ive been doing a lot of reading up on PI and other places in asia lately

imo since you initially feel like you wanna check out PI i'd go there first and go right to makati cuz that sounds like the safest area, if you like it stay, if not fly over to thailand which sounds a lot more travel noob friendly

please keep us updated on what you do and dont like about PI and if you think you could live there long term, how much stuff costs, just anything you wish you would have known before hand

and good luck

There's a reason that everyone picks Thailand, it's great. Head to a bankok hostel and meet people then head south to the islands, then fly north to chiang mai, with a side trip to pai, then down through laos. check out hong kong and macau on your way out. I love the poker stars room at the grand lisboa

if i was going to do the phillipines again i would travel along the coast. I only saw Manila and Cebu city and it wasnt great

not sure if you are kidding? You can eat and live like a king on 5k/month in SE Asia

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No mention of Phuket or Phi Phi islands in here anywhere is lol.

these are two tourist trap hell holes you should avoid at all cost, first time Asia travellers usually end up there