Gutenberg Posted June 21 Posted June 21 I probably write a longer post later on, I am still completely wrecked based on the jetlag, I just wanted to leave a first impression after 24h. After staying 8+ years in Thailand and now the first time PH, I am amazed how UNBELIEVABLE friendly the people are. In comparison to Thailand as well. Wow. I am stunned. What is going on. I wonder why Thailand is called 'Land of Smiles' and not the Philippines, lol. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Peterson Posted June 21 Posted June 21 10 minutes ago, Gutenberg said: I am amazed how UNBELIEVABLE friendly the people are. In comparison to Thailand Probably I think because of the Language barrier. it is less here, mainly because the Filipinos will speak English and hold some sort of conversation 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberg Posted June 21 Author Posted June 21 12 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said: Probably I think because of the Language barrier. it is less here, mainly because the Filipinos will speak English and hold some sort of conversation It started already with the immigration officer ladies. Smiles, thumbs up, 'Welcome in the Philippines'. In Thailand you can feel the hate already at that point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftbeerlover Posted June 21 Posted June 21 7 minutes ago, Gutenberg said: It started already with the immigration officer ladies. Smiles, thumbs up, 'Welcome in the Philippines'. In Thailand you can feel the hate already at that point. Now that really surprises me. I have been to Thailand close to 30 times, and I have always found them the nicest race of people I have ever met. Granted the big cities are about the same all over the world, but away from bangkok, pattaya, chiang mai etc... it literally was the land of smiles. And even in the aforementioned places, I always found them to be extremely pleasant. My Thai language skills are about 100 times better than my tagalog, so maybe that helped a little??? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freebie Posted June 21 Posted June 21 The first impression will change as soon as a few folk ask you to " share your blessings "....or drivers trying to kill you as you cross a clearly marked pedestrian crossing, or taxi drivers insisting they have no change and the meter is broken but " P800 is ok for you sir ".....etc etc.....Immigration smiling.. you must have got the Unicorn Day.. they are generally extremely impersonal , using talking to their colleagues as they check passport etc when I arrive /depart.. be interesting if you return in a month with more impressions 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted June 21 Posted June 21 4 hours ago, Gutenberg said: I probably write a longer post later on, I am still completely wrecked based on the jetlag, I just wanted to leave a first impression after 24h. After staying 8+ years in Thailand and now the first time PH, I am amazed how UNBELIEVABLE friendly the people are. In comparison to Thailand as well. Wow. I am stunned. What is going on. I wonder why Thailand is called 'Land of Smiles' and not the Philippines, lol. That's because they can smell the fresh meat! Joking apart, for the most part people here are pretty friendly. But, that can all change in a blink of an eye if there's alcohol involved or the suggestion that you're taking the p***. Welcome! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberg Posted June 23 Author Posted June 23 On 6/21/2024 at 9:06 AM, craftbeerlover said: Now that really surprises me. I have been to Thailand close to 30 times, and I have always found them the nicest race of people I have ever met. Granted the big cities are about the same all over the world, but away from bangkok, pattaya, chiang mai etc... it literally was the land of smiles. And even in the aforementioned places, I always found them to be extremely pleasant. My Thai language skills are about 100 times better than my tagalog, so maybe that helped a little??? I am not saying Thais aren't polite, it's just a noticeable difference (for me that is, but I understand it might be differently). You speaking Thai will boost their confidence to interact with you a lot, I assume! Also, from traveling around the world, I have always noticed that speaking even a few words of the - to us - foreign language, will make the locals very happy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberg Posted June 23 Author Posted June 23 On 6/21/2024 at 10:46 AM, Freebie said: Immigration smiling.. you must have got the Unicorn Day.. Just these small differences: A thumbs up after the selfie picture is completed by the IO while in Thailand I stood there 100s of times looking into the cam forever like an idiot. Or the security guy letting me skip the line because I had issues with the eTravel thing (it started updatng right at the moment I was infront of the IO) and had to re-register. I have encountered 'unpleasant' people already, but it's not that it bothers me a lot. Like the Cialis/Viagra pusher guy or child beggar family. However, I might add, I am pretty tall/big and smile/laugh a lot and I have seen how smaller White guys are getting 'harassed' (on youtube, that is) and so far, these situations didn't 'evolve'. However, I have written it somewhere else, in 8 years of Thailand I have been through a lot of encounters, including a gun pointed in my direction, being robbed at the ATM by ladyboys, and so on, so I am kinda experienced to handle situations, and yes, I am getting wiser as I age 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberg Posted June 23 Author Posted June 23 On 6/21/2024 at 12:44 PM, hk blues said: That's because they can smell the fresh meat! Joking apart, for the most part people here are pretty friendly. But, that can all change in a blink of an eye if there's alcohol involved or the suggestion that you're taking the p***. Welcome! Thanks! Yeah, I made some 'social misstep' already because of the language differences! Me being German and not used to the American "ma'am / sir" I asked some staff naively why they are calling for "mom" out loudly. Hahaha, I didn't understand that they mean "ma'am"! Everybody around (a handful of people) laughed except the guy I asked... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberg Posted June 23 Author Posted June 23 On 6/21/2024 at 8:35 AM, Jack Peterson said: Probably I think because of the Language barrier. it is less here, mainly because the Filipinos will speak English and hold some sort of conversation I just installed Tinder and it's a day vs. night situation with the interaction! I have the feeling my English is worse than these Bachelor/Master type of girls 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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