Preparing for the Philippines

Preparing for Departure from Vietnam

0:36 Hope you are doing well tonight. Just going to, yeah, that looks better. We can talk about whatever you guys want to talk about tonight. I'm going to give it a little bit to let some folks hop on here. I'm winding my time down here in Vietnam. I've got a little over a week left, so I'll be leaving here.

1:03 Great to see you. Welcome, welcome. So I'm leaving a week from Saturday night. Saturday, what's probably going to happen next Saturday? Just kind of giving some insight into how I'll be preparing. Saturday morning, so next Saturday, not this upcoming Saturday. What I'll do is I will check in with my, uh, the person who's, like, I don't know, the host or the manager of this apartment building here in Dang.

1:40 And I'll get a price for my electric bill. I'm gonna hit up an ATM and get the cash out. Great to see you, Christopher. Welcome to the stream. I'm, uh, in this one, I'm going to discuss a little bit about how I'm getting out.

1:56 So yeah, so Saturday, yeah, Saturday, not this Saturday, so a week from Saturday. So technically August 10th. That morning, I will check in with the building manager. I'm going to get an idea of the electric bill. I'll run to an ATM, pull the cash out, pay her, and then I'm going to take a cab. I'll have all my stuff packed up by then. I'm gonna take a cab to one of the local malls and stock up on a few things because I think some things are going to be more economical for me to get here in Vietnam over the Philippines.

2:35 Specifically, a few toiletries that I'd like to have. Probably grab some extra toothpaste. I don't estimate it to be massive. It's more so I know in the Philippines sometimes things are out of stock, sometimes you have to run to different stores to find things. And not only that, but sometimes you tend to have to wait in line a bit longer than what you're accustomed to.

3:00 So having some of those things, and I'm also planning on staying outside of the city of Dumaguete, probably half an hour outside of town. So it's not going to be as easy as it is here to go shopping. I'll have to take like a Jeepney or a trike into town and then go to different stores you know that carry that stuff. And then if, you know, one place is out of stock, I have to go to another. So just trying to get some of those things done because logistics are a little bit harder in the Philippines.

Flight Details to Dumaguete

3:32 But yeah, Christopher, I am Dumaguete bound here in about nine days. Eight days, yeah, I guess about nine days because I'll be flying out Saturday night at around 10:30 p.m. is my flight time to Manila. I'll get to Manila around 2 a.m. and then I'll have a three-hour layover. I'll probably need to transfer terminals.

4:01 And then I fly to Dumaguete at 5 a.m. Manila time. The flight's about an hour and a half to Dumaguete. And then I'll land in Dumaguete around 6:30 a.m. I'll take a cab to probably to a coffee shop because I imagine my Airbnb hosts may not be available at 6:30 in the morning. And also, you know, if I'm pulling an all-nighter like that, I'll need some coffee to get through that day.

4:31 And what else I do? Yeah, I'll probably have some coffee and just, you know, wait till maybe I don't know, 9 or 10 and then reach out to, well, I'll reach out to the Airbnb host today before to find out what time I can check in. Then head down there, drop all my stuff off, you know, lock up, and then probably head to the beach.

4:53 The place that I'm targeting that I'm looking at staying is really close to a place you could just hop in the water and swim. And that's something I'm really looking forward to doing. Hey Moto Gab TV, hi, watching from the Philippines. Where are you located in the Philippines, Moto Gab? I don't think I've seen you on here before, but welcome to the live stream.

5:13 Are you in Dumaguete? Are you in Manila? Are you in Iloilo? I'm trying to think of all the places. Davao, Cebu, Bohol.

5:35 What do you think? Trump? Will he win? And then Tony, welcome Tony. Sorry, I'm just, I'm so spent so much time. Yeah, anyway, it's great to see you, Tony. Welcome to the stream.

5:48 Yeah, you know, I like Tony's saying, I try to avoid talking about politics on my channel. I think it's, you know, I've seen some other channels talk about it. I understand some viewers find a lot of value in it. I tend to think it can be kind of divisive.

6:08 And just for what it's worth, I see myself as politically homeless. I don't identify with one side or the other side. I do think that, you know, there tends to be more harm done than good because, you know, my career hasn't been based around that, right?

6:31 So like if I was, you know, a news anchor, if I was a commentator, an attorney, you know, there was it was somehow relevant to my area of expertise, which I did study political science because I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but those cards didn't work out for me.

6:51 But yeah, you know, I tend to find it's divisive and, you know, you hear about it really being potentially damaging to relationships and dividing people. And I, yeah, I just don't know if it's, you know, super helpful.

7:14 I think, you know, as far as the results go, the part of it that I would care about, if I had to care about it, is I would be curious to see, you know, regardless of who wins, what impact that will have on us. If any of the decisions that that individual makes would have an impact on us living overseas, right?

7:35 Because I think that's really what a lot of us care about is how does it impact us who choose to live outside the US. And to a lesser extent, people from other Western democracies like I have quite a few subscribers from Canada, from Australia, from the UK. And, you know, it doesn't affect them as much as it does Americans, but I still think they have some level of concern about it.

8:02 Certainly, you know, we want things like stability and peace. And, you know, we want supply chains to work out.

8:21 You know, I don't think I've looked at Tarlac much on a map here. Why don't we? I could pull it up and I'll just get a sense of where that is. Oh, okay, so you're in Luzon. Okay, very cool.

8:41 Oh, Tony says, I'm glad he does. Thank you so much, Tony. Yeah, you know, we try to maintain a friendly thing here. I noticed some people say, oh, we don't talk about that here, and then they launch into it. And then if you disagree, they get upset. And they want to control the conversation.

8:56 Or maybe they think in their mind, they're the next CNN or Fox. And, yeah, I don't think that I'm any of that. I like to focus on topics we can all appreciate or we can all enjoy.

9:11 Let's see. And I also don't want to bore my non-American audience. Like, if you know, I do have non-American audience members, they don't care. Like, you know, I said before, they may have some interest, but I don't think they care as much as Americans care about it. So I don't want to bore them.

Alternative Accommodation Plans

9:29 If your Airbnb does not work out for you, do you have a plan B? Great question, Gerard. So, yeah, like I've got, I've done a lot of research on Dumaguete. And, you know, there's, it's obviously not the easiest place to.

9:49 Why don't we go and pull it up actually? That would be helpful here. I like to have a visual here. Dumaguete. Yeah, so let's say, you know, for whatever reason it doesn't work out, likely what I'll do is I'm in a bunch of, first off, I'm in a bunch of different Dumaguete rental groups on Facebook. So I have a number of different groups where I can go and look at rentals in Dumaguete at different locations, different price points.

10:25 Also Valencia, which is kind of the west of Dumaguete. Up here, you have this town called Valencia. I don't know if you call it a city, but a town. And so that's up in the hills. I would look up there as well. Also, you have Dau, so they have a number of different resorts. I'm sure some of these resorts have monthly rates.

10:47 So that's, you know, even in Dumaguete, where housing is not as plentiful relative to demand as other parts of the Philippines, it's very easy to find different options. Also, I'm taking a look at Siquijor. So if I wanted to go over to Siquijor, I've heard it's a party scene, not really for me, but, you know, if it came down to finding a place I liked, I'd have no problem with that.

11:10 And then also, if it really, you know, if I really didn't like Dumaguete for whatever reason, the Airbnb I'm looking at is like, I think, $250 per month. If I gotta leave, you know, that I spent more than that on a week's worth of rent in the United States, right?

11:31 So if I get a week for $250, then I'm satisfied. Now, of course, I want the full value, but, you know, it's, I hate to sound dismissive. I know people are in different financial situations. But as far as just like comparison, the cost is so much less. It's hard for me to worry about say $250.

12:03 Yeah, great, great question, Gerard. Yeah, I always try to keep a plan B and a C. There's also Malaybalay, which is in Mindanao. And so what I would do is I would take a ferry. There's a ferry down to Dapitan, and then I'd probably take a bus all the way. It would be a long bus ride, but all the way around Oroquieta, Ozamiz, through Iligan to Cagayan de Oro.

12:24 And then meet up with my buddy who lives, and he's from Cagayan de Oro. And then we've already talked about, he's like, yeah, you just hop in my truck. I go back and forth to Malaybalay City every week. Back and forth for work, and we could just ride up there. Or you could just hop on a bus in CDO and there's plenty of places to stay up in Malaybalay.

12:48 And it's like a three-hour bus ride. So it's just, you know, it's a matter of time. But yeah, great question, Gerard. I think people should have a backup plan, right? Because they may not like that city. I've been to the Philippines before, so I have a general sense of what to expect. But Dumaguete, I haven't been to.

13:08 I've been to Cagayan de Oro, I've been to Zamboanga, I've been to Cebu, but this will be my first time in Dumaguete. I know some.

13:17 It'll be my first time in Dumaguete. I know some people don't care for it, and I know other people couldn't imagine themselves living anywhere else in the Philippines. I was interested to go last time I went to the Philippines, but I ran out of time. I had about a month allocated for the Philippines, and so here we are in Tarlac.

13:53 We can get some pictures. This must not be too far from Baguio, right? I'm not exactly sure where Baguio is, but yeah, we could look at some pictures. I love the architecture; I love the town squares too in the Philippines. It's such a nice social environment.

14:32 It's a really beautiful city. I'm double-thinking if I go to the US. Are you from the United States or maybe you're from the Philippines? I'm not sure where you're located, Tarlac, but I'm not sure where you're from.

14:56 To me, the US is a great place to make money. It's kind of turned into what I would call an economic zone these days; it's more of a place where people live there to make money as opposed to necessarily enjoying living there. It's just become a kind of a stressful rat race kind of environment.

15:17 There are a lot of great things to love about the US. I have mixed feelings about it, to be totally transparent. I don't know that it's super valuable if you don't have a specific reason to go there. If you want to go to the US, budget for it; the US is one of the most expensive countries in the world.

15:39 If you're accustomed to being in a lower cost of living country, if you're accustomed to being able to rely on friends and family to help you moderate your costs, if you don't have a unique or specialized skill set, if you don't have assets that produce income for you, it's becoming a less and less forgiving place.

16:00 In my personal opinion, I wouldn't recommend people go there unless they're American, they're from there, they've got family there, they've got some objective good reason to go to the US. My primary reasons to go back to the US eventually will be to get back into my career, keep earning money, and also to see friends.

16:24 Aside from those two reasons, it just doesn't do a whole lot for me. I've seen most of the country; I've experienced much of what I wanted to experience there. There have also been a lot of experiences that haven't been particularly positive.

16:39 I feel like I've kind of been there, done that, if that makes any sense. Try to come here in Tarlac; there's a lot of food and it's a beautiful place. This does look beautiful.

Exploring the Philippines: Cities and Provinces

16:49 I like this bridge here. I like the welcome they've got. The welcome zone is interesting. I've definitely heard the phrasing or the term 'New Capital Region,' so you've got Manila there, but it's not just Luzon; it's not just Manila. You've also got a lot of stuff north of Manila.

17:16 We can back up here, like Angeles. I know George and Heidi of Philippines Antics, they live in Angeles. I know also one of my other subscribers, he's more like south of Manila, but you've got a lot.

17:31 Baguio is north of Tarlac. Baguio is high on my list of places I want to see in the Philippines. There's a lot to see in the north. I also eventually, at some point, would like to see the northernmost point.

17:50 I think we talked a bit about that on a stream a few months ago, but yeah, most of my friends and the people I've met have been located more toward the central like B region or in Mindanao. But I'm definitely open to the north.

18:09 I think it'd be super helpful if I had more people to meet or to chat with in the north of the country. But this initial part of this trip is focused on Daggett. We'll pull back down here to Daggett.

18:31 The Philippines is a little bit different than a lot of the other countries that I've spent time in, in that it's a series of islands. In other countries, you've got one landmass to work with, whereas in the Philippines, you're trying to navigate around 7,000 islands. About a thousand islands are populated.

18:46 So you do have quite a few islands with probably no population or temporary population, maybe for research purposes or military operations. We'll zoom back out down here to Dumaguete.

19:09 Are you thinking about visiting the provinces when you are there or staying in the main cities? That's a great question, Tony. In many countries, I focus on the cities because a lot of the countries that I've gone to, they don't speak English.

19:22 I feel that it's... I don't know if 'unsafe' is the right word, but I just feel out of my element when I'm out of the cities because I know in non-English-speaking countries, the rate of English will be much less outside the cities. If I'm in the nice parts of Medellin or Bulata, people are going to have some basic English in the restaurants.

19:48 Also, where else could I think about? Like Thailand. If I'm in Shanghai or I'm in Bangkok, especially, I'm genuinely surprised how many people actually do have some basic English skills. But going out of the province, I'm concerned if something happens, am I going to be able to communicate effectively with people? Probably not.

20:14 It could lead to additional challenges on top of different situations. It's going to be more of a concern as I get older because I may have more health concerns when I get older.

20:37 But yeah, Tony, I do have... I am interested in going to the provinces in the Philippines. I've been to some areas that I would call provincial in the Philippines already, and I felt just fine there. People had some basic English.

20:51 People had some basic English. Yes, Tony, English is spoken universally in the Philippines, even in the provinces. So that's what's beautiful to me about the Philippines: people who might want to live in a country or more rural setting, which the Philippines has plenty of, they're not going to feel... I don't know if 'left out' is the right word.

21:10 They're not going to feel like there are some barriers to them to be able to get the full experience. Like when I spent time in Siquijor, for example, and I would call Siquijor fairly provincial. It's got about 75,000 people on the island.

21:25 A big chunk of them are in a few, I think really one city, or clustered around. There's a mall, there's a department store. A lot of the people are in those areas, so it feels pretty provincial. I think it takes maybe four or five hours to get all the way around the island.

21:51 I found people to be super friendly. It's also part of it to me is also the nature. One of the things that's most appealing about the Philippines is that you have access to gorgeous nature in the country. Some of the most beautiful country I've ever been to, or at least one of them, in terms of tropical islands.

22:18 Those aren't necessarily found around the big cities, because the big cities, Cebu and Manila, are business hubs. You've got people going there for all kinds of different reasons. But in the provinces, you're really going there for lifestyle; you want the slow pace.

22:35 You want to go swimming, which is amazing in Siquijor. You want to disconnect. I'll be totally honest, in the provincial areas, you don't necessarily have the internet to the same quality that you have in the cities. I think that's changing because of things like Starlink.

22:56 So that really opens up a whole lot of opportunities to have that connectivity but also have the more laid-back atmosphere. You're not having to deal with rush hour traffic in Siquijor, for example. People aren't in a hurry to get to work.

23:20 It backs up like in Manila or in Cebu. You also have people who are not quite as in a rush like in Cebu or in... man, I needed to turn down the ads. I noticed one popped up at six minutes for you guys, and then another one's popping up right now.

23:46 Okay, I didn't... I try to have it moderate where there's some, but they're not just pushing them on everybody. But yeah, I have to take a look at that after this stream.

24:07 But yeah, Tony, that's a really interesting question. So, Philippines, yeah, open to staying in the provinces. Dumaguete, I wouldn't call it a province; I would say there are surrounding areas like Valencia, for example, somewhat provincial. You don't see the big roads in Valencia.

24:30 I'd also say like Dauis is somewhat provincial, especially when you get away from the beach, because there's going to be more development around the beach where people have their dive shops and resorts. So, I think that's part of what makes Dauis so popular.

24:55 People feel like, okay, I can live in this area. I have the modern amenities of Dumaguete; I've got shopping malls, I've got western-style restaurants, I've got cell service providers, I've got all these conveniences in Dumaguete. But then if I want to live outside the city and have a bit more of a laid-back atmosphere, then I can have that.

25:22 That being said, in the provincial areas, you do have roosters, you do have karaoke at times. So you have to be flexible, you have to be willing to kind of check things out and figure out some areas that are going to work for you versus maybe some areas where I don't know that I want to sign a lease here because it's not going to be as chill as I would like.

YouTube Income and Social Connections

25:49 Gerard, do you feel that YouTube can provide an income that can sustain your travel desires? I don't know if I would necessarily enjoy it as much because I do it more for fun. If the goal was to make income to sustain myself, I think I would have to become more clickbaity and do more shocking or controversial content.

26:34 Friends have told me that if I want to make money on YouTube, I need to turn things up a notch. For me, it's not practical to rely on YouTube for a full-time income. YouTube could decide to turn off the partner program or decide I'm not a good fit.

27:15 It's better if you have built up an income stream from rentals or investments. I do want some level of reward for my time, sure. I've definitely invested in camera equipment and am currently in the red. For me, it's more like a hobby.

27:46 Gerard, you guys may be familiar with Andrew Taylor, an expat in Qualpor with around 20,000 subscribers. He said he works it out to where he makes around $5 an hour. Minimum wage in California is $15 an hour, and I was making significantly more than that in my last role.

28:31 My long-term plan is to eventually go back to the States. I have a few interviews going on right now for sales roles to earn the money I need, invest it, and build up a monthly income stream. Then I can do YouTube on top of that.

28:58 If something were to happen to my YouTube channel one day, I wouldn't be in a desperate situation. There are YouTubers who totally rely on YouTube, and if their channel were to disappear, they would be in a very disadvantageous position.

29:21 Andrew Taylor, with 10 times the subscribers I have, says he works at about five bucks an hour. Anyone living in a Western democracy can earn substantially more than that. I know costs are much higher, and it's not the same quality of life, but if I wanted to be most efficient, that's how I would approach it.

29:52 I also like the social outlet. Being able to connect with subscribers is wonderful. In Thailand, where I just finished a year, it's hard to find English speakers, and if you do, there are barriers to communication.

30:17 They may be able to speak on topics they're familiar with, like travel or food, but having more in-depth conversations might be more challenging. Also, just like shared experiences, I'm going to skip the ad because it's getting ridiculous.

30:48 Yeah, there's so much opportunity in Western democracies to earn money. My ideal would be to build up an income stream and then do YouTube on top of that. So, back to the social outlet, it's the same in Vietnam.

31:21 Here in Vietnam, most people do not have strong English, so I'm not going to be able to go out and just talk to people. For me, being able to communicate with you guys who have an interest in living this part of the world, but also have English and more comparable shared experiences, is important.

31:41 Working in the corporate world, having that fast-paced lifestyle, and having gone through a comparable school system probably based on the English system if you're in a commonwealth or former colony, leads to a lot more shared experiences.

31:58 Moto Gab TV, I want to catch up on Moto Gab's comments. Moto Gab says if you want to come here, don't worry, a lot of people are speaking English and it's safe here. I'd absolutely agree; I felt very safe in the Philippines.

32:19 People are very friendly and warm-hearted. I had such an easy time making deeper connections with people because of that English common ground. We understood each other, and they understand a lot about American culture.

32:34 Each time I went, I didn't understand how much a lot of Filipino people understand about the United States. I know one woman I dated in Cebu has a sister living in western Canada, so they have a lot of connection.

33:01 In my experience, more so than any other country in the region, there's a lot of Filipino people who joined the US military to support and in part, it provided a path to citizenship. There are Filipino communities in SoCal, NorCal, and Chicago.

33:27 Even where I grew up in Nashville, I knew a Filipino family. One of my friends, her family is from Cebu, and she grew up in the US. They are really kind and warm people.

33:49 Moto Gab, do you know the history in the Philippines? You can search 'Dead March history' and what you think. I know that it's a former colony of Spain and also a former colony of the United States. It's a very diverse country in many ways.

34:13 You have Filipinos with all kinds of different backgrounds. I was kind of surprised when I was in Cebu and matched on a dating app with a woman who's half Japanese, half Filipino. It's a really interesting country.

34:38 I don't know if I'd say it's easier to understand than other countries in Southeast Asia, but the English just makes it so much easier to fit in and communicate with people. I was shocked when I could talk to people in what seemed like a very provincial area.

34:56 People can be a little bit shy, which I think is endearing. In the US, people tend to be direct and kind of aggressive, so in the Philippines, it seemed like a bit of a reversal, and I just enjoyed it a lot.

Filipino Culture and Communication

35:17 Is everything perfect? Certainly not. There's no place in the world that's perfect, but I've been missing it a lot. I'm looking forward to checking it out again, but this time I'll be going to other places in the Philippines.

35:42 Tony says, Gerard Palmer, have you thought about joining the channel? It's a modest cost per month and helps build this community and support Alex's work. Gerard, you know, you have interest to be a channel member, that's always appreciated.

36:01 I'm still trying to sort out the benefits. I do want to provide channel members some extra advantages, like early access to videos. We could also do members-only live streams that could be more like a one-on-one or small group conversation.

36:36 I do think the channel will grow in time, and it's been a great experience. In Thailand, people make $15 on a typical job per day. Certainly, the income I'd be capable of generating is far greater in the West than in Southeast Asia.

37:06 There are opportunities for me to teach English over here, but the compensation difference is so great. It's a lifestyle choice; I don't think people are saving tons of money teaching English in Southeast Asia. There might be opportunities in China or Saudi Arabia, but those have different expectations.

37:35 If they're going to pay you a lot more money, they're probably wanting more hours. It may be more for business context as opposed to people wanting to learn. I'm over here for lifestyle and enjoy it a lot, but if I'm moving forward with the focus on earning money, the opportunities in the US are much greater.

38:02 Especially because I don't have a work permit over here. In the US, I don't have to do anything to be qualified to start making money. Here, there are expectations I have to meet before.

38:15 I have to meet before I can do that kind of thing. If the channel really took off, that would be wonderful. I mean, I'd like to get better at making thumbnails; I think that would help a lot with both views and viewer retention.

38:29 But I see the size of people's channels and the topics that they cover. I think the other part of the commercial aspect of YouTube is I'd have to focus on niches that I may be less interested in, that may be more lucrative.

38:45 But this is, I would say, more of a hobby for me. I've watched a lot of videos where they talk about, you know, don't call YouTube your business when it's really more like a hobby.

38:58 So, you know, there's limited downside, I'll say, because I enjoy doing this. And even if I never made a penny from ads or from generous subscribers or members, people like Tony, then it's just a lot of fun.

39:14 It's fun to connect with people. When I go back to my hometown, I talked about this a bit on my last stream, Gerard. It's just hard to find people that appreciate travel in the way that I do.

39:27 So if I start talking about, 'Oh man, the Philippines, it's so beautiful, look at the Philippines,' they're like, 'Ah, yeah, that's neat, you know, back to the football game.' No offense to football fans in here or watching the replay, but football's not my thing.

39:42 So it's that's the beauty of the internet is being able to connect to people that you have a lot of shared interests with.

39:53 English is the best communication. What do you think, Canada is the most expensive or the US? That's a great question, Moto Gab. I think relative to incomes, Canada is probably more expensive, just based on what I've heard speaking with friends and people in Canada.

40:14 I know one of my friends in the US, he works for a company based in Toronto. And it seems like in Canada, you know, the taxes are higher. Of course, people in Canada do have access to a single-payer healthcare system, so there's a lot of trade-offs there.

40:34 I think the education system is probably really strong in Canada. I know one of my buddies in the US, he came from Iran and he actually did his Masters in Canada before coming to the states, so there's a lot of opportunity there.

40:50 And to be fair, you know, I think it's important to compare the big C, like an apples-to-apples comparison to Canada, would be saying, like, 'Okay, compare Vancouver to San Francisco or Toronto to New York City.'

41:07 Edmonton or Calgary to Denver. And I do think that relative to incomes, it would be more expensive there. But, you know, there's a lot of advantages. I mean, it's not as heavily populated as the US. You probably have less competition for certain things like parks or, you know, that kind of thing.

41:36 Do you think the vlog or streamer make you rich? I think some streamers tend to do really well. You know, people like Destiny have gotten a lot of fame. You know, he's worked at it for years and streams for many hours and takes on a lot of controversial topics and has really put a lot of effort into it.

42:01 So he, I assume, he gets paid the big bucks because he's got, gets a lot of attention. There's other people like, uh, you know, Twitch streamers that may earn a lot.

42:15 But, uh, yeah, I agree, Tony. Sorry, Moto Gab. I prefer not to go into that situation. It's really unfortunate, it's really tragic. I think it's, you know, sad for all involved, but I don't want to go into that topic.

42:38 As far as streamers go, you know, I think it can be very lucrative because you've got, it's a one-to-many thing, right? So whether 100 people watch your stream or a thousand people watch your stream or 10,000 people watch your stream, it doesn't cost you anymore as a streamer.

42:58 Now, of course, you want to put out the best product possible. You want to have quality control. You want to have good audio, you want to have a good visual, you want to have interesting content to talk about.

43:13 Not, you know, it's not everybody is successful. It's, I think it's kind of the Pareto principle, like a very small amount of streamers seem to get all the attention.

43:23 Because people have limited free time, they want to watch the best content possible in their free time, the content that's most relatable to them as an individual. And so if somebody thinks, 'I'm going to strike it rich,' but they're going to have poor lighting, or the audio is awful, or, you know, they talk about things nobody cares about, or they violate terms of service, all these things can stop a person in their tracks.

43:56 And so it's, it's something that, you know, it's almost like being like a pro sports player. A few people will make all the money. A lot of people will enjoy themselves, but not necessarily see some kind of big payoff for it.

44:11 I think people, if they want to get into it, they should do it because they enjoy it. If they make money on it, great. But there's other, I think, clearer or more straightforward paths to doing well.

Career, Lifestyle, and Personal Growth

44:22 And, you know, I think another thing to add to that, if somebody's independently wealthy, somebody say, you know, we talk about somebody like Mike from Mike's Philippine Retirement. He's already had a full career. He's already been, I think he was a tradesperson in the Las Vegas area. He also collects Social Security.

44:39 If his channel wasn't successful, it wouldn't really make a difference to him. For him, I think it's just a lot of fun. He also uses it as an outlet to help a lot of people. I think his content is great.

44:51 I'm going to go ahead and just type his channel name down here. Yeah, like, you know, he's somebody that he doesn't rely on it for success. And I think that's what makes it that much better is that you can tell he's not just trying to, um, you know, he's not just trying to sell something, that it's he really wants to help people.

45:17 And I think it's also a benefit to his wife, Janet, right? He's married to a Filipino, Janet. And it's a great opportunity to teach her about something she may have not been exposed to prior to, um, you know, being with him.

45:34 And so, and it can, it's, yeah, it could provide a great opportunity for her long-term because people are, I just was in her stream earlier tonight and people, uh, you know, they were asking her, 'Hey Janet, could you do Tagalog or, uh, basic lessons?'

45:51 Right, so can you help us learn the language? And I think that's super awesome. Like a lot of us, we, uh, you know, we assume that all we need in the Philippines is English. And to some extent, that's true. I would agree with that, that to some extent, you can do just fine with English.

46:15 But if you're thinking, 'I want to live the rest of my life in the Philippines,' and you really want to connect with people, particularly in your region, if you're living in Mindanao, now, I don't know how valuable it would be to learn Tagalog. Vice versa, if you're living in Manila, I don't know how valuable it would be to learn like Chavacano, which is a dialect of Spanish that's only spoken in a really small part of Mindanao.

46:41 Now, you know, it's the regional differences are pretty strong there. But if you want to learn the local dialect, I think it'd be worth it just to see the smiles on people's faces because Filipinos love to smile. And you could see this genuine smile when you try to use a little bit of their language because they feel like, what's the word I'm looking for? I think they often feel like it's not just respect, it's acknowledgment.

47:13 It's appreciation, it's consideration. It's almost like you're looking at the Philippines beyond the typical expat, 'I want to live in a tropical island and relax.' Like you, I think it's a beautiful thing.

47:34 Moto Gab, if you get a million subscribers, how much do you get paid? I think it depends, Moto Gab. I don't know if I'll ever hit that amount of subscribers. I think it's doubtful. Very few channels, maybe one in every hundred thousand channels, ever gets to that point.

47:55 I admit, my channel is already pretty successful by YouTube standards. I think only like one in nine channels is actually monetized. So there's 140 million roughly YouTube channels, and so 11% of that would be maybe 15 million. So there's probably like 15 million channels out there that are monetized.

48:21 So I would be one of those 15 million. But then of those 15 million, how many are actually, you know, making some kind of full-time income? Maybe, you know, one or two million.

48:34 I think it's a hobby, a wonderful hobby for a lot of people. Tony says, 'Alex, with your job experience, formal education, soft skills, informal education, and EQ, you don't need to rely on YouTube for fun or money. Focus on building your IRL career is the way to go.'

48:55 Yeah, that's a great point, Tony. I think after this stream, actually, I have a, they have this video interview for a role with a fintech company, financial technology company. They're in the business banking space. This would be back in San Francisco.

49:16 So I'd like to, I'd like to do that video-based interview, basically record myself answering some of their questions, and then they'll review it. It's a tough time in the industry right now, even still, but I think we're starting to see some signs of things improving.

49:32 I think there's some reason to believe that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month at the Fed meeting. I think mid-depth, so we're probably around six weeks out from that, where they'll probably cut like a quarter of a point, which isn't a lot, but it's somewhat of a positive sign.

49:49 It's a sign that the economy is not doing so well and that they, the economy needs some relief. Just in as kind of a reference, I reached out to a trade school back on the west coast, and they said their business is kind of dried up and they're getting tons of applicants. So I think the economy needs some relief.

50:12 I'm hoping that it's coming because a lot of people are struggling with, um, being unemployed. I'm very fortunate and that, in more recent years, I've tried to live below my means, and so I'm...

50:26 I tried to live below my means and so I'm not in hot water. At times, I do get a bit bored, you know. I enjoy being in a dynamic environment and being kind of pushed to learn a lot of different things. Sales, working in sales, really helped me a lot, Tony, because I used to just not have a lot of social skills, if I'm being totally transparent.

50:50 Sales really, even though I'm an introvert, taught me how to better communicate with people. It helped me figure out how to get along with people that I would get along with, but that if maybe I had a negative attitude, I wouldn't get along with. So yeah, that's what I loved about sales.

51:12 But yeah, thank you for your vote of confidence, Tony. I really appreciate it. And yeah, I think that's a great point. And like I said, with YouTube, for the vast majority of YouTubers, for 99% of YouTubers, it's not going to be lucrative. It's not going to be more lucrative than just pursuing a standard career.

51:38 With a standard career, they can build up the income they need to then pursue YouTube full-time. It's totally different if you're earning two or three thousand per month from your investments and then you do YouTube just for fun. For me, part of it is just like helping to enjoy my time before I do have to get back into my career.

52:06 Because if I'm in a demanding career, it's going to take the bulk of my time, especially Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, probably later than that, because in the fintech space, the hours are long. I was working a lot.

52:23 The first thing I did when I would wake up in sales is before I even got out of bed, I'd grab my phone. Did any prospects reply to my emails? Do I have any missed calls? Is there anybody who's told me, 'Hey, I'm ready to schedule time to meet?' So in sales, you feel like you're always on because you don't want to miss any deals.

52:49 Then I'd work, just doing outreach all morning, blocking up my time, making calls. You know, have a quick lunch. A lot of times, I would just eat in like 15 minutes. There's, I lived above pretty much a burrito shop in San Francisco, or well, the East Bay, San Francisco, so really close to San Francisco, not the city proper, but across the bay.

53:13 So I'd order a burrito, keep working, and then when it was ready, go downstairs, pick it up, and then run back up and be eating before, you know, try to eat in like 15 minutes and then get back to work.

53:26 So yeah, if you're in a high-paid role, then the demands are really high, but you move the ball forward a lot. If in some of these high-paid roles, I can move way faster toward my financial goals than living in a small town in the Midwest making $15 an hour, where the cost of living has dramatically outpaced wages.

53:51 Because you've had a lot of people retire to these cheaper areas and bring their money with them. So you're, you know, if you're living in the Midwest making $15 an hour, you're competing with people who have earned lots and lots of money in their careers. They may have a pension, they may have a big social security check.

54:11 So the economic outcome, in my experience, is somebody with some basic education, you know, as Tony said, soft skills, informal education, EQ. There's so much bigger opportunities for me in a city like San Francisco or some of the surrounding areas because the cost of living is not much higher than where I'm from, but the upside potential is so much higher.

54:46 Daniel says, 'Leaving Vietnam already?' Yeah, Daniel, so I'm ready to head on to the Philippines. Vietnam has been interesting, and I have to admit, guys, it has grown on me. I've started to find some places where I frequent the same business over and over again, and I've become pretty friendly with them.

55:11 But Vietnam, they're still trying to sort out their tourist industry. It's not as much of a priority. They've got such a dynamic manufacturing industry here in Vietnam, and it's, you know, there's a lot of very cool history here, a lot of interesting activities to do. But I'm ready to go back to the Philippines.

55:39 Also, I'm thinking if the job market improves, I could be going back to work sometime in the next few months, just depending on how things go with my applications and interviews. And if that happens, I really want to have gotten some time in the Philippines before I do that.

55:55 Because to me, like Thailand was more about introspection, trying to sort through some mental blocks, trying to have meditative experiences. And the language really helps with that, right? You're spending a whole lot of time in your head. Also, catching up on different areas. Like when I'm in my career, certain other things fall by the wayside, my health falls by the wayside, my diet falls by the wayside, my time in nature.

56:25 It's pretty good in California, admittedly. California has gorgeous everything. California is just a beautiful place to live. But living in Thailand was a time for introspection, a time to reflect, a time to also spend some time with my Thai friends who have, similar to my Filipino friends, very high EQ. They taught me to be a more calm person.

The Philippines: Fun and Natural Challenges

56:54 And there's a lot for me to learn from them. But part of what makes the Philippines amazing to me is just it's a place to let off steam. It's more fun in the Philippines. That phrase really rings true to me. I've had a blast on my last trip to the Philippines about five years ago, and I want to do some more of that.

57:12 Because they're, it's not, I'm not really in introspection. I'm actually hanging out with people a lot, socializing with people a lot. It'll help me catch up to speed for a sales job because in sales, you're just constantly talking to people. I mean, it's just 8 to 10 hours a day of socializing.

57:32 And so going from pure introspection to pure socializing is a steep ramp curve. Whereas if I'm in the Philippines and I'm doing interviews and I'm talking to people, and I'm just having to be more social, I'm interacting with people. Filipino people will just come up to you and start talking to you.

57:57 Then it's going to be an easier transition back into the sales role. And I'll spend time at the beach. I'll go swimming a lot, which I haven't done in Thailand or here in Vietnam. In the Philippines, I just feel more comfortable swimming there for whatever reason.

58:16 Mr. Beast, a lot of subscribers. Why you try to make a vlog, Alex? Yeah, it's just having fun. Moto Gab, Gerard says, 'Let me be truthful with you, I just may start a channel myself, which I can't reveal at this time.' No worries, Gerard. Yeah, I totally understand. You're probably in the R&D phase. You want to figure out your niche, what kind of content you want to make. You don't want to reveal that.

58:42 No worries at all. I do hope that when you set your channel up and you get it going, that you let us know what it is. I'd be happy to check out your videos and see what you are wanting to talk about or wanting to present on.

58:57 Tony says, 'Corporate job trainer is something you could probably do well in. You could eventually do it as a freelancer, charge a high fee once you get established.' That's a really good idea, Tony. I'll have to look more into that. I had a job trainer that I really enjoyed when I started in software sales back in 2021. I can't remember his name, but Adrian, his name is Adrian. He was really nice and really personable and had a good way of holding our attention.

59:33 And you know, that could be something. Like Tony, that's something that absolutely comes to mind is if I hit that, you know, financial independence number, switching to a consultative role, doing something where I set up a page like, 'Okay, I'm not worried if this makes nothing, my bills are still all paid.' But hey, if you want services or support in terms of consulting, like we could set something up and then do that at my own discretion.

1:00:01 Where maybe I work 10 hours extra or 20 hours extra a month where it brings in some income, but I'm not totally reliant upon it. As opposed to starting off cold. But yeah, if I get back into software sales, I think I could get to my financial independence number in a reasonable amount of time.

1:00:26 Need to, yeah, plug in my laptop here because that sounds more fun, right? I mean, the beauty of something like what you're talking about, Tony, is that you can be so much more selective about the people you work with. If you're working as a freelancer, you can really vet your clients well.

1:00:45 You have to do some of that in sales, but you really are the final decision maker. If you're the business owner, you can decide, 'Hey, I want to target this kind of business, like AI businesses for example, because I think it's really interesting.' And I know if I'm more excited about the opportunity, then I'll be able to better be able to help those people.

1:01:07 Because if you're not interested, people can pick up on it. People, they feed off that excitement. They want to know that you're interested in what you're talking about.

1:01:18 Moto Gab says, 'What's your experience about the typhoon?' It's very, very unfortunate. I didn't experience it. We didn't get hit by the typhoon here in Vietnam, but it's very, very unfortunate. My heart goes out to the people impacted. I did see some videos and some clips that did impact the Manila area, that unfortunately a lot of people were lost in that situation.

1:01:43 I think it's horribly tragic, and I hope that, you know, every, yeah, yeah, talking about the Philippines typhoon. I think it's very, very sad. It's very unfortunate, and my heart goes out to those people. My thoughts, keeping those people in my thoughts. It's really sad, you know, it is really sad.

1:02:05 People often ask me, what are the challenges in the Philippines? And I point out, you know, sometimes the nature.

1:02:12 Sometimes the nature in the Philippines is a challenge, right? That they're unable to avoid the fact that there are series of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You do encounter things like typhoons in parts of the Philippines. I hope that everybody affected is able to quickly recover. The Filipinos are resilient people; they're people that can really overcome a lot, and I think that they'll be able to overcome this in time. Many will. I know some people that may have lost friends or family members, and obviously, that's not an overnight fix. It's really unfortunate.

1:03:05 I've talked to other friends there in other parts of the Philippines who mentioned that it's always a major tragedy that's impacted them. It's just a difficult reality of being in the country. That's unfortunate. You know, another one is coming. I hope it's not as bad, I hope it's not as impactful. It's just a really tough part of being there.

1:03:38 And I think that's why it's important to be selective. For people who are watching this now or on replay, if you are interested in the Philippines, I would strongly suggest doing your due diligence about where you choose to locate in the country. Some parts of the country are much more prone to natural disasters than other parts.

1:04:01 I mean, even here in Vietnam, we had an earthquake a few days ago. I definitely felt it, but I wasn't sure how bad it was. It wasn't nearly as bad as the one I experienced in Peru. The worst earthquake I've been through was in Lima, Peru.

1:06:02 I was in Miraflores, this was about three and a half years ago. I was somewhere around here, and all of a sudden, my dresser started slamming up and down. I was staying in an Airbnb on the third floor of that apartment building. It sounded like, you know, I was laying in bed, I had just turned off the lights maybe five or 10 minutes before. I was ready to go to sleep, and all of a sudden, my dresser starts slamming up and down, and I'm so confused.

1:06:49 I thought for whatever reason, I could, I don't know, I'd never been through an earthquake like that before. But I was just confused because I don't know, I was trying to figure out what would cause the dresser to slam up and down like that. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know what would cause furniture to move around like that.

1:07:15 And then I felt the bed kind of like rolling with the earthquake, and I could see the building swaying. I just thought, 'Ah, this is it. This is the end, so be it.' And I heard people running outside, freaking out. It started to wind down, and the dresser stopped slamming, the bed stopped rocking as hard. It was like a six on the Richter scale, maybe 6.1.

1:07:58 I don't know for whatever reason, I was just cavalier about it, like, 'Hey, you know, nothing I can do about it.' And the next day, I didn't even reach out to the Airbnb host about it. I thought, 'Well, they have no control over the earthquakes, right?' So they reached out to me the next day and they're like, 'Hey, are you okay? We had an earthquake.'

1:08:28 I just let them know, 'Hey, yeah, no big deal. I wasn't affected.' I fell asleep maybe 15, 20 minutes after. So yeah, not significant to me individually. I'm sure plenty of people were quite terrified. I was whatever about it.

1:09:08 A lot of typhoons in the Philippines, but earthquakes are not as common. You know what I'm more scared of? An earthquake than a typhoon. And I think also, sometimes earthquakes cause really big waves. I think they can be responsible for tsunamis, for example, because out in the ocean with the plates, the way they can split, it can cause a big wave to come up, and that wave can be very destructive, especially in a country where you have high population density around the beach.

Cambodia: Culture, Coffee, and Connections

1:09:50 I don't think Daggett is a good example. We can go. I've heard that the inclement weather is really impactful in like Charal, for example. The storms come out of the Philippine Sea and the more of the Pacific Ocean. Then the eastern part of the country is where the inclement weather is most impactful.

1:10:20 Manila, you know, I think there's just less space there between Manila and the east coast of the Philippines to break that dangerous weather up. So it comes through and it's just so destructive. It is really unfortunate.

1:10:40 And I think also, you know, you hear about the damage from earthquakes. You could see where, you know, in a typhoon situation, ideally, you could go up into the hills. There's going to be, and I know there's probably mudslides, but you're not going to get hit with that really big wave if you're in a tsunami situation, for example. If you're up in the hills, you're less likely to be impacted. Hopefully, the tsunami wave is not able to go so far up that it affects you as much as the people in the lower lying areas.

1:11:25 Oh, hey Moonlight Miss Memories, great to see you. Greetings from Siem Reap. Good luck with your travels. Hope the weather cooperates. Rainy season here, everything is green. The rice fields are growing, my friend.

1:11:42 Moonlight Miss Memories, one of our subscribers, Jake, was actually just in Siem Reap. I think he left a couple days ago. But yeah, Siem Reap, I haven't been up there. I've always wanted to go. I have been to Phnom Penh. Next time I come to Cambodia, I really want to go to Siem Reap. I know it's a gorgeous city, and of course, it's the home of Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the world.

1:12:11 So yeah, I'm glad to hear that the rice fields are doing well, and I'm sure the farmers are quite happy there. It's a Hidden Gem to me because I think Cambodia is a real Hidden Gem. It's such a beautiful country. The people are so friendly. I like that there's somewhat of an international feeling. It surprised me that it feels pretty international.

1:12:52 Whenever I was in Cambodia, Moonlight Mist, I met people from all over the world, and I love that. You see that in every Southeast Asian country, but I really saw it in Cambodia. It was interesting to see the interactions between the foreigners and the locals, and a lot of locals to me had a positive impression of foreigners, feeling like they're overall a positive presence in the country.

1:13:36 Yeah, yeah, yeah. The people are amazing. I absolutely agree. The Khmer people make it worth visiting. Super friendly, super welcoming. I was shocked at how welcoming and kind they were when I was there last time, about five years ago. They did a wonderful job of showing me around Phnom Penh and welcoming me.

1:13:59 Even now, I stay in touch with one lady I met there. I get mixed up as far as first and last names in Khmer, but she owns Airway Guest House, which is right by the Phnom Penh airport. I visited her there because she has a coffee shop there as well, and I wanted to hang out and work on my laptop before I had my flight out of Cambodia that evening. She let me stay there for probably three or four hours.

1:14:35 I ordered coffee and had some of her delicious soup, but she was so friendly, and we're still friends to this day. She's just a really sweet person, and even though she doesn't speak English, we really had a great connection, and I miss her a lot. And the people in general are awesome in Cambodia.

1:15:01 I miss the people in Cambodia a lot. They're special. I even have a Khmer friend in the US. So I actually rented an Airbnb in Stockton, California, which is one of the largest Khmer communities outside of Cambodia. There's one in Stockton, and then there's also one in, I think it's LA, Massachusetts. But yeah, so in Stockton, he was my host, very warm person, very kind person. He and I are still friends to this day.

1:15:36 Cambodia is rare in that most of the people I interacted with and got to know, I became friends with. I got the sense that we're lifelong friends, and that doesn't happen in every country for me. It's actually kind of rare that I form a deep enough connection in the time that I spend there. There's a mutual feeling of wanting to maintain a friendship, even if it's just digital, right? Because I travel to a lot of different places, I can only be in one place at one time.

1:16:11 But yeah, I love Cambodia. It's such a beautiful country. The people are super friendly. The coffee scene is super underrated. The best coffee I've

1:16:23 The best coffee I've ever had in my life was in Cambodia. I think about that coffee all the time. People there are very resilient, and it's such a beautiful country. The culture is very interesting too.

1:17:02 I can only really speak to my time in Phnom Penh, but I liked the architecture a lot. It reminded me of New Orleans, with the French influence and the riverside vibe. The party scene was amazing, some of the most fun, light-hearted partying I've ever experienced. In the US, people sometimes get stressed out in the party scene, and guys argue over girls, and just dumb stuff happens. I don't really experience any of that in Phnom Penh.

1:17:50 Next time I go back to Cambodia, I'd love to go to Siem Reap. Are you based there long-term? If you are, I'd be happy to meet up at some point if I make it up to Siem Reap. I think it's more likely to be on my next trip to Southeast Asia, but if Siem Reap is anything like Phnom Penh, it's a place you could spend a lifetime. That's how much I enjoyed Phnom Penh; it's a city where I could see myself staying long-term, and there are not a ton of cities like that for me.

1:18:25 A lot of cities I go to, I'm thinking there's an expiration date here, there's a time at which I'm ready to move on. In Phnom Penh, I just felt so accepted and welcomed by the people there. I think some of that's my own doing, trying to be respectful, considerate, and show gratitude toward people who are helping me with different services.

1:18:49 I've used a lot of different laundry services around the world, and my favorite was in Phnom Penh. Once I became a regular customer, they would always smile big at me. I could tell they have their own challenges in life, as we all do, but they managed to have a positive attitude in spite of life's difficulties. I admire that ability to overcome challenges and make the best of any situation.

Travel Experiences and Safety

1:19:26 I know working in restaurants is not glamorous and not the most thanked job. But it's a lot of learning experiences for me in Cambodia. I'd love to go back at some point, and I'm glad you're enjoying Siem Reap.

1:19:51 Moto Gab asks about earthquakes. If I have an earthquake, my God, houses beside the beach or sea, that's scary. Yeah, I agree, Moto Gab, it would be quite scary. I think some areas like Dumaguete are more protected because you have a sea wall that takes the brunt of storms. You also have other islands like Bohol, or Moalboal, but the ideal would be in a place like Siargao or Valencia, where you have more kind of runway.

1:20:45 What do you think about the earthquake in Taiwan? Very unfortunate, Moto Gab. I've only had layovers in Taiwan, so I haven't really done much exploring there. But anytime there's tragedy, I just think it's sad and unfortunate. My heart goes out to those people. I also accept it's part of life, an unfortunate part of life.

1:21:08 We have to accept the things that we can't control. It's fair to be sad and mourn, but throughout human history, humans have overcome a lot. I don't want to minimize the tragedy, but there's only so much we can do about it. We can't focus so much on that, or we experience learned helplessness.

1:21:41 The best thing we can do is try to be supportive, donate to reputable charities, or potentially, if someone has the time and energy, even attempt to fly out there and get involved through the proper channels. Those are ways average people can help with recovery efforts. Certainly, if I didn't already have plans, I would consider trying to go and help out in Manila.

1:22:10 But you have to get a special visa for that, right? So if I wanted to go and help out in Manila, I'd have to go through and get a volunteer visa. You cannot volunteer on a tourist visa; it's against the rules. I don't want to break the rules anywhere I go, whether it's in the US or any other country. I want to keep going back to the Philippines over and over again for the rest of my life.

1:22:49 If they've instructed visitors or potential visitors that you need a volunteer visa and can't just do that on a tourist visa, then that's what I've got to do. So I won't be able to help out, but my heart is definitely with them.

1:23:14 Moto Gab asks about a bad experience in Morocco. Full transparency, a dude grabbed me because I took a picture of a sign in front of his restaurant. He didn't like that, so I started yelling 'police.' I walked down the street, kept yelling police, and eventually, he let me go. I posted the picture on Google Maps and shared my experience to warn other travelers.

1:23:58 But other people in Morocco were super awesome. To contrast that, I met a bunch of guys working in a call center on their lunch break. They invited me to come sit down and hang out and have tea with them. They were super friendly, and we had a great time. They were just so kind-hearted.

1:24:21 So to me, there's no country with bad experiences as long as you learn from them. Moto Gab, it was a public street, and there was nobody in the restaurant. I was looking at the menu, and nobody came out to serve me. I'm on a two-week vacation, and I hadn't had a vacation in about nine months, so I was ready for a break and wanted to maximize my time in Morocco.

1:24:56 I figured if nobody was seating guests, I could find another restaurant, but I'll take a picture of the front because the design looks cool. Maybe I can come back later. So I take the picture, turn around, and start walking. Then this guy says, 'Hey,' and comes up to me. I ignore him because if I responded to every single person that tried to engage me, I would never go anywhere.

1:25:25 People are constantly coming up to you trying to talk to you. In some cases, it's warranted, and they're trying to be friendly, but in many other cases, they're just trying to sell you something. If you're not in the market to buy something, there's no real reason to engage with them. For the most part, if I haven't been to a country, I don't have friends there unless I have something pre-planned.

1:26:04 It's not a law or a rule, but it's a common issue in Morocco unfortunately. If you take a photo, people expect to get paid. To me, if somebody is dressed in special attire, maybe religious attire, or is a performer, like in Las Vegas, they deserve to get paid. It's fairly obvious they're doing something for work.

1:26:54 GMM is still in Vietnam. I thought you'd already flown over to the Philippines. Yeah, GMM, I fly over to the Philippines in about nine days, so I've got a little over a week left here in Vietnam to wind things down, wrap things up, and enjoy some more of this amazing Vietnamese food. I'm going to miss the food in Vietnam.

1:27:17 I'm starting to find the places I really like. It's taken a little digging and sifting through different options, but when you find your spots, yeah.

1:27:36 Should you make it to Siem Reap, head to Joe's Bar and Grill and meet Chris and Julie White. Chris can answer any questions you have about life and Siem Reap, and Julie kicks the best burgers in town. Thank you so much, I'll definitely check out Joe's Bar and Grill. That sounds delicious.

1:27:55 I thought you might be talking about that Australian couple that lives in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh, but they have some great content on For Real.

1:28:09 A public street is public, right? That's legal to take a picture. Police for a menu? That's ridiculous, Moto Gab. Every country has its own laws and rules, so this isn't a law that I broke.

1:28:24 GMM, so like in this case, he grabbed me. I think I was actually wearing my green hoodie too, so he like grabs my shirt. I'm not going to start a confrontation with this guy unless it's clear he's not going to take no for an answer. If he's not going to take no for an answer, he's going to have a really...

1:28:47 He's gonna have a really, he's gonna wake up in the street and I'm gonna be running after I remove his hand from my jacket. But I figure, let me do everything I can do before I escalate because when you escalate, there's no, well, he's saying, 'Hey' to me. I don't, my name's not 'Hey'. You can call me sir, you could say, 'Excuse me,' but saying 'Hey' and grabbing me, we're already off to a bad start.

1:29:23 To me, I don't know if he's a beggar. I don't know. I've just taken a picture of the facade of a building. This is not illegal from what I could tell in probably any country. You're saying I can't take a picture of a restaurant that's on a street surrounded by restaurants? There's no security, there's no anti-photograph symbols or signs. It's not like it's a mosque where people are there to observe their faith, where I would never go up and take a picture of people. It's not a private setting.

1:30:00 I can't think of any country, like in the top 80 most visited worldwide, where you're not allowed to take a picture of a restaurant in public. That just doesn't make any sense to me. Especially when there's nobody in the picture, it's not like there's somebody there, a person in the picture that said, 'I don't want to be photographed.' There's no private menu. It's just unfortunate.

1:30:29 It's a common thing there where some people just want to squeeze you for money. If you want to better understand the context, look up 'best ever food review show' and just check out what they talk about when it comes to Egypt and Morocco. They have some overlap, there's a lot to love there, but there's also some people that, like the individual I encountered, don't respect boundaries.

1:31:17 Fortunately, after I started shouting 'police,' which is what you should do if anybody grabs you, unless you've done something wrong and it is the police, that's a different scenario. But if a stranger comes up to you and grabs you like that, and I could tell he was in the wrong because all the people in the street were staring at him. So it wasn't like a circumstance where everybody disappeared and I was in trouble.

1:31:47 No, I was not in trouble. He needed to understand he was going to be in trouble if he continued to not let go. So he let go, and I kept walking. I made some rude gestures with my hands at him, also used some choice language at him, which he probably did not understand. But that was like a peak struggle experience.

Food and Drink in Southeast Asia

1:32:07 The rest of my time was awesome. People were super nice, super friendly. The food in Morocco is awesome, they've got a lot of interesting dishes there. The weather was amazing. I was there in January, and I'd just come from London a couple weeks before. Compared to London, that was cold and rainy. Morocco was fantastic.

1:32:33 You had kind of the Mediterranean climate, very dry. My name is Brian, heading back to the states in early October. Not sure when I'll make it back, but I encourage anyone to visit Cambodia at least once in their lifetime. Good times.

1:32:56 Cambodia is wonderful, it's so peaceful too. I'm an introverted person, I like my peace and quiet. Phnom Penh can be a little bit busy, but even in Phnom Penh, I just felt so calm. It's a very walkable city, so if you like to just walk around, you can just go out for a stroll. You see they have workout equipment by the river.

1:33:24 The river cruises are incredible. I did a river cruise on the Mekong and why don't I zoom over to Phnom Penh because I miss Phnom Penh? I really wish I'd made it over there on this trip. So I did a river cruise here on the Mekong, and it was maybe three or four hours. It's so beautiful, and the staff was so nice.

1:33:50 They serve this fruit buffet where you could try different local fruits and also have some sodas or some mocktails because I'm not a drinker. But I really enjoyed it, and the views are incredible. The way the city is lit up, it's lovely. It's just such a lovely city.

1:34:18 Have you gone to India? No, I haven't. Haven't been yet to India. Hope to go there someday. Popping over to Singapore for the weekend, just a two and a half hour flight, 48 bucks, visiting a friend. Good to have a multiple-entry work visa here in Thailand, and you can crash in your friend's guest room. Yeah, that's perfect.

1:34:36 If you can go to Singapore for a weekend and have a little bit different experience from what you're accustomed to in Bangkok, and the flights are super cheap. It's a short flight, like I've done that flight before. It's so short, I remember the first time I flew to Singapore and I was shocked at how short it was because I'm accustomed to the states where all of my flights are like a minimum of two and a half, three hours. But if I'm flying coast to coast, it could be like four hours, maybe four and a half, five hours.

1:35:16 Jard asks, 'Who has the healthier food: Thailand, Vietnam, or the Philippines?' I think it depends. A lot of people would probably say Vietnam, then Thailand, then the Philippines. I don't necessarily agree with that. I think it's all about the choices you make in each country.

1:35:35 In the Philippines, for example, I found a lot of delicious seafood that I would describe as quite healthy. In Thailand and Vietnam, they're more vegetable-heavy. But the individual really has to make healthier food choices. Some people would say, 'Oh, with the food in the Philippines, you know, it's soul food and it's, you know, you've got more curry-based stuff.' I found fantastic salads, even in some of the not-as-big cities there.

1:36:11 So yeah, I think it's all about just trying to do your research. Also, healthy means different things to different people, right? We have different things that based on our genetics, based on our preferred diets, that work better with us. I found healthy and unhealthy foods in each of these countries.

1:36:30 I think that now, I will say like if you're in a bigger city, you're going to have more healthy options, because you're just going to have more variety. They're going to be catering to a wider variety of customers.

1:36:46 When I was in Thailand, I even now, I really, I usually just don't eat breakfast. I'm usually just a lunch and a dinner kind of guy. In Thailand, I'd usually go have like vegetarian food for lunch, and then I would get some kind of protein for dinner. Alternate between like a sushi restaurant that I really liked or a few different sushi restaurants I really liked, and some more like local Thai style restaurants.

1:37:16 Here in Vietnam, I've been eating a lot of Vietnamese food for lunch and then a lot of Indian food for dinner. Sometimes I alternate, like today I did Indian food for lunch and Vietnamese food for dinner.

1:37:36 Moonlight Miss Memory says, 'I'm friends with Jeremy and Claire.' For real, we just had a great birthday party for Claire. Super friendly people, good friends, so many friendly expats here. That's awesome. I think it's so cool that you got to meet them. I think I became familiar with them through Andrew Taylor's channel, so he's based in Koh Lanta. And yeah, I think their channel is awesome.

1:38:00 I think what they're doing to help people learn more about Cambodia is awesome. I think that just based on numbers, like Thailand gets tons of tourism, and Cambodia is seen as like maybe the cousin next door. I love Cambodia. I hope more and more people go there and spend money and enjoy themselves.

1:38:24 I found it to be fantastic. You know, some people, I think part of it is that Cambodia could appear to be expensive compared to some surrounding countries. I didn't find it to be super expensive. Like I found the hotel rooms to be great value for money. For example, I found that yeah, it may not be like, it may be more expensive than say, Chiang Mai, which is comparable in size, but it's a different experience.

1:38:59 And the coffee is so good. Oh man, you're definitely making me think so much about the coffee. In Cambodia, it's just that I felt like every day in Cambodia started off perfectly because I would, like, even if there were challenges throughout the day, I would start off with the best cup of coffee I've ever had. And if any of you guys are coffee drinkers, or you've been in the habit of drinking coffee, and someday you start off with a not very good cup of coffee, which I've also had plenty of those days, and you start your day off with a perfect cup of coffee, you feel like everything is going to go right.

1:39:34 Today, it's just going to be my day. And also, it may have been too, like I was there in December and January, which is like perfect weather there. So that probably added to my experience. But I loved it, you know, going, having the coffee, going down, walking by the Riverside, and like just seeing the Mekong. And seeing the, you'd see fishermen too, like you'd see guys along the Mekong going fishing, which is just really interesting because it reminded me of where I'm from, where I would see people in the mornings going out and going fishing.

1:40:18 CM Reap is really on the rise, very different today from only 10 years ago. The countryside in Cambodia is still like a time machine, how Thailand was 30 years ago. Yeah, very, very chill, just such a chill place. Like I need to go back there.

1:40:39 Maybe before I go back to the States, maybe I can squeeze it in after the Philippines. I'm not sure. I kind of wish I was going there before I go to the Philippines in 10 days.

1:40:58 It's just such a nice place. Ronell, welcome. Ronell, good morning. Chief, I can't wait to meet up and meet new people.

1:41:09 Moto Gab says, "In the Philippines, if you want veggies, go to the province. If you want meat, go to the city."

1:41:16 I just want to add to that, I found plenty of great veggies in the city. I went to, let me pull it up here. I don't know if I can find the exact name of the restaurant, but I was here in Cagayan de Oro. I don't think it was at SM City. It was at there's several malls in CDO, and one of them that I went to, it may have been in Lim Ket Kai Center.

1:41:51 There's, yeah, so I was here five years ago. There's a really nice salad shop, and I wouldn't call CDO provincial, but like one of the probably one of the best salads I had in Southeast Asia. It was around, I think, four or five bucks. Plenty of fresh veggies, fresh meat, absolutely delicious.

1:42:08 The Philippines can totally do healthy food. I think people may not dig enough for it, right? They may see the popular lechon restaurant and see all these people swarming the lechon restaurant and think, oh, it's limited to lechon, which I also love lechon, by the way. I love Filipino food in general, but if I want to be focused on the veggies, I could definitely have that.

Filipino Cuisine and Desserts

1:42:35 In the provinces, plenty of people grow their own vegetables, and the focus there probably is more on the veggies. When I was in Cigan, I think it's a vegetarian restaurant. I don't know if it's still there.

1:42:54 Let me do some Googling because if it's still there, um, yeah, we can pull it up here to show you. So this is one of the nicest restaurants I ate at in Camiguin.

1:43:18 It's basically, you walk through a rice patty to get here, and I think they mostly do vegetarian. So this is the view from the restaurant. It's so stunning. It's just so beautiful to see the volcano in the background and to have the healthy and fresh food. And being able to also like walk through the rice patties is special because you hear a lot about the rice patties in Southeast Asia, but if you're not in a provincial area, you're not going to really see them.

1:43:58 And even if you are, you don't want to walk on somebody's private land, right? You want to respect people's privacy. So they really taken it up a notch where you actually get to have the experience. And the building is just beautiful, the red and the black color. It's such a special experience. I really enjoyed it. It was one of the nicest restaurants I visited in the Philippines.

1:44:23 What's your favorite Asian food? Ronell, yeah, that question is a load of questions. So what I mean by that is it would probably take me an hour. Top five, no particular order: sushi, curry, like Indian curry, I like Japanese curry too.

1:44:54 What else? Kinilaw, so from Filipino food, Kinilaw, which is basically Filipino ceviche. And number five, I like Vietnamese Pho or Bunme. So yeah, those would be my top five, but I like a lot of different kinds of Asian food. Korean barbecue is also there for me.

1:45:29 Yeah, Cigan. Let me look up Cigan. You know, I'm not as big on liver. I'm getting there somewhat here in Vietnam because they serve a lot of pate on the Bunme, but it's still something I'm still kind of having to get used to.

1:45:57 Alex, take care. Sleepy time for me, my friend. Have fun, everyone. Safe travels. Yeah, definitely have safe travels. Enjoy your time there in Siem Reap, and hope to see you next time, Moonlight Mist.

1:46:09 Memories, also think your name is super creative. Moto Gab TV and Hero Philippines. Most popular food is Adobo. The best food. Yeah, Moto Gab, I love Adobo. Pork Adobo, chicken Adobo. I've had it back in the States as well, and it's fantastic. It's just so you can taste the love like with Adobo. You could taste the love.

1:46:38 It reminds me a lot of some of the southern food that I grew up on, like in the southern US, kind of that soul food type of cuisine. GMM, how are your scooter skills?

1:46:51 Take a Mekong River motorcycle scooter trip. So to be honest, GMM, this is a vulnerable answer for me. I don't ride the scooter at all. So I rode on the back of my buddy's scooter in Krabi a bit, but it's just seeing so many maimed tourists, and also I encountered some people who were, just to be fully transparent, in Thailand, by their, just, you know, walking up on scenes where somebody had met their fate.

1:47:26 So I'm not a fan of riding scooters. I didn't grow up doing it. It's very just awkward feeling for me. And it's, yeah, I just I'm not into riding. If I were to relocate to Southeast Asia permanently, I'd probably buy a car, just because I think that's the safest thing for somebody like me.

1:47:51 I did date a woman in Bangkok, and her father forbid her from having a scooter and bought her and all of her brother's cars. He said, you're not riding a scooter. And I thought, man, this man is a successful businessman, and I'm going to follow his guidance.

1:48:20 Moonlight Mist Memories: Very affordable city in which to live, variety of good restaurants, supportive ex-pat community, plenty of activities, something for everyone. Yeah, I loved Phnom Penh so much. I think I'd probably like Siem Reap as much as Phnom Penh, but in different ways because it's a little bit different city.

1:48:38 Korean Hot Dogs. Yeah, Ronell, you know, I like some hot dogs. Like I like chicken sausage. For some reason, Korean hot dogs, I tried a little bit in Changai. It just doesn't do it for me as much. I don't know exactly why that is.

1:48:58 Yeah, I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because I just got adjusted to more like a chicken or beef-based dogs. Some of it too is just spending time around Muslim people who abstain from pork, and so they prefer the chicken dogs or the beef dogs. I wouldn't be opposed to having like a beef-based corn dog or a chicken-based Korean corn dog. Maybe they serve that.

1:49:26 They probably do. They probably get people visiting from Muslim countries that they want to partake in the dish, but they still want to maintain their Halal eating pattern. And so a requirement.

1:49:43 Moto Gab, a lot of Americans like Adobo. Yeah, I mean, I like a lot of different Filipino dishes. I think it's underappreciated. And of course, I grew up on rice too. That's part of what helps for me. I grew up eating rice, so telling me like, oh, you're going to eat meat and rice, okay, that's delicious. Bring it on.

1:50:10 I think for some Americans, they're thinking rice, like that's, I don't know about rice. That's something that is less familiar to many Americans. For me, I grew up eating rice and this, or rice and that, or rice and this. So when you tell me in the Philippines, I'm going to have rice and pork or rice and fish, that sounds delicious. That sounds like what I'm used to.

1:50:31 Moto Gab, I think Korean, a lot of fried chicken, different flavors. Yeah, I like KFC. I like Korean Fried Chicken. I was eating a lot of Korean Fried Chicken in Changai. They have quite a few places that have popped up, I think, to cater in part to the Korean tourists. And it's delicious.

Transportation and Safety Concerns

1:50:56 I actually had to cut down on that because I was eating fried chicken a little bit too much, and I just felt like I could feel my arteries clogging a bit. It's something I'm gonna have to be careful about in the Philippines because it's just so delicious. It's like addictive. I mean, I could, yeah, it's very delicious, but I got to be cautious about it.

1:51:23 I'm looking forward to my time in the Philippines because if I spend enough time outdoors, I will spend less time in restaurants or at my place ordering Grab. And so yeah, it's just such a beautiful environment. It's so gorgeous.

1:51:46 Ronell, scooters in Southeast Asia are often 110 CC. Oh, Ronell asks, which is better, scooter or moped? Ronell, scooters. GMM says, Ronell, scooters in Southeast Asia is often 110, most common is 125. Can go over 46 miles an hour. A good moped was long.

1:52:16 Yeah, and I don't, you know, I don't mind. I have numerous friends that have ridden in Southeast Asia with no issues. They are very careful about how they ride. They only ride sober. They use good judgment. They don't drive too fast. But for me personally, I just don't think that I'm coordinated enough to operate one safely.

1:52:39 Enough. I may consider doing it a little bit if I go to some sparsely populated areas and get a lot of practice with a friend. But that's going to include wearing a helmet, potentially wearing some additional protective gear. And even then, I just, I'm willing to spend a little bit extra to ride in like a Jeepney. Not even extra, Jeepneys are cheap. But like getting a cab or, in some cases, I'm willing to pay a local person to be my driver because I feel like if they're from here, they live here, and they're on the Grab app where they care about their ratings, they're going to be much more likely to drive safely than I am. They're going to understand the traffic patterns. They're going to know the roads really well, and I'm going to feel better than I would with my own skill set.

1:53:36 Ronell says, Kimchi is good. I used to hate it because of the smell. I like Kimchi. I'm definitely down for Kimchi. It's an acquired taste. It can be a little bit sour or a little bit spicy depending on what kind of Kimchi you get. But it's a great alternative to having too much rice, right? If you're concerned about your carb intake, cutting out half your rice and subbing in Kimchi, I think.

1:53:58 Your rice and subbing in kimchi, I think it can be a good thing. Moto Gab, what do you think about Jollibee? Would you choose Jollibee or KFC?

1:54:08 It depends on where I'm at. I got accustomed to KFC in Thailand because Thailand, I don't know if Thailand has Jollibee yet. Here in Vietnam, we have Jollibee at the Vincom. I don't know, it may just be because the incumbents are so well-known, but yeah, I'd probably go with Jollibee in the Philippines because it's like you have to have Jollibee in the Philippines at least once.

1:54:39 The first time I ate a Jollibee in the Philippines, I burned my mouth really bad. I think it was a Buco pie with the sweet potato inside, and I ate it, and it just burned my mouth so bad, but it was still delicious. But yeah, I'll probably go Jollibee just to support the Philippines, to show solidarity with the Filipino brand.

1:55:06 I really like the McDonald's breakfast in the Philippines. The rice they serve you, the round egg, chicken McDo, and then they got the fried chicken, and then having a cup of coffee with that. Because I don't like excess sugar, and that's a great point, GMM. Filipino food is good, but yeah, I think it's not necessarily always the most health-friendly. You have to be a little bit more diligent in your selections there, for sure.

1:55:53 Oh, this is where I stayed when I was in Cagayan. Cottages, it looks like they've maybe done some painting, they maybe put in some new floors as well.

1:56:38 GMM says seeing 11 or 12-year-old kids drive scooters in the countryside all over Southeast Asia, over 40 miles an hour, no helmet, crazy. Yeah, if I ever have kids, they're not doing that. There's just too much risk, and people say, 'Oh, they're fine.' It's not about them being fine, it's about other drivers right? Like other drivers might be driving unsafely, the weather conditions may change drastically. You know, sometimes you get a random downpour that can make what was once a safe road into a dangerous road.

1:57:13 You've also there's just too many variables, in my personal opinion, to be riding without safety equipment at minimum, and sober, and having practiced and gradually increasing in difficulty. It's just very, very dangerous. And you know, I have, like I said, my buddy in Cebu, he's known several people who are no longer with us because of their choice to ride a motorbike. And it's just too common for us to overlook that risk.

City Life vs. Provincial Life in the Philippines

1:57:52 Jollibee, sugar with extra sugar and some sugar on top. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's comfort food, it's fast food, it's something people have as a treat. Like all fast food, I'd say most people should probably not be having it every day, but yeah.

1:58:13 GMM, Filipinos love sweets. Moto Gab, I meant to ask, are you Filipino? I'm not sure. I haven't checked out your channel. Let's see here, let me pull up your channel in another tab. But yeah, I mean, if uh, oh, okay, very cool. Okay, wonderful. Yeah, that's awesome.

1:58:40 Filipino people are so nice. Yeah, I'd be happy to meet up if I make it up to your city. And yeah, I think Filipino people do love sweets. I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself. It's, you know, you have amazing desserts in the Philippines like Turon, the banana, basically banana lumpia with caramel. You have like when I was in Cagayan, they have these like Ube cakes and like they have the Halo-Halo.

1:59:17 And it's so delicious, but it is something that I have to moderate. If I ate all the sweets I wanted in the Philippines, I would be broke, let me put it that way. I'd spend all my money on all the treats there. And you have so much variety there as far as desserts go.

1:59:49 Christmas most popular. Philippines, lots of gorgeous motorcycles, but no license. Yeah, and I don't have a license either. I used to have an international driver's license, but mine expired. So that's something that I would want to do too before I even try to do all that.

2:00:12 Christmas most popular food is called salad and Leon. Yeah, salad's delicious there. I mean, you've got a beautiful tropical environment and vegetables grow super fast, so there's definitely the landscape there for really amazing salads.

2:00:35 Moto Gab TV, problem with driving a more heavy motorbike in Southeast Asia is the traffic. Stop, drive, stop, drive, stop again. Driving a heavy motorcycle is not optimal and hard on the legs. Yeah, that's a fair point, GMM. Traffic can be pretty busy here in Cagayan, not so bad. But if you're in a more populated city, even like a mid-sized city like CDO, which is around seven or 800,000 people, traffic can definitely accumulate, especially around downtown, around like SM or Centrio or Limketkai. It can get pretty busy, busier than I would have thought based on the population.

2:01:25 But CDO is growing a lot. A lot of people are moving to Cagayan de Oro. I think the secret is getting out more about it, that you don't have to be in Manila, you don't have to be in Cebu if you want a decent-sized city experience and the accessibility. I mean, you've got the ferry terminal right here, you can get to looks like there's eight or nine different possible options to travel out of the port of Cagayan.

2:02:22 Excited. You know, Rono, I'm going to push back on that gently. You know, I think that can be an issue in any major city, but I felt like the traffic and the pollution, of course, could be challenging at times in Manila or in Cebu. But like where I was at, in the provincial areas, I thought it was pretty clean, like Cagayan, for example. I felt like it was very clean, that people are very eco-conscious there.

2:02:54 I'll come back over here to Cagayan. They have a giant clam sanctuary there. I want to give the Philippines credit. They actually are more conscious about some of these things than many other places I've been to. They have in Camiguin a place where they're growing these clams and then planting them in the water. I also felt like people did a good job of keeping their areas clean. I was kind of surprised, honestly, because I've traveled to a lot of places and I felt like Cagayan, they do a great job. And I think in all the places, there's an interest to continue to grow tourism in the Philippines, and they know that the country is gorgeous, like one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. And so they're trying to actively make improvements in that way.

2:03:48 And traffic not bad at all, like outside the big cities. And to me too, like, you know, there's so many options there. Yeah, Cebu is cool, I like Cebu a lot. Yeah, Manila is really big and very vibrant and an international city, but there's so many options in the Philippines. I think it's really an amazing country in that way. And if you're not having to work in Manila, if you're not having to work in Cebu, you've got a lot of choices where those are not an issue. And you know, the burning season is not a major issue there either.

Philippines Travel and Community

2:04:32 I think it's great. I think it's fantastic in terms of those two challenges. The infrastructure continues to improve as well. The internet, I've heard it gets better and better. Like when I was in the Philippines five years ago, the internet at times could be a little bit challenging, but with Starlink, it's I think it's on the up and up. I think they're doing well.

2:04:56 Moto Gab, no, I mean salad is not vegan. I mean salad is more pineapple, beans, apple, cream. Oh, you're talking about like a fruit salad. Moto Gab TV, a fruit salad. Yeah, so different than like a veggie, like a what we would think of as like a Western-style salad. That's funny, you know, I didn't really notice that much, but maybe I should keep an eye out for it.

2:05:22 I went to a fantastic buffet, probably one of my favorite buffets in the world, here in Cebu at the Radisson Blu. And I don't know if I saw that type of salad. This hotel, by the way, is beautiful. I mean, it's nice enough even to just look at. I didn't stay there, I just went for the buffet, but the lobby is one of the most beautiful lobbies of any hotel I've been in, and I've been to a lot of really nice hotels. It's just stunning. It felt spacious but very artistic, and the colors, they put a lot of effort into this one. It's so beautiful. I still think about that hotel.

2:06:26 And they were so kind. The service was so fantastic. The lobby, the furniture was super comfortable. You guys are really helping me to get excited and hyped about the Philippines. I'm a little bit dreading my three-hour labor at 2 AM, but I know once I get a good night's rest there, I get settled in, it's going to be a fantastic experience.

2:06:55 GMM, have many ex-pat friends that did buy a heavy Harley or stuff like that and change to a lighter, more agile scooter just because of the traffic. Yeah, GMM, I would agree with that. I think it's just going to be easier to navigate if you're and easier to park, probably easier to turn around too. I notice sometimes if people have a big bike, they can struggle to get turned around as quickly as they'd like.

2:07:29 Philippines, a lot of different salad. Yeah, salad has many different meanings there. And you've got a lot of fresh fruits too. Like, it's, you definitely have a lot of variety there. I liked the pineapple a lot. I liked the, what else? Of course, the mango is probably the most well-known. I never tried the durian. I did not like durian back then. Now I actually like durian a lot, so that may be one that I've got to try this.

2:07:57 Maybe one that I've got to try this time. Ronell says, 'I heard Clark International Airport in the Philippines is clean and Americanized, like traffic lights and rules.' Moto Gap says, 'That's right.' Ronell, yeah, you know, I've heard that as well, that they're, um, you know, it's part of it is just being there as far as support for the US military goes. They've got Clark Air Force Base there, and they do have a lot of those advantages.

2:08:31 I'm not opposed to that. I mean, I like the variety. That's what's beautiful about the Philippines to me is you've got so much variety. One thing that I disagree with that some people say is, 'Oh, once you've seen one island, you've seen them all.' I disagree with that. I found the islands to be very unique. The people look different from one another, the foods are different from one another, the activities are different from one another.

2:08:55 Being in Cebu versus Cagayan feels like almost two different countries. Because in Cebu, you're in this really big city, you've got a lot of different neighborhoods, you've got multiple islands. If you think about Mactan as part of the Cebu metro area, you've got a lot of different malls. You've got like a tech-focused mall, you've got the retail area, you've got the SM Mall, which is very modern. Then you go to Camiguin, you've got one mall, you've got Gaisano. It's much more nature-focused and tourism-focused.

2:09:36 So there's so much variety in the Philippines that it's, um, yeah, I mean, I like the, what you could call westernized parts, and I also like the less westernized parts.

2:09:49 Also, I'll probably wind down here soon because my voice is starting to go, and I've got some other things to tackle before I go to bed. But it's been so wonderful. I appreciate everybody joining. If you haven't, give us a thumbs up. Please give us a thumbs up, it definitely helps with the algorithm.

2:10:03 Elo, Elo, Moto Gab says, 'That's right, Ronell.' Elo, Elo, GMM says, 'Elo, Elo city is still the cleanest city in all the Philippines, but has no real bar area or red light, so most expat dudes do not go there. They hang out in Cebu, Angeles, places like that.' Yeah, I'm open to going to Elo, Elo. GMM, what you're describing sounds fantastic. I'm not as into the bars or the red light.

2:10:36 I feel like it's, you know, Filipino people in general are so approachable that if you want to date, you don't have to, you know, participate in the nightlife scene to, um, you know, find a nice lady to develop, to create a meaningful relationship.

2:10:49 I'll say in Cebu, I had an easier time dating because of just the sheer numbers of people there. But the woman that I dated in Cebu, she worked in a call center, had a professional job, had been to college. It wasn't a transactional kind of thing. Like, we went out to dinner, she introduced me to Sugbo Mercado, which is a really cool place that a lot of the workers like to meet up at and congregate at.

2:11:19 And I wish I'd stayed longer in Cebu because I think she would have shown me a lot of different parts of the city that a foreigner is just going to have a harder time discovering, because it, you know, we just don't have that localized knowledge. She wasn't even from Cebu, by the way, she was from Bohol.

2:11:45 Moto Gab TV says, 'Alex, if you want to go safe in the Philippines, go to Davao. That place is so respectful, strictly, and generous.' Have you been there to Davao? Moto Gab, I would love to go to Davao. Davao is on my list for this. It's really interesting. I've seen some videos. One of my favorite YouTubers, S. Life, he did like his video in Davao, took off. He did a great video in Davao, and it looks really nice.

2:12:11 I mean, it looks very clean, very orderly. He, uh, he tried some of the durian in there in Davao, and it was really. Yeah, Davao seems like a really cool city. I know also John Smo, a California expat, he's got an office there in Davao. He and I chatted a few months back, maybe it was six months ago, and he was trying to get his office, he was putting a lot of time into his office there. It seems like in more recent conversations, I've heard that he's oriented more towards Cebu, so I don't know, he bounces back and forth between Davao and Cebu.

2:13:03 Moto Gab TV says, 'About summer Philippines, the most popular desserts called Halo-Halo and Buco Pandan.' Yeah, Halo-Halo is like the mixed up ice cream, like, and the different treats all in one. And then the Buco Pandan is, uh, young coconut pie, right?

2:13:22 Ronell, they have says they have fruit salad, macaroni salad, the Filipino-based salads. That's right, Ronell. Philippines is a lot of different salads. Ronell, BGC and Makati is luxury westernized areas. Hope you go to BGC and Makati.

2:13:38 Um, yeah, you know, at some point I'd like to go to BGC and Makati. It's, uh, I know Christopher is a fan of, uh, BGC, Makati. He, I think he took his wife there sometime the last few months, and I think they had a great time.

2:13:54 Moto Gab TV, 'No Duterte from Davao City, President Duterte from Davao.' Yeah, that's right. Uh, President Duterte, I think he was originally mayor of Davao.

2:14:08 Um, Ube ice cream and cakes. You tried it? Yeah, Ube. I like Ube. It's, it's got an interesting flavor profile. It's a little bit milder, um, but yeah, it is quite delicious. But, uh, yeah, thanks so, so much, guys. Um, thanks so much for watching tonight. I think I'm going to wind down here as my voice is starting to go. But I really appreciate everyone watching.

2:14:35 Does anybody have, well, you know, one question that comes to mind, does anybody have any weekend plans? Any, uh, any interesting activities going on this weekend? Anything, um, you guys planning to do?

2:15:11 Yeah, thanks so much for the wonderful conversation, Ronell, Moto Gab, GMM. And we'll just go up through and catch anybody else. Moonlight M in memory. Um, Christopher was here earlier. Uh, Tony, of course, how can I miss Tony? Um, and Gerard. Yeah, absolutely.

2:15:38 Yeah, thanks so much, everybody. Enjoy your camping trip, Ronell. Um, and hope to see you all soon. All right, take care, everyone. Um, for those who are watching the replay, thanks so much for joining us. Um, in the replay, give us a thumbs up if you haven't already, and help us with the YouTube algorithm. If you want to see more streams like this or more content like this, then subscribe to the channel down below and comment.

2:16:08 Um, if there's anything, you know, um, anything you'd like me to cover in the next one, or you have any thoughts on what we covered today, feel free to comment. It helps to generate an interesting discussion. Um, yeah, thanks, thanks so much, everyone, and we'll see you soon.