Korean Job Discussion Forums

[goodfella]

maybe a stupid question. just taking a poll. which of the two do you prefer? even which cities, manilla or bangkok? im curious since i never visited both. kinda the same countries? if not, what differences??

thanks a lot

[buddy bradley]

http://lonelyplanet.com

ThornTree. Have fun.

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

I think you can find more cheap willing hookers in Thailand..... That is what your looking for?

[baldrick]

Jam or Marmalade?
Metallica or Megadeath?

For what you want both countries piss in the same pot.

[indytrucks]

[justagirl]

I've been to both and here are a couple of observations:

1. The prices are generally the same in both countries for food and hotels.
The Philippines might be just a bit more, but not too much.

2. Thailand is a lot more exotic/strange/mytic because of the budhist influence. You'll see a lot of wats (temples) and monks and statues of Buddah.

3. Both have beautiful beaches

4. The Philippines speak better English. In fact, it's a very nice break from Korea mentally/emotionally because everything is written in English. They also speak Tagalog, but really, it's a lot closer to being home than Thailand is.

5. If you want to do snorkeling/scuba, I'd go to the Philippines.

6. If you want to party, I'd go to Thailand.

7. I want to go back to both countries. They are both really great places to visit. You'll have a great time in either place.

justagirl

[Sojuman99]

[Tiger Beer]

Where is the poll?

Yeah, both are good. Beer is much more expensive in Thailand however, so next time I'd like to return to Philippines. Coin toss as to which is better though.

[cacheSurfer]

[justagirl]

I'll just add a bit more in about Manila. We stayed in Makati city, which is a really nice part of Manila. It's super-clean, beautiful, and lots of upper-scale hotels and apartments. It's where the embassies are located as well.

There is a fantastic mall called the Glorietta in Makati city and it is truly amazing. It's huge--bigger than most I've ever been in (except the Mall of America), and the prices are really good. I would say everything is about 1/2 of the prices in the US or Korea for name-brand items. For example, I went to the Body Shop and got a set of things for about $17. I looked in Korea and the exact same set was about $35. There are also stores hiding up on the 4th floor that sell copied DVD's and computer/ps2 games. Out of 10 computer games, 7 worked, none of the 3 PS2 games worked and all the dvd's worked. They cost about $2-4.

Right in the same vicinity as the Glorietta is the "Green Belt." It looks just like it's name sounds. Lots of trees, very green and beautiful. It's just so nice to see green in a city. (I live in the country in the US and I really miss the trees, grass, etc...concrete just doesn't do it for me) So that said, it was really a refreshing change of scenery. The Green Belt is full of shops and upper-scale restaurants. Everything looked very modern and classy. A lot of the restaurants were Japanese, Mediteranian, bistros, etc. So many kinds to choose from. They also had the Outback Steakhouse (steak set was about $12) and Chili's for those who like American chains.

It's all very safe as well. There are many armed guards and security men patroling the area, and after the initial, "Oh my goodness, is that a gun?" thought, I began to feel quite accustomed to it. If you're a guy, expect to get frisked (just a run-down of your chest/belt area) to see if you're carrying a weapon before entering a dept. store or the mall. Also, some places will check in your bags to make sure you don't have a weapon. Rather than being annoying, it made us feel more secure. Not a big deal for us, but something interesting to pass on to those interested in going to the Philippines.

When you arrive at the airport in Manila, you come out on the lower level of the building. Immediately, some nicely dressed man with official tags of the Tourism dept. will ask you if you need a taxi, and a nice car will come to pick you up. However, these cars don't have meters and they will overcharge you like crazy. They'll tell you it's more safe, etc, but if you don't want to pay 500 pesos to go to Makati city when it really cost 150, then head to your right and look for some stairs. They'll take you to another level where you can get a metered taxi. These cars look pretty beat up, but we never had a problem. Just make sure they turn on their meter.

Some people say Manila is a nasty/dirty/whatever city, but that's why we chose this part of it to stay in. We really enjoyed it and would love to go back, just to meander about the green belt and bring back some more dvd's, not to mention to eat at a couple of those restaurants.

Maybe I'll write about Bangkok later...

justagirl

[Moldy Rutabaga]

Justagirl's experiences in Manila were exactly like mine; the overcharging airport cabs, the cool mall in Makate, the cheap prices. Manila's a nice place if you're careful where you go. Make sure your cab door opens in case there's trouble.

I spent most of my time in Puerto Galera and Boracay. I can't compare it to Thailand because I haven't been there, but I did like the Philippines. Beer for anywhere between 25 to 50 cents, and certainly cheaper to get to than Thailand. The downside: not great swimming; the Filipino tendency to pour five pounds of sugar on every meal; the poverty in the bad parts of Manila.

Ken:>

[justagirl]

Hey Moldy,
What can you tell me about Boracay? We're thinking of going back to the Philippines this summer and were thinking about going there. Are there lots of Koreans? (it's just that it's vacation, so we're trying to get away, ya know?)

What's the total travel time to get there from Manila? And anything else of course!

Thanks

justagirl

[justagirl]

Ok, got the motivation to write about Bangkok now!

Bangkok has the same deal with the taxis at the airport. Make sure you get one that will turn on the meter. I found Bangkok to be more of a problem in this area than the Philippines, in general. Note that any taxi at the airport has an automatic surcharge, so at the end of the ride it will be a bit more than what's on the meter. Also, if you take the turnway, or some overpass (I forget now) it costs extra because there's a toll.

Bangkok had a very different feel than Manila. However, I liked it. I stayed fairly close to Ko-San Road, but I don't know if I would next time. The tuk-tuk drivers and taxi drivers all seem too pushy and it is quite dirty. Also, there are a lot of stray dogs with varying degrees of hair loss. Some of them I really wanted to stay far away from me! Poor things! At night they'd all be in this one area I had to walk to on the way to my guesthouse and even though I'm not normally afraid of dogs, 12 scruffy, deseased dogs were nerve-wracking to pass.

Siam Square is a very nice area of the town, so if you go, stay here like others recommended. There's some great shopping (actually everywhere!) and you can't miss the weekend market if you're in town. It's at the end of the skyrail and everyone else on the train is going there, so just follow everyone else and you'll get there.

I found that Bangkok had a lot more markets and street venders than Manila (remember I stayed in Makati, so it may be different elsewhere in Manila). Bankgok is also a lot more mysterious/mystic/old/etc. The wats are everywhere, with gold arches and spires poking out above the trees and other local buildings. I was fascinated with the filigree and detail at the wats. They make for some beautiful pictures! It's more exotic and "strange" than Manila.

If you do go to Bangkok, don't miss the Grand Palace (dress code enforced), the Weekend Market (something like 40 acres of stuff), the Morning Boat Market (people selling stuff from their boats), and Siam Square (clean, shopping, Outback steakhouse/starbucks, etc).

Of course, most people don't go to Thailand just for Bangkok. Some will tell you to skip it all together, but I wouldn't recommend that if it's your first time in Thailand. It really has some neat places to see.

I went to Ko Paghnan, which is a small island close to Ko Samui. These are in the southern part of Thailand, on the East side of the mainland. It was awesome! Ko Paghnan is famous for it's full moon party, but I didn't go to that side of the island. I was on the north-west coast and it was picture-perfect. The gorgeous, blue, clear water, the small cove of white sand beach, etc. I got up at 7 am, and I had the entire beach to myself. I walked the length of it, collecting coral and sea shells and just enjoying the beauty and silence. It was the best day!

Bungalows are generally 500 baht a night, perhaps a bit more or less depending on where you stay. Food is cheap. Maybe 200 baht a meal. I think it was a bit more than in Bangkok, since it's an island and the food is at the hotel restaurants. But still, it's cheap.

To get there: go to any travel agency in the Ko-San road area. You'll get a package for:
1. over-night train ride south (12 hours!!)
2. bus from the train station to the ferry
3. ferry ride to Ko-Paghnan
4. lots of taxis (rather trucks) to take you where you want to go on the island. Be forewarned: to the part I went to, it's 40 minutes in the back of a truck, riding over rutted, dirt roads! Quite fun (except in the rain)!

A few last thoughts:
1. if you want to buy neat "native" gifts, go to Thailand. The stuff in the Philippines looked more like cheap junk, not stuff you'd want to take home for people. Thailand had so many neat things, from wooden carvings to traditional instruments to incense to sarangs--great stuff! The most I spend on anything was about 6,000 won (for an instrument)

2. If you want snorkeling/diving, go to the Philippines.

3. If you want to party, go to Thailand.

4. If you want a country where they speak English everywhere, and everything is written in English, go to the Philippines (very nice break, emotionally, from Korea).

5. Both are great, in different ways. The Philippines are more like home (more western than most Asian countries). Thailand is very different and more of an adventure.

Hope that helps you a bit more.

justagirl

[shawner88]

I've also been to both. I found a lot of similarities. The fact that people can speak English in the Philippines was nice, but I found the atmosphere a lot better and safer in Bangkok. In Manilla I felt nervous walking the streets. Every shopping center or bank has guys with automatic rifles out front. I heard most people in Manilla own a gun, though I'm not sure that's true.

People just seemed more laid back and friendly in Thailand. But this is just from my limited experience.

I did a short piece about Manilla on my blog:

http://korealife.blogspot.com/philippines

Check it out.

[indytrucks]