I don't want to leave Thailand 🇹🇭

Technical Difficulties and Travel Plans

0:04 Hey, that looks a lot better. Okay, great. The audio should be working this time. Please let me know if it's not. I do see green bars lit up at the bottom of the screen. This should be good.

0:18 Welcome to the live stream. I think part of it was me trying to use the Brave browser to do the live stream. The Brave browser, I guess, just doesn't play as well with YouTube as Chrome, which would make sense because Chrome is a Google product, and of course, YouTube is also owned by Google. So it makes sense that the stream audio is going to be better.

0:47 It's probably a privacy thing, probably microphone access, and Brave is not letting YouTube access my microphone, my built-in microphone on my computer. So anyway, that's neither here nor there. I appreciate the viewer that called that out. It's much appreciated.

1:09 I hate that I've wasted some of your time doing these multiple iterations, but there's still a lot for me to learn, as you can tell. So thanks for bearing with me.

Vietnam Visa Requirements

1:19 I'll be here in Bangkok for about three more weeks. My flight's booked for three weeks from today. I do need to print out my EV, so I haven't gotten around to doing that. If you go to Vietnam, you'll need to apply for a visa in advance. So it's one of those countries, at least for Americans, but also I think a lot of people from all over the world have to get a visa in advance.

1:46 It's different from Thailand, where you can just show up. I think you're getting 60 days on arrival now, and then you can extend. Hey Isaac, what's up? Good to see you. Yeah, I think it was a browser issue. I think that's why the audio wasn't coming through.

2:00 But yeah, so with Thailand, you know, you could just come here, you get 60 days on arrival. You look at other countries in the region, Philippines, I think you get 30 days on arrival. Cambodia, when I went to Cambodia, it was $35, so you show up at the Phnom Penh airport, you pay $35, and they give you the visa for 30 days.

2:25 So a lot of these countries, you can just show up. And if you're coming with a US passport, and I imagine UK is probably similar, the EU countries are probably similar, there's probably substantial overlap there.

2:48 But with Vietnam, you've got to apply in advance. And some people, they don't catch it until the last minute. Some people exaggerated a bit to me, so I was reading online, like, you better apply really far in advance because you don't know if you'll get it.

3:00 It took me three days the first time, and then I got a rejection. And then I applied, fixing the middle name aspect, because a lot of Americans, and I imagine other people from Western democracies, they just have a first name and a last name. On a lot of forums in Vietnam, you've got to include your middle name.

3:23 So I fixed it and then sent it back, and that was an additional three days. But I've got it. I just got to go print it out, which I'll do tomorrow. There's a print shop I passed by in this neighborhood where I'm staying in Bangkok.

3:40 Fact, I'll pull that up just so you guys have a sense of where I'm staying, not my exact address, but you can figure it out because of the blue dot. So that's something I'll show after I leave Thailand.

3:57 But anyway, there's a print shop nearby, and that was super convenient. I can show this other part of the city. Let's see here.

Bangkok Fruit Market Experience

4:14 That's that. What I'll do is I'll share what I've got planned for the rest of my time here.

4:22 But yeah, so I got the visa. I've just got to go print it out. I'll have that in hand with my passport. I don't know yet if they want me to have an onward ticket, if it's something I need to get.

4:33 I already know where I'm going after Vietnam. Or if you've chatted with me in person, you know where I'm headed after. But I don't know how long I want to spend in Vietnam, so I go back and forth on, do I want to book the flight three months out?

4:45 Because if I'm, for whatever reason, not digging it, then I'd like to be able to leave earlier. And you know, I don't want to be in the situation where it's like, you know, it's not for me for whatever reason, but I've got to stay here for three months.

5:05 So that's kind of in the back of my mind because I know, you know, some people, certain countries resonate with them more so than others. And so I always just, you know, try to keep that in mind.

5:18 But I don't know if they're going to require that or not. So it may be a situation where I book it, and then, you know, if I book it through a US provider, I think they often do a 24-hour refund guarantee with Chase. So I could just book it at the airport when I'm about to fly to Vietnam, show that to the personnel, and then when I get through, cancel the flight, rebook it for when I want to head out within my visa guidelines.

5:56 But feel free to chime in with any questions or thoughts that you guys have.

6:09 Yeah, I went. I'm, I've been going to this spot, Mah Boon Krong Market, and I finally got some durian. I loved it. It was really, really tasty, and it was sort of medium ripe. When I tried it before, it was overripe, and I think when people talk about the extreme smell, they're often talking about rarer varieties or overripe durian.

6:28 And so I tried it where it was like underripe or medium ripeness, and I liked it a lot. I'm looking for a photo. Nobody's posted. You can't really see any photos of it, but yeah, a great vendor for the durian at Mahan.

6:50 It's like 180 per kilo. So the one that I had was right at 1 kilo, and so I paid about 180.

Mahan Market and Thai Lifestyle

7:26 This is a great fruit market, probably my favorite in Bangkok. It's open 24/7. So you, I've been there at like 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, and I was so confused when I found it the first time because I was staying nearby.

7:37 There's like a market called Bobae Market. This is a, basically, popular for the textile industry. This area, you could almost say, I would use the phrase Design District. There's a lot of different clothing vendors throughout here, but Mahan is fruit-focused.

7:57 I remember walking, like, fine at 3:00 in the morning, I'm like, what are all these people doing out here? Because I didn't quite understand Thailand at that point. So I didn't realize a lot of people, they kind of chill out during the day and they're staying up late night working.

8:12 And if they're selling fruit to various like restaurants in the city, then they need to be up early before all those restaurants open, even before a breakfast hour. So it's, yeah, it's really interesting for sure.

Thailand Education Visa

8:32 Oh, Chris, hey, welcome to the channel, Chris. You may have sent me a message, and I did want to get back to you on that in regards to visas. So I use the education visa, and you can use it, I think, with my school, it's up to 18 months. I've heard of some people pushing it two years or longer.

8:56 It's, I look at it like a medium-term visa, the idea being like, you can't just study Thai forever. So I use the education visa. I signed up, and I don't get, I'm not sponsored by them, although I should ask about that for referrals.

9:11 But Triiia Language School, and they're based in Ratchathewi. And they, yeah, they, trying to describe, so they do classes, I think it's like six hours per week. It's like when I was going, anyway, it was something like Monday, Tuesday, Friday, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday, two hours or three, well, three hours, and then maybe it was only twice a week.

9:45 I, you know, I'm nearing the end of my visa, and so my classes are over with. But basically, you study Thai a few hours per day, a few times per week with the teacher and some other students.

10:00 And you get, well, I basically got it was like three months with renewable, three times, roughly, roughly something like that. It was like two months and then three months renewable two more times. But it works out to 11 months, and you can go up to, I guess, 17 months if I added an additional six.

10:27 Thanks so much, Jay. Much appreciated. That's great to hear. I think it was a browser issue, but I'm, yeah, I'm really glad that I was able to pivot over to Google Chrome. I was using Brave, and I think Brave was not letting YouTube access my microphone.

10:45 But yeah, so with, yeah, with Thailand, you know, I think the ED visa is great. I've heard of some people saying it contrasts or conflicts with the Elite Visa. That's why I would suggest not going for the cheapest one. I selected one, it's associated with the Ministry of Education. There are schools that are cheaper, but you know, I suspect that it may reflect poorly on the official channels if you do want to get an Elite Visa later on.

11:14 I think personally, it's worthwhile to come for a year before committing to an Elite Visa because some people may find, you know what, I can't acclimate to the hot weather, I'm struggling to learn the language for whatever reason. And so that's why I'm a fan of trying a year.

11:30 Because the Elite Visa, technically, like it's quite expensive, but I think it could be worth it for some people. But those people might want to find that out over the course of a year as opposed to committing to five, staying a year, and then deciding to pivot elsewhere.

Elite Visa and Long-Term Stays

11:44 It is quite expensive, but you know, it's in the grand scheme of things, if you really enjoy Thailand, it's better to have, better to be prepared financially for it. But yeah, I would say to leave the, now I don't know if things have changed right now.

12:02 At the time, they would allow roughly one, I would say basically one exit and return, and you can be gone for something like, I think it's up to 30 days in the span of that 11 months. So if you needed to go back home, if you wanted to go to a neighboring country on vacation, but it's not a visa that's as friendly to coming and going a lot.

12:26 Now, I have heard with the Muay Thai Visa, they are more friendly to entries and exits because, I guess, because they figure if somebody's doing Muay Thai, maybe they're a professional fighter and they need to go fight in another country and then come back, and then they're in training camp again.

Travel Within Thailand and Extensions

12:43 In training camp again or they're rejuvenating or recuperating, whatever it may be. So do your own research and check into some of this stuff because I don't know the specifics of your situation and I can only give general information based on my own experience. But yeah, in the last year, I've been able to travel around Thailand. So technically, I have to come back to Bangkok to do my extensions, right? If I want to go live in the islands for six months, understand halfway through that you're going to have to come back and do your extension in Bangkok. Budget for that as well, budget for the case that you may need to fly back and forth to Bangkok every few months.

Bangkok Living and Future Plans

13:40 And that's what I did. And then for my final period, I'm just like, you know what? I'm just going to stay in Bangkok for the last few months because I've seen a lot in Thailand, and Bangkok has a lot of cool stuff that you can only really find in Bangkok. It's nice too to be in a safe, big city. Bangkok is a huge city, feels really safe to me. And so that's something else that I love about it. I don't want to leave.

14:08 But you know, that's just part of traveling. Unfortunately, if you're traveling long enough, you are going to have to go from a place that you're happy in to a different place. That's part of the unknown that I may be more happy in, or I may like just as much. So we'll just have to give it a chance.

14:26 Yeah, this fruit market is a really awesome spot. I'm gonna have to go there probably a couple more times before I leave Bangkok to pick up durian and mango steen. Those are my two favorite fruits, the king of fruits and the queen of fruits. And then this dim sum spot is awesome. It's like these people are doing it out of the kitchen in their house, and they've got this alleyway and they've got like two tables, but it's fantastic. These are the best soup dumplings.

Exploring Bangkok's Attractions

15:14 What else? I do want to check out the green lung. So that's been a really big one on my mind. I can show you guys where that's at. Here it is, so S N Q K Park Botanical Garden. I've been talking about this spot for months now, but I need to get down there during the day, maybe in the morning before it heats up, and explore because it just looks beautiful.

16:06 This is the green lung, and it's just this beautiful public park that you have in Bangkok. Apparently, you can rent bikes. I've gone over this one before, so I'm just going to move on quickly from here, but definitely I'll be recording a video down there because it looks very peaceful and very quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of the city.

16:47 Here we go. So this is the next thing I want to check out. This is a snake farm. They do education, and based on what I read in the reviews, the reptiles are very, very well taken care of and looked after. I'll do some additional research to confirm that. I just want to make sure if I'm going to anything involving animals that it's done in an ethical manner because that's just really important to me.

17:23 But yeah, it's a place where they educate people on reptiles and snakes, and I think it looks really cool. It'll be really... wait, one sec. I think it looks really cool, and it's something that's really unique too to Southeast Asia because we have zoos and reptiles and stuff in North America, but certainly you get many different varieties here in this part of the world compared to what I'm used to. And yeah, just something I'm really looking forward to.

More Bangkok Sightseeing Ideas

18:01 These are two of the probably the most important things I want to see in my remaining three weeks here. I still think I haven't been to the Jim Thompson House, so that's probably number three. The Jim Thompson House Museum, it sounds crazy because I've stayed around here a bunch of times, but yeah, it's definitely a healing and ton of history.

18:31 I recently spoke to somebody from Japan, and they were telling me they came here for just a couple of days and they made it over here, and they really enjoyed it. It's supposed to be gorgeous. And based on these pictures, yeah, it looks really beautiful, traditional old-style house. It's mind-blowing too, they preserved it because it's right next to or basically in downtown, really close to the central business district. Like this is huge, especially for that.

19:30 What else would be number four? I wouldn't mind going back to Benjakitti Park. I've been there a couple of times and to Lumphini Park as well. Because in Lumphini and Benjakitti, I've been there in the past but never really explored the whole park. And I did that more recently, but both are beautiful, especially the monitor lizards at Lumphini. It's just such a quirky kind of a thing to check out and see.

19:56 As you can tell, I'm a fan of the different interesting kinds of reptiles. I'll of course make trips back to Mahachai Market to pick up some durian and some mango steen. What else do I want to do? There's something I've been meaning to do. I haven't really done much as far as getting on a boat in the river. So I've done that in the canals, like there's a canal boat you can take through here. I've taken it from the pier out here in Banapi and then taking it all the way to CM, like into the central area here.

Passport Management and Travel Stamps

20:34 Yeah, you disembark right near the Baiyoke Sky Tower. But yeah, doing like some kind of like a, I don't know if you call it a cruise, I guess you could call it a mini cruise on the river would be a lot of fun. So I think I'm going to try to fit one of those in as well. And I'm not too far from the pier. There's a pier across from Icon Siam, and you can of course cross to Icon Siam, but you can also depart from that pier and go like up and down the Chao Phraya.

21:31 Also, feel free to chime in with any questions you guys have. We've got a few viewers and drink some of this electrolyte drink.

21:53 Great to see Daniel F. Hi, how do you deal with your passport book as it gets full?

22:00 I'm going to assume you're an American, but this is probably a similar process for any country. You probably want to reach out to your embassy or your consulate and ask about getting a new book. And then the second part is when you order a new book, and this is something I'm going to have to do. I'm glad you're Canadian, so it's probably somewhat similar. Of course, I'm not from Canada, so I can't speak to the way they do things.

22:29 But when you go to renew it, you can select there's a box when you go to do the renewal for a big book. They do this for the US. I have to imagine Canada's probably similar. Many more Canadians have a passport than Americans, so it's very popular for Canadians to have a passport. But you'll want to select that checkbox on the form, if the form is the same, asking for a bigger book.

22:57 But yeah, before it gets totally full, I would try to get a new one. Just because you don't want to have a full one and then be potentially having to go back to Canada. I'm not really sure what happens when you get a full passport book. That would be interesting, actually. What happens if my passport book gets full?

23:22 Yeah, okay. So you may reach a point, from what I'm reading here on Quora, where the passport is basically full, and you may be denied entry because they can't put a stamp in there. So that's definitely a risk, and it's good that you're thinking about that in advance.

23:40 But yeah, I'm going to elect to get the bigger book when I renew my American passport this fall because it doesn't cost any extra, and I'm getting close to full on mine too. Like, I'm down to maybe five or six sides. I need to double-check, but I don't have that many, especially when you get some visas that are one big page, like the visa for Cambodia takes up an entire page, at least when I was there five years ago.

24:17 So definitely better to be proactive there. Yeah, I'll have to take a look at that because I'm curious how many exactly how many sides I have left. I'm not worried about it, just because I'm not going to too many more countries this year. I'll be going to Vietnam next, and probably the Philippines after that.

Travel Experiences in Asia and Europe

24:42 Yeah, I think it's definitely if you're traveling in a region like Southeast Asia, it's easy to rack up a bunch of stamps. I've heard the Caribbean is the same way. I didn't experience that in Europe because when I went to Europe, I landed in Portugal. I got stamped into Portugal. I went to Spain, but because I didn't fly, the visa wasn't ever checked. So I know they're part of the EU and it's irrelevant.

25:09 But if you're somebody that's interested in getting some interesting stamps, then definitely Southeast Asia and the Caribbean seem to be two of the places where you can get quite a few interesting ones. I had a lot of fun showing people back home some of my stamps because it's just something so different, right? I mean, each stamp, each country has their own stamp, and it represents different things that they want to represent.

25:38 And I don't have a stamp from Peru. So when I went to Peru, they suspended doing stamps because of COVID, and you just have like a digital record. So I guess they have a digital record that I was in Peru and authorized to be there for a while. And I was hoping to get one because I figured that one would be cool. I did get one from Colombia, did get one from Morocco. I don't think I did. I did get one from Finland.

26:09 So I was in Finland last summer, and on the way here to Thailand, I looked out. I wish I would have booked a little bit more time in there so I could have made it down to Estonia because it's really close. You can take a ferry from Helsinki to Thailand in just a few hours. So if I go fly back through Finland at some point, then I'll take a short little trip down to Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn is supposed to be a really popular city for digital.

27:10 What else to do in Bangkok? I wanted to go to the plane graveyard in Bap, but they've closed that off. I should have.

Day Trips and Food in Thailand

27:16 They've closed that off. I should have done it last time. There are so many things I should have done last time that are impossible to do now. I'll probably make it back to Chinatown at some point; it's not that far from Mahak. So I could just walk down there.

27:30 I do want to do at least one more day trip out to Tomur. I was out there a few nights ago and went out there and had sushi at the mall life store TOA at Sushi Row, conveyor belt sushi. It was a whole lot of fun. I definitely recommend it if you come to Thailand.

27:51 It's a popular Japanese chain, and they're opening up. They've opened up a bunch of locations throughout Bangkok, and they're brand new. Some of the locations, maybe most of them, are brand new, and I've enjoyed it a lot.

28:09 Daniel F, I plan to go to Bogota soon. Thank you so much for the info. Yeah, absolutely. I hope you enjoy Bogota. It's a lot of fun; it's really an underrated city.

28:15 There's uh, I like the weather. It reminds me a lot of the Pacific Northwest, like Seattle, or if you're Canadian, you're familiar with the city called Vancouver on the west coast of Canada. It has that kind of rainy, overcast weather.

28:28 But on the sunny days, it's super bright. It's super, super sunny. Of course, you're at a high altitude there. We can pull that up. Come back to Bangkok, and you're really high up, and so the sun really can make you feel like you're cooking.

28:50 The architecture is gorgeous. It really shocked me. I wasn't expecting this when I went to Bogota because anytime Colombia comes up in the US, people are always, of course, talking about unfortunately Pablo Escobar and all that stuff.

29:08 But Colombia has come a long way since then, and you see that cities like Bogota are super modern. And like, I mean, this is this almost has like a little bit of a Blade Runner vibe.

29:18 I've got a video I've recorded it, but I need to actually sit down and edit it, talking about Bangkok being kind of a Blade Runner type of vibe. And you have that to some extent in Bogota with these just the futuristic architecture.

29:37 I liked it a lot. I think you're going to have a great time. And the mountains are this beautiful backdrop. Yeah, it's it's a cool city.

Bogota Travel Insights

29:50 Hey Christopher, welcome to the stream. Daniel is planning on heading down to Bogota soon, and it's been just really a lot of fun. We talked a bit about Bogota in the last stream. I talked a lot about Bogota with Christopher.

30:06 It's just such a beautiful city in the mountains. I liked it a lot, and it's uh, I wasn't expecting it to, you know, to blow me out of the water like that, but yeah, I enjoyed it a lot.

30:24 When are you leaving again? I'm considering a trip back to Manila in July. That's a great question, Christopher. So I'm flying out. I'll pull up.

30:32 Dang, I'm pulling. I'm flying out to Dang three weeks from today. So I've got my foot. My foot, I need to drink some water. I'm tripping over myself a bit here.

30:49 So I'm flying out to Dang from Bangkok three weeks from today, and uh, you know, I'm looking forward to it. I've got a three-month visa, so I'm technically good in Vietnam until October 5th.

31:04 So I'll probably, I imagine I'll like Vietnam a lot and I'll stay for the duration for three months. So I'm looking at going to the Philippines probably in October.

31:23 As I say, you, I'm really missing the Philippines. So I say maybe I'll be in Vietnam for a month, but I really do think I'm going to enjoy Vietnam. I've been watching a ton of videos on it the last week trying to prepare, trying to learn as much as I can.

31:35 Learn about people's experiences and what they liked and what they didn't like, what I should be aware of. You know, popular activities to do.

31:43 I've heard Dang is fairly chill. It's not going to be as wild or exciting as cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to the uh north and south respectively.

31:58 But uh, you know, that sounds good for me. I need a break from Bangkok. I know that some may feel like Bangkok is uh very, very developed, and I would agree with that sentiment.

32:07 But it definitely is a really big city with big city vibes, and you can get tired after a while. I feel like I can get tired after a while. Some people may feel different.

32:19 I know of people that have lived in Bangkok for 10 or more years that they never get worn out, they enjoy it a lot. But for me, sometimes it's just the crowds and the sheer volume of the city.

32:35 It's just such a massive city. You, uh, I can feel like I need a little bit of a break from it. So I'm going to Dang for a few months. I imagine it'll be great for decompressing.

32:46 I've heard it's much more laidback and much more chill than the big cities in Vietnam. And then I'll probably go to one of the big cities in Vietnam if I don't yet have my new passport by that point.

33:01 Then I'll probably go to one of those for the final month in Vietnam and get that done because I've heard it's a pain to transfer your visa.

33:15 Philippines. Yeah, Bogota sounded awesome, Christopher, based on what you were saying, and I think Daniel's gonna enjoy it a lot.

33:21 There, you know, it's got an edge, and I can't deny that Bogota definitely has an edge. It's one of the edgier cities that I've been in.

33:28 I never had any seriously bad stuff happen to me. I did have kind of a punk rocker looking guy try to hassle me to buy something. So if somebody tries to put something in your hand or get you to buy it, you know, take something for free, you know that's a type of a petty scam that they'll do.

33:48 And then they'll ask you for money. They'll try to put like a wristband on your wrist. So be aware of that. I just shake my hand, no. Anybody tries to give me anything unless it's a friend of mine there.

34:00 Then I, I don't know him, and I'm not going to fall for that. But yeah, so back to Dang.

Da Nang Vietnam Plans

34:16 Yeah, I'm looking forward to it a lot. I think it's going to be a really nice place to spend time and then have a little bit of a break from the big city.

34:34 It's, you know, apparently there's limited activities. Some people call it boring. This is similar, I think, a similar phenomenon to Chiang Mai. So a lot of people do call Chiang Mai, one of my favorite cities, boring.

34:50 And I would agree with that about Chiang Mai, and I love it. I mean, it's to me, boring is perfect for day-to-day living. Do I like exciting cities like wild, crazy cities like Bangkok? Yeah, I do, but it's for a limited duration.

35:07 I enjoy it in bursts. I find that I enjoy it the most when I'm spending like a week there. Sometimes when I'm there for longer than a week, it just, I don't know, you just have to be more.

35:26 You can't really zone out as much. Like here in Bangkok, when I zone out, I'll bump my head on something or I'll narrowly avoid, you know, stepping in the way of a scooter or, you know, maybe I'll drop something.

35:44 Like if, well, tonight actually, I was out walking in my neighborhood in Sathorn, and all of a sudden a rainstorm came in. And so I was crowded with a bunch of other people into a 7-Eleven while the rain, you know, passed over.

36:00 Some people might not like that. You know, I don't mind that so much, but there's just, I don't know, it's just it's more people than what I'm used to being around.

36:08 So that's why cities like Da Nang are so appealing to me for day-to-day life because I feel like I'm not as likely to get stuck in a traffic jam. I'm not as likely to get stuck or get, you know, lost.

36:21 Or, I don't know, like it's just the smaller city, I feel like they're a little bit easier to navigate. You don't have this public transportation, but you also don't have, um, you don't have so many different arteries and small streets and alleyways.

36:41 And it's taking me some time just to learn my neighborhood. It's, I would say at least a month to fully learn my way around the neighborhood and how to go to where I need to go efficiently.

36:54 I think that's going to be less of an issue in Da Nang because if it's anything like Chiang Mai, you've got a lot of self-sufficient neighborhoods.

37:07 So you've got neighborhoods where you've got everything you need. And I feel like sometimes that's less the case in Bangkok because even though my neighborhood has what I need, there's some other things that are just harder to find and I need to go across the city to get them.

37:26 For some reason in Chiang Mai, maybe it was just getting across the city was a lot faster, right? Being in a city of one to two million people, you're not trying to cross a metropolis of 15 million people where there's traffic and congestion.

37:40 And, um, it's obviously more costly to travel in a big city compared to a smaller city, um, overall because you're just, you know, if you're the more trips you need to make. And I'm not going to get a car here, right? I'm not going to get a motorbike here.

37:56 So and not in Vietnam either. But yeah, Christopher says no door papaya in Colombia. Yeah, I agree. Don't show off your valuables. Dress down. You don't need to show off.

Safety and Travel in Colombia

38:09 You know, one of the things because I've talked to some people online who got robbed in Colombia, and I asked them, you know, do you dress up? Like, are you dressed nicely? Oh, well, I'm just wearing a t-shirt. It's like, no, like people can tell when you've got.

38:24 And that's why sometimes I get, you know, some crap for looking haggard, but, uh, I part of the reason I dress down is that I don't want to look like a high-status individual anywhere I go.

38:38 There's plenty of American neighborhoods where I don't want to stand out. I don't want to be driving a fancy car. I don't want to be having, uh, some high-end Apple product visible.

38:52 I don't want to be a magnet for people who are of ill repute, people who are looking to take advantage. And, uh, so that goes for any country, but in Colombia, the difference is it can actually be a safety issue.

39:03 In some countries, you'll just get your stuff stolen, no big deal. In Colombia, some of the theft can be very, very dangerous. There's been a number of stories on the news about it that people are having some really tragic and extreme circumstances there.

39:19 Like I said, I didn't have issues there, but I dress down. I don't have an Apple Watch. I have a cheap iPhone. People, some people told me I look Colombian, so that might be part of it too.

39:31 But I was not trying to stand out at all. I didn't show a bunch of money.

39:36 I didn't show a bunch of money off. Yeah, I mean, I tried to pay by card when I could, so that reduced the amount I needed to hit the ATM. But, you know, people are super friendly down there. I mean, people are very, very friendly in Colombia. I visited several different skate parks in the city, which was a ton of fun. I'm not a skater, but I like to watch, and it's so much fun to watch these really talented young people have these awesome displays of expertise. You could tell they practiced a lot.

40:10 I'm definitely a fan of checking out some of those skate parks in Colombia, Medellin more specifically. I didn't really see them in Bogota. I don't know if it was just where I was staying, but they're very popular in Medellin. It was also shocking to me how different Medellin and Bogota are. They don't look that far apart, but we'll see how far they are. It's like an eight-hour trip, which doesn't seem that bad, but they are very, very different cities.

40:50 Medellin has a big public rail transit system, although I didn't take it because I was warned about it. I regret not taking that public transit more. I walked a lot in Medellin because the weather is perfect and the neighborhoods are gorgeous. It's perfect weather to go walking around, but I would be mindful just about what you're carrying, valuables, at nighttime. Some of this stuff I'm talking about is not from personal experience, but through anecdotes I've read online and had local friends in Colombia warn me as well.

41:27 So, not speaking from my own experience, but whatever I did, part of it was luck, but I managed to get through without anything extreme. But yeah, very, very interesting country. I think it's the most biodiverse country in the world. There's so much variety there. I hope to go back at some point eventually.

Central and South America Travel Aspirations

41:51 I don't know if I would cap off a trip, but I want to do something like starting in Cancun and work my way down through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. I've heard of people doing that in like a month. I might want to stretch it to two months just because I like to go a little bit more slowly. But certainly, that's an interesting one I'd like to do.

42:22 I've been to Cancun several times, but I haven't been south of there in Central America. I've been to South America, so that would be really cool. Maybe take a bus down to Belize and then go from there. I'd want to be careful because there are some really challenged areas in Central America, and it's not an extreme priority for me right now because there's some other stuff that's higher priority for me, if I'm just being honest.

42:56 But eventually, it's going to happen. Eventually, it will happen. And yeah, finish in Panama, finish in Medellin or something, go back and check out some of the neighborhoods I lived in before, visit some of the places and people I met, because the people are so friendly and hospitable. But yeah, that's on the radar eventually.

Onward Flight Requirements

43:17 Thank you for calling that out, Daniel. Very, very cool to talk about Colombia. Daniel, F sounds like a good adventure. Thank you so much, Daniel. Yeah, it's really interesting. It's not that far from the United States, but it's still quite different down there. I was surprised at how different it was, honestly, surprised at both how different it was and how similar it was. I wasn't expecting the similarities, and I wasn't expecting the differences.

43:52 How do you deal with countries with proof of onward flight? That's a great question. So, there's a couple of things I'll mention here. Some people book an onward flight, a throwaway ticket. I've never used that method, but a lot of people swear by it. They pay $10 or $20 equivalent, maybe $30 equivalent in Canadian dollars, it varies by website. For whatever reason, it shows up in the system. I don't know exactly how it works, and people will show that to the airline and basically say, 'Hey, look, I've got an onward flight.'

44:33 That way, because I think what happens is if, for whatever reason, you're abandoned in whatever country or you run out of money, or whatever happens, then the airline can be partially liable for not making sure you're capable of leaving. They're getting you there, and for whatever reason, they have some level of responsibility to make sure that you leave on time. I'm sure for the cases that rule came up, people abused it. They'd fly into a country with no money, run out of money, and then the country is trying to figure out how to repatriate them, how to get them back to their home country, who's going to pay for that bill, because it's not cheap to buy a last-minute ticket halfway around the world or to a different continent.

45:24 And so part of how they avoid that situation of having a broke expat in limbo is that they require that. Now, I don't think this applies to Canadians, although your travel provider may have special options. What I do is I use Chase, so I'm a JP Morgan Chase customer, and I use their online portal. I book a flight that has free 24-hour cancellation, and I do that at the airport. So, if they ask me, which I wasn't asked coming here to Thailand, or on the way to Finland, or on the way to Bangkok for an onward ticket, maybe they just pick random people to ask.

46:17 So I didn't even get asked about it. My plan was, if I did get asked, I would log into Chase on my cell phone, or if my cell phone was having issues, I'd pull out my laptop and access the Chase website and then book one of those flights out of the country with free 24-hour cancellation. Show that to the flight attendant. I've never had to show customs; it's always been the airline's responsibility. So I'll show that person at the airline check-in, 'Hey, look, I've got this flight.' And then go through security, go through customs. Well, no, customs is on the way in. I go through security and show my passport, and all that. Then I cancel it.

47:11 So I'm on my way to the next country, and I've got an indeterminate exit point. Because for me, if I don't like a place, I want to leave early. And if I really like a place, maybe I want to stay longer. So there's no reason in my mind to... I get it from their perspective; they're trying to reduce liability. They've got a lot of risk. From my perspective, I'd rather just get one of those 24-hour cancellation pre-cancellation flights. I think some websites will offer you that service separately, like, 'Hey, the ticket's $300, but if you pay us $350, then you'll be able to alter the ticket for no charge.'

47:46 You'll be able to cancel the ticket at no charge. So I would look into that. But like I said, it's random. I have had it; I can't remember where it was, but I have had them ask me for an onward ticket, and I had to book it on the spot. That was kind of annoying, just because you're like trying to get through. I think I had two and a half hours to get through security and fly, and so that's plenty of time, but still, you're just in a rush like, 'Okay, does it allow me to cancel?' Because I don't want to book some $500 flight that I have to just throw away. That's a huge waste.

Bus vs. Flight Travel

48:30 And I think you should, it depends on the country you're going to. One thing I thought about, if I couldn't access a free 24-hour cancellation deal, which is guaranteed in the US, can't speak for other countries, but any country originating from the US, and I think maybe also landing in the US, then there's that requirement that the flight is refundable within 24 hours of booking. So I wouldn't try it the day before your flight or anything like that.

48:59 But yeah, that's what I was talking about. I lost my train of thought on proof of onward flight. But oh yeah, the thing that I was thinking about is like, what if you, you know, if you couldn't book the 24-hour flight, then with 24-hour free cancellation, could you book a bus ticket? So, like if I wanted to leave Vietnam because my visa is expiring, but for whatever reason, I don't want to go to the Philippines, can I just book a bus ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh?

49:33 So that's something to think about as well, like if the neighboring country is not too far away by bus. It's something worth considering. I will say I did not use the bus in Latin America. Things look deceptively close, but the distances are super long. Like when I was down in Peru, it's like a 17-hour bus ride from Lima to Cusco, from the coast to the mountains. And that's like an hour, hour and a half flight. So it's such a short flight.

50:06 It's like, okay, do I want to be sitting on a bus driving through really tall mountains and, you know, having to probably take a nap on that bus, or do I want to just fly and maybe take a nap and then I'm there? So that's kind of the counterargument to the bus. Some routes are just super expensive. There's certain routes that for whatever reason, there's just a lockdown on them. They're costly relative to what they are, but you're paying for time, right? Like when you do the short flight instead of the bus ride, then you're saying, okay, do I want to spend an hour or two on this trip and, you know, $60, or do I want to save $30, but then I'm sitting on a bus for like 12, 14 hours? To me, it's worth it.

51:01 It's worth paying extra for a flight that's 12 to 14 hours because I can make that money back. However, I know I'll be really tired the day after, or possibly even the day of, and might not be in a great mood depending on how comfortable the bus ride is. This could also come in handy if your fake onward ticket doesn't work and you don't have the free 24-hour cancellation policy I mentioned before.

Vietnam Travel Plans and Culture

51:31 I'm hoping I won't be asked about it when I leave Vietnam to go to the Philippines. My hope is to go to the Philippines and stay for a while. I'm just hoping to not have to think about it because I get it; they do have some homeless Americans in the Philippines that they are trying to prevent from happening. It is very unfortunate, and I'm not going to be one of those people, but they're fair.

51:59 I mean, they see it all, whereas we as tourists, if we're on our best behavior, tend to see a lot of good in the places we go. I don't think that's the same for the people who have to deal with the worst of us on the other end.

52:43 So, I'll be in Da Nang for a month. I'll do a day trip up to Hue, but it's longer than I thought, a couple of hours. I initially thought it would just be an hour, but distances are definitely deceiving in Southeast Asia.

53:16 I'll take some kind of transportation up to Hue, maybe for a weekend. I've heard it's kind of hard to do long trips there, and the weekend might feel a little small compared to Da Nang. Maybe I'll go up on a Friday and stay until Monday morning, then come back down to Da Nang.

53:41 Of course, I want to visit Hoi An, and there's a famous shop that Anthony Bourdain apparently ate at. I don't know if it was with President Obama, but I'm going to look it up really quick.

54:08 Thank you so much, Daniel. I really appreciate that; that's very kind of you to say. I've just had so much fun interacting with all of you guys, meeting different people, and learning about their experiences, their goals, and what brings them to this part of the world.

54:56 Here we go. This is apparently the spot where President Obama and Anthony Bourdain had that Banh Mi. It has 11,600 reviews, so the spot is famous. I'm sure they get tons of business.

55:17 That place is packed with workers; I see at least probably eight people helping to serve these hot and tasty sandwiches. And yeah, I can't wait. This looks excellent. I like the paper bags too; it's definitely eco-friendly and pairs well with the freshness of the ingredients. I think the whole thing is just really wild. I'm looking forward to it.

55:47 I'm really looking forward to Vietnam. It's going to be wonderful and very different from anything I've experienced. The presentation is beautiful; I've been really impressed by a lot of the presentation I've seen in pictures and videos of Vietnam.

Southeast Asia Comparisons

56:26 Before researching Vietnam, I expected it to be like Thailand and Cambodia. I know it's considered disrespectful to compare them, but they're very different from one another. It's taken me a long time to appreciate the differences, learn about the history, and learn about the culture.

56:48 I'm super looking forward to it. People often ask me which one is the best, but I think they're all awesome, just different flavors of the same awesome experience that draws so many people to Southeast Asia.

57:03 Daniel says, 'No, I went to Guadalajara for six months, first time to Colombia.' Excellent. Yeah, Guadalajara seems awesome; I haven't been there myself. I've always wanted to go. I've only been to the super touristy parts of Mexico, like Cancun and Tijuana, but not Guadalajara or Mexico City.

57:35 For Americans, the fact that you can get six months is so convenient. I don't know if they're still doing that; I've heard you have to push for it or ask for it and show proof of funds. I've also heard it varies by airport in Mexico, but I think there's so many people going down there now that there is increased scrutiny on Americans looking to live in Mexico, which is kind of ironic.

58:07 I think if you enjoyed Mexico, you'll like Colombia. I will say the weather is cooler. I know Colombia gets very hot by the coast, but I didn't go to the coastal areas, so I found the weather to be much cooler than Mexico's East Coast, probably comparable to the West Coast, like Baja California.

58:46 This spot should be really cool. Not trying to get political with the reference to the president or anything like that; it's just an interesting part of history. Vietnam seems to be quite full of history, but something I can appreciate more in the sense of living in the modern world, as opposed to the more traditional world that people lived in for a very long time until the advent of the internet and all this technology that allows us to research awesome places like Vietnam.

Thailand Visa Complexity

59:22 Daniel says, 'I wish the visas were better in Thailand.' It's fairly complex, I readily admit. The visa system in Thailand is complex, and it definitely pushes a lot of guys and gals over to the Philippines or to Mexico because they feel like it's just going to be easier for them to think about a long-term stay, to be able to be there for an indeterminate amount of time.

59:56 That's why I'm going to the Philippines after Vietnam, if everything goes to plan. Because in the Philippines, as an American, I can stay up to three years and then leave for a day and come right back. Thailand is not the case.

1:00:11 The future becomes cloudier if I don't look at getting married to a local person, which I don't think is practical to go to Thailand for a year and say I'm going to spend this year finding a significant other, because it could take longer than that.

1:00:30 So yeah, I think it's definitely something to think about. You know, it may change; the visas are starting to loosen up in some way. In the sense that we get 60 days on arrival and then we can extend for 30 days. It used to be 30 days and then you get 30 days if you extend.

1:00:51 It could be that there's a lot of interest in increasing tourism in Thailand right now, so in the future things could change. I'm not certain about it. I do know the Philippines though is super appealing for that reason, and also because English is widely spoken.

1:01:08 People know if they go there that it's like, 'Hey, I can just stay here indefinitely on tourist visas.' With the current rules, they may change. Some people have talked about how they may shift it down where you need to leave the Philippines every two years as opposed to every three years.

Philippines and Thailand Visa Options

1:01:26 I'm not at that point. I don't see myself staying in the Philippines for three years; I'd like to spend maybe six months or so there before I go back to the US to start working again. And so that's kind of where I'm at is just trying to plan out the rest of my time in Southeast Asia for this trip.

1:01:47 Chris says, 'Do US citizens get 60 days on arrival by default, or is it taking time to file for the tourist visa worth the time?' So, it's changed. I can pull up... unfortunately, Chris, they were supposed to have changed it recently. I don't know if there's a certain date which those go into effect.

1:02:38 They opened it up from like 50 or 60 countries; they moved it up to 90 countries get 60 days on arrival. If you plan to come for 60 days, you will be able to get 30 and an additional 30. Based on the way things were before, now it should be you get 60 on arrival, and then you can get the longer tourist visa in advance.

1:03:13 I think it's worth it to get in advance if you're planning to come for three months. I don't know if they would just say, 'Okay, here you got three months' when you stamp in, but...

1:03:29 Sleeping Elephant says, 'Yeah, I just need 60 days, don't want to leave the country.' Yeah, 60 days, I mean, you'll be able to get that as an American. Like I've gotten 60 days on my last trip here to Thailand.

1:03:48 But like I said, I think it's worthwhile if you want 90 to file in advance because that might save you a trip to immigration and having to just wait there. It is possible they have some services that help exhibit your trip to immigration, and those are at the building, something to think about as well.

1:04:41 Da Nang will be great. I need to find a way to turn off the color adjuster. I'm in sleep mode, and I guess we could put it on driving mode. Huh. Most likely will be in Chiang Rai next month. Thanks for the info.

Thailand's Smaller Cities

1:04:59 Well, enjoy your time in Chiang Rai, Sleeping Elephant. I didn't make it up there; I don't know why. My time in Chiang Mai just flew by so quickly, but I definitely want to get up to Chiang Rai next time I come to Thailand. It's supposed to be a really cool small town vibe.

1:05:17 One of my good friends here in Bangkok is actually from Chiang Rai, and she misses it a lot. When she goes back, she gets to see a lot of her friends and family. It's a really good time for her because it's home for her. I mean, I think Bangkok is home for her now, but she grew up there in Chiang Rai.

1:05:47 Yeah, I think the small towns are really where it's at in Thailand. My best experiences have been in the smaller, less-traveled parts of Thailand because, you know, in the more heavily touristed parts of Thailand, people like, you know, they're on the job and they know that tourism really helps Thailand a lot.

1:06:09 That tourism really helps Thailand a lot, and so they want to be especially helpful and kind. But also, people get worn out, right? They get worn out from dealing with tourists. They get worn out from just the velocity of work. I mean, if you're in Bangkok and you're working at a restaurant, you're serving tons of people unless it's a really high-end restaurant with fewer customers. Then you're going to be really, really busy.

1:06:40 So it does benefit you in the smaller cities to have more chill vibes. I mean, Hat Yai blew my mind. I was so shocked by Hat Yai. I did not expect Hat Yai to be as awesome as it was. I was just looking for somewhere to get away from the burning season.

1:07:07 I spent a month down here this was the month of March, and I didn't know what to expect. Nobody had ever told me about Hat Yai. We're near the border of Malaysia, so it's pretty far south, further south than it's one of the furthest south points you can go in Thailand. Not far at all from the border, like if you go south, you're headed toward Langkawi, so really close to Malaysia.

1:07:37 And I loved it. I mean, I came up here to Songkhla, which was beautiful. It's really a chill place, like out of the way, hardly any Western tourists. I would see maybe one or two Western tourists a day, really very few. It was almost all Malaysian tourists, and it was so interesting.

1:07:58 The English was great, like I was expecting to not get as much English here because it's not like Bangkok, a big international city. But no, there's plenty of English in Hat Yai. So lots of cool, small, charming cities out there that are not as well-known, or maybe don't get as much tourism as Bangkok, or Chiang Mai, or the islands, or Phuket.

Da Nang Accommodation and Vietnam Intrigue

1:08:26 And yeah, definitely a lot of cool variety in Thailand. Solo Transient says, 'Hey Alex, I'll be in Da Nang on August 6th.' Okay, great, Solo. So I should see you there. I land on July 8th, and I'm going to book a place. I lean toward booking a place for a week in Da Nang and then just walking around town until I find a building that I like and booking a month from there.

1:08:58 Because I've heard that there's a lot of construction in Da Nang. My concern is if I book a place for a month and then, you know, I don't find out that there's construction nearby until I get there, that could be kind of a headache-filled month, right? Being next to a construction site. So I'm leaning toward getting a place for a week and using that week to just run around the city, check out all, see what all is out there, and then find a place and then book that place for a month.

1:09:46 Da Nang downtown? Yeah, always happy to meet up. Solo Transient, just definitely reach out close to that date of arrival, and once you get into town and settled, I'll be happy to meet up and have some coffee or, you know, just see what's up. It'll be interesting. It's my first time in Vietnam, first time in Da Nang.

1:10:07 Like I said, I've heard it compared to Chiang Mai a lot, and I think it's going to be enjoyable. The Ferris wheel looks really cool with this dragon too. I love the dragon artwork throughout the city. They even have the Dragon Bridge, and apparently on the weekends, it breathes fire.

1:10:31 So apparently this thing will breathe fire on the weekends. That is so intense, and a lot of people gather around to check it out. It's beautiful. I'm looking forward to it a lot. It'll be interesting too to talk to friends in the United States that are from Vietnam or their parents are from Vietnam, because it's always interesting to me to talk to Asian-American friends about their home countries because they have a different perspective on a lot of these places.

1:11:06 And me as a tourist, I'm just there enjoying the town, having a good time. But for a lot of people, it represents tragedy and triumph, and you know, some of both. So yeah, super interested to check out Da Nang. I think it's going to be a really chill city, and I think it's surprise. Well, I don't think it's going to surprise me at this point because I'm more well-traveled, but it's going to feel very comfortable, like Chiang Mai.

1:11:35 I think that's also Solo Transient says, 'That's also my plan, spend a week in a hotel and then find an apartment.' Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Solo Transient, and I'm looking as well. I'll pull the map back up. I'm looking a little bit further away. So I was initially looking over here in the My Khe area, because these are super popular among Western tourists or foreign tourists, but I've also heard there's a lot more construction going on through here.

1:12:14 There's a lot more population density, of course, you've got a lot of people coming to the beach. So I've heard it's not always the quietest. So I am looking more in the mainland kind of area here, not on the peninsula, because I've heard it's more chill, it's more local, not as many tourists in this part of the city, and hopefully less construction, less building going on, just so I can have a chill place to rest and recuperate after exploring the city.

1:12:54 What made you pick Da Nang, Solo Transient? I'm just curious. I'm always wondering what about the place kind of specifically appealed to you. I think my intrigue about Vietnam came from learning about my grandfather serving in the military, and then growing up and having Vietnamese-American friends and learning a little bit about it from them, but not in tons of detail.

1:13:18 But maybe a little bit about the culture. And then also my mom, when she worked as an accountant, she had a coworker whose family was from Vietnam. So I've had glimpses and pieces. Then in college, I'd always take my ex-girlfriend at the time out to this Vietnamese restaurant in Nashville called Miss Saigon, and we'd go there a lot, like once a week.

1:13:46 And yeah, also there's some other spots in Nashville too that have really good pho. But yeah, so I tried the food a lot, especially the southern food, and I've had different connections in my life come from Vietnam. So that was kind of the journey there. And then I've been meaning to go there for years.

Long-Term Travel and Housing

1:14:06 I wanted to on my last trip, but, you know, the borders closed down and it was really difficult to get around in Southeast Asia. But now the window has opened. Here in Thailand, I've got my flight booked, I've got my visa, just need to pick a place to crash for a week and then go find my apartment. And I think I'll settle in really comfortably after I find that place.

1:14:31 I'll stay for a month, and I won't be thinking about where I'm going to spend time. That's something that's been maybe more challenging on this trip, as I realized, wow, if you travel for a long period of time, like this trip in Thailand has been a year, you might spend more time than you are accustomed to finding a new place to live.

1:14:52 Back in the US, you get a lease for a year, you stay in the same place for a year, you're not worried about where you're going to live for the year. Here, if I'm going from city to city, I may only stay in the city or place for a month and then I'm going on to the next one. So that does tend to take more time than I realized, sorting out like the neighborhoods, what I like about certain neighborhoods, what I don't like, what I'm seeking, what I'm not seeking, the size of the cities that I like.

1:15:23 There's just so much to think about there. Solo Transient says, 'Well, I want a chill vibe. Not much of a city guy. I live in suburban California, so I wanted to stay in Da Nang. Da Nang reminds me of Huntington Beach.' And obviously, what a small world.

1:15:39 Yeah, I get what you mean. It's, I think too, like in Vietnam, I've heard the cities are a lot to adjust to. Like, you don't have the BTS system in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, which is an MRT system. Those two systems make it very easy to get around Bangkok. So it can be a little bit, I think, rough around the edges, and I think that adds to it where I've heard like it's not exactly easy to walk around to a Chan city or a Hanoi, which in California, it's very easy to walk around.

1:16:19 I found California to be very pedestrian-friendly throughout the state, whether you're in Huntington Beach or you're in, you know, Morro Bay, an interesting town that I like to visit, or you're in Santa Cruz. Wherever you are, like there's solid urban development where you can just go out for a walk. And there's parts of Vietnam where that's just not as doable.

1:16:48 I've heard that in some cities, people do ride on the sidewalks, and you have to be cautious about that. This isn't to disparage anybody, this isn't to put anybody down, but it's a valid thing to want, right? Is like, hey, I want a chill vibe. And if I go to a super, super densely populated city, regardless of where that city is, it's not going to be a chill vibe. Like New York City is not chill.

1:17:16 I like New York, I think it's an interesting place, but it's a very fast-paced vibe. And if you want to chill out, you know, have an experience more in line with what you're used to, then yeah, I think that's a great plan. Solo Transient, thank you for that great comment.

Weather and Climate Adjustments

1:17:40 Hey Tony, good to see you. How are you doing today? Tony, we're just talking about Da Nang. Solo Transient is headed to Da Nang in about six weeks and really looking forward to seeing how his experience goes and his likes and dislikes. Oh, I'm glad to hear that, Tony. I'm glad you're doing good.

1:18:16 It's, yeah, it's summer back in the States and in Canada, a really nice time of year. I'm sure the weather is gorgeous and very comfortable, and I miss that because it has been hot. It has been super hot here in Thailand this week, especially today. Today it rained a lot. It was very hot and humid, but that's to be expected in the tropics. It's been an adjustment for me.

1:18:38 It's been an adjustment for me, it's been very confusing for me because the weather hasn't really changed that much over the last year. It reminds me of the first time I lived in California for a year, and I was like, man, I'm used to Tennessee where we have four seasons. They're very distinct and different from one another: summer, fall, winter, spring. Here, the weather is very similar year-round, so that's I found it to cause me to lose track of time a bit because you're like, wow, it's been a month, but it's not, you know, it's not that much different.

1:19:14 Tony says, "Sounds like Thailand is really a place for you." Thailand is definitely up there for me. To me, if I don't find anywhere else I want to live, Thailand is a very easy default slot. You have Western people living here for decades, and a lot of Asian expats living here as well. It has the second largest population of Japanese abroad after Los Angeles, so Bangkok has, I think, 100,000 Japanese people. So it's just so easy. I mean, it's very comfortable to live in Thailand. The people are very polite, the food is delicious, the healthcare is solid, the expenses are reasonable. I feel like there's great value for money here.

1:20:07 But the one barrier is learning Thai. I think if I put more effort into learning Thai and learn more Thai, it would really open up a lot for me here. So that's why I'm checking out some other places. Thailand doesn't have as many mountainous areas, but the English isn't there. That's why I'm curious about the mountainous parts of the Philippines because you get cooler weather, like in cities like Baguio. You get cooler weather, but you also get English, and that's something that if I was learning Thai at 20, it'd be much easier than now in my 30s. So that's something that's appealing to me about other places: the hot weather wears on me to some degree. It's tolerable, but psychologically, sometimes you just want to be outside and for it to not be super hot, and you don't really have that option as much, not in Bangkok anyway.

1:21:19 It's just is what it is. I love a lot of things about Bangkok, but the heat can be overbearing at times. We've had a heat dome here in Alabama above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so probably about the same. Yeah, I know what you're going through, Isaac, that hot, sticky Southern summer where it just feels like a sauna outside. When I get off the BTS here, my glasses will fog up. I know where I'm at because the BTS has the air running, it cools and dries the air, and so then when you get off, your glasses fog up.

1:22:09 Tony says, "I don't do well with bad heat. That's why my fire plan will be in a highland area with a more moderate climate." That's a great point, Tony. For me, it may come down to rotation. I may set up to do a rotation where I look at Southeast Asia, specifically outside the mountainous areas where you have hotter weather most of the year, from November until February, and catch the high season, the peak, comfortable weather. Then, check out some other places the rest of the year because, I don't know, it just takes something out of you. I sweat plenty, but it just coming back all the time, covered in sweat, and having to immediately change clothes, having to shower several times a day, it tends to dry my skin out. That's where there's a lot of appeal of places like Cusco or other highland places.

Heat, Hydration, and Sleep Patterns

1:23:19 I think that's a great plan, Tony, that you're looking at a more moderate climate, and that could be in my future as well. Part of what I was trying to figure out on this test run is, can I handle year-round extraordinary heat? Physically, I can, but to me, it's become more of a psychological thing. Physically, I just sweat a lot, I drink plenty of water, but there are days where I find myself stepping into a 7-Eleven every few blocks just to cool off. I'm drinking water, and then I'm worried, did I drink enough water? When's the last time I drank water? If I carry water with me, it's going to warm up really fast, so I like cool water. It's technically not the most biologically efficient, but I like having some ice-cold water to cool off.

1:24:13 And so then now I'm drinking, you know, it's a paranoia thing, but I'm getting exposed to the microplastics that I'm having to throw away this single-use water bottle. It's more complex than some other places I've lived where the temperature is milder, and so I'm not as worried about getting dizzy from the heat, which has happened to me in Bangkok. I had to go and sit down in a 7-Eleven for a good 15 minutes, chugging Gatorade, because I just wasn't thinking about hydration. In California, where I lived before Thailand, it's just not something you have to think about as much.

1:24:57 Tony asks, "Have you ever watched Big World Cinema channel? He's a Brit living in the Philippines." I'll take a look at it. That name sounds familiar. I have been watching this guy, Marshall Butters Vlog. I don't know if anybody else has watched him. He's got 37,000 subs, but some of his stuff, like in Pagan, was interesting. He's going to some parts into now that I'm kind of cautious or concerned about going, but he's willing to check it out. So, I think it's interesting for sure.

1:25:40 Hey Michael, Michael Johnson says, "Hello buddy from the Philippines. Good to see you." Michael, I hope you're doing well this evening. It's getting late there in the Philippines, past midnight. But it's nice when it cools off and you can enjoy the outdoors and have some ice-cold Red Horse or a nice mixed beverage.

1:26:05 Yeah, because there's just something about having that kind of warm glow and the day's cooled off, you've gotten what you needed to get done, and you just want to chill out. Tony says, "Yes, I respond to heat like you. It also drains my energy, makes me sleepy and cranky, can't focus mentally, etc." Yeah, Tony, and sometimes I just don't want to be inside. Sometimes I want to just get outside. Being outside the US is part of what contributes to that, right? In the US, in the West in general, I think it's the same for people in the UK, Australia, Canada, Western democracies in general. We spend a lot of time indoors. I've heard it called the Box Life, and I would agree with that sentiment. I live in the box, my house, I get in the box, my car, to go to the box, my office, after work, I go to the box, the grocery store. You're spending all your time inside, and for me, I like being outside. I like having fresh air. I like feeling the nice cool breeze.

1:27:16 So sometimes it is against my nature to not go out much, especially in Southeast Asia. But the converse of that is, okay, now I've got to address the heat. So that's what's appealing to me about living in the mountains is that you definitely get a drop in temperature, ideally of about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That's what I'm hoping for by looking at the mountains.

1:27:43 Michael says, "I sleep during the hot part of the day and I'm up at night. That's how I found works best for me." You know, that's not a bad idea, Michael. Actually, that's what I did today. It's what I've been switching to. Part of it is exacerbated by not working out. I haven't been exercising aside from my long walks, but I haven't been lifting weights the last month or so, just because of scheduling and timing and moving around. I'm moving toward sleeping from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, which is not good, but it happens because of the heat. I looked it up why I can't sleep at night, and they're saying it's because of the heat that people end up throwing off their sleep schedule. So I get really bad insomnia here if I'm not working out. I do need to do some more bodyweight exercises.

1:28:46 But the challenge with that, Michael, is that if I am awake during the hottest part of the day, then I'm not really doing much, right? You don't really want to go out, you don't really want to do anything, so you're just kind of sitting there anyway. So I think you've got it down pat where you sleep through the hottest part of the day, where you don't really want to do anything, and you're awake at night when you can go out and enjoy yourself or be outside on your porch and just enjoy the fresh air without the sun beating down. The sun can just be oppressive in Southeast Asia, for sure.

Anxiety, Rumination, and Travel Stress

1:29:21 It's just so hot and bright that we take it for granted, right? Because coming from the US, especially if you're from a place with winters or Canada, where most of the country deals with winter, then you're like, "I just want some sun." But then you get the sun because you go somewhere else on vacation, and you're like, "Ah, I just missed the overcast, you know, less or more chill kind of weather." Here, I'm always having to carry sunglasses, whereas in the US, depending on where I'm at, I don't have to worry about sunglasses. So that's definitely something to think about.

1:29:59 Tony says, "Man, I struggle with insomnia and poor sleeping patterns too. It's tough." Tony, like exercise is one thing that's helped me a lot to sleep better, but it is a tradeoff, you know, scheduling it, making sure that you're hydrated for it.

1:30:19 Making sure that you're hydrated for it, making sure that you've got something light on your stomach, making sure you're stretched and warmed up. I've definitely found as I get a little bit older, I need to stretch and warm up more and not just kind of go in there and go all out like when I was younger. But even then, even with working out, my insomnia can still be an issue. It's something that I've noticed more of as I've gotten older.

1:30:56 Some of it is stress, to be fair. Some of it I found back home was stress-related, where I'd stay up thinking about my job and what I needed to be doing tomorrow, and drinking coffee to be more energetic during the day. So that was some of it too. In some ways, I do sleep better over here, and in other ways, I don't sleep as well. Overall, it's better, but it's definitely not perfect.

1:31:21 One thing that has helped me is if I still haven't slept by morning, like this morning I didn't get to sleep until 8 AM. Then I'll run the air conditioning, and for whatever reason, I'm so tired, and the air conditioning is overriding the heat outside. That helps me to sleep. But even then, sleeping during the day, maybe because I'm not fully adapted or adjusted to it, I do wake up feeling kind of groggy in the afternoon. It does kind of throw me off.

1:31:56 Getting up and going outside when the sun's going down, I think it's individual. Everybody's body and brain is different, and I benefit a lot from exposure to the sun. I think just when your ancestors come from sunny places like Japan or India, you can become vitamin D deficient more easily. So that's something that's also on my mind.

1:32:21 Tony says, 'Yes, my job is actually pretty secure, but the anxiety and rumination can take over your mind and convince you that a catastrophe is around the corner.' Yeah, that's definitely a perspective I can appreciate, Tony. I think that's unfortunately super common. A lot of us do struggle with worrying about what could go wrong.

1:32:33 I've had that thought before. I came to Thailand for a year, and I thought, 'Okay, I've gone for a month or two, but who knows what could happen over the course of a year?' I don't speak Thai, I don't know all the places I'll be going, I don't know all the people I'll be meeting. But back home, the anxiety seems to be worse because it's almost existential. I worry about what's going to go wrong, and then I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm wasting all this time worrying.' Then it's like, 'Okay, why am I wasting time?'

1:33:25 And do I appreciate that I have time? Yeah, I can get into that circular reasoning where I'm worried about one thing, and then that makes me worry about another thing. Then I ruminate on what I could have done differently to avoid the situation entirely. Part of me has felt that way about spending this year over here. I'm like, 'What if I could just get some other job doing something and I would just save more money?' But it's like, 'Ah, you know, I've got to balance thinking about the future with relaxing for today.'

1:33:32 But I think it is part of the human condition. Anxiety, no matter who it is, everybody I can think of, no matter how successful or accomplished, still has that sense of worrying about whether they're going to succeed or not.

1:33:53 Tony says, 'Yes, my job is actually pretty secure, but the anxiety and rumination can take over your mind and convince you that a catastrophe is around the corner.' Yeah, that's definitely a perspective I can appreciate, Tony. I think that's unfortunately super common. A lot of us do struggle with worrying about what could go wrong.

1:34:13 I've had that thought before. I came to Thailand for a year, and I thought, 'Okay, I've gone for a month or two, but who knows what could happen over the course of a year?' I don't speak Thai, I don't know all the places I'll be going, I don't know all the people I'll be meeting. But back home, the anxiety seems to be worse because it's almost existential. I worry about what's going to go wrong, and then I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm wasting all this time worrying.' Then it's like, 'Okay, why am I wasting time?'

1:34:50 And do I appreciate that I have time? Yeah, I can get into that circular reasoning where I'm worried about one thing, and then that makes me worry about another thing. Then I ruminate on what I could have done differently to avoid the situation entirely. Part of me has felt that way about spending this year over here. I'm like, 'What if I could just get some other job doing something and I would just save more money?' But it's like, 'Ah, you know, I've got to balance thinking about the future with relaxing for today.'

Introvert Travel and Social Dynamics

1:35:09 It's tough. Tony says, 'You have the soul of an older, experienced, wise man, Alex. You are way ahead of the game in this respect.' Well, that's really kind of you to say, Tony. I really appreciate that. That's really very kind. And I'm very fortunate to be in touch with people like you who have a lot of insight to share, a lot of wisdom to share.

1:35:31 You know, I have some other friends as well that are wiser and more experienced than myself, and I just feel so grateful to have those people in my life that can really help me to understand that I'm not alone in these struggles. Some of these struggles are like perennial and lifelong, and things that we have to overcome for sure.

1:35:56 And also, meditation is interesting to me. I should have spent, well, I sometimes think I should have spent more time meditating being here in Thailand. But I find that sometimes just being in the culture naturally causes me to be able to enter a more reflective state. But sometimes, if you're prone to rumination or anxiety like we are, then that can be how you experience it. Sometimes that can be caught up in overthinking, and I lose my bias toward taking action.

1:36:29 Like the last month, I've had some other stuff I needed to work on, but I'm like, 'Ah, you could have put out some vlogs, more vlogs.' The last month, and it's like, 'Uh, but I was concerned about getting caught up on my taxes.' Which, that's almost done. That should be done this week, and I'll have a nice refund that will help me to pay bills for a while longer.

1:36:59 Tony says, 'I recall the first video of yours that I found, you were in Cusco talking about certain places to go that are introvert-friendly.' Thank you, Tony. Yeah, I should do another video, some more videos on that topic, actually, because I think one that got a fair amount of interest, and two, I think there's a lot of solo travelers out there that may not realize that they're introverts.

1:37:21 And introvert travelers out there that may not really think about things through the lens of solo travel, because people are always asking me, 'Why don't you go with a group? Why don't you travel with friends?' I found that I just enjoy my own company so much, and it's a big ask to ask people, 'Hey, why don't you get a passport and go to another country?'

1:37:47 I was shocked. One of my buddies from high school, he's actually going to be coming to Thailand in about a few months. He's going to be coming here with his wife and some of his friends, and it just shocked me. Not because I didn't think that they would be interested, I just didn't realize they would be interested in it, right?

1:38:09 I know that I've had a lot of interesting stories to share with them. But to me, the travel just seems like something like, 'Hey, what have you been up to lately? Hey, this is what I'm doing. What about you?' It's interesting, but I don't, I've learned to not expect other people to be as interested in it.

1:38:29 So that's where solo travel was awesome, because I'm going wherever I want, whenever I want, for however long I want. I'm doing whatever I want the whole time I'm there, and I don't really have to think as much.

1:38:40 For me, I just figure out, okay, what are the neighborhoods that are unsafe? What are the neighborhoods that are safe? And then I'm going to just go to the neighborhoods that are safe and wander around and just see how people live here, see how people operate, how they do things.

1:38:56 Some of my favorite neighborhoods in Cusco were far away from the city center, like a few miles away from the city center. And I would just walk around them and look around at stuff and find different interesting markets and try local restaurants and just get a really interesting experience, different from, you know, different from all the popular spots.

1:39:23 And it's not better, but it's certainly different, and you're more able to reflect as opposed to being like, 'Okay, I'm going here, here, and here. I've got to maximize my time and be fully engaged and taking pictures and asking questions.'

1:39:36 And so with solo travel, I find you can go more slowly or more quickly, depending on your preference. I like to go more slowly, and not being worried about maximizing a friend's time is really helpful.

1:39:51 And you know, at some point in the future, if I meet a nice lady, a significant other, then it would be nice to travel with them, and you know, with her and take her to different places. I don't know when that'll come or if that'll come, but it's certainly a possibility.

1:40:09 But yeah, there's places that are more introvert-friendly and places that are less introvert-friendly. I would describe Mexico as being less introvert-friendly. Much of Mexico to me just has a really fun, vibrant, outgoing scene. The weather is gorgeous, the people are super friendly, you've got a lot of interesting culture.

1:40:34 And so you're just going out and engaging. Every time I go to Mexico, there's always parties, and we're going out at night and listening to music and dancing and drinking and all that. So I love it for a week or two, but it does kind of tire me out.

1:40:48 Places that are more introvert-friendly, I would say Peru is like near the top of the list there, especially in the mountainous region. But I noticed that even in Lima, people were more reserved, more kind of kept to themselves. You didn't hear a lot of loud music going around. It was just really laid-back.

1:41:10 I think Thailand is introvert-friendly. Japan is probably the most introvert-friendly place, but for...

1:41:15 It's the most introvert-friendly place, but for some people, it's taken to an extreme. I was talking to a Japanese friend yesterday, and he was saying people even complain about kids playing in a park. To me, that's taken too much of an extreme because, you know, any society needs kids. I don't have kids, but you've got to have more people to do stuff.

1:41:45 That's a simplistic way to put it, but that's to an extreme. I still had a good time there; I still enjoyed it. I'd happily go back to Japan. I thought about going for a few months in the future. It's harder to prioritize because I know that they are maybe less open to outsiders than some other countries.

1:42:12 I say that as a part-Japanese person, but thank you so much, Tony, for that super work chat. That's really very generous; I really appreciate you supporting the channel. I've got a video that I shot today that I need to edit, probably after this live stream.

1:42:45 In this one, I did a video talking about YX Patsco broke, but this week I'll make some more content on introvert versus extrovert places. That's definitely going to come in the queue because you're helping to support the channel, and I want to make sure I have some more to add to that. I think a lot of people will benefit from that too.

Solo Travel Benefits and Challenges

1:43:06 Prior to me getting into travel to this extent, most of what I watched and heard about was family travel. When I was growing up, I traveled with my family in the US only, but still, it was always in a group setting. You're trying to navigate, 'How do we make everybody happy?' We've got to do some of what this person wants and some of what that person wants.

1:43:32 When I was really little, I had no autonomy, so I was like, 'Oh, you want to do that? Well, we're not going to do that.' But when you're older and you have savings, you've invested, and you're thinking about ways that you could enjoy some of your hard-earned resources, then yeah, you think about solo travel.

1:43:56 You think about, 'Okay, what are the places that would make me happy? What are the places where I feel most comfortable?' The places where I'm not going to feel pressured to be super outgoing. Like I said, I like some of the more outgoing places, but I like them in shorter bursts.

1:44:17 Colombia was like that. People were very outgoing in my experience, and I was surprised at how much I was getting invited out. The owner of my hotel was like, 'Hey, we have this land up in the mountains, here's a picture of my family grilling. You should come up sometime.' My Spanish was really weak back then, but I wish I would have gone with him.

1:44:41 But do I want to be in that atmosphere all the time? I don't know. I think I maybe have some social anxiety, and I'm a little bit skeptical of people that are overly friendly. I had this experience in the Philippines, so that's part of it.

1:44:56 Part of it is that I am an introverted person, but the other part of it is that I do have some caution when I'm traveling abroad. I often say, 'You're going to a new place, you don't have any friends there.' Maybe you have some online friends you're going to meet up with, people you've vetted, engaged with, talked to, maybe had some chats like this with them.

1:45:16 But if a random stranger comes up to me in the United States, I'm definitely going to be on guard. But even traveling outside the US, I'm going to be somewhat on guard if it's not through the context of a work meeting, or we're meeting up over a hobby, or there's some clear objective there.

1:45:32 I do have some sense of caution in my mind, like, 'Are they going to ask me for money, or are they going to ask me to borrow my cell phone, or some kind of obvious, overt, over-the-top risky situation?' And so that's the other part of it.

1:45:51 I remember when I was in Cusco, funny enough, because I do like Cusco a lot. But this young punk rocker, and for some reason in Colombia and Peru, it's these punk rocker kids that like, and that's the best way for me to describe it. They have these wristbands and they go and try to put it on your hand and then ask you for money.

1:46:12 This guy and this girl came up to me, and the guy opens his mouth to start talking, and I just look him in the eye and say, 'No.' The girl started laughing at him, and I was like, 'Oh wow, I just embarrassed this guy so badly in front of his girl.' Or I don't know if they were just friends or whatever it was, but I didn't even let him start talking.

1:46:32 Because no, I don't need stuff like that. To me, I travel in part to kind of get something different out of life. There's nothing wrong with having stuff, buying stuff. There's some stuff that I find crucial when I'm traveling, right? Having a sturdy backpack, having some AirPods that can help with noise cancellation, or if you have dry skin, having some dry skin lotion.

1:47:04 But I don't need the latest and greatest of everything. And so yeah, there's nothing I'm going to find I'm going to buy off a random stranger on the street. And so that's part of what has me more cautious.

Safety and Social Interactions Abroad

1:47:16 Sometimes you'll have people coming up to you offering tours, and you're possibly going to get a much better price if you book online. Now, that's not always the case; you can compare and contrast. But with online, typically I can look at customer testimonials, I can look at reviews, I can get a stronger sense of, 'Hey, is this a legit service or not?'

1:47:36 There are certain parks, like I've been reading reviews for different parks where they're like, 'Hey, this park is not safe.' This park, like in Colombia, people were telling me when I was going to walk back down this park in Medellin, 'Hey, don't go back down the way you came up here; it's getting closer to dark, you're potentially going to get stolen from.'

1:47:58 So, yeah, that's the other part of it too. Tony says, 'Most people don't understand us introverts, especially when we travel. You are here alone, you don't go to bars, you don't want to hang out with a group, but you get it.' Alex, well, thank you, Tony. That's a really great point.

1:48:15 I have been asked all of those questions more times than I can count, Tony. Almost every single country I go to, except for Thailand. I think Thailand naturally does attract a lot of single men for different reasons. But yeah, definitely in the Philippines, I mean, I'm getting asked that multiple times a day: 'Are you single? Are you married? Where's your wife? Is your wife with you? Is your wife back at the hotel? Will your wife be joining you for dinner tonight?'

1:48:52 It's flattering, right? It's flattering like, 'Oh, you think I'm married to a wonderful woman, and you assume that she's going to be joining me as well.' Or you think I have this big social group. I get asked, you know, every time I go out to dinner, I'm always getting asked, 'How many people?' And I'm always saying, 'One person.'

1:49:18 You definitely don't think it's judgment; I do think it's curiosity. And I do think it's like people are not used to that because, like, when my friends go out, they're almost always going out with friends, so they're not going out on their own. To them, whatever thing they're doing is a group experience; it's meant to be shared, meant to be enjoyed with other people.

1:49:41 Seeing just a solo person is like, 'Uh, you know, why aren't they with the group?' You don't get that in Japan. Japan is awesome for that; they have plenty of establishments for single people, and you're not going to be looked at strangely. There are ramen shops where it's just you have like a booth next to a booth, and etc.

1:50:04 But yeah, and I get that a lot. You don't go out to bars. I don't go out to bars because they seem to be one of those places where if something bad is going to happen, it seems to always happen at a bar. I know people have pushed back on me thinking that I'm judging people that frequent bars when I warned people about bars in general.

1:50:27 But it's like I would be doing everybody a disservice if I didn't come out and warn people, 'Hey, going to a bar in any country has some level of risk.' I'm not telling you not to go there; I'm not telling you you don't have fun; I'm not telling you what to do. But whatever you do anywhere in the world, you should always have some level of risk assessment.

1:50:48 So, like, if I'm going to go, if I know I'm going to be going to a bar, I might pull up that bar on Google Maps and look at the reviews. Are there tons of bad reviews? Have people had issues with having their drink drugged, which happens? You know, which happens in Medellin. Medellin is notorious for that right now, unfortunately.

1:51:09 Will I go back to Medellin? Absolutely. It's a gorgeous city with a lot of cool things going on. The weather is like my favorite weather in the world, 'City of Eternal Spring.' But I would have to be keeping that in the back of my mind: 'Hey, if I go out and have drinks,' which I have. I've gone out in Medellin and had drinks with friends, but I go with local friends that I've known for a while, that I can trust.

1:51:36 And people that are going to look out for my safety and my best interests, and people that aren't going to pressure me to drink. Sometimes you want to go out to a bar, but maybe you've got to be up early the next day for a tour, or you've got...

1:51:46 The next day for a tour or you've got some pre-existing plans. I'm right there with you, Tony, no reason to feel bad about that, but I totally get why you feel that kind of pressure because I get that a lot. And then when it comes to not wanting to hang out with a group, I've had group travel interrupted by other group members having some kind of personal challenge, maybe they get homesick, whatever the reason may be. There are so many different reasons why group travel I found to be more difficult.

1:52:22 Am I opposed to it? Not at all. I'm definitely open to it, and whenever I go to any city, I like to make local friends. Some of the time I have pre-existing local friends, but if I don't, I'll make them and then I'll hang out with that small group. One of the challenges I found is that to some people, the group needs to be as large as possible. If we don't have the entire bar going to party with us, then it's not a good experience.

1:52:50 When the group gets too big, it's almost like working at a company with too many people. People become numbers, and it gets disjointed. It can just be kind of hectic too, in my mind, to keep track of like 20 or 30 different conversations going on. So I like to go out if I decide to go out with a group or a friend, you know, like one or two people, maybe two or three people. But when it gets to be too big, it's just too much to keep track of.

Solo vs. Group Travel

1:53:20 I prefer like smaller groups if possible, or just being solo because I can go at my own pace. I don't have anybody saying, 'Oh, that sounds boring.' I don't feel bad if I want to crash early one night and not be out. Vice versa, if I want to stay out late one night, I'm not coming back and interrupting somebody who's maybe been sleeping for a while, or maybe they wanted to go to bed earlier. So you have a lot of flexibility in solo travel.

1:53:49 Also with group travel, you also run the risk where you may not meet as many people because I found sometimes during group travel, the group is so focused on itself that there's this sort of consensus of like, 'We're hanging out with each other, we're doing this to spend time together.' And the experiencing the place may go on the back burner.

1:54:16 It may be that the other members of the group have different priorities. Like they may only want to go to museums, they may only want to go to the beach, or they may not want to try the local food. And you may be a person that's the opposite. You don't want to go to the beach, and you only want to have local food.

1:54:35 Being a solo traveler is amazing. I think it's also more cost-efficient because when I was younger and I traveled with my family, they always insisted on staying in nice hotels. I don't need that. I stay in decent places, but I'm just as happy staying in a $20 a night hotel as I am in a $100 a night hotel. Is it going to be as big? No. Is it going to have the fancy service? No.

1:55:07 But when I'm traveling, I'm there to engage with that place. I'm there to enjoy that place, to go out and spend time in that place, and the hotel is not as much of a priority. Where if you're with people who have a higher expectation, you may be thinking, 'I don't need to spend $150 a night on a hotel.' I don't want to split a $300 a night hotel room. I'm fine with spending 20 bucks a night.

1:55:30 Also with dining, you may think, 'I don't need to spend $100 on a meal.' Nothing wrong with that, by the way. I've had some great dining experiences back in the States. But you may be looking for quantity over quality. I don't think that's a fair comparison because, to me, I've been to a lot of different places. It's true in Thailand, it's true in parts of Peru like Lima, not so much. The ingredients will be different.

1:56:02 But like in Cusco, if you go to a fancy restaurant versus a local restaurant, they're often serving the exact same food. They're often serving the exact same fish, the exact same vegetables, but you're paying a premium to dine in that fancy environment. So if you don't have that expectation, if you're not, you know, if you don't feel like you have to have the best of the best, and the people that you travel with do feel like that, which there's nothing wrong with that, but if that's a fundamental difference, then they may be let down by your budget consciousness.

1:56:37 And you may not be able to keep up with their vacation mode. That's one of the things that comes to mind is like I do have friends coming here to Thailand in a few months. Unfortunately, I'll be gone by then, but I thought in my mind, would it be challenging because they're here on a vacation budget and I'm here on a day-to-day life budget?

1:57:01 So they're here for a month and they're trying to maximize their time because it's their first time. It's going to be a wonderful experience for them. They're going to be in a big city with a whole lot of cool stuff to do. And for me, am I going to be able to afford every time? You know, it's more efficient to hop in a cab time-wise, or more efficient to maybe eat at a nicer restaurant for whatever it is. Am I going to be able to keep up with that when I'm on long-term living mode?

Current Location and Future Plans

1:57:36 So that's another difference between group travel and solo travel is that you may have different expectations as far as timeline and expenses go. Hey, big XL energy, just joining, but are you planning on sticking around Thailand, moving from Chiang Mai to somewhere else?

1:57:55 That's a great question, big XL energy. Currently, I'm in Bangkok. I have been here since the 1st of May. I came back up from Krabi. I was in Krabi here for a month, the month of April, and then I came back up here to Bangkok to do my visa extension. I decided, okay, do I want to go back up to Shanghai because the Burning Season ran late this year?

1:58:29 The Burning Season actually ran until mid-May. So I decided, you know what, why don't I just spend the rest of my time here in Bangkok? So I'm here in Bangkok, and I will be here for three more weeks. There are four or five things I want to do in the next three weeks. I want to check out the Green Lung, I want to check out the Jim Thompson House, and a couple of other things that I mentioned earlier in stream.

1:58:57 But I'll be going to Vietnam. So that was kind of a long-winded way of answering your question, but my plan is to head to Vietnam on July 8th. So that's three weeks from today. I'll fly out from Don Mueang Airport.

1:59:26 Oh, very cool. You're familiar with the Green Lung. Yeah, it'll be my first time. I'm going to take a bus down there to the pier, and then I'll take a boat over to the park. I'm really looking forward to it. It seems epic.

Da Nang and Vietnam's Introvert Friendliness

1:59:48 I've been hearing about Green Lung for a long time. People have been telling me about it for years, like, 'You got to check out the Green Lung. It's this perfect oasis from the hustle and bustle of the big city.' And I think that's what I'm in for.

2:00:03 Have fun in Vietnam. Which city are you headed to? Thank you, big XL energy. I'm looking forward to it a lot. I think Vietnam's going to be a blast. I'll be headed to Da Nang.

2:00:21 In relation to Tony's question, talking about Da Nang, I suspect Da Nang and Vietnam will be less introvert-friendly because I hear that it can be just a really noisy place. It's developing, so there's a lot of construction going on throughout Vietnam, tons of development. These AirPods were made in Vietnam, for example. So there's tons of manufacturing coming to Vietnam.

2:00:50 Vietnam produces a lot of different physical goods, not just in electronics, but also textiles, also food. So all that production can be noisy. You've got transport goods being transported, you've got ports, you've got a lot of international businesses with a presence in Vietnam. And so I suspect it'll be less introvert-friendly.

2:01:11 I've also heard people are very social in Vietnam. Like you, they have a lot of karaoke going on there, similar to the Philippines. Some people like that, like you've got some people that are really into singing, really into going out to the bar and trying out some tunes and meeting up with their friends.

2:01:33 And you've got other people that maybe they're not as much of a fan of the singing. Maybe they feel like the scene goes on too late, or maybe they feel like the songs are not songs they want to hear. Maybe they think your music sucks. So you have the dichotomy of some people that love that, and then other people that they may not enjoy that as much.

Introvert-Friendly Destinations

2:01:56 I have to gauge with my boots on the ground. That would be an interesting book, Tony, or like an ebook or some kind of written thing that I could share with the audience, doing something where I talk about which countries or cities or places are more introvert-friendly, and then list my reasons why.

2:02:23 Do you have quiet accommodation? Do you have restaurants that are comfortable with solo travelers? How often do you get asked, 'Why are you alone? Where's your group? Who are you traveling with? Where's your wife?' You know, other things are there, you know, how basically a guy that talks about how I'm received as a solo traveler in each of the countries that I go to.

2:02:49 Because I think a lot of other solo travelers are interested to find out, 'Hey, what are the places that are good for me?' I think Japan is awesome, Portugal is awesome, Peru. Those are probably my trifecta. Maybe Thailand would be a fifth one.

2:03:13 I can't think off the top of my head, probably Taiwan. I've had a layover there, haven't really spent time there. But having like five, you know, those five would probably be my top picks: Portugal, Peru, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand. Places...

2:03:34 Peru, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand – places where you're going to be more accepted as a solo traveler, where people aren't going to be questioning why you're traveling alone, like what your plans are. I remember in the Philippines, people looked at me like I was an alien when I told them I was traveling alone. They looked at me like I literally landed from Mars and were just so confused, totally surprised by that.

2:04:03 I'm not judging the Filipinos; they're super social. To them, why would you not be in a group, with your friends or your family? It's a place that gets me out of my shell for sure. The people there are just so hospitable and warm that it does force me to be a bit more outgoing, to engage because the people are so different from me. It's hard to articulate how different the people are from me as far as personality goes.

2:04:36 They tend toward being cheerful and social, and I tend toward being a bit neurotic and introverted. There's an interesting dichotomy there. I have yet to test out in the long term, but I will say at the end of my trip last time to the Philippines, I did feel like, 'Okay, I need to be in a place where I don't have to talk to people.' These people are really nice, but I'm just so tired from having so many conversations with so many people.

2:05:10 You're just constantly meeting people. In the Philippines, people are introducing you to their friends or their co-workers. It's comical because a lot of these things are why people love the Philippines, and I came to love it too. But it was definitely tricky for me, like, 'Why are they being so nice to me? Why do they want to hang out with me? Why do they want to talk? Why do they want me to try this food?'

2:05:36 It really shifted my perspective. The people there are just gems, and so funny and zany. There are a lot of kind-hearted people in the Philippines. Tony says, 'Yes, Alex, I think if you did an introvert-focused channel or ebook, you could really find a niche.'

2:06:01 That's a great point, Tony, because I don't hear or see introvert-friendly travel stuff. A lot of the videos I see are couples traveling or family travel channels. You don't get as much of, 'Hey, I'm just a solo traveler going by myself. This is my experience. This is what I liked, what I didn't like. This was a positive sign, this was an experience I wouldn't want to repeat.'

2:06:33 I could do that for every country I've been to. Portugal, for example, is the third most peaceful country in the world, based on a list I read. I can agree with that. I was walking around in the Algarve, of course, it was offseason, but even then, I was like, 'Man, this place is so chill.' It's developed; you see plenty of nice condo apartment buildings, beautiful old homes, but it's just quiet. It was just so quiet and calming, and I felt so recharged.

2:07:04 I was so confused when I was walking around in the Algarve, seeing these fishermen talking in a calm tone of voice where they could hear each other, not shouting from really far away, not using a loudspeaker. This is by the docks, where if I go to the docks in Berkeley, there are dogs barking, people running around; it's just kind of a hectic environment.

2:07:33 Compared to Portugal, people would smile and engage and talk, but they wouldn't be over the top about it. They wouldn't be pushy about it. You could make some brief small talk and go about your day. If you went to a restaurant, you felt like the quality of the food there is so good, people are having to work really hard to make that awesome stuff, so they're not trying to have distractions as much.

2:07:56 Peruvian work really hard, and I saw that a lot when I was there. I think anybody that goes there will appreciate that some of the stuff they do is super labor-intensive. They're doing things the old-school way, and the old-school way can be more time-consuming. It can just be like, 'Press a button and it's done,' like some of the things that we have in the US and Western democracies. It's so convenient, it's so comfortable. We have too much time on our hands sometimes.

2:08:35 I know that's antithetical when you consider the demands of the work culture, but outside of the work culture, most people are quite comfortable. Even the culture of noise threshold, introverts need to know places like that. City Central, Mexico City can be overwhelming with the noise. People like us need to know how to avoid it.

Urban Noise and Travel Realities

2:08:57 Yeah, that's a great point, Tony. I've been warned about that too about Mexico City. People told me, 'I know you like Mexico, but be prepared if you go to Mexico City, it is a vibrant, hustle and bustle kind of a place, very similar to Bangkok, for example, or Ho Chi Minh City, where it's lively.'

2:09:19 I mean, people are working, they're partying, they've got family events, cultural events, they've got a lot going on. And it's a place where people are trying to make it too, like it's kind of like in LA or New York in America, where you've got people moving there from all over, trying to make their mark on the world. And inevitably, that's going to create some noise.

2:09:44 Matt says, 'Solo travel is the best.' Yeah, I definitely agree, Matt. I think solo travel is fantastic, and you have just so many opportunities as a solo traveler to meet different people, to make new friends. It's way easier to tack yourself onto a group for a short time if you're just visiting, like, 'Hey, let's go do this,' or 'Hey, let's go do that.'

2:10:10 That's a great point. Welcome to the stream, by the way, Matt. Also, can you discuss dating abroad as an introvert? Lots of unique subjects you could cover.

2:10:19 Yeah, that's a great point too. Thank you so much, Tony, because I appreciate you sharing this with me. I've been going in different directions and not really sure what to cover, but I think this is a really valuable thing. I could cover traveling in the US as well, like traveling whenever I eventually go back home to go back to work. There's a lot I could cover there.

2:10:45 The US is not an introvert-friendly place, well, it depends on where you go, but I found overall, because the need to hustle and grind is so high, you naturally have to engage a lot more with other people than in Thailand, where I don't have to engage with people much at all, or I can, depending on where I go in the city, engage with people not at all, or almost not at all, or I can engage with people a lot. So there's a lot of choice or variety there.

2:11:19 Also, introverts, especially if they don't know of the concept, often feel guilty for being introverted. So a channel that tells them it's okay might be well-received.

2:11:29 Yeah, that's a great point, Tony. A channel where we talk about, like, covering those topics, like how to deal with being judged as an introvert. Trap man, wow, okay, this is... yeah, this is...

2:11:59 Thank you, Matt. I really appreciate that. Yeah, I think some of the stuff I'm trying to cover is stuff that I don't really see people talk about. And I would say some might perceive it in a negative way. My issue is just the amount of people telling you on YouTube, telling you online, 'Just go travel, that's going to solve all your problems.'

2:12:17 Where you live and where you go has a major impact on your life. Many of my most life-affirming experiences have been outside the United States. As an adult, I had a great time at different points growing up in the US, but it's just changed so much. These life-affirming experiences have changed who I am, they've opened up my mind to a lot of different possibilities. They've showed me more of what's out there.

2:12:51 And I want people to be aware of some of the downsides because I think people feel like, 'Okay, I'm traveling, it should be awesome 24/7, it should be a blast.' But sometimes we deal with stresses. One of the things that popped up in the digital nomad channel is somebody said, 'Oh, you travel the world, it must be just a constant life of luxury, and you must be just happy all the time.'

2:13:21 And it's like, no. You see a lot of heavy stuff. If you travel long enough outside of the developed world, outside of Canada, the United States, the UK, then you're going to see some stuff that weighs on you. It's different for everybody. People may be bothered by different things.

Loneliness and Cultural Differences

2:13:43 What one person feels like, 'Ah, it's not much of a big deal,' somebody else might be really affected by that. And that's different for every person. Without making accusations, without getting into specifics to the point where it's potentially disparaging, or against the rules, talking about that, and talking about loneliness, for example, in my most recent video, and I've done a few videos on that, that people should be prepared for that.

2:14:10 Like if you're used to, back home, having the structure of your work environment where you don't feel lonely because some people love their jobs, they love their co-workers, they find their work interesting and meaningful. And you go from that to now you're traveling abroad, and presumably you're not working.

2:14:32 I found it to be the case that I don't really make friends at work. I can get along with people, but...

2:14:41 I can get along with people, but there's just something where it's like we all agree, "Oh yeah, we'll talk after, and we'll stay in touch." But that has never been the case at any of the jobs I've worked. It's we've stuck to being professional. That's fine. I don't expect to make friends at work, but if you have a social outlet there, and then you go abroad where you don't have that social outlet, then yeah, some people can feel lonely.

2:15:04 Some loneliness is self-derived. I'm not saying all of it is, but if you're the type of person, I don't think any of my subscribers are this way, but if you're the type of person that's constantly judging the environment around you, like, "Oh, why did they eat that? Oh, why do they wear that? Oh, why are they doing that job?" This and that, then that will isolate you from people. I don't think the people in my channel are like that. I think we're all open-minded and considerate people.

2:15:31 We like the people and the places that we go to. But other avenues to loneliness in my experience have been just the language barrier, right? Like, what is it like to just not be able to go and have conversations at the level that you're used to on a consistent basis? Like in the US, I can just walk up to almost anybody and just talk to them, and there's not going to be any communication barrier there. So not having that depth can add to loneliness.

2:16:04 I think also seeing people in groups where, like, you're watching, you get the sense as an introvert traveler sometimes that you're watching people live their lives, and that can be isolating. Like walking by a graduation party or walking by a wedding, people doing their wedding photos, or you see all kinds of stuff like this when you're traveling long-term that you may not see back home because you're just focused on work. You're not really thinking about anything besides work. You're moving too quickly to really think about the world around you.

2:16:41 And then you're traveling, and you know, you see a woman like crying, going through a tough breakup, she just got dumped, or you see a guy picking his kid up from school, and they're having to like sit in traffic. You just see people living their lives, and it can make you feel a bit dissociated at times or a bit detached because your life is on pause. You're doing this thing that most people don't really do that much, and even if you do it, nobody's taking your exact steps, nobody's taking your exact trip.

2:17:18 And so it can feel isolating that way, where it's like you're thinking you're back in your home country, you're thinking about that one time you were in Peru, or that one time you were in Thailand, or that one time you were in Mexico. And you can only really talk to you have this, you're in this third space. There's the people who have never left their home country, there's the people who are living in that foreign country, but you're like neither one.

Cultural Adaptation and Pace of Life

2:17:45 Like I was talking to Pete from Tyres Times a few months back, and he was saying, "You know, I've had to toughen up coming back to the West. I've had to develop a thicker skin. I was used to being in Thailand where people were very soft-spoken and non-confrontational and just, you know, laid-back." And then coming here back to where he's from, Dublin, Ireland, being in Ireland, people are kind of a little bit more rough around the edges, they're a little bit more stressed out, they're a little bit less patient.

2:18:18 And so that's part of it too, is that the travel kind of changes you and shifts your perspective. And for me, part of it was hard because I realized I'm not going to be one of these people. Like in some of the countries that I go to, you know, in America, Americans come in all shapes, colors, sizes, languages, religions, ethnicities, all the differences that you could think of, differ from American to American. But in some of these other countries, it's much more homogeneous, it's a monoculture.

2:18:51 Like when I was in Cusco, seeing this Peruvian woman, she would hang out with her friends that grew up in the same neighborhood, they all went to the same high school, they listen to the same music, they dressed similarly to one another, they had the same accent. And like, as an outsider, like, "Hey, I'm, I can't ever be Peruvian." Maybe you can, Peru is diverse, they have like Chinese Peruvians, they have Japanese Peruvians, I think they even have Filipino Peruvians. I've been learning about that, which has been super interesting about how they brought Filipinos to the Latin colonies and vice versa.

2:19:36 But yeah, thank you so much, Matt, for and Tony as well, for enjoying the topics and letting me know that they've been good. Want to get back into and grind out the next three weeks in Bangkok, make as much content as I can before I head to Vietnam, because it'll probably be a minute before I'm back here. Tony says, "I was going to get back to work 10 minutes ago, but this topic has really engaged me and my mind is racing now, so work can wait." Well, thank you so much, Tony. That's very thoughtful. I appreciate your support.

2:20:12 It really means a lot to me. I still consider my channel very, very early on. I'd like to eventually move to doing it full-time, eventually hitting financial independence and then putting all of my energy into the channel because it's just so much fun. It's so much fun to connect with people like you and to be able to share insights and hear about your perspective and hear about like what's on your mind.

2:20:39 Tony says, "Matt, I read your loneliness video and the one about 'Wherever You Go, There You Are' really spoke to me." Yeah, that's something that's been tough for me because I expected to just press a happiness button when I got here to Thailand. I expected as soon as I landed for everything to be perfect, and that wasn't the case. When I landed, I was exhausted. I'd come from Finland, I didn't sleep even though I got like a place to stay in Helsinki because the sun in the summer doesn't really go down.

2:21:14 I didn't get any sleep, so I show up in Bangkok, I get through immigration, I'm exhausted, I'm riding the train into the city, and I'm looking at all the people around me commuting and just feeling super confused and just kind of out of place, and like, "Where am I?" And like, "Did I really sign up for this for a year? Am I really back here three years later?" It's yeah, it's been wild. I'm so glad I did it, by the way. I'm so glad I committed to coming here for a year, but it wasn't instant happiness.

2:21:45 And then happiness came about because I met up with some of my Thai friends I hadn't seen since before the pandemic. They were very generous, they took me out to a nice meal. Then I started like rediscovering parts of Bangkok that I hadn't spent time in in several years. Made it up to Chiang Mai, reconnected friends up there. Started to slow down. Like I didn't quit walking as fast when I first got here. I was walking super fast, "Oh, got to go here, got to go there, I got to get around, I got to do stuff, go, go, go, go, go" because that's what I'm used to in the US. I've got to go and maximize every second of every day because I work long hours, just being in sales, it naturally comes with long hours. And then all my time after work, I've got to do chores, got to do the laundry, I've got to go get groceries. Oh, if I want to eat healthy, I need to get groceries every few days. If you know, I've got to pay my taxes, I've gotta do this, that, this, that, this, that.

2:22:48 And you're constantly just ping-ponging from thing to thing to thing. So coming here, I was still in that hyped-up, rush, rush, rush mode, and I had to learn how to slow down and take things one day at a time. And like, hey, give them a second to bring your check. Like in the US, everything is, you know, they're trying to turn the tables over as fast as possible to get the business. And here, that's not always the case. I mean, there's some restaurants that are very leisurely, they're not expecting to serve tons of people, or they're not expecting to turn out food super, super fast on like, just a random weekday.

Social Interaction and Trust Abroad

2:23:30 And so all these things are things to consider. Um, in Bangkok, I had to speed it up a bit, to be honest, because certain parts of Bangkok are like the financial district near where I'm living, or other parts of the city that are tourist-heavy. You have to be cognizant that people are on their way to work, similar to New York City. But if you're not in those areas, yeah, it's important to slow down. Because can I really be happy when I'm constantly like tapping my foot, "Okay, I got to walk around them," or "Okay, I hope they hurry up," or "Okay, I hope there's space for me on the BTS train?" And like, I'm not here working in a standard 9 to 5, so I've got to really just keep my patience. And I hope when I go back to the US, I don't fully lose that essence, because my mind just feels so much more calm here, and I'm just a lot happier here.

2:24:26 Matt says, "Traveling solo forces you to be more outgoing. Introversion lessons outside the USA for me, that's been 100% the case." For me too, Matt. In the US, like I feel, you're just, I don't know if you're like this, this has been my feeling. I'm always worried about tomorrow. I'm always worried about, okay, what if some bill comes up that I've got to pay? Okay, what did I, what chores did I put off this week that I need to go do? You know, do I have my schedule packed? Am I maximizing my time this weekend? If I want to go out to the beach, I better do it on Saturday or Sunday. I can't do it during the week.

2:25:08 And so I'm always trying to just like chase tomorrow. And my mind is going so fast, I can't really slow down.

2:25:19 Going so fast, I can't really slow down enough to connect and socialize. A lot of my friends struggle with that. I mean, I have friends that apologize. I'll reach out to them, and they won't get back to me. Like, 'Man, I'm sorry, I've just been working so many hours this week, this month, this year, that I just haven't had time to socialize.' And I can empathize with that and appreciate that. I've been in the same position.

2:25:42 When I'm not focused on the grind, I'm not trying to be maximum efficiency all the time. I'm not worried about permits and insurance and rent and paperwork and leases and job and phone calls and emails and just the endless ping-ponging. I do open up a bit more. I do stop to talk to people. In the US, I've had people try to make conversation, like, 'Sorry, gotta go, gotta go do stuff.' Like, 'Don't have time.' And that's more accepted in the San Francisco area because everybody there is busy all the time.

2:26:15 But in other parts of the country, you definitely hit some friction when you're trying to get through the thing as fast as possible. Now, it's changing. I think America's pace keeps speeding up. There are small towns in the US that I've been to where things have picked up pace a lot, like service has gotten a lot faster and more efficient than it was in the past.

2:26:39 Some people like it, some people don't. But yeah, I think when I'm outside the US, I'm more open to talking to people. I'm more open to stopping and kind of joking around with people. People are so funny and like to joke around and laugh a lot. I've had a lot of really nice moments of connection.

2:26:57 Sometimes I'll have somebody staring at me because I'm just looking around, scanning my environment. And then I'll say hi, you know? I'll say, 'Sawatdee khrap,' and they break into a smile and warm up. Like, 'Oh, wow, he's trying some Thai, even though he's clearly not Thai. He's trying to use our language and relate to us.' And so there's a lot of really special experiences like that where it forces me to be more social too.

2:27:27 I find too, like in other countries, and you may relate to this as well, Matt, with your upcoming move to Thailand, but in some other places, people aren't as judgmental. I feel like in the West, people are often taught to be judgmental. I don't know if that's even throughout the country. I found people in California to be equally judgmental as people in Tennessee; they're just judgmental about different things.

2:27:53 So in Tennessee, they might be judgmental about the church that you go to, whereas in California, they may be judgmental about the neighborhood you live in. But there is this kind of status-conscious or status-driven environment in the United States, and I think Western democracies in general, where people are always trying to size each other up, trying to figure out what they can get from them or how they can get ahead.

2:28:21 I just don't experience that nearly as much in other parts of the world. Does it exist to some extent? Sure, that's going to be a thing everywhere. But I just find that people have other things going on, and that they have more practice like I... that's been a tough realization.

2:28:40 I think Tony and Matt, you may appreciate this. I know some people in the US that they're not introverted, they're just unpleasant to be around. So they complain a lot about not having much of a social life or not connecting with other people, but they spend all their time putting people down, judging people, talking about what people should and shouldn't do, how people should operate and how people shouldn't operate. And by the end of it, there's nobody left to listen to their judgments or their criticisms.

2:29:11 I just don't experience that as much. Now, some people will tell me, 'Oh, you just can't understand what they're saying.' And it's like, no, I do. If people make a joke, it's often more light-hearted. It's not meant to humiliate, which does seem more common in the US. But I just see people trying to humiliate each other on a fairly consistent basis. It's unfortunate, but it's just part of the culture, the grind, you know, raw, unfettered capitalism where people do feel like they're competing at the highest levels for resources.

2:29:50 There's this efficiency there that is not as common abroad, which I like. I don't necessarily need things to be ultra-efficient every single step of the way. For what it's worth, I find Thai people and Thailand to be pretty efficient. Is it perfect? No, it's not perfect. But I do find that people are often very patient here with me, me being an outsider. I think more patient at times than the same people would be received in the US.

Flexibility and Choice in Travel

2:30:20 So yeah, that's just my thoughts on it. I agree with you, Matt, that traveling abroad has made me get out of my shell more or connect with people more, talk to people more. And that's what I'm looking forward to about the Philippines is my buddy who I'm going to hang out with in Mindanao. He's already introduced me to his co-workers on video chat.

2:30:42 He'll call me up on video chat on a slow day at his work, and he'll pass the phone around, and now I'm meeting these people before I even get there. I'm already meeting different people and being forced to talk to different people. Normally, like, you know, my feeling back home is, 'Ah, I don't want to talk to people. I have to talk to people all day at work.' But I'm like, 'Okay, if you insist, I'll talk to you.'

2:31:08 This guy, a buddy of my friend's, he's like, 'I will introduce you to some nice women here, not gold diggers.' And I just thought that was so funny. I'm like, 'Gold diggers are barking up the wrong tree. They're talking to me.' But I appreciate your enthusiasm, man, because, you know, some countries like the Philippines have the perception that most foreigners that come there are very well-to-do, that they have a lot of excess resources.

2:31:40 They're able to buy an international plane ticket, they are able to pay rent on typically a nice place, a place that's maybe brand new, maybe has some modern amenities that are less common in their area. Maybe the foreigner can have meals at the nicest restaurant in town on a regular basis. I'm not in that, by the way. When I go to the Philippines, I'm getting a local-style apartment. I'm going to be eating at carinderias. I'm going to be spending time outdoors.

2:32:10 I'm not going to be doing it on the high on the hog over there, partly out of choice, partly out of wanting to stretch my money, but partly also because I want a different life than what I'm used to. And that's what the Philippines has to offer: a very vibrant lifestyle.

2:32:32 And yeah, I agree, Matt, 100%. The atmosphere in America creates the need for introversion. Yeah, I mean, and I'll respond to Tony real quick and get back to this point. I have to get going. Thanks for the great talk, Alex. Well, thank you so much, Tony, for the Super Chat and all the information. Your support means the world to me. It's been so great to talk with you today, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

2:32:58 Tony, but yeah, back to what Matt was talking about. Yeah, I mean, in America, you have to be cautious. You have to be skeptical. You've got people on the street, like if you're in certain areas, approaching you, asking you for money. You've got people, you know, where I lived in California, casing out your car, trying to figure out if they can break in, what they're going to get.

2:33:21 At your job, not your job, but like at jobs I've had in the past, you have to figure out who's trying to push you out so they get the promotion, or who's trying to take your credit for what you did at work. And so America's really shifted from a high-trust society to more of a low-trust society.

2:33:45 Unfortunately, I do get some of these out-of-touch people that are like, 'Oh, it's the Browns, it's the brown people.' And it's like, that's an overly simplistic thing to point at. Do I think it could have caused some challenges in America? I mean, naturally, I've seen some people within my own family who don't subscribe to the American ethos and have brought their culture with them to America. But I think they're not the majority.

2:34:18 I think a lot of people come to America that they want to make America even better, they want to contribute, they want to work hard, they want to produce something of value, they want to start a business of some kind. And it's really just like an imbalance in the system. America is just not a balanced place right now. Things have kind of swung to the extremes, and we're seeing a lot of different side effects from that.

2:34:45 One of the things my buddy said to me a while back was, 'Nobody wants to fix the problems anymore. We just want to make enough money that the problems don't apply to us.' And I think that's kind of where America is at: people are just trying to get theirs. It's turned into every person for themselves kind of a place. And when you get in this system where you think everybody is just looking out for themselves, you naturally have to adopt some of that yourself just to survive.

2:35:11 Just to make it so that you don't get taken advantage of, so that you don't get ripped off. And I just don't have that experience nearly to the same extent traveling abroad. It happens a bit, but it's not like a daily occurrence where I'm getting spam calls every single day about my car warranty, about some kind of crypto scam, about who knows what it could be. But you're not just having to feel constant pressure.

2:35:40 In the modern world, you have to have these ultra-high boundaries. When you go to a more old-school kind of place, you don't have that to the same extent. It's just not as easy for people to bug you. You can create more space between yourself and the outside world.

2:35:58 You can be more selective about the people that you deal with. Like if you go get a job in the US, you've got to work at that company with those people, and you don't have that flexibility. Whereas if you're traveling and you're financially independent, if you don't like a town, a condo building, or a restaurant, just don't go back.

Stream Wrap-up and Future Content

2:36:14 Move to a different city, move to a different building, try some different food. You have a lot more flexibility living this kind of lifestyle outside the US. But I'll probably wrap it up here in the next 5-10 minutes because I'm starting to lose my voice a bit. I've been talking for several hours with you all.

2:36:32 It's been so wonderful to chat with everybody tonight. Feel free to throw any comments, questions, or thoughts. I can't thank Tony and Matt enough for chiming in, as well as some of the folks we had earlier in the stream: Isaac, Daniel, Christopher, and sleeping elephant and solar transient. We had quite a few people on here.

2:37:01 It was great to catch up, Matt, and I'm really looking forward to hearing more about your move to Thailand and following that. I think it's going to be wonderful for you. But yeah, thanks so much, everybody. I'm going to go ahead and wrap it up here.

2:37:15 I think we've had a great stream and covered a lot of ground. I've got a lot of creative inspiration from this conversation. And yeah, I look forward to chatting soon. I hope everybody has a great week ahead. Bye-bye.