SvampBob

I can tell you I was in such a bad condition I cold nearly not walk and I just wanted to get out of the place! Ones I asked a guy to by me some water outside and he nodded with his head. 15 minutes later he comes back with a smelly porkburger! I looked at him, he smiled... I SMILED to!
When I payed the bill my legs was shaking and there was lots of people around. This was not the time to negoit the payment and lose temper, I assure you! At the time I could have paid what ever.

The thing with Cambodia and prices is that the only thing they produce that we foreigner consume is Ancor beer, rise, coffee and cigarettes. Ancor beer and cigarettes are dirt cheap but food that we eat is imported from Thailand like Tuna fish, milk, a.s.o. One good thing with Cambodia is the French legacy and the only thing you can by and eat from the street hawkers is the Baguette. And in the mini shops you find French items and ofcorse expensive. In Cambodia you really have to eat in the restaurants and wen you order something typically local food its gonna cost you USD 3,50. There are no street hawkers that serve this food. Only Restaurants. If you compere Cambodia food with Thailand and Malaysia I am sorry to Inform everybody that food in Cambodia is still cheap but more expensive. In Penang, Malaysia you can have a Tandoori chicken, Nam, soup and lots of things beside fore 6 Ringgit! That's about USD 1,80!

In Malaysia you get 3 month v.o.a at no charge!
The fact is I'm moving there in a near future.

BTW, Iv bee to Laos a lot and it is the same thing as with Cambodia. I will come back to Laos and Cambodia because the people are amongst the friendliest I have ever met and it wold not bee because of the food ore the prises, but that's was this thread is all about... Is Asia now unaffordable?

Regards
SvamBob

edgeofparadise

it was slowsmiles post on the phillipines thread that made me look into it. need some more details. looks ok on google earth lol. quite tough to search for info as there are a few san fenandos round the world. guess you have to just go there, find a nice hotel by the sea and give the place a bit of time before deciding on it. the first few weeks are too disorientating to feel comfortable and you tend to notice the bad things about a place first. learning to enjoy doing very little will be a hurdle, as I've worked ever since school.

the flight is going to be hell, by the looks. have to stop in the middle east, by the looks. whats the best airline, how cheaply and easily can you get upgraded from economy and can you fly westwards instead?

SvampBob

If you zoom in to the Philippines by hand and then search on the name..... google earth will take you there!
Ore you maby did so...so, okay then.
If I were going to the Philippines I think the city wold attracts me to. Se you there in my expeditions around the globe!

Regards
SvamBob

katongkaren

Blimey, where are you flying via - Gaza ??

Seriously, I'm not sure where your starting point is but if you are travelling with Emirates, Qatar Airways - they are both good airlines. Dubai airport for transit isn't so bad, there are a lot of worse places - you can get a beer there you know

the troubadour

Lived in Malaysia(Melaka)for a year and a half that was many years ago,but do go back on occassions and have witnessed how that country has transformed itself over a few decades
Malaysia is a wonderful country but living costs there are not cheap and standard of living is high.Do you really find costs cheaper there?(besides some Penang food items.)

I actually found the French legacy stronger in Laos than Cambodia(Baguettes to die for in Vientiane)But of course it exists in both countries as well as in Vietnam.

It is a fact the entire region is developing and prices reflect that.

SvampBob

The thing I think with Malaysia is that it looks to be a expensive country in many places and there buildings are ayecatching to say the leased. KL town should be avoid at any cost and its only a place to visit. Concussed and expensive, except streetfood!
You can easily get one apartment just outside KL ore in Penang Island for 600 Ringgit, USD 150. You can rent a bungalow in the outskirts easily for 300 Ringgit, USD 75.
This is average and you can pay less ore much more like every vere els!
The food items you can by in the stores are pretty much the same prised in Thailand and Malaysia. The streetfood in Thailand is also excellent value. Apartments in Malaysia and Cambodia always have a kitchen, in Thailand... huum. Maby there is someone ho have. I never seen one!
Maby I wold consider Thailand if their visas were more convenient and all the new regulations over there is not in my favour and nether to theirs. (That is a discussion one its own I'm afraid)
Malaysia fore me right now at my age, 47, is the perfect please to call my home. The country is right there in the middle of every ether nations and I like to travel. And every second month ore so I can hit the air for about USD 170 and explore elsewhere and come back and eat delicious Malaysian food!
Malaysia welcomes me back with another 3 month at no charge! In Thailand I wold have to start all over again. Immigrations, visa fees a.s.o.! Philippines...wow. I wold not even consider the country. But the place is on my exploring-list, not one my living-list!!
I vould consider Cambodia after Malaysia because of their "Multi entry one year business visa"!

Hope there are some useful stuff in my writing... Though English is not my native language, Swedish is
Regards
SvamBob

katongkaren

I would have to agree with you regarding the visa rules. Thai visa rules are not for the faint hearted. On the face of it, Malaysia and Philippines have far better schemes for long-term stays. Be interesting to see if Malaysia continues with the 3 month continuous stays as other countries are tightening up rules in ASEAN countries (but do they ever agree within ASEAN )

Your English is not absolutely correct but perfectly understandable SvamBob. It is certainly far better than my Swedish

katongkaren

Okay you've asked for it!! Here's my kitchen in Thailand, before we moved in. It's... ahem... a little more cluttered now.

edgeofparadise

how did we get on to kitchens? lol.

is asia unaffordable?

can anyone tell me why i could not have a good life on £2000 a month in san fernando, philippines?

what would you do, in the same position and why?

SvampBob

With a kitchen you can do your own food. Do your thing, makes it more livable and affordable.
Just my perspective and to pence of advise, laddieoo!
Can not see you are gonna heave a problem with that cind of money. To bee unest, I have not been in the Philippines
but I assure you, that is a hell of a lots of money in hole of PH and not only in SF! In Japan maby you wish for more...
Soo... way bother with a kitchen, you can eat ala carte at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not only by yourself if you get my drift, laddieoo!
Do a search on google: cost of living Philippines
-Easy peasy!

SvampBob

Actually the Philippines makes it easier. Now you only have to leave the country every 2 years instead of every 1,1/2 year. The Philippines want us! At least there is one country ho wants over money! But for me, being close to all the wonderful country's is all I nead. Philippines is like a prison and far away. I think I couldn't live there, but I now many ho do.
Best to his own as you say!

Sorry, I dint get that one. You mean ASIAN is wrong and it should be ASEAN instead. Okay, donky dorky! ;O) I put that spelling in to memory!
Sometimes you think ones pronunciation is the way IT is but ... well, live and learn!

Regards
SvampBob

katongkaren

For all those who don't read newspapers or watch the news on TV:
http://www.aseansec.org/
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations

San Fernando on GBP 2000. It sounds feasible doesn't it - a pity that Slowsmile hasn't responded. Maybe you could send him a PM. He seems to have a lot of good knowledge about the place, and there are clearly a lot of people who love the Philippines. One of these days I'll go take a look....

The kitchen - yeh, sorry about that

the troubadour

Must say when last in George Town,on Penang Island
found it to have gone of the boil some what(quiet)compared to the late seventies and early eighties when it had a real buzz and was an excelent place to hang out.
A lot of the inner city population have been moved out.from what i was told to high rises in the burbs.
What ever Penang Road was a shade of what it once was.
That would have been in 2003.
Make Malaysia your second home looks on the face of it a good policy for those that want to retire in that country.

edgeofparadise

thanks, i did send him a message a couple of days ago. where are you living now, karen, and what are your costs of living? what are the upsides and downsides of your town/city?

katongkaren

If you go back to Page 1 of this thread, I've put our monthly spend and some of our friends who are on a tighter budget currently. We're living on just over equiv GBP 2000 a month approx. Location: look to the left of this posting.

Upsides and downsides? Oh dear... well, I'll risk a rant from phuketti.... maybe she won't notice

I should say these are just our personal views and viewed from retirees' point of view. (From a worker's point of view I would recommend Singapore hands down.)

Upsides: Perfect weather for 6 months of the year / A good infrastructure in some respects - good roads (NOT the driving), good international hospitals, plenty of shops, most goods available / cheap and fresh produce / affordable and well-built property / terrific scenery / friendly locals (at least that's what we've experienced) / international airport within driving distance and direct flights to Singapore / great food / warm weather 12 months of the year / good internet access / great boating and beaches

Downsides: The driving standards are worse than appalling (not much of a driving test) - add to that tourists who leave their brains at home - and you have some real horrors on the road / a lot of people don't speak English / Some very weird resident Western expats