've been around Thailand extensively and also spent a few months in Manila. I cannot say much about the rest of the Philippines, but Manila is overcrowded, very smoggy, and extremely dangerous. Educated people speak English with pleasure, but many taxi drivers and other poor people speak only Tagalog. If you happen to be Causasian, you will stick out like a sore thumb much more so than in BKK and this will not be a good thing, either. Manila is also more expensive than BKK in my experience, although this will obviously depend upon what you do and where you stay, etc. Filipino food is great if you stay with a family and get home cooking or happen to be invited to a banquet, but otherwise I only saw questionable street food, fast food joints, and a few cafes such as Starbucks (with the same or higher prices than in the U.S.). I will grant that Manila is "interesting" if you want to witness first hand the horrific legacy of Spanish/Catholic and U.S. colonialism and visit a few historic sites. To be honest, Manila seemed to me very similar to crime-ridden inner city areas in the U.S. Rather than go to Manila, why not take a quick flight from BKK to Siem Reap in Cambodia and visit the great Angkor Wat temple complex? I'm sure resort areas and beaches as well as smaller cities in the Philippines would be more enjoyable, but, as I said, I cannot speak first hand of them.