maybe not in Dumaguete, but they there's a lot they can learn to pursue that in their own country.

1:29:32 Maybe just parts of it. You know, maybe they don't want a relationship, maybe they prefer to be a committed bachelor, but they still want to have just that calm demeanor.

Paul's Insight and Overcoming Loneliness

1:29:44 And you can see the...

1:29:46 That calm demeanor and you can see the stress like in his face that he's experienced but that he's overcome a lot of that. So yeah, I think Paul has a lot of insight and I'm looking forward to meeting him, thanking him for all the entertainment. I can't tell you how many times I had a crap day at work in the west, and I got off work and loaded up YouTube and, oh wow, look, Paul put something up and watched it. I could forget about my problems for an hour or a half hour and see what kind of funny situation he'd gotten himself into, what kind of lesson he had to share with the audience.

1:30:23 I need to just go back through before I get to Dumaguete and watch some of his content from the last five years because it's really helped me to get through a lot of difficult times in my life. Just seeing that he's able to have overcome some of the same things that I've gone through, and he talks about loneliness in the west, which I think is something that we skip over a lot.

Loneliness in Travel vs. Home

1:30:49 Earlier tonight I had a conversation with Tony and Stoic, and we were talking about loneliness and some things around that topic. But I think that it's not often talked about how we were talking about loneliness in the context of living abroad, and it's a different kind of loneliness than the loneliness we experienced back home.

1:31:10 So it feels like for some of us, we're trading one kind of loneliness, the loneliness and isolation of working a highly demanding job where our life and our identity revolves around that job, for where we're unable to invest as much time in interpersonal relationships, dating, hobbies, whatever it may be. To pivoting to where it's a different kind of loneliness where there may be a language barrier, we may be missing these relationships we've invested a lot of time into.

1:31:47 So, you know, it's like, is loneliness just inherently part of the experience of being a longtime traveler, being an expat? Some of it could be alleviated, I think, with a relationship, but even that's not in like an identical replacement or a substitute. And I want to talk to Paul about that as well, just about his experience or perception of loneliness, how that's changed.

Paul's Perception of Loneliness

1:32:12 He seems very happy. Are there any days where he does feel that? He's talked about how there are times where or months where he and May don't leave the house a lot. Does he feel lonely at those times? I imagine he's alluded to having a difficult childhood, which I think a lot of people can relate to. Is some of that tied in?

1:32:37 And we don't have to talk about it on camera. I don't want to put him on the spot. I'm not there to embarrass him or to uncover old dog new tricks, but to better understand the man behind the camera, the man behind the lens.

Singapore as a Career Hub

1:32:55 Friendly Stoic says, 'I feel like Singapore is a good balance of career building and you're close to a few Southeast Asia hotspots you could do weekend trips.' Yeah, I think it would be awesome to do for a year or two. And who knows, maybe something like that will open up.

1:33:10 A couple of things related to that. Stoic, one, the person that recruited me for my last job, she and her father actually lived in Singapore for a while. He had a career there, he lives in Thailand now, and he loves Thailand. So, kind of just a small world thing.

1:33:25 The other aspect of that is my former coworker, he's living in, he's actually living in Greece now. He's working in a multifaceted business role in Greece. I won't mention his name, just respect his privacy, but he and his family actually lived in Singapore. So his dad had some kind of business role in Singapore, and they were based there for several years.

1:33:53 And so he's gotten to see, he's one of those people that he has traveled so much, he does not brag about it. And that's when you know somebody is well-traveled when they don't brag about it. And when travel is not as, I think he still enjoys traveling like when we worked together, he did a trip to Peru, but it's not quite to the same magical feeling that people who haven't traveled as much experience.

1:34:24 To the extent that it was, I think he almost didn't want to talk about it because it would be more isolating or more dividing than it would be something that is a shared experience. Right? Because most Americans don't have passports, most Americans have not been outside of the United States. So the contrast of that, somebody who has an EU passport, somebody who's lived in Singapore, is very, very atypical compared to the experience of the majority of Americans.

Japanese Food and Travel Experiences

1:34:56 Gerard says, 'How are you with Nat?' You know, I don't think I've tried Nat. My grandma hates it, she hates Nat. I don't know exactly why. I don't know if they just had to eat it because of, you know, the challenges and.

1:35:10 And I'm open to trying it. I'm not opposed to trying it at all. I've definitely come around on some stuff I didn't think I would enjoy. I'm trying to think of a specific example. I won't do balut, that's something I'm not going to eat. It's just not appealing to me.

Philippines Destinations: Palawan vs. Siargao

1:35:30 Mau says, 'What made you decide to go to Dumaguete City in the Philippines as opposed to other places in the country, say Palawan, Toai City, or Baguio City?' So, great question, Mau. With Palawan, it's, Palawan is over here. It's like, I went to a different place in the Philippines, and I'm probably gonna kick myself later for talking about it, but Siargao Island is incredible, and it's not as well-known as Palawan.

1:36:10 So my concern with Palawan is that it's so popular that if I go there, I'll be surrounded by tourists. I know, like, it's maybe a hipster mentality, I want to be the only one there. Siargao gets a significant amount of tourists, by the way. Like when I was there, there's a Swedish family staying at my resort. I went to an Italian restaurant over here by Siargao airport, packed full of Western tourists when I flew from Siargao airport here.

1:36:47 And that's a fun airport to fly out of because you fly, you basically, it's kind of a short runway, and you fly and then you lift off right over the water. So you're going straight up. And so on that flight, the majority of the people on that flight were Western people. But I just feel like I would enjoy that a bit more than a Palawan. I will go to Palawan eventually, it's definitely on my radar as a place to go.

1:37:16 But it's, you know, it's just so much more well-known. It's kind of similar as far as like places like Boracay are concerned. I just know, you know, lots and lots of people will go there. And the difference being, I would actually consider living in a place like Siargao, where I don't think I could live in Palawan.

Building Relationships in Transient Locations

1:37:34 It, you know, I lived in, I spent a month in Krabi in Thailand, and living in some of these places that are transient, it's like traveling within traveling, where most of the people coming through, or I'm thinking more like long-term. And so if I try to live in a place where most people are coming through for a week, maybe a weekend, I think it's a place I'd struggle to build relationships.

1:38:01 Nothing wrong with going there. I think they're gorgeous, world-class destinations. I think they'll continue to be super popular, but it kind of compounds my feeling of loneliness. Whereas in Siargao, I met a lot of people that live in Siargao. Their population's about 75,000, and so I would keep interacting with the same people over and over again, which is something I really enjoy.

Exploring Luzon: Baguio, Vigan, and Spanish Architecture

1:38:23 And when it comes to Baguio, I am curious about Baguio. I'd like to do, I don't know if I'll make it this time, but I want to do something where I hit a bunch of different spots in Luzon. And it may happen this time if I take my GMAT test in Luzon, because Manila is the only place in the Philippines that offers the GMAT test. It has to be proctored, you have to be observed, and you have to have it signed off on.

1:38:55 Where I do say, like, a month in Manila, sort out my GMAT, and then before I go back to try to start my MBA program, assuming that all that lines up. I don't know yet, there's a long time between now and then. If I go down that path, you know, I'd like to check out Angeles, it's kind of like the Philippines version of Pattaya. I'd like to check out Tarlac.

1:39:24 Actually, one of my new subscribers, he joined us last stream, which was Thursday night. He's actually in Tarlac and he said, 'You please come up here to Tarlac, check it out. We're very welcoming people up here, it's very enjoyable.' And what else? So Baguio would be included. So it might be a situation where I do like a trip, maybe, you know, let's say a month in Manila, or maybe a week in Manila, Angeles for a week, Tarlac for a week, and then work my way up to Baguio for a week.

1:39:57 And Vigan, I want to do Vigan because a ton of people have been going up to Vigan. It's got this Spanish-style architecture that reminds me of Latin America, and that's gorgeous. I miss Latin America at times, and I love the beauty, the kind of the Spanish colonial style. And also, I mean, even like colonial style aside, I mean, it looks like parts of Spain, reminds me of Sevilla, where I went early last year.

Philippines Destinations: Tanza and Batangas

1:40:30 To Thai, I think. Let's see here. Let's back up to Thai. I think one of my subscribers lives near to Gai, or he's in, I think he's in Tanza, he's not in, to Thai. Let's pull to Thai.

1:40:57 So yeah, he's not quite down there. I did talk to a Filipina online briefly, and this isn't to guage Thai, but she told me I should go to Batangas. So she and her family live in Marikina City, which is east of Manila, but she told me like her family's originally from Batangas, and I should check out Batangas.

1:41:20 Which looking at these photos, absolutely agree with her, it's so beautiful. But, yeah, feel free guys to chime in. That was a great question, by the way, Mau. Streets, very thoughtful. I should answer this question because I asked about why I wouldn't go to those other places.

Cagayan de Oro and Expat Friendships

1:41:51 Do MTI interesting for several reasons. We'll come back to Dumaguete here. I didn't go to Dumaguete on my last trip. So my first trip to the Philippines, I landed in, well, I landed in Cebu and then I had to transfer. No, I landed in Manila. No, I.

1:42:10 I landed in Manila, no, I landed in Cebu and I had to transfer to the domestic terminal. So I came to Cebu from Cambodia, from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I had to transfer from the international terminal to the domestic terminal and flew down to Cagayan de Oro. It's an industrial city. I have a former virtual assistant, former employee, now friend of mine, who lives in Cagayan de Oro. Top priority for that trip was to meet him, so I met him, spent some time with him and his family, spent Christmas with him and his family.

1:42:44 And then I came up to Camiguin Island and then I finished up in Cebu. So I had the option to go to Dumaguete, but I was on a limited timeline. I felt like Dumaguete has a ton of foreigners this time, and I want to be around more locals for a more immersive experience this time. It's like, okay, now I've had a chance to watch these vloggers in Dumaguete for a while, sort out the ones I like and the ones I don't care for as much. Befriended some of them, and there's a lot of opportunities there to interact with foreigners that doesn't exist elsewhere.

1:43:27 I used to think, hey, I'll just have local friends. The older I get, the more I can appreciate the need to make other expat friends. Healthcare needs, for example, if you need healthcare, talking to other expats is a great way to sort that out. If you need to find different services, like if I needed to hire a lawyer or a builder, now we're looking far out in the future. If I got married to a woman in the Philippines and wanted to build a house, you know, when you're dealing with a foreigner, yes, there are bad foreigners out there, yes, there are scammers, but having these connections gives you perspective and shifts the angle at which you're looking at your problems.

Cagayan de Oro Amenities and Activities

1:44:21 Plus, it's just seems like a nice city. It's got Misamis Oriental State University, which is a really great university. I'm partial to college towns because I think they're often really vibrant. You've got a lot of young, ambitious people that are trying to move up in the world, trying to improve their circumstances, trying to build a career. So that's what's appealing about Cagayan de Oro. Also, you've got the Camiguin Island, which seems cool. I'd like to check out Camiguin Island; that's a ferry ride away.

1:44:55 Also the snorkeling. So they have a lot of dive shops here. I'm not really a diver; I tried it in Mexico, and it was terrifying. Maybe I'd change my mind if I tried it again, but for now, I'm more of a snorkeler. Being able to go snorkeling, swimming in the water, looking at the fish, it just seems like a wonderful option. Now, I know that's not specific to Cagayan de Oro; you have those experiences in the Philippines, but having the access to the water, but then also the town, the Western conveniences, you've got Robinson's, you've got Hypermarket, you've got KCC. You've got quite a few Western conveniences.

Westerner Advantage and Economic Challenges

1:45:41 The city's also not too big. If you've spent any time in Cebu, for example, Cebu is a big city; it can feel a bit congested, a bit heavy with traffic at times. That's a good point, Tony. That's a good point. Okay, I'm going to do a video that's I'm adding that to the list.

1:46:04 Places you have been in the world where being a Westerner helps you in social interaction versus places where it doesn't help at all. Places that it doesn't help versus places that it helps. I would say in particular, it's not going to help you being a foreigner if you're in an economically challenged area, if you're in a country going through an economic crisis. I think that's where it could be a liability.

1:46:53 You know, at times you feel that in some places in the developing world where they feel like if you're a foreigner, you're rich. Like if you can afford a plane ticket here and you know you're capable of taking off work and you don't have any family here, then you're loaded. Even if you don't feel loaded, most of us probably feel like middle-class Western people. Even if you don't feel really well-off, then all of a sudden you become a target.

Safety Concerns in Medellin, Colombia

1:47:31 I think Medellin, Colombia, is an example of that. I love Colombia; I have several friends in Colombia, but when I was there, they were constantly warning me, like, 'Hey, be careful. Don't even walk six blocks back to your hotel from my apartment, even though we're in a very upscale neighborhood in Poblado.' Now, do call a cab, even though it's just six blocks. Call a cab.

1:47:57 When I'm in Medellin, the hotel, where is it? Estadio. Okay, so the hotel owner, he keeps the door locked to the outside. This kind of I didn't really think about at the time because I was just happy to be somewhere interesting. It was also a great time economically for Medellin. I think things have turned down a little bit since then, but he would keep the door to the exterior, to the outside, locked, even though we're in a fairly, what appears to me to be a fairly nice neighborhood.

1:48:49 Let's see, Casa here? Yeah, no, that's not it. Maybe it is. No, I don't think that was it. We're on, I feel like it was Avenida Colombia. And there's a military base. Anyway, he's keeping the door to the outside street locked. So every time I want to leave or come back to the hotel, they're having to unlock it to let me out, and then when I come back, they're looking out before they let me in. So that didn't give me a great feeling.

1:49:24 I felt like there the threat of robbery or crime is so significant here that they cannot just leave the door unlocked. Also, I heard about foreigners in El Poblado, which is like the upscale neighborhood in Medellin. Over, I'll pull it up here. So this is the high-end neighborhood in Medellin. I heard about foreigners like out in front of their hotels, guys rolling up and taking all their stuff with force.

1:50:03 Now, none of this happened to me. I did have a sketchy kind of situation where I had a bunch of kids approach me in the El Tesoro neighborhood. Let's see here. Yeah, so I was in this neighborhood and I happened to be taking some video, and I had these kids approach me, demanding that I come with them. They kept telling me, 'Come with us, come with us,' and I'm like, 'No, no, no.' Well, their expressions turned to anger, then they started cursing me out and following me.

1:50:41 I ended up in an auto repair shop, and they finally just cursed me out and walked away. So I don't know what they were trying to do, I don't know what they wanted. But that was sketch. Now, other than that, nothing major happened to me in Colombia, but a lot of these experiences, you know, my friends warning me about safety.

Expat Friends and Information Resources

1:51:05 Colombia is definitely going through some challenges. And as far as places where it helps, it's hard for me to think on that, Tony. Oh, D, hey, great to see you. Haven't chatted in a while. I also think expat friends can be very helpful when traveling. Vloggers like Old Dog provide a wealth of information on how to navigate situations.

Cagayan de Oro Expat Longevity and Peru Comparisons

1:51:49 Yeah, I mean, he's a success story in terms of he's been in Cagayan de Oro for like seven years now, six years. So he's done doing a lot of things right to have that kind of longevity, to not have gone broke and gone back home, to not have had run-ins with the legal system. He's definitely making good decisions. It seems like every year he looks happier and less stressed than the year before. When he first got there, I could tell the guy had been through some stuff, and now it's like, wow, he's aging in reverse.

1:52:29 Well-paid Thai workers earn around $15 per day. Tony says, in my experience, many middle-class educated locals in Cusco showed interest in me as a foreigner, open to friendship, asked my opinion on things. Mexico City, no one cared that I was from the north. The educated, well-off Peruvians I met held 'gringo' in high regard and would invite me into their social world.

Peru's Social Circles and Historical Grievances

1:52:53 Yeah, Tony, I was shocked at how different Peru is from Colombia because, you know, in the States, we get this impression that Latin America is a monolith, and it couldn't be further from the truth. When I was in Cusco, I felt welcomed into a number of different social circles, even with Peruvians. This Peruvian woman I spent some time with, she would invite me to her popup restaurant, and she'd introduce me to her friends and the musicians, and they were very warm.

1:53:36 I don't know if I accessed like some of that as much though as you did, Tony, because I noticed when I made friends from Venezuela, we would hang out with other expats as a group. So I met them through a Belgian woman, and then they introduced me to their friends from Colombia. But I don't know if it was just that specific group. I noticed my buddy from India, who has the Indian restaurant in Cusco, he was interacting a lot with other Indians.

1:54:12 It's probably a small niche community as far as people from India living in Peru, but things may have changed. I do want to go back there. It may be that I went right after the pandemic. In fact, I landed in Cusco within a week of them lifting the pandemic restrictions. So it may be people were more concerned about avoiding illness than they are now. They may have collectively felt like, hey, you know what, pandemic that was in the past, we're moving on from that, we're going to be more open now.

1:54:56 I did interact with some Peruvians at this festival I went to. This woman introduced me to; she was like, 'Hey, come up to this festival, I'm doing a popup there,' and I got to interact with people there. One guy, his mother lived in Texas for a while, so he was half Peruvian, and he was really interesting. He definitely had an interesting...

1:55:22 He definitely had an interesting perspective, having lived in the United States and then moved back. He did seem a little bit frustrated. He told me that his grandparents started the first major grocery. Now, I don't know if I'm taking this with a grain of salt; this may be just totally fictitious. I gathered from his facial expressions that he was being honest, but you know, he didn't ask me for money, he didn't prompt me to exchange contact information. I don't even remember his name.

1:55:52 But he told me that his grandparents started the first grocery store in Peru, and then it was seized during a military coup. So I don't know if that's a common thread there. I don't know if that was just a one-off, but you know, I did sense some kind of hidden pain there.

Peru's Diversity, Landscapes, and Colors

1:56:15 Peru is interesting. I do feel like the diversity there is a little bit different than the diversity in Colombia. In Colombia, it seemed like the divisions were more neighborhood by neighborhood. In Peru, it seemed more like the Lima versus outside of Lima kind of divide, where people outside of Lima felt some kind of solidarity.

1:56:53 I think the whole country is beautiful. I loved my time in Lima, I loved my time in Cusco. I think they're different in unique and interesting ways. I'd like to go back and check out Arequipa; that's really a priority next time I make it to Peru.

1:57:16 Arequipa is closer to the ocean than Cusco, although still like probably... let's see how long it takes to get to Mollendo. Oh God, that's by walking, two and a half hours. So a weekend trip, maybe not necessarily a day trip, probably a little bit further. I guess you could stop in Matarani.

1:57:46 So it's not as close, but you're still getting seafood there. I mean, they can still throw some stuff on a truck and get it up to Arequipa. But I'm interested in Arequipa. I'm interested also in the northern trio. I want to check out Trujillo.

1:58:03 Let's look at these photos. It's such a beautiful, like the colors in Peru are so interesting. It's one of the most colorful countries that I've ever been to. The landscapes are beautiful, and then the colors of the buildings themselves are beautiful.

1:58:31 I miss Peru for sure. It's a country I could definitely see myself living in at some point in my life. The landscapes are so dramatic, and then you have the colors of the buildings, and the food is amazing.

Ayacucho vs. Cusco: Authenticity and Tourism

1:58:56 Ayacucho seems to be the lesser-known sister of Cusco, less almost no tourism, "Gringos" are rare around the edges, and super, quote unquote, authentic. Let's pull up Ayacucho here.

1:59:24 Oh, Ayacucho. Yeah, let's take a look here at Ayacucho. This looks a lot like Cusco, but I can see what you mean as far as less touristic. Seeing this lady here in what looks to be a town square, in Cusco, this scene would have probably a lot of vendors and also a lot of tourists walking through.

1:59:50 I can see what you're talking about, Tony, that if you're there and you want to have potentially a less... well, you know, if you're okay, this looks a little bit more lively. But if you want to have an experience with perhaps fewer tourists, you want to be able to move a bit more slowly.

2:00:06 People in Cusco are working hard. They, I found people to be friendly and willing to have conversation, but there was that element of like, hey, we've got to get this bus going, or we've got to embark on a tour, we've got to do things because that's how people are making their bread and butter in a place that is perhaps a little bit less touristic.

2:00:28 Maybe you could have slower conversations, you could talk to folks. And this is gorgeous. It's interesting to me how similar it looks to Cusco, and yet it's definitely not Cusco. The layout of the city is very similar.

2:01:06 Probably not as much to do there, but more real than overly touristic Cusco. It has a Plaza de Armas, less grand than Cusco, and it's super indigenous.

Indigenous Heritage and Ancient History

2:01:17 Yeah, I definitely, quite a few of the people that I met in Cusco, especially in the city center, were like half indigenous, half Spanish, and they were not afraid to tell me about that either. They were very much proud of their heritage.

2:01:40 Whereas you, yeah, let me, I'm gonna pull up to watch later, Tony, after this stream. Joe walking. Video because I'm curious to see some more areas like that to branch out from Cusco when I go back.

2:01:53 It's a cool city, and I want to go see all my friends, but I want to do more exploring there because it's just so interesting. I think it's the ancient history. I think it's just feeling like you're connected to something that's, I mean, older than the history of the United States.

2:02:22 Now, I know there's individual communities within the Americas, like California used to be part of Mexico, but older than the modern iteration of Canada as well. So, yeah, very, very like, very interesting.

Ayacucho's Beauty and Local Vibe

2:02:41 This is beautiful. Okay, I don't know if you can, I don't know if this is safe to take like a kayak or canoe, but this is incredible. California without all the people. This is so beautiful, man.

2:03:05 Like, thank you for telling me about this, Tony. I'd heard the name Ayacucho, but if it's not a friend telling me about it, then there's just so many places, the names all kind of blend together. But actually stopping to take a look at it.

Ayacucho Travel Logistics and Flights

2:03:22 Yeah, this looks just like the Plaza de Armas, but it's beautiful. The landscaping is gorgeous. It's definitely on my radar now. I have to make note of it.

2:03:53 So it is, it is much closer to Lima. I guess what you would do, Lima, I guess what you'd probably need to do to get to Ayacucho, I don't know if they have flights there.

2:04:06 Oh, wow. Okay, Pisco. They have actually a place called Pisco, of course, the famous drink in Peru is the Pisco Sour. Maybe you take a bus from Lima to there, and that's, you know, that's kind of the trade-off, right?

2:04:20 Is that maybe a little bit harder to... Let me pull up maps actually. I'm curious, or flights. Let me check flights.

2:04:36 Lima. Oh, you can fly there. So they have an airport. Okay, awesome. That's really good to know. Thank you for calling this to my attention, Tony. I had no idea that you could actually fly to Ayacucho.

Ayacucho's Disconnected Feel

2:04:56 It feels totally disconnected from the West. Yeah, I believe it. It looks just based on the photographs. I mean, this lady's wearing some very traditional clothing. You don't see... we can zoom in here.

2:05:18 Yeah, I mean, it appears to be like a very, very much a local vibe, which sounds really cool. It sounds like perhaps a less material-oriented version of Cusco. Like when I was in Cusco, I definitely got the sense that, I don't know if "hipster vibe" is the right word, but there's a lot I like about Cusco, but you got the sense the people in Cusco are very much exposed to the outside world.

2:05:40 Like people know, you know, people know what nice things are. Not that the people there and Ayacucho don't, but there is more Western influence. Yeah, there you go. It feels somewhat connected to the West. That's a good way to put it.

Western Influence and Materialism in Cusco

2:05:57 I don't want to demean it. I know that, you know, any, I know that everybody wants nice things anywhere you go in the world. People can appreciate having certain luxuries. I was surprised the woman that I was talking to in Cusco, she had the latest flagship iPhone. Like I'm running with this, you know, budget iPhone, and she's rocking the, I think at the time was the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

2:06:41 So yeah, yeah, there's a kind of back and forth between Lima and Ayacucho. Yeah, that's definitely a thing. I mean, I remember watching TV from Lima when I was in Cusco and just being like, you know, I was in this restaurant, this ceviche shop in Cusco, and I think Cusco gets it to some extent, probably not quite to the same extent as Ayacucho.

2:07:08 But let's come back to Cusco really quick. It, um, I was at this ceviche shop. It's probably not going to pop up for me here. Chance, it's probably not going to pop up for me right now. It's not going to come to mind, but I was in this ceviche shop and they had like TV shows from Lima.

2:07:44 And it was just a very stark contrast between the more conservatively dressed people in Cusco and the people on the screen who are Lima, who are like dancing and, you know, more perhaps Western in presentation. And so I think that would be to an even greater extent in Ayacucho.

Ayacucho Street View Exploration

2:08:05 We can come back to Ayacucho. View. Having a little trouble getting street view pulled up. Oh, there we go. Okay.

Ayacucho's Local Vibe vs. Cagayan de Oro

2:09:33 Yeah, yeah, I see what you're saying now, Tony. It definitely, it's definitely a different vibe from Cusco. It definitely looks more local.

2:10:24 Yeah, I mean, I think if we were in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, you'd see a lot of Western tourists. Whereas here, you just don't see... move around here quite as much. Let's see. Oh, here we go.

2:11:04 Okay, switches to nighttime view. But yeah, okay, that's, yeah, you can definitely see it. It reminds me of Cagayan de Oro a bit. Like Cagayan de Oro is not a touristic city, and when you go out in CDO, you don't see very many foreigners at all.

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

2:11:23 And Jake, hey Jake, welcome. Good to see you on here. It's, uh, yeah, I'm hoping your travels are going well, Jake. It was great to connect. And man, I'm a little bit envious of Jake. He actually got to see Siem Reap recently and got to experience the magic of Angkor Wat, gorgeous, world-class wonder of the world, really an incredible site.

2:11:52 And a place I hope to go. So yeah, I think it's awesome. Yeah, we're taking a look at Peru. Jacob, Tony, and I, for some reason, on a regular basis, we end up back to our discussions of Peru. It's such an interesting place.

Paul Rosolie and Peruvian Rainforest Adventures

2:12:09 One thing that, one person, I don't know if you're familiar, Tony, you may enjoy his content, Paul Rosy. He's based in the Peruvian rainforest and he does some interesting content. He was on Lex Fridman's podcast recently and he's been based there for a while.

2:12:32 He's trying to do okay. You might really enjoy him. I've watched some of his stuff, listened to some of his stuff. There's so much content out there, it's hard to keep track of it all. He was on, I think it was on the Joe Rogan Experience somewhat recently.

2:12:49 I have mixed feelings about Joe, but he does some interesting stuff. He's in the conservation space. He's trying to increase ecotourism there. He talks a lot about his experiences in the jungle, sometimes encountering uncontacted tribes, talking about some of the dangers associated with that, just about the raw experience in the jungle.

2:13:13 About just, he really takes adventuring to a whole new level. I hope to see some of the things that he's seen someday. I don't know if it'll ever happen, but he's got some, he's got some real guts.

Arequipa vs. Cusco: Tourism Impact

2:13:38 Yeah, it has its own subculture, historic arts, and music, and food styles. While Cusco is influenced by all the foreigners and feels somewhat connected to the West, Arequipa feels totally isolated from the West. That's the way it's looking to me: like you're in a Peruvian city for Peruvians, as opposed to like Cusco, which is a Peruvian city somewhat for foreigners, right? Like for international tourists, English is spoken very commonly in Cusco. I was actually shocked at the level of English that I encountered there.

2:14:18 And yeah, the hipster influence in Cusco is somewhat off-putting to some. I could see some people, it may not be their jam. No fancy fusion restaurants or tech drinks. You don't see that. That's something that on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, people are paying a premium for the real estate there. And those restaurants, they're trying to recoup those rental costs, and here, I imagine the rent is probably not quite as expensive.

Arequipa's Starkness and Bolivia Comparisons

2:15:08 Oh, that's a nice view. It looks like these buildings may not even be restaurants. I got to research that. I'm going to do some checking, some digging around online to learn more about Arequipa. Arequipa looks like parts of Bolivia. Many would find it stark, harsh, and bleak.

2:15:36 Yeah, the only people I know who like Bolivia are mountain climbers. So I'm in touch with, like acquainted with some mountain climbers, and they really like being based in La Paz. I think because there's a lot of climbs there. It's the highest elevation capital city in the world. It's maybe not the highest elevation city in the world, but I think it's the highest altitude capital, and they like being based there because I think they're able to stay acclimated to a high altitude and still get some urban conveniences.

2:16:41 But I mean, you're absolutely on the money as far as it being kind of stark. I mean, it's slim pickings up there. I can't imagine it's easy to grow much of anything up there. I know also it's probably quite cold, cold and windy, pretty dusty as well. It's tough.

2:17:03 Like, you know, when I went to Peru, I thought Cusco was that, but now I'm starting to better understand that in some ways, Cusco is like half and half. You're getting a strong taste of that high-altitude world, but you're also getting a lot of comforts, and you're getting a lot of history and culture. Right, there are some pretty bleak places that there may be some history there, but because it's not super hospitable, people didn't really stick around to build like a museum or, you know, build the kind of things that make Cusco so interactive.

Arequipa's Lack of Tourism and Interaction

2:17:42 It's not in Cusco, it's not, 'Oh, here's this dirt where something happened.' It's like, 'No, here's this place where people built this beautiful structure, and you can still see the structure.' Sure. So it's yeah, it's incredible for sure. Hardly any videos of people traveling to Arequipa, harder to find info. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

2:18:13 It's interesting to me that they even have flights there. I bet those flights look different than the flights to Cusco, right? I bet you're seeing a lot more people flying home to their home province. Maybe they moved to Lima for work, and they're flying back to Arequipa to see friends or to see family, maybe on the holidays they're going back like for Christmas. I noticed some of the Christmas decorations they had here.

2:19:02 But, let's see. Yeah, I hope that when you're making it back to Peru, Tony, that you're able to check out Arequipa if that's something that's on your radar. I think you'd get a lot out of visiting it. I've been chatting for so long. I think that it's a place that, Tony, I think you'd appreciate even more having spent significant time in Cusco, where you could actually contrast and feel like, I don't know, I think if I spent time in Arequipa, I think I would appreciate Cusco, but it would also... I don't know, there's interesting space there to compare and to contrast and like figure out, okay, this is the impact of tourism.

Standard of Living and Social Capital in Peru

2:20:01 Like obviously in Cusco, locals are more connected to the outside world. On the other hand, they're also more influenced by the outside world, entertainment, pop culture, attitudes, all these different aspects. Does a typical Peruvian have a good standard of living? I think it depends on where you're at in the country.

2:20:30 Lima is the home of the World Bank. No, the World Bank's headquartered in DC. I think Lima is the Latin American home of the World Bank, and there's definitely a lot of business opportunities in Lima. Lima has grown rapidly, so much so that people have built their own kind of towns on the outskirts of Lima.

Lima's Growth and Peruvian Cuisine

2:21:15 Peru is comparable to all the Latin American countries. They struggle with geographical limitations, right? Because something that isn't discussed as much when it comes to economic development in Latin America is that there's huge mountains everywhere, right? So if you've got a mass, if you're in a super mountainous place, it's going to be harder to do agriculture. You're in some places, they're very dry, like Lima is somehow dry and is somehow a foggy desert, which I think it's like one of the only places in the world that's a foggy desert.

2:21:56 It doesn't. It took me a long time to wrap my brain around it, but you see the outskirts are sandy, and then you see the fog rolling in. So there's some real challenges there in terms of development that don't face North America to the same extent.

2:22:16 That being said, it seemed like people, a lot of the people I interacted with, had some opportunity. Certainly, the tourism sector is very big in Cusco and in Lima. Lima has like a world-famous dining scene, several three-Michelin-star restaurants. Like even a random hole-in-the-wall in Lima to me felt like a world-class dining experience. I mean, even some random places I would find in the city would be fantastic, not just Latin cuisine, not just Peruvian cuisine, but international.

2:22:57 I mean, I had some fantastic Japanese food in Lima, and also in Cusco, they'd use local ingredients in Cusco with Japanese styles. Like the sushi there was fantastic. Peru to me, I don't know, I liked it a lot. I felt like there's some optimism there. It was lively and happening.

Peru's Optimism and Social Connections

2:23:34 It's hard for me to say, right? Because in the US, where I'm from, it has arguably the highest standard of living in the world, but also tons of people are in debt and can't afford an emergency. So I don't know where to balance that. Where in Peru, a lot of people could lean on their families for help or support. I didn't, you know, I don't get that pressure in my home country. So, center of living, like if you measure it off sheer GDP, you're going to get one picture. Where if you look at the relationships that people have, the social capital that people have, then I think it's a different conversation.

2:24:13 Tony says you and I talked about coming home from Cusco and having no one to talk about it. Well, there would be no one to talk about Arequipa to you. You'd have to keep it to your own hearts and thoughts. I absolutely agree with that, Tony. Arequipa seems like a place that you would share your experience with very, very few other people.

Arequipa's Immersion and Spanish Practice

2:24:45 And I noticed too, like Vagabond Dew spent some time in Peru. He went to Arequipa and Lima, and I think he went to Cusco, and that was it. He did not go to Arequipa. So he was primarily focused on the big cities and didn't make it to Arequipa. I think it could be a great place if you want that immersion. Probably a great place to practice your Spanish, right? People are not going to be, probably are less likely to engage you in English, unlike in Cusco, where people are interacting with so many Western tourists, then they're speaking plenty of English.

Stream Wind-down and Peru Appreciation

2:25:31 But I will say, I'm starting to lose my voice, so I'm going to wind down here in the next five minutes. It's been a fantastic stream, everyone. Thank you so much for the support. If you haven't yet, give us a thumbs up. It helps boost us in the YouTube algorithm. Also, comment if you're watching this on replay. Let us know what you think about some of the places that we talked about. Would you go to some of these places? Are you concerned about going to some of the more off-the-beaten-track places? Do you have any travel plans? It's always fun to have these discussions.

2:26:11 But yeah, any thoughts on what we discussed today? I think it's been a great conversation. We learned about a lot of different places. I never would have really looked into Arequipa, so I'm super glad you brought it up, Tony. And it's definitely making me think, Thailand is a home for me, but I think also Peru is a home for me.

Lima's Eclectic Cityscape and Japanese Influence

2:26:42 Such a beautiful country, stunning scenery, stunning backdrops, a land of many contrasts. Like I remember taking the steps, and this is a great point to wrap up. Here we go. This should be it. Well, they don't. Okay, yeah. I remember coming down here and being on the beach and watching people surf, and then going back up here in the contrast of going into like a, you know, a modern shopping district here in Miraflores, San Isidro.

2:28:02 It's a very eclectic city. Seeing the Japanese architecture, seeing the Chinese grocery store. Actually, one of the places that I really enjoy, and I don't know if it'll pop up here for us, there's a Super Nik. So this is actually a Japanese grocery store in Lima. And so I went there and actually had some Japanese goodies, and they actually have...

2:28:34 I actually have a lot of products imported from Japan, and the ladies working there with Japanese Peruvians, it was such an interesting experience to feel like you're stepping into Japan but you're really far away from Japan.

Philippines Stay Duration and Job Search

2:28:56 D says, "I'm really excited to follow your adventures in the Philippines. How long will you be there?" I plan to stay at least a month, but more likely I'll be there for a little bit. It's tough to gauge. I'd like to stay through Christmas. If I don't get a job offer by Christmas, I may go back to Thailand in January.

2:29:22 I'm kind of planning it by ear. I do miss Chiang Mai. Jake's right now in Chiang Mai, and I'm thinking, man, like Chiang Mai is such a cool city, but yeah, I'd like to stay through Christmas. If I don't get a job offer between now and then, I am interviewing, full transparency D, with jobs back in the States.

2:29:44 You know, it's not ideal, right? I'd like to keep traveling, but there's definitely some opportunities for me back in the States that I can't pass up. But yeah, at the shortest, I'll be there for a month. At the longest, through January.

Content Creation and Vietnam Video

2:30:03 I'm gonna go ahead and wind down. We've been going for two and a half hours. I really appreciate everybody's support and watching the live stream. I'm just shocked that I have this much support. It's so greatly appreciated, and it encourages me to keep making content.

2:30:19 I'm working on a video right now about what I love about Vietnam. I hope to finish filming it probably Monday. I'll probably have to wait till Monday to finish filming it.

Closing Remarks and Weekend Wishes

2:30:31 But, um, thanks so much everyone. Like I said, I hope you all have a lovely weekend ahead. I hope you're having lovely weather wherever you are in the world, and we'll see you soon.