I totally agree with you about the difference in the safety levels of Thailand and Philippines, you are scare mongering. I have family in Manila and Tagaytay and have also visited Cebu. Whilst, I don't think it is as anything like as safe as Thailand, or Malaysia (where I now live), it's probably no worse than any major city such as London or New York. There are lots of beggars but they are not usually violent or intimidating. I find the biggest issue to be westerners who cannot behave after a few too many drinks. The people of the Philippines are usually very friendly and polite. The country definitely has issues and has failed to market it's self very well, also the transportation system is shoddy at best. Here's my Scores: Thailand (T) Malaysia (M) Philippines (P). Food: 1st T (by a big margin)- = 2nd M & P - Safety: 1st T. 2nd M. 3rd P. Transport: 1st T. 2nd M, 3rd P. Beaches: 1st T, = 2nd M & P. Coffee 1st T, = 2nd M&P (You need to go to Vietnam for the best coffee!). Hotel Cost/Quality. 1st T =2nd M & P. Cost of Cars/Motorbikes 1st P =2nd M & T. Scuba Diving: 1st P 2nd M (East Coast and Islands) 3rd Thailand although the Philippine fishermen are blowing the hell out of their reefs. Customer Service: 1st T 2nd P. 3rd M - This is strange because in Malaysia the Philippine staff are far and away the best service people, but get them back home and they seem to care less. Although nothing ever beats the Philippine greeting Hello Mam, Hello Sir. The standard Malaysian greeting in a shop is a grunted Yes, neither a question, nor a greeting and sums up the majority service in Malaysia up quite well (except of course at high end places). Shopping Malls: 1st T. 2nd M. 3rd P. One final note worth discussing and that's Friendliness of Locals towards expats. Now I have lived in Malaysia for 7 years and we have lots of local friends and I would say it's really easy to mix with all the major races Malay, Chinese and Indian) My Brother in law lives in the Philippines and he has quite a few local friends but I think most of them are friends because of his Wife (a filipino) and her family. My, understanding (I don't really have enough experience to confirm this) is that in Thailand it's actually quite hard to make real friendships with locals unless you work with them. Any body have any comments?
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