Quote: (10-19-2018 02:27 PM)Jefferson Wrote:
Quote: (10-18-2018 07:36 PM)Padrino Wrote:
Vietnam seems to be at least 20 years behind of Thailand in terms of development and has ten times worse traffic where even crossing a road is an operation itself. Also speaking the language isn't necessarily any easier as I believe it has more tones than Thai. Malaysia and Indonesia are Muslim countries, plus KL and Jakarta are not comparable to Bangkok. Singapore is better quality but has also first world prices, which might be ok if you're living off a local salary but not suitable for anyone who is location independent. Add to that the fact that it's also just a small city state. That leaves us the Philippines where the English level is high but from what I have heard has unreliable internet, is somewhat more expensive and bureaucratic and has bad food.
Overall I think Thailand is still a pretty good package in comparison, even if there exists the language barrier and many locals seem to hold some facade in front of them.
I agree that the crime level appears to be on the rise. Although this is only anecdotal I have now twice had things stolen from a condo which seemed hard to believe a few years ago. Also the police is probably harassing foreigners in increasing numbers in hope of fast buck.
I quite agree, Thailand is a very good package, they give you fair visa certainty at a small price for retirees, food is great. Whilst traffic can be bad, they had the foresight to build the MRT in Bangkok which also allows you to walk in the shade. Excellent move. Personally I don't like the sound of the language, the alphabet is hard to learn and I don't trust Thais for some reason, this is just a personal thing.
I hear what you're saying about Vietnam, I expect the language is just as hard as Thai, or worse still. I'm not also not a fan of the poorer infrastructure. Is it me, or are the Vietnamese not as friendly as Thais or Filipinos?
Indonesia is a Muslim country, true, but Bali is not. Bali has excellent resorts and is in fact Hindu-Buddhist. I like that Island. The language is easy to learn and they use our alphabet.
I have heard the same thing about Vietnamese many times so there might be some truth into it. I don't know if that's necessarily my experience though because I have found the Vietnamese to be quite nice and friendly on average. Maybe they are more straightforward and direct than Thais although my experience of Vietnam is very limited. It's just that Vietnam as a country is too rough around the edges to my liking.
On a visit to Bali I wanted to like the place and kind of did but it's quite a small island and very crowded. Visiting is ok but I don't think I would want to live there.