My Thai Wife
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My Thai Wife
The Philippines vs Thailand: Exploring Different Cultures and Experiences w\ Tino
Ever wondered what it would be like to ride a motorcycle from Germany to Thailand? Our guest Tino did exactly that, embarking on an extraordinary seven-month journey across ten countries before discovering the charms of Southeast Asia that would keep drawing him back.
Tino shares the fascinating details of his global adventures, from traveling with a 25-year-old mountain bicycle through Malaysia and Borneo to swimming with sea turtles in remote Philippine islands. His comparison between Thailand and the Philippines offers invaluable insights for anyone considering travel to either destination. While the Philippines boasts stunning beaches and friendly locals, Tino explains why Thailand often wins out with its superior food quality, better value accommodations, and remarkable safety record.
We explore the hidden gems of both countries, with Tino recommending Cebu over Manila and explaining why Pattaya—despite its reputation—offers so much more than meets the eye. He describes finding affordable accommodations away from tourist centers, enjoying local cuisine at a fraction of Western restaurant prices, and experiencing the warm welcome of Thai communities in countryside villages.
What emerges is a thoughtful reflection on what makes a place feel like home. For many expats, including Tino, Thailand offers that perfect blend of affordability, safety, convenience, and community that's hard to find elsewhere. His stories reveal how the expat culture in Pattaya creates natural connections between travelers who might otherwise never meet.
Thinking about your next adventure? Whether you're planning a Southeast Asian getaway or dreaming of more ambitious journeys, Tino's experiences offer both practical advice and philosophical insights about slow travel, authentic connections, and finding your place in the world. His next dream? Motorcycling through South America—proving the traveler's spirit never truly rests.
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Hello everyone and welcome back to my Thai Wife podcast. As usual, I'm Mike. Pim is a bit late today. She will be here soon. You know Thai time, so some of them don't know how to be on exact time. But I have my guest here, which is Tino, my good friend. How are you doing, Hi, Mike? I'm good, A bit excited A little bit of course.
Speaker 1:It's okay. You had so many adventures in your life. This is nothing, believe me, okay. So you're one of the guys that I met in this recent trip here, and we used to go to the same kind of bars in the same areas, and it took us a bit of time, but we became friends, right? Yes, and I know a little bit about your story Not too much, okay, so I don't need to hear all your life story, right, but what I do interested in is basically, first of all, what brought you to pataya in the first place.
Speaker 2:What bring me to pataya? What brought me to pataya the first place? Oh, this was long, many, many, many years ago. It was around 2015.
Speaker 1:Okay, not that many.
Speaker 2:It was on the way. It was on the way to the coast. What do you mean? On the way to the coast? To the coast, I want to go to Koh Chang and later to Cambodia, but it was your first time in Thailand. Yeah, okay, I started first time in 2014 and then make a round, because I come here from Germany to here with a motorbike. I ride a motorbike from Germany to here.
Speaker 1:So how many countries you pass by oh?
Speaker 2:around 10. 10 countries? Yeah, czech Republic, you can name them all you remember.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it needs a line.
Speaker 2:It needs a line Well lot okay, how long that trip took you from when I started in germany the first time I come to thailand, it was around seven months. Seven months driving motorbike yes seven months and then I ride here around. First make uh, go up to the north, to chiang mai, chiang rai Rai, then come back down, go to the south, to.
Speaker 1:Koh Samui. Okay, but this was like I guess you traveled, as you said, many countries on the way. In each country you just traveled around and seen everything, or there were just countries you say, fuck it, I just want to go straight to the border.
Speaker 2:I traveled around. I want to take my time. I don't want to just the country cross, cross, cross. That's what I don't want to do.
Speaker 1:And how much trip like this cost.
Speaker 2:It depends. It depends on the country and depends on the conditions, what you want to do. So I sleep in cheap hostels or camping, wild camping. Take a simple life.
Speaker 1:Like, just have your own tent, yes, making barbecue.
Speaker 2:No, here I don't make barbecue.
Speaker 1:No, not here, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I'll go in a mini shop, eat some bread and some sausage Very simple one and you use the whole trip.
Speaker 1:You use the same motorbike, so it survived the trip, yes, and you had to drive it back home.
Speaker 2:No, before COVID I ended up in Laos, okay, and in COVID the borders closed, so when I stayed there, I know you love Laos.
Speaker 1:I love Laos. Yeah, this is one of your favorite countries.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is Lovely people, it's nice. And then my father passed away, so I go back to Germany In 2019, he passed away 21.
Speaker 1:21.
Speaker 2:Sorry, okay, and then I go back and two years I not come back. So in 2023, I come back. And then the motorbike was totally fucked. Oh, because you left it there. Just make the number plate and I can say the insurance. I don't have it anymore. But I found someone who bought it $300, yes, Nice.
Speaker 1:Which motorbike was it Not a big motorbike?
Speaker 2:Honda CBF 500, a very small bike 500 CC.
Speaker 1:I used to have 125. They have here.
Speaker 2:But in Germany or in Europe they use it for driving school.
Speaker 1:Really yes, the former owner was a driver. Yeah, you have the Autobahn there. You can go much faster than what it can do.
Speaker 2:It was not very fast, but Reliable, I guess. Yes, and very Okay, this bike never give up.
Speaker 1:It was your dream to do a trip like that, like you thought about this long time yes, okay, I think, and it's still a dream.
Speaker 2:What do you mean? You still want to do it again? I still want to do it. For example, now I bring this trip was a planet with a bicycle. Okay, yeah, I bring a bicycle with the plane from germ to here and then I go down to Koh Samui.
Speaker 1:Outside of Koh Samui it's a bit of trouble. It's an island. You still have to take the ferry.
Speaker 2:Yes, I take the train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, okay, and then take the bicycle to the ferry, go to the ferry and I want to take a surprise to someone else, someone special.
Speaker 1:She was surprised and I was surprised as well, surprised that you came and she was with someone else. Yes, for fuck's sake, really that's very disappointing. You took it hard or you said, fuck it, it didn't bother you much, you knew, you know the game.
Speaker 2:Oh it was hard.
Speaker 1:It was hard, yeah, yes, it surprised you that something like this happened? Yes, yes, yes, yes, okay.
Speaker 2:Surprised me because one week before she told me she talked to me on a video call. If you not come to my birthday, I not talk to you anymore and talk to you anymore. And then on her birthday she was doing someone else?
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, but you know, I always tell it to everyone In order to stay in Thailand, and especially in Pattaya, when you are going to the bars and everything. You have to understand the game. The game is, you know, it have its own rules. Everyone goes with everyone, money is the king right and there is no loyalty as long as they're walking in the bars. No, yeah, I know, I know I'm not trying to educate you.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying also to our listeners that it's something that you have to understand. Don't expect like you come here, you will fall in love and immediately wow, she will be loyal to you. Never.
Speaker 2:No, as long as you walk in the bar, she fucking other people she should not walk in the bar, by the way, she didn't know freelance she was oh, it's still not a civilian as we call them.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, no, it's not a civilian civilian are the people I call civilian the people that just work the normal jobs okay, the 7-eleven or whatever, or go in there working in the shopping mall. Those are the civilians, right, they are not the working girls. Now I understand. Wait, was she a girl? Or a ladyboy Girl? A girl? Yes, okay, kind of surprising because I know you, but Okay. So, and then you said I go back to 2015.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you stopped in Pattaya? Yeah, because I told you it was on the way. Yeah, On the way back. I go from Cozumel, go up to Bangkok.
Speaker 1:You heard about this city before. Yes, I heard about this, and was it better than what you expected or it was?
Speaker 2:Everybody told me oh, that's such a touristic place, why you want to go there. I say I want to see the touristic place and everybody say it's it's party. It was better than I expected, really. Yes, I want to stay three days and then finally I stayed one week, something like this. And then you told yourself I want to come back one time for a longer stay right? Yes, because I didn't have much more time.
Speaker 1:I have to leave the country because of the visa oh, because you already traveled, yeah, and back then it was only 30 days, 30 days and kind of without extension yeah, and after 60 days you have to leave. Yeah, yeah well, you can do visa runs and stuff like that, but also you're with a motorbike.
Speaker 2:You don't want that hassle exactly I didn't want to settle down here, not yet not yet.
Speaker 1:not yet. Listen. We were talking about it the other day at the bar. You You're thinking about it.
Speaker 1:Other things stop you from actually moving here, or not only here. I mean, in general, I know you really like Southeast Asia, yeah, so yeah. And by the way, why I ask you about Pattaya? Because I had a friend. He's still my friend, he's from my country, right, and he's always my friend. He's for my country, right, and he's always as a teen. I know him since we were like 12 and he was always sex crazed, you know, always talking about sex and everything and like chasing girls all the time. This is the only thing that was important for him. And before he got married he had like a bachelor party here in thailand, you know. So him and a bunch of friends went and they said, okay, we are going to Pattaya, and he fucking hated it, like he said it was too much. You know all the, because everything here is some. It's actually on the front. You know the girls are everywhere. They are always calling you out hey sexy man, hey handsome man, what not?
Speaker 1:Papa, if you are older, yes, where you wear the glasses you look older.
Speaker 1:But like that come on, you're a handsome guy, thank you so, and he came here and it was way too much for him. So they planned to stay here for two weeks in Pattaya. They stayed for two days and they went to Koh Samui. Oh okay, and he found it much more interesting for him. He liked it much better. He said it's like more calmed down. I don't know, I've never been to Koh Samui, but everyone tells me it's like a different environment. Everything is more chill, everything is more calmed down over there. That's true.
Speaker 2:Everything is a little bit more quiet. Have nice beaches. Yeah, here the beaches are not very nice.
Speaker 1:Well, it used to be worse, now they are kind of better.
Speaker 2:And everything is very expensive. Of course, somewhere you have to know it's much more expensive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I think once you go to the well, I will say no, no, the more touristy places, because Pattaya is known as a tourist place, but for a certain thing normally. But when you go to Phuket or the islands or Bangkok, everything is at least 30% more expensive, if not more. I know, I know I told you the last time that I went to Bangkok. I told that on the last episode, me and Michelle, we went to some restaurant. We wanted to eat like it was a German restaurant but a general, and they had also Thai food, because I don't really have a feeling for German food. So I just ordered, like fried rice Almost 400 baht For fucking fried rice and one egg yes.
Speaker 1:You know it's crazy here you pay 60 baht and you can find it even cheaper sometimes.
Speaker 2:The good thing I like on Pattaya yeah, it's a very touristic place but you have a lot of opportunities. If you don't like the big trouble with the bars, you go just with a 10-bath taxi somewhere else.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's not a 10-bath taxi, it's the bad bus. The bad bus, oh yeah the taxi.
Speaker 2:I don't want to confuse the people.
Speaker 1:But yeah, the bad bus, oh sorry, the taxi. I don't want to confuse the people, but yeah, the bad bus, you can basically take for 10 baht and they cross the whole any street, like you not choose where they go.
Speaker 2:It's like regular buses, yeah you have to know where you want to go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there are actually many things to do here other than that. We are actually planning to do an about the other things we can do in Pattaya other than, I will say, just partying. I will not explain more than that because it's still mature content, but yeah, so there are many options here, but I find it like quite relaxing city if you're not into the whole heavy bar scene and heavy partying all night. That's true.
Speaker 2:And you have every opportunity you have here. And that's to say, like you say as well, it's cheaper here, much cheaper, much cheaper than some others.
Speaker 1:The hotels are cheaper, the condos are very cheap here if you know where to look at. As long as you don't stay in the main areas like outside of Soi Bokau, the second row and the mid-road, everything is like the price going down Like. I know condos that you can take with the aircon and everything for 5,000 baht a month, which is for us Europeans or basically foreigners. It's nothing Like 5,000 baht. It's nothing for us.
Speaker 2:That's actually where I live at the moment 5,000,. If you use the air aircon, you have to pay a little bit extra electricity and water, but it's still.
Speaker 1:You never reach more than you know what. I will exaggerate eight thousand months, and that's with the laundry also, yes, you know. Yes, so yeah, it's kind of cheap to stay here and, as we said, the food is cheap. But I'm interested because you told me you went to a country that I've never been there yet. Okay, we actually spoke about that. We might go there together at some point. I want you to tell me about the Philippines, like how you reached there and like what you find the difference.
Speaker 2:How I reached there. I take a plane from Bangkok to Manila. Okay yeah, of course it's cheap. It's cheap, it costs around.
Speaker 1:And just because you like Southeast.
Speaker 2:Asia. You wanted to visit there, or you had a friend that's been there, or Just I like Southeast Asia Okay, I've been there before to the Philippines and I say I like it. I want to see more of the places in the Philippines. What time like what year first time you've been there year first time? My first time, philippines around 2000. It was just only two weeks. It was around 2018 or something like that okay.
Speaker 1:So after you already visited the area, and then 2023.
Speaker 2:I guess I stayed there for one month. Okay, I found it very nice In 2023. In 2023, yeah, and now I say I stayed two months. Okay, I told you I brought the bicycle to here, yeah, yeah, I want to move from Bangkok to Pattaya, then go to Laos and Vietnam and Again just a road trip, but this time without a moto under you.
Speaker 1:Now you are the motor.
Speaker 2:That was yeah, now I'm the motor. That was the plan. But then I get a problem with my ankle, I get an infection inside, and so at least two weeks, one month, is gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it takes time also to recover and everything. Your muscles are not as good as before. Yes, and I try to do again and come back. By the way, we're talking like road bicycle, right? Not?
Speaker 2:mountain bicycle. It's a very old mountain bicycle, really, yes, so nothing fancy, no, 25 years old. I was thinking to come with him today, but it was a little bit too late Also the traffic here in Pattaya.
Speaker 1:It's not as bad as Bangkok, but it's kind of dangerous to drive in the main roads. Yes, and right now we kind of stay on the main road in Teprasit, so it's kind of dangerous to drive here. I know, I know, I know. So I would not recommend it to anyone that is not, at least with a motorbike, you know, then when you have the power behind it, you can be a bit more safe.
Speaker 2:But the good thing also here, I don't run the motorbike or something like this.
Speaker 1:You don't drive it, you have the taxis, the taxis, yeah, the Bolt, or the Grab, or however they call it. Or the orange vest, even sometimes.
Speaker 2:And it's cheap. Nobody has to drive with alcohol or something like this. They are cheap, it's cheap.
Speaker 1:It's safe, yes, but I have some grief with the orange vests, oh yeah. So for the people that doesn't know, in Thailand you have, in Pattaya especially, you have few options for transportation when we are talking private transportation, not like the bus passes. So you have an app that's called Bolt. That is basically like Uber you order whatever you want. You have another app that's called Grab, which is basically like Uber you order whatever you want.
Speaker 2:You have another app that's called Grab, which is basically the same, but you can also order food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's like Bolt and it's everything together. And you have the orange vests, which are just the motorbike taxi driver that stay on the corners of each street and their prices vary, like they're not always the most honest people. You know, I had a friend, I think I never told that, but I had a friend. He's, let's say he's a bit special, yeah, and he came to, uh, to pataya to meet me and other guy here, like he's not autistic, but he's on the spectrum. You know. Okay, he's very innocent, he's such a nice guy, extremely nice guy, and one time we had me and him stayed in the same hotel, of course, different rooms. So we went to some bar and we took like motorbike taxi to the same hotel. They charged me 50 baht, they charged him 350 baht Because they saw like, oh, an easy grab. You know, we just tell him a price, he pay whatever. Yeah, that's what they do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't recommend using them unless at least you ask what the price before. Yes, like, don't just go on them and say take me there, because they will overcharge you most of the times. That's the biggest problem. Yeah, yeah, although they will overcharge you most of the times. That's the biggest problem. Yeah, yeah, although I don't get it. You know it's kind of funny. Why, like they know they have competition, a lot of competition, why you didn't change your way Like be more honest? You know I don't get it sometimes, but it's their problem. I almost never use the orange vests Me also not.
Speaker 2:I get called, called a bald, or they grab. In one minute they are there and then and you don't have to explain the location is already there, you don't have to say oh.
Speaker 1:I need to go to that hotel over that soy or whatever.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. They know you have to use the phone and then it's okay, it's much easier.
Speaker 1:So again, I yeah, I don't know that, so I've never been there, and I know you've been to Manila, cebu and another place I forget the name you told me it's amazing, the island, the island, boracay, boracay. I've been to some certain places before and this is your favorite place in the Philippines, boracay right.
Speaker 2:Yes, I like it very much. I wouldn't say my favorite place, but it's a very famous place, a very nice beach and the people are nice. People are very nice and it's a very. It's a long island but very small, on the smallest From beach to beach. From beach to beach on the smallest place is maybe one, one and a half kilometer, something like this, and one beach, very public beach, many, many people, and if it's too much people there, just walk one kilometer to the other side and it's quiet beach.
Speaker 1:It's more or less the same beach. I guess I'm just guessing because, as I said, I've never been there. It's not like a very popular place, like it's not like a main city like Cebu or Manila that is packed with people, and or it's still kind of.
Speaker 2:It's public. Many, many tourists go there. Okay, if you mean this, but it's not a big city, it's one city on the whole island, especially in the middle.
Speaker 1:No, but when I imagine like Manila or Cebu I'm thinking at the place biggest Bangkok, yeah, something like this, like very populated, a lot of traffic and and pollution, you know, very dirty. So this is the place like boracay is like that, or it's more like no, it's more clean to boracay.
Speaker 2:The island is uh, if I heard it right, the former president from the Philippines. They had a big problem with the garbage and then he closed the island for three or six months. No tourists come there, nothing clean all your island. Bring the garbage, fix the problem and then they can open again.
Speaker 1:I remember many stories I heard about this guy. He was kind of hard going, very hard going, like with the war on they can open again. I remember many stories I heard about this guy. He was kind of, yeah, hard going, very hard going like with the war on drugs and everything that he did. I will not elaborate even more because I know many stories, but he was a hard guy, yeah and it's still with the drugs people have to know no joint, no drugs, nothing there, yeah, but in.
Speaker 2:Thailand also. They are changing it back A little bit.
Speaker 1:yeah, no it's going to. I think as much like I read that soon, even again, you will not be able to smoke weed here Not that I'm smoking weed, but now it's kind of legal, legal in the home place or something like this. Yeah, but it's going to change again soon, because they don't like the weed tourism.
Speaker 2:They want to go back to the. No, the shops need a license, or something like this yeah, it's going to. I also don't. I have problems, I don't smoke.
Speaker 1:I don't like it. I used to smoke, but it's nothing. And if we are talking about the big cities? So you recommend Cebu over Manila, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Cebu much more better than Manila. Why Manila, I thought very, very populated. We're talking about noisy, expensive, same Bangkok.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's expensive Because I know in general the Philippines are much cheaper than Thailand. It depends.
Speaker 2:Accommodation much more expensive Really. Yeah, like how much would you pay for the same apartment you have right now, for example, if I pay here 500 baht at least 12 euros for one day, I talk now for one day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:I cannot talking about the money. Yeah, yeah, I'm not saying 500 baht for one day. I have to pay there minimum 1000 for the same quality, minimum double, it's almost double.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it depends where you are and you are able to rent condos there also, or you haven't tried it Condos Like here, that a month rate.
Speaker 2:No, I never try, I just like guest houses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:How long you stay? Two, three days, just like guest houses, yeah, how long you stay?
Speaker 1:two, three days, and booking always and mostly on the platform Just bookingcom or something like that.
Speaker 2:Bookingcom, Agoda, that's working.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's easier, and then you can actually check the place before and see the locations without guessing.
Speaker 2:And also it's cheaper many times.
Speaker 1:So you say that those websites and apps are more cheaper than just going to the place and ask how much. Yes, it's funny that you say that In Thailand it's the opposite.
Speaker 2:I go in sometimes I walk in how much you charge for one room. They say they send me a price and I look at the internet much, much cheaper.
Speaker 1:Really. Yeah, yes, you know, I send me a price and I look at the internet much, much cheaper really. Yeah, yes, you know, I. I had one one incident one time that there is one hotel that I really like here. It's a small hotel, it's not very big or famous. It's called the corner lodge. Yeah, you know it. I live there. I live close there. I I love it. Yeah, it's one of my favorite hotels because of the stuff and the rooms are small, but you have everything that you need. I really like it so and they know me over there and one time I had to go somewhere and come back, so I just did the booking online.
Speaker 1:I didn't have time because I bought some friends or what, what not, and I just did the booking for three rooms and I went inside and they say, oh, we cancel your booking, your booking. I say why? They say because you just paid almost twice the price that we give you when you come here. We know you, we don't want you to pay so much, so they just automatically see my name. They cancel the booking and it was not half, but it was like 30% cheaper on the place.
Speaker 2:That's how it works. That's a good stuff, yeah, good service, and this is why.
Speaker 1:I really like this place, like I really enjoy it, but they are not In Thailand. Most of the places that I checked are cheaper when you actually come and talk to them. But I guess other countries. It depends on the country. It depends Sometimes more, sometimes less. You know most of the people that I know that went to the Philippines. They mostly complain about two things. First, the food. They say the food is not that great over there, terrible.
Speaker 2:Terrible really. What's so terrible? The?
Speaker 1:cleanliness of the food or because here in thailand, come on, we are used to the best quality. I love it. I'm not only talking about the thai food itself. I mean the cleanliness level of the food, yes, and everything. You always never get food poisoning here.
Speaker 2:It's very clean, everything is very fresh so it depends what kind of food you want to have. In the Philippines, yeah, Normally they have some small kitchens. You see it here as well.
Speaker 1:They have the Chevys, they have the.
Speaker 2:Chevys with some food and you get rice on it on top. It's around maybe one euro, but the taste is mostly. It's cold and the taste is mostly Everything's cold and the taste is mostly everything when you eat is the same, more or less.
Speaker 1:So this is a Filipino food. Yeah, filipino food, original Filipino food, and if you are going to foreigner food like Western, it's better.
Speaker 2:It's better but also expensive. I can say the same thing what you say. I was in. Where was it? I think Coron. Coron is close, close. This was my first step after manila. Okay, I take from manila, I take a ferry to coron which takes 18, 18 hours, I guess 18 hours on the ferry it's very slow, or it's so far away it's far away and it's also very slow. Okay, it was 18 hours, 18 hours we can fly from here to the US.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:But I want to do it. I want to go with the ferry. I never do it again, okay, so you went there, I went there, and even I had a fried rice with fried rice chicken. The most simple dish, the most simple thing, and it was around 400 pesos, more or less 300 baht. If you like the Thai food, you can go to a restaurant, or you can go eat Western food like pizza, schnitzel. Whatever you want you can have. It's a little bit more expensive.
Speaker 1:It's good. No, I mean, it's still not euro prices, not even, although the thing that surprised me always, I not go there too much, but when you go to the main big chains here in thailand, I mean the american chains like mcdonald's, burger king, pizza hut oh, I will not name them all it's so expensive here compared to the street food. Like you buy a meal in McDonald's here for about 500, 600 baht. For 600 baht, me, you, pim, everyone and this guy also we can go eat together and we will all be full. Yes, that's true.
Speaker 2:So it's so expensive those places. That's why I don't go inside. I have no experience. You never even try, never. That's why I don't go inside.
Speaker 1:I have no experience, but you never even try, never, never go but you always complain to me why we go to this restaurant, why not just eat Thai food and I know it's not about the money.
Speaker 2:I know you really like that. I love it.
Speaker 1:I love the Thai food and it's very the Thai food. The Thai cuisine is very different from the Filipino cuisine. Yes, because all is Asian, so it's mostly rice, I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but the rest is more or less like Western. They have a lot of pork and with a lot of fat and something like this.
Speaker 1:Oh, so even less healthy. Yeah, yeah, okay. And is it spicy as the Thai food, or it?
Speaker 2:depends on the dish. It depends on the dish. I wouldn't say it's more spicy than the Thai food. Okay, because I really don't like very spicy, just spicy than the Thai food. Because I really don't like very spicy, just a little bit but not so much.
Speaker 1:The more I talk with you, the less I want to go there. I know it sounds horrible, but I have to experience at least once right, but it's very nice.
Speaker 2:You have nice beaches, you have nice people, at least everybody talking English. Everybody's speaking English it's very easy and I cannot explain. It's a totally different country.
Speaker 1:But if I go with you, I would go to Boracay and I would go to Cebu. I will not go to Angeles City, no. Angeles, which everyone tried to compare to Pattaya, but I heard from many people it's so much different. I will not go to Manila because what you said and I don't know. It's so much different. I will not go to Manila because of what you said and I don't know many other places. I know it's a huge country with many islands Unbelievable much islands.
Speaker 1:I think they have more than 1,000 islands, right yeah?
Speaker 2:something like this Much more, much more. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I have to use Google to ask. Our listeners probably already Googled it, so they will know.
Speaker 2:And finally, one of the last places I was was a very small island, a very small island to walking around, more small than Kolan. I've never been to Kolan, but maybe something like this. It was a very small island with a nice hut directly at the beach. I had my own nice hut on the beach, okay, and I go out snorkeling every day. Oh, you're directly at the beach. I had my own, my my time, when I go, only for snorkeling, one hour around 10, 15 turtles there, turtles.
Speaker 1:Turtles Like sea turtles.
Speaker 2:Sea turtles Big ones Big ones, yeah, every day, very easy, nice, nice.
Speaker 1:I know in my country we have some problem about the sea turtles because they always go to the shore to make the eggs and then many of them die because it's dirty or people run them over. You know, everyone has the ATVs or whatever, but there I guess they take more care about… I think so.
Speaker 2:I don't know where they do the eggs, or something like this.
Speaker 1:Always on the beach, so they go on the bridge, they lay the egg and they go. Yeah, so when the turtle is born out of the egg, he's on his own, just walking to the water and start swimming. I saw some movies before, yeah, yeah, but it's really interesting how it works. So, and if we are talking about the bar scenes, how different it is from very different really compared to here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they don't have a bar scene like a gogo or something like this, like you have here.
Speaker 1:Yes, gogo is basically the strip clubs. Right, they don't have it over there?
Speaker 2:no, okay, they have something. They talk like bikini bar. So there is a stage which is a normal bar. Yeah, there is a stage there is a stage with with one go-go, ok yeah, and then only one lady dancing around sometimes, and the girls are walking in the bar or they are freelancers or you don't know. I think they are walking there. They have also something like lady drinks. Ok, yeah, I just look only one time inside.
Speaker 1:Oh you like lady drinks. Okay, yeah, I just look only one time inside. Oh, you're not experiencing it there, because here you do go to the bars, yeah, but it's not like this, it's very different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very different, okay, very different. I just make a few in one or two of these bikini bars and then, well, now it's not so clean and I don't feel comfortable if you want to use to me.
Speaker 1:So if you want to meet someone, you just use the apps yeah.
Speaker 2:Tinder works, just freelancers Tinder works very good, oh, okay, yeah, that's what the only thing. I use Tinder sometimes and they have some good sports bars okay so just to sit, relax, drink beer, watch something, whatever.
Speaker 1:Also Sports bars Okay so just to sit relax, drink beer, watch something.
Speaker 2:Also the sports bars have some ladies and they come sometimes oh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but those are freelancers, I guess. Yes, mostly, okay. And what about ladyboys over there? They have as well, yeah, because everyone I ask. So there is one friend I will not say his name because his name is not politically correct, okay, but he's a Finnish guy. Yeah, his name is called after the famous German leader, so I cannot say his name. Really, this is his name, yeah, okay, so he always goes to the Philippines and he likes it because he likes how raw and fresh are the ladyboys over there. Like, he's not very business oriented, everything is like, and he's not a very good looking guy, but he say most of it, get for free because they just want the attention, someone that like them, because it's a very Christian and Catholic country, right, so it's not very allowed over there. It's kind of a taboo, right?
Speaker 2:It's true. Yeah, it's totally different. You don't feel like you are a customer, it's more or less you be a friend, they like the attention, exactly, but about the looks?
Speaker 1:you find them look better there or it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:Some yes, some sometimes yes, sometimes no, really, yeah, one of the only complaints.
Speaker 1:My friend told me that, yeah, they are fresh and it's for free, but he said they look so much worse than the dyes.
Speaker 2:Some of them, yeah, some of them, because also of the food, you mean they are getting more fat, yeah, he was talking about something else he's talking about.
Speaker 1:They don't have much like skin care and everything. They don't normally much skincare and everything. They normally don't put too much makeup, or when they put, they put way too much makeup and they don't really know how to dress sexy. They just wear whatever dress their mother has or they buy in the shop. They don't think about like, oh, I need to look good.
Speaker 2:They say it must be comfortable for me Practice something like that, something anyway, you want to take it off it doesn't matter. But but first time you have to have to look and say wow, I want to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but if you meet her as a freelancer, it's different, right? Because then she might come to your room, yeah, or, if you are being a gentleman, at least take her eat first right yes, like go some restaurant.
Speaker 1:And? And the second complaint I heard that it's not as safe as Thailand, because Thailand is very safe country, extremely safe, and there is almost like you can walk here drunk in the street any time of the day. Nothing will happen to you if you're not being stupid. That's true, yeah, nothing day. Nothing will happen to you if you're not being stupid. That's true, yeah, nothing, no one will bother you, no one will care. Just go home, try not to walk in the middle of the street so no one will run over. And don't fight with anyone. That's true, but in the philippines, they told me, there is a lot of mugging, so robbing people on the street. If you're holding the phone, someone might come snatch your phone. Yeah, which I never saw.
Speaker 2:You have to be careful, a little bit more careful. Take an attention. It depends. It's also in the big cities, manila, maybe, sometimes.
Speaker 1:Cebu, it happened to you before that someone tried no. Well, you're a big and scary guy, no.
Speaker 2:I don't have an expensive telephone. I don't have gold with me. I don't have a watch. You don't have gold with me.
Speaker 1:I don't have a watch. Oh, it's too much hassle. What will we take?
Speaker 2:out of him, the bicycle, the 25-year-old bicycle, nothing more, that's true, and I don't have so much money in my pocket always. This they cannot know, but if it's gone, it's gone.
Speaker 1:The richest people I ever met. They don't wear fancy clothes. They don't wear fancy clothes. They don't have fancy watch. They look like ordinary people.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Those are the richest people I ever met. I'm talking millionaires and billionaires, really, only the people that want to look rich. They wear all their brands and the Rolex and the gold chains. They are not really rich. Come on Just to show off.
Speaker 2:There's a special name of them Talahorns. You heard about this. It's a Thai name. No, no, no, I heard about this. In Germany, the young people have this word Talahorns. You know, Talahorns? I never heard of it. There's some people we wear Nike, but it's not a real Nike, it's a fake Nike, so everything is fake? Yeah, more or less. But they want to look rich, To look yeah, but it's not really rich.
Speaker 1:Listen, look at guys like Bill Gates, steve Jobs. Yeah, all just wear whatever clothes they have, they don't look. Stylish, they don't look. And they are the richest people in the world, except for Elon Musk. He's fucking crazy, but he's not a good example.
Speaker 2:No, it's not really. I would say it's dangerous. Sometimes in Manila or maybe in the big cities, in Cebu Also, they have a lot of people. They're begging.
Speaker 1:I saw that online here. You see it sometimes, but it's not in your face here I see children follow you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they follow children come. Or lady, come with children, with two children Always have hungry, hungry.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And it's kind of sad because I guess in one part of you say, oh, I want to help her yeah, but in another part you say, oh, it's a business, you're fucking making children just in order to yeah.
Speaker 2:Another part you say, oh, it's a business, you're fucking making children just in order to, all the time. But you see it only in the big cities.
Speaker 1:Like I told, you Cebu Manila, so in the small islands that you've been it's not very popular. No, not really.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, good, it sounds much better because you know, I was one time, on the way from my country to here, I stopped in Ethiopia. Oh, from my country to here, I stopped in Ethiopia Because it was the cheapest flight and it was still faster than going from my country because my country you have to circle around, so.
Speaker 1:I've been to Ethiopia. I had like 12 hours over there so I thought I'd just go out of the airport. Look around, you know, 12 hours sitting in the airport, it's crazy. So I was in Addis Ababa, the airport, look around, you know, 12 hours sitting in the airport, it's crazy, I know this.
Speaker 1:So I was in Addis Ababa, of course, which is the capital city, and I was just walking around and like a few children start following me and they followed me for like two and a half hours Just walking behind me until some of them understood after two hours of following me around, and even if I went to a restaurant, they waited outside. After two and a half hours of following around, one of them grabbed my bag and start, and then I just like smacked him and say, fuck off. Like there is a limit, you cannot try to rob me, you know? And for what? Like I was not and, by the way, I did give them some money at the beginning, which that was the mistake, I think. So, yeah, if I didn't give them money, they probably leave me alone right, probably After 10 minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but just two and a half hours following me around and it's. You know, it sounds like oh, I don't want to be bothered, but it's more than that. It's very not.
Speaker 2:it's uncomfortable you know, yes, you're not feeling really well. No Depends where you want to go. And also what I forget to say when I go to Manila. I booked the cheapest hotel I found and was in Chinatown, because it was not far from the embassy Okay, no, not embassy, the immigration, because if you get to the Philippines, you get 30 days.
Speaker 1:Also 30 days, also 30 days.
Speaker 2:But you can extend 30 days very easy, okay, yeah, so I go there. I think Chinatown, and everywhere in the world, in every city, chinatown is the heart of the place and it's more or less 20, 23 hours. You have something to do. There's some food, some bars or some restaurants, some shops open, okay, and it's like in each city, they have this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like the Chinese area, chinatown.
Speaker 2:They have it in Bangkok also, right.
Speaker 1:Chinatown and Japantown, I think.
Speaker 2:Chinatown in Manila close at 8pm. Why, I don't know. I was surprised.
Speaker 1:Close, close, like you have nothing to do over there.
Speaker 2:Just have some 7-Elevens.
Speaker 1:You know, I never thought about it. So in the Philippines in general it's close, like earlier than Thailand, because here we are used to 4 in the morning. Three in the morning, yeah, now, yeah, of course I'm not talking COVID times, or sometimes before.
Speaker 2:Do you have to close at two normally? Yeah, you know. Yes, you was not here. I was here since 2016.
Speaker 1:16? 15. 16 or 16. I don't remember. Yeah, and I always remember the bar closed. Yeah, or 16? I don't remember. Yeah, and I always remember the bar closed. Yeah, they close this, but you can still sit inside. Come on, it's not really closed.
Speaker 2:yeah, they don't want you to go, they want you to stay, yeah, but sometimes outside the police coming, not here, but it was now. When you say it was in Chiang Mai, they had to close at midnight behind and police coming but now now, here, now it's really good.
Speaker 1:I think the city, like, the peak hours for going out is actually between 1 and 2 am. Yeah, this is the peak hours, that's. That's true. Yeah, like you can stay until 4 and then you can go some clubs I will not name them because we already spoke a lot about them, but many other clubs here and you can stay until non-stop. Actually, if you want 24 hours, you can have fun here.
Speaker 2:You can find us in the Philippines as well. Really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's not like very closed and how do I say, not very welcoming for those kind of things.
Speaker 2:You have to know where you go, and it's from place to place, from island to island, it's different.
Speaker 1:So let's say in Cebu, if I go, I'm sorted, I can find whatever I want in Cebu. Yes, like even I want five in the morning and I can find places to go, I think so I'm not sure I didn't do that. You're an old guy. You go to bed in three. Yes, I stay in Cebu only totally three days but you still find it much better than the other cities.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes it was just because I can fly from from where I came, I think from Boracay. Yeah, from Boracay? Okay, fly to Cebu just one day, and from there I want to go.
Speaker 1:There's a ferry port, from there they go to all the other islands, but you decided to stay a little bit more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, after one day I want to go to another island. Then I go to the ferry ports. What I didn't expect, that there was an election in the Philippines. Okay, and that means three days public holiday and the whole Filipinos go to some islands, not can?
Speaker 1:catch a ferry, they leave for the vacation.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, not. Can catch a ferry to the island. Oh it was full, full, fully booked for the next three, four days. Oh my God, so you have to stay in Cebu? No, finally, I take the next island. The next ferry is free for tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1:Go to the end of the day no but you stayed extra night, right?
Speaker 2:No, it was just one flight, but I changed the plan. I could not go with overnight boat to Shiragau, that's where I want to go. Somebody recommended me Fully booked for three days and the next island from cebu was pohol. Every day. I don't know how many ferries go there 10, 15, so it was okay you can go.
Speaker 1:What do you think will be your next big vacation, like I know? I know soon you go home, yeah, and I know you will have to stay home for a while. We were talking about it for personal reasons, but when you will decide, okay, I, I'm free again. What will you do?
Speaker 2:My still big plan is to go to South America with my motorbike. South America when would you start? It depends on the ferry, but I think at the moment it's like I bring the motorbike to Hamburg in Germany and I put it on a ship to Chile, I guess. Okay, so you?
Speaker 1:start from Chile, from South Chile, I guess, and then you start to climb your way up. It depends you reach Mexico.
Speaker 2:It depends what the weather is. I have to look, so that's the plan. I have the motorbike. Have you been there before?
Speaker 1:No, never. That's why that You've been there before, no, never.
Speaker 2:That's why. That's why I want to go.
Speaker 1:It's interesting, it's one of the places in general South America. I find it very interesting. I do want to visit there, but it's I don't know if it's still like that, but you always hear horror stories about how extremely dangerous it is, like it's not a safe place. Most of the countries they are not very safe.
Speaker 2:I heard about this. You have to know what you do.
Speaker 1:My father was in South America for, I think, about six months. So he did Peru.
Speaker 1:I think Brazil, you know the main big ones, probably Argentina, I don't remember the every and he liked it, but he said it's not like, it's not safe here, not safe like this. He never been here, but he still said you have to be very cautious all the time. Make sure no one is following you. If he does, you need to know what to say, what to do. I don't remember if it was him or one of his friends got robbed two times.
Speaker 1:Two times Like just someone came to him, point the gun, give me everything, and you don't even argue okay, here you go, you need my shirt also my what do you need? Yes, so yeah, it's not very safe, but what can you do? This is why we choose to come here at the end of the day. It's true, like you say, everywhere is safe. That's as I know. You do like ladyboys, so I think South America.
Speaker 2:Not exclusively. I don't have experience with South American ladyboys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I heard from Michel, for example. His dream is to move to South America, colombia. And I say listen, Michel, in your business you will have to retire after two years there, Probably. Yes, it's not like the Thai sizes over there. So I don't know, but it might be nice have you met. I don't think you met him. You met, uh um uh, austrian Peter before Peter from Austria. No no, austrian Peter before Peter from.
Speaker 1:Austria no, no and Johan, so it doesn't matter, not the names, there are two guys, austrian guys, they always travel together and they always spend three months in South America, three months in Thailand Every year.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And like when they're in Thailand, they only stay in Pattaya. When in South America, they travel around Like this is their style, they really enjoy it and they say it's safe if you know where to go. But again, extremely smart, don't do any stupid things, don't carry, don't show everyone you have Same.
Speaker 2:Same Same Philippines. In some areas I will be excited, but not every country is the same. That's what I heard from people who are traveling.
Speaker 1:It's a big continent. I think I did. I know I traveled around before I found myself eventually in Thailand and it just feels like home here. You know, I don't know if you have the same feeling Not yet Not yet Because you're still traveling around but for me I said that in the last episode when I'm here I feel home, like this is my, my like, better than even my country. I feel here safe, I feel I have friends here. I have the community. Also, one of the things that we haven't spoke about it how nice is to meet people in a city like pataya, like you meet, I meet guys like you and we meet like group of guys and most of the people are extremely nice, very welcoming. They just want hey, can we hang out?
Speaker 1:let's do something together I know, yeah, exactly you, you, you saw that also in other countries, because I never saw it like here. Here. It's like overwhelming, sometimes even.
Speaker 2:With some other foreigners. Yeah, yeah, not like this year, not like this year.
Speaker 1:Here really, you see some groups connecting and you know we've been to the same bar, so sometimes you see the same guys and you know, oh, he will come with this guy and this guy and this guy, Like they are their own group and it's nice to see that, by the way, especially expats, so people who live here, they are just grouping around all the time.
Speaker 2:But it's normal. It's normal If you stay and live here. You find your friends, your community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't think that Pattaya is more of a city that is actually divided between the tourists, which, okay, come here for two weeks, three weeks and go back, but, as you said, we have a big community of people that actually live here. I don't think you find it in many other places in the world that have big communities like this, not like this, yeah. If you go Jomtien, for example, or Naclua or wherever like, not the main, main main area of Pattaya, mostly foreigners live there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's quiet and we're talking about it. It's quiet and safe and cheap and you have all the infrastructure. You're right, the airport's not far away, yeah.
Speaker 1:Rayong, or, but this is why people choose to live here and it's interesting because I, as I said, I don't think it's happening other. It's happened, but not as much in other countries, and this is why it brings many people together.
Speaker 2:It's funny always to see how mixed the group are you know that's, that's true, but also I like the thai style, let's not forget. I don't want to stay only in a group of foreigners Of course, of course.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that but what do you mean by Thai style?
Speaker 2:That I want to meet some people from Thailand and sometimes they invite you. That was really nice when I was traveling with the bicycle. Also go to the countryside sometimes and they stop.
Speaker 1:Hey, hello, can I come in? Come in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, come in. Come in, or give me one drink or some beer, because they are excited.
Speaker 1:Probably they never not never, but probably they don't see as many as foreigners.
Speaker 2:Not so much, not in the countryside, not with the bicycle. I like to drive motorcycle, but with the bicycle you see more and you can more connect with the people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you are driving much slower.
Speaker 2:You have to make stops.
Speaker 1:Yes, I guess every two, three hours you have to stop in order to let your muscles relax. What was the best? Small, unknown place you find out here in Thailand. The best small unknown. You know, like a small village that you felt like wow, amazing. I would never even think about finding a place like that.
Speaker 2:I have to think about this. Now there are some more certain places Krabi town In Krabi. Krabi town Krabi town, not the island, but Krabi town was nicei. Krabi town Krabi town, not the island not the island, but Krabi town was nice because it's like a village. It's more or less like a village. They call it Krabi town but many people go to Krabi Aonang beach or then they go to the islands, but in Krabi town himself they have a nice small night market.
Speaker 1:So my previous co-host I used to do the podcast with me. She stays now in Krabby Town.
Speaker 2:Oh, really yeah.
Speaker 1:She just moved there. She used to live in Phuket, now she stays there. She's a travel agent, you know, but she always says come, it's very nice, very quiet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is, and it's not like a touristy money maker.
Speaker 1:Money grabby Money, grabby Money, grabby Money grabby?
Speaker 2:No, no, I guess there's an airport. That's why some people come there and stay there one night, yeah, and then they go to grabby, it's like a transportation hub.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, from there you can go to many places, exactly, but normally people just don't want to stay there because, oh, I want to go to Pippi Island.
Speaker 2:I stay there because, oh, I want to go to pp island, I want to go to there, I want to go to exactly, exactly. I stay there one night, or two nights, oh yeah, nice and you, you reach there by bicycle, by a bicycle. Yeah, amazing, amazing I do envy you so much.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I would ever do something like that I'm not talking about the bicycle about like huge road trip from country to country to country to country. I don't know if I have the like. I'm lazy.
Speaker 2:At just time. I have to kick my ass, but I did it last year. It was last year I bought also the bicycle from Germany pipeline to Bangkok. I put everything together and then I cycling to Kuala Lumpur Really, yes, and then I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, which is in Borneo, okay, and take all the coasts from Borneo, malaysia, brunei. And then I want to go with a ferry oh, what was the name? I don't know, I don't know the name of the city anymore Okay, and there was a ferry to the Philippines, normally, but two or three months before I reached there the ferry stopped, really, really, yeah, they had some problems with pirates or something like this. Yeah, nice, and so then I fly back, I flew back to Bangkok, take the bicycle and go to Pattaya, spend one month in Pattaya for the rest, and then escape. I understand.
Speaker 1:I envy you and I wish sometime I can do something like this, and I do hope that next time you are going to the Philippines you ring me and say Mike, come on come on, take a plan, I will not take the whole trip. I'll just come to Arastu for three or four days, just experience it a little bit, and I come back to Thailand, I guess because, as I told you, this is my home.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, I want to thank you so much. It was a great episode. I really appreciate it. I hope we will have you again. I'm sorry that Pim couldn't make. It probably have other plans for today. Thank you so much, and I want to thank our listeners Also.
Speaker 1:By the way, shout out to Lou from Patreon Thank you very much. See you again, buddy. As you said, halloween, we are waiting for you. He's the guy that we actually know. We met in Delirious and then he just sent me a message the other day. Oh, I found your podcast, da da da. He's a really nice guy from Canada. So, lou, thank you very much.
Speaker 1:And again, guys, any question that you have, whatever you need, just send us email to mytaiwifepod at gmailcom. You have all the contact information in the description, basically, of any of our videos and we do appreciate every like, subscribes or whatever you do. I know it's boring, every fucking content creator say the same, but we do appreciate it. It's really helping to boost our videos and check out our Patreon. There are really cool stuff over there, as Lou saw and just check it out, and if you think that you want to help us, the reason we do this in the studio and we did change the whole format, and everything is because of you guys. So thank you very much and we appreciate it. And thank you, See you next episode. Bye-bye guys, bye-bye, nice to talk to you, Thank you.