Alternatives to Thailand

[skinner]

Thanks for the various suggestions guys, and the additional supporting info.

Is there anywhere else I should be thinking of (perhaps a bit outside the Asean box)? What about Goa, has anyone been there?

Goa , been the 2 years running now ,in January ,i find it a sh-t hole ,the beaches are filthy ,be careful where you eat ,i was in Calangute area , Anjuna ,Candolim, so can only give opinion on these areas ,depends on what sort of time you want , i found the Bars full of richard brains , tossing bottles ,fighting , puking all over the place ,the noise , honk honk beep beep , bikes racing up and down ,( nice to hear the Enfield though) dust and sh-t everywhere ,word of advice make sure you have adequate insurance ,saw quite a few come unstuck with that one , 600 quid for 2 nights hospital stay , /Sun stroke , , helping him out was such a joy , 3 days back and forth ,trying to get him out of there was fun (NOT ) This is the typical brit mental place ,(i'm a brit ) everyone you talk to thinks it's wonderful ,They are blinded by the sun ,555 but i reason ,("take the sun away and what have you got " ) I wont be going back ,

Sounds like Pattaya.. I prefer Sri lanka, nice beaches, nice food, people not so pushy as in India and a lot cleaner

[DoctorFix]

Sounds like Pattaya.. I prefer Sri lanka, nice beaches, nice food, people not so pushy as in India and a lot cleaner

Ironic that I know a Sri Lankan who worked with me in the past and he hated Sri Lanka. He said it was filthy. I can't comment as I've never been there but you have to wonder. Not much different than when I came here and "discovered" the land of plastic bags. Any naive notions of the past were swept away by the ever present trash.

[DoctorFix]

Merthyr Tydfil.....

It's in south Wales UK.

Funny!... I'm sure it has it's "charms" though I'm certain I won't be digging for them.

[skinner]

Sounds like Pattaya.. I prefer Sri lanka, nice beaches, nice food, people not so pushy as in India and a lot cleaner

Ironic that I know a Sri Lankan who worked with me in the past and he hated Sri Lanka. He said it was filthy. I can't comment as I've never been there but you have to wonder. Not much different than when I came here and "discovered" the land of plastic bags. Any naive notions of the past were swept away by the ever present trash.

You cant comment because you've never been there but comment anyway . Maybe your Sri lankan associate had never been far . Many people are not well travelled.

[747man]

Thanks for the various suggestions guys, and the additional supporting info.

Is there anywhere else I should be thinking of (perhaps a bit outside the Asean box)? What about Goa, has anyone been there?

Mate of Mine went to Candlim,Goa Said it was A Cheapish ( Food & Beer ) But it IS A -----....

[arjay]

Thanks 747. Hoopoe said something similar (June 17 post), so I've ruled out Goa.

[DoctorFix]

Sounds like Pattaya.. I prefer Sri lanka, nice beaches, nice food, people not so pushy as in India and a lot cleaner

Ironic that I know a Sri Lankan who worked with me in the past and he hated Sri Lanka. He said it was filthy. I can't comment as I've never been there but you have to wonder. Not much different than when I came here and "discovered" the land of plastic bags. Any naive notions of the past were swept away by the ever present trash.

You cant comment because you've never been there but comment anyway . Maybe your Sri lankan associate had never been far . Many people are not well travelled.

I've been out of the country, working the oil field... you know... that "far away" place, having travelled back and forth numerous times. And I also spent time with my Sri Lankan associate.. you know.. that guy who happened yeaes ago to manage a fast food restaurant in New York city for a decade and now works with me in the oilfield as well... He's also, I guess, per your comments, not qualified to comment having worked in IT in his native country.

Seriously, dude! How much of a nit picking pedant are you?

[skinner]

Sounds like Pattaya.. I prefer Sri lanka, nice beaches, nice food, people not so pushy as in India and a lot cleaner

Ironic that I know a Sri Lankan who worked with me in the past and he hated Sri Lanka. He said it was filthy. I can't comment as I've never been there but you have to wonder. Not much different than when I came here and "discovered" the land of plastic bags. Any naive notions of the past were swept away by the ever present trash.

You cant comment because you've never been there but comment anyway . Maybe your Sri lankan associate had never been far . Many people are not well travelled.

I've been out of the country, working the oil field... you know... that "far away" place, having travelled back and forth numerous times. And I also spent time with my Sri Lankan associate.. you know.. that guy who happened yeaes ago to manage a fast food restaurant in New York city for a decade and now works with me in the oilfield as well... He's also, I guess, per your comments, not qualified to comment having worked in IT in his native country.

Seriously, dude! How much of a nit picking pedant are you?

You clearly stated in your earlier post that you cant comment because you have not been there. YOUR WORDS.
I suggested MAYBE your Sri Lankan associate was not well travelled , in which case he may not realise how dirty other places are too.
Go crawl back under your rock

[TJ]

IMO there are no desirable or realistic alternatives to Thailand for those who can afford a comfortable life there. If you have ten million baht in the bank and a monthly government check for say 60,000 baht or more you can afford to take vacations from Thailand and enjoy the ambiance and pleasures found in various other nations. But when all things are considered Thailand provides the best combination of what it takes to meet and exceed your needs and wants. Now if you plan poorly and exercise bad judgement you may find yourself miserable in and discontented with Thailand. As Thais say: It's up to you.

[glalt]

I had a good friend who retired in Jomtien. He was a crotchety old guy and constantly complained about everything. He finally moved to Sihanoukville Cambodia. That lasted about a year, He said the lack of infrastructure made him crazy. He moved back to Thailand, of all places, the boonies of Saraburi. Another six months of being bored to death. He moved upcountry to Nan. He seemed to like it there but again moved. This time to the Philippines. He stayed there until he died. He wasn't wealthy but really didn't have a any financial problems. He said the north of the Philippines near Baguio was by far the cheapest and best place he had lived.

The grass is not always greener. I did travel some after I retired. The most beautiful places I have ever been were the South island of New Zealand, Cook Islands and Tahiti. Since I was single, they weren't good places for my love life, same for Queensland Australia. I hated Seoul South Korea. The top three places I chose were Cambodia, The Philippines and Thailand. I never considered any communist countries, like Laos or Vietnam. I chose Thailand because it has by far the best infrastructure. I'm still here and have no intention of leaving. Different strokes for different folks.

[tamada]

The Gambia

[vincemunday]

My brother used to go to The Gambia, he used to go out there and show them how to make widows and doors, he loved the place, not my cuppa though i don't think.

[Charlieb]

How many men did he kill making Widows

[vincemunday]

Lol thank you Charlie, of course I meant windows.

[Charlieb]

I know Vince but i could’nt resist

[GT93]

Yes, I didn't think Vince was telling us his brother was a serial killer.

[arjay]

You weren't trying to frame him, were you?

I had heard of the Gambia, but think it might be a bit on the primitive side, and health issues might be a worry.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Glalt: And, what kind of government do you think Cambodia has? How different is it from the governments of Laos and Vietnam? All three of them are tainted with communism.

[skinner]

What does it it matter as a foreigner anyway ? Its not like we have the vote here or any rights .

more free speech in those countries than here i imagine.

[runrunshaw]

You may want to consider Belize. English spoken by almost everyone. Belize City was a dump when I was there, but I really liked it inland, say San Ignacio. A lot of variety for such a small country