Southeast Asian countries poll

[opebo]

I voted for Thailand for obvious reasons.  I don't like the Philippines.  Been to most of these, but the other one I can't wait to go is Burma, so that's my other vote.

[opebo]

The Philippines are next because a) I speak Tagalog (though I'm getting rusty), b) the Northern-half (especially Luzon) is very "Americanized", c) all the lovely lovely ladies, and d) my retirment money will allow me to live like a king out there. 

How does it happen that you speak Tagalog?  Were you 'in the service' there?

Regarding the retirement issue, it is true that the Philippines - if you get away from the larger cities on Luzon and certain relatively urbanized tourist areas there, you'll do very, very well as an expat, particularly if you want to have a lot of 'girlfriends' who are not technically pros.

Thailand is enormously more developed and advanced than the Philippines, tremendously safer, and the women are on average better looking (though general the white guys get the dregs, so its in practice equal), but alas the cost of living has increased a lot due to this economic success.  Also the women available to whiteys are more obviously mercenary than in Philippines - Thais aren't really taken in by the concept of romance, not really - they're cold hard practical people.  So, I'd still recommend Thailand for retirement, based on quality of life, but its a closer coin-toss than it used to be.

[opebo]

When Vietnamese people see a tourist, their first thought is "how can I make money off this person?" Cab drivers will rig their meters, restaurants will have two menus - one for the local and one for the foreigner -, hotels will be deceitful about the pricing, hooligans on mopeds will snatch your purse and before you know it they are gone. Don't take it too personally though, Vietnamese people don't even trust each other. Hustling others is the way to get ahead in Vietnam.

Haha, that was exactly my impression of Vietnam.  In Thailand everyone is incredibly honest outside of just a few ugly/unpleasant tourist zones (namely Caow-San Road or other 'backpacker' oriented places - Pattaya and other sex-tourist places are surprisingly honest - I attribute this to the fact that backpackers are so insufferable). 

In fairness the standard of living in Thailand is about 5 or 6 times higher than in Vietnam, so the idea of cheating someone for a few bucks is just not interesting.

I was wondering why Cambodia wasn't doing better in the poll.  They once had a great empire, but apparently the Khmer Rouge damaged their pride severely.

Actually Cambodia is very well worth visiting, I think its just doing poorly because it isn't as diverse in its attractions as most of the other destinations.

Anyway, one of the reasons why I'm interested in the region is the food; l love Thai and Vietnamese food, especially Thai (I'm fairly iron-tongued).  Rambutans and pomelos are delicious, and I'm interested in tasting the durian.  I've heard that Filipino food is bland, though.

Yeah Filipino is downright unappealing.  Quite boring and not as cheap as it should be.  Durian is fantastic, and the season is beginning soon - I can't wait.  But I don't like fruits in general.

[opebo]

Of course Thailand is winning...

As it does irl.

[opebo]

I grew up with, worked with, and have been friends with Filipino's all my life.  Many of them were aboard the various ships I've sailed on. 

I see! They are often working in the 'merchant marine'.

[opebo]

While not extremely fussy by American standards, I'm pretty insistent on a few things that are standard here but may not be in less developed nations. In particular, air-conditioning and indoor plumbing. I'd have to do some research as to where these amenities are commonplace. All that said, it would be spectacular to see some large scale ancient ruins like Angkor War or Borobudur.

You'll find those amenities in Thailand, obviously, memphis.  Nowadays the 'western toilet' (or sit-down toilet) is available almost everywhere, and in addition most toilets have the sprayer, which is in fact superior to American toilets (with their reliance on the filthy, chaffing 'toilet paper').  Air conditioning is also found virtually everywhere in terms of offices, shopping malls, hotels, though it is not uncommon to sit outside with a fan in the cheaper restaurants and bars.