Sorry to everyone who has PM'ed me without response and also for not checking back on this thread - I haven't been on 2+2 for a very long time. I'll get to all PM's today though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrese Sebastian
Anyone know if PLDT is any good? I'm currently on SkyBroadbands 6mbps plan and it's really laggy.
PLDT is surprisingly high quality in terms of reliability ONCE you are connected to a good plan. Getting connected (for me, the two times I had to get it done) was an exercise in dealing with levels of insanity which almost drove me insane. I literally could tell you true stories of my battles getting online with PLDT and Globe that you would find unbelievable unless you'd lived in the Philippines before.
I was on the highest PLDT plan, I can't remember the speed exactly - I think it was 5mbps - I think I was paying US$80 / month for it. Once connected, it was fast enough and very reliable. I live in the middle of Bangkok central now and am paying US$300-400 / month for a 4mbps plan which is unreliable, slow and all-round terrible. I get disconnected often, not to mention the frequent power outages (for which I have found a solution with a UPS....now, months after I should have gotten one).
Considering what I'm paying for the best Bangkok net I can possibly get at my inner-city apartment, I would pay US$1000/month or more for that PLDT net back
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcesWon
Freer speech - too many people in Th have found themselves in jail facing 3 to 15 years for saying, writing, or doing something that could be even vaguely interpreted as critical toward the king or royal family.
A more stable government (I assume) without the riots every other week like in Thailand which is very divided socially and politically.
Some off-the-wall questions:
How is the public toilet system in the Philipines? (If you've been to Thailand you'll know why I'm asking.)
So, tough question, but which country is better overall?
Are long term stays easier in one country over the other?
Are other Asian countries good for both living in, poker, and general culture? I haven't looked into Cambodia yet, but Laos and Vietnam are both off the list. Japan would be great except that it's ridiculous in terms of the cost of living.
1. Free speech - don't kid yourself about the free speech issue. Yes, Thailand's lese majeste laws are 'unique' for the 21st century but the issue is largely blown out of proportion. It is my opinion that, in the near future, the Royal Council might decide lese majeste is not worth the bad publicity it generates from Western media not used to such things. Very few people are actually ever really prosecuted under lese majeste and even very blatant critics of the King have received Royal Pardons. The King himself said he is human and is not infallible, leading some opinion writers to suggest that's a sign lese majeste could soon be a thing of the past - unlikely in the short term however, due to the fractured nature of Thai politics - but I think most will be surprised at how quickly the Thai country will bond together again, and the Red Shirt rallies during Songkran were very much sensationalised by the media. Many Red-shirts were being paid to demonstrate, and the rallies were largely ineffectual in the end, and handled almost perfectly by the sitting Thai government - it's impossible not to respect the current PM, he's the epitome of a "cool head" during a crisis, and probably exactly what Thailand needs right now.
When the current King passes on (god forbid it be soon), literally all hell could break loose. It will be impossible to predict what will happen when that situation eventually arrives - the Crown Prince doesn't appear to like the spotlight much, his younger sister is FAR more popular and very much active around the country and in the spotlight. Things could get very interesting - or it could unify the country in mourning and power passed seamlessly along. Who knows.
On the other hand, Philippines free speech is a fallacy. Journalists are in the pocket of one faction or another - the major newspapers are so one-sided in their reporting of political developments, it's nauseating. And truly objective editorials are almost non-existent. If you were an objective editor in the Philippines, you'd be forced to endlessly criticise almost everyone - which would bring down a likely hail of gunfire in your general direction from all sides. You can hire a hitman in Manila for $400 or less. Life is cheap - I suggest anyone residing there to avoid the spotlight and to avoid conflict.
2. Stable government: Thais are literally incredibly more passionate / less apathetic about politics than Filipinos. Arroyo is a brilliant master strategist but Philippines politics can flip on a dime. There are those who argue Senator Trillanes botched coup attempt whilst I was living there only appeared to be a popularity / drama stunt - and that it was far more serious and likely to succeed if certain Generals weren't 'turned' at the last moment - who knows really. All I was able to learn from that experience was how apathetic and nonchalant the vast majority of Filipinos are towards politics. That can create the impression of a stable government, when really it might just be a high-level $$ / connections / strategy game - and if there is a successful coup, you won't see the backlash that Thailand witnessed - because Thais simply *care* a whole lot more. In the Philippines, it will very much be "why should I care" for the vast majority of the population.
3. Public toilet system: Non-existent in Manila. Use restaurants. You'll see even in Makati CBD there is a desperate lack of public garbage disposal bins - the government just isn't at that level of functionality to support such services. If you see garbage bins, they'll be privately owned by Ayala Corp or Rockwell etc.
4. "Better country": I could waffle on here about defining 'better' etc - but I am not a fence-sitter. Thailand is way more advanced in terms of infrastructure and government services, incredibly richer, the gap between rich and poor is not even comparable with Manila (the Thai middle class is growing rapidly), on every possible "quality of life" survey you could find Thailand would rate higher, Thais and vastly more educated than Pinoys (on the whole), and (broad generalisation) appear to be 20x more capable at processing logical thought patterns (i.e. "I need to achieve A. For this, I must do B, which clashes with C. But C is not as important, so I'll do B in order to achieve A." - anyone who's lived in Manila for an extended period of time will understand when I say that's a delightful and refreshing trait to find when one does find it there).
However, if you have money, Manila probably provides you with a better (in terms of elitist) quality of life. I don't know what the guy was smoking who said Thailand was cheaper than Manila but whatever it was, I want some. Everything is vastly more expensive in Thailand, including and maybe especially, human labour. Rockwell is not even close to indicative of Manila or the Philippines - it's like a little luxury haven for foreigners and rich locals - and even then, Rockwell is cheaper across the board than central Bangkok.
5. Ease of long term stay: This one is easy. Philippines AINEC. I reckon you could stay in Philippines for 50 years without hassle, and if you did eventually find hassle, it could be likely negated very easily with some Peso. Thailand long-term stays are possible, but you gotta know the right people and you pay serious money to avoid huge 'hassle'.
6. Other Asian countries worth considering: You can easily work through them. I have friends in Hong Kong and Macau who love it. I don't like either place myself. Vietnam is very poor and chaotic. Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc - lol. South Korea is very expensive, as is Japan. Hardly anyone speaks English and I doubt I'll ever visit Seoul again and I can't see myself ever living in Tokyo. Friends of mine have lived in Shanghai and hated it. India is just wow - like you either love it or hate it, it's another universe (I hate it, too insane for me). Pakistan - lol. Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, etc - all poverty-stricken. Indonesia - you'd have to be insane to live there imo. If I have to explain why, you're probably not someone I'd feel comfortable with explaining why to. Taiwan I know absolutely nothing about. Malaysia is a fascinating country but too religious for me to ever consider living there. Definitely worth a holiday to KL if you're in SE Asia - you'll likely be amazed in positive ways, I certainly was - without doubt, the best food of any country I've visited on the globe. I think that's about it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bazclef
Considering heading over for a few months in September, however Philippines seems to be getting a bunch of negative coverage in the press recently.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8092997.stm
Pic #7
Is there a lot of **** like this going down? And does it disrupt you guys in Manila?
The ABSOLUTE most interesting thing about that picture is that so many people are actually in it. As stated above, Pinoys are not known for political activism - that picture, almost counter-intuitively, is actually a HUGELY POSITIVE sign for the country (that so many people actually care enough about something to demonstrate).
As the guys that live there already said, when there are demonstrations there, it's usually very peaceful and passive. Major disruptions to traffic obv, but if you have a problem with sitting for long periods of time stuck in traffic, you should NOT be living in Manila. I've been all over the world and haven't seen traffic even *close* to the chaotic ridiculous nature of EDSA and Makati traffic. And I think the fact that Bangkok has tens of thousands of moped taxis which have popped up out of almost nowhere in the last 5-10 years (tuk-tuk's will soon be almost non-existent) and Manila (specifically Makati) doesn't have thousands of moped taxis says a LOT about the two countries, if you can read between the lines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TelevisedEvent
Who in that country has that kind of money to play those stakes? I know its only like $10/$20 in USD, but still? Are these foreign business men?
I'd be very wary as to whether the game was on the up and up, with the experiences that I've had in the Philippines for those stakes.
There are some VERY big live games here and there occasionally in Manila - some MUCH bigger than 10/20nl (USD). Playing in them will be a mixture of wealthy foreigners, some young (surprisingly talented) live pros (often on staking deals), and local upper class (usually retired politicians or military types).
You should be wary about ANY live game in ANY country whether the game is on the up and up (hell, you should be wary about online games now unless you're a special kind of fool) - but rarely would this fact be more important a consideration than in Manila, yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by checkminraise
im waiting for this whale to come and play... his name is tata-sala and he plays like 1 or 2 times a month and jus dishes out money... he once lost 80k in a 10/20 game lol! he's also got a 10million bounty on his head from the president dead or alive lol
This is very close to one of the dumbest things I have ever read. I don't mean to be offensive, but I'm not sure you should be living in the 3rd world with this kind of attitude and apparently lack of understanding how the world works in general, let alone how things work in the Philippines.
1. Even if this were true, you should NEVER repeat stuff like this, even on an online forum. And to specifically mention his name...? Are you insane? If I have to explain why this is a bad idea, you're in bigger trouble than I thought.
2. The fact that you believed whomever told you this story means you are just simply....struggling to put this in gentle language....oh heck, you're a moron for believing this dribble. Sorry if that offends you.
3. If the President wanted this guy dead, he'd almost certainly be dead. I don't really believe GMA operates in that fashion, however. I'm not saying her rivals aren't occasionally dispatched in such a fashion, I honestly don't know. But I'm sure that if they are, the 'handling' of such affairs would be controlled by people many levels below Arroyo - and almost certainly without her direct knowledge, imo.
4. If there is a 10 million Peso bounty on some random guy's head, he would be dead unless he rolls around in ARMOURED cars and is literally surrounded by dozens of loyal bodyguards willing to take incoming rounds for him. He would not be sitting at your ****ing 10/20 peso poker game in Davao.
5. The stupidity of that statement has me gob-smacked. The levels of stupidity.... You probably genuinely should not be living in the Philippines, dude - and I do not say that with malice.