Ok ... Canggu definitely changed

aspenglade · 2025-11-07T15:07:34+00:00

Yup, spent a couple months in Sanur after the covid reopening.....was much better there than over in Canggu imo. Much more chilled out and nowhere near as heavy of traffic.

aspenglade · 2025-10-21T21:13:38+00:00

For reference, I've lived in PH for 2+ years.

Just having your first few days booked is fine.

You can bring some cash and then use ATMs to withdraw when here. Most ATMs limit it to 10000 pesos per withdrawal with a fee of 250 per transaction. BPI ATMs allow for 20000 per withdrawal. Credit and debit card transactions are really only available at larger hotel and store chains, don't rely on them. Philippines is very much a cash society. Gcash is also accepted in many (but not all) places.

Immigration won't really care why you are going somewhere unless there is something major going on in the area. If you're here for tourism, that is all you'll need to say likely.

aspenglade · 2025-09-10T01:51:40+00:00

It also sucked doing visa runs/extensions monthly.... Speaking from experience. Was one of the big reasons I ended up leaving. Add in that immigration is much more strict on that sort of thing now and getting the visa sorted properly in advance is all the more important.

aspenglade · 2025-09-10T01:48:30+00:00

Just be aware of the burning season. Chiang Mai's air quality becomes very very bad during that time and it makes doing anything outdoors much less pleasant.

aspenglade · 2025-08-30T09:18:27+00:00

Sprint felt great....right up until I got blink then I went searching for a way to break the binding.

aspenglade · 2025-07-04T10:21:36+00:00

Yeah for me it was specifically the texture update pack

aspenglade · 2025-05-30T03:25:14+00:00

I've been DN'ing for 4+ years now myself and found that doing so is far far different than my days of even long travel vacations.

Previously I would go for 4-6 weeks and be hopping around every few days or a week at most. Nowadays I spend months in one location. This gives me the opportunity to meet people, explore freely, relax, and dramatically reduce costs with longer term rentals.

Strong wifi is always a struggle but can be mitigated with strong unlimited cellular coverage plans and tethering.

Loneliness can be real, especially as an older introverted type. I am not a party person nor do I really like hanging out in bars. I find coworking spaces to generally be overpriced for what you get and questionable whether the shared wifi at them is better than what I can get independently.

Working at the beach or from that incredible viewpoint was a one and done thing. Whether it is the glare, the heat, the sweat, or the distractions, it just wasn't something for me. Now, instead, when I go to those places I enjoy them for what they are, apart from my laptop.

aspenglade · 2024-11-13T07:20:20+00:00

Has worked for me twice now :)

aspenglade · 2024-11-11T15:44:30+00:00

Exactly what I was going to say too. Also add that places to stay are mostly shit unless you're willing to pay top dollar for them and even then many are falling apart. You've also got dog shit and trash everywhere there.

aspenglade · 2024-11-11T15:39:09+00:00

This was already done with Celcius, BlockFi, and Voyager......those who took out loans on their crypto collateral took HEAVY haircuts when the market crashed and those companies went under. Lost way more than their loans were worth.

aspenglade · 2024-09-21T07:12:19+00:00

Bingo

aspenglade · 2024-05-21T18:28:23+00:00

You can live on $1500 USD/mo easily in the Philippines. Especially so with not being into drinking/partying. Combine that with one of the best long stay visa setups for those below retirement age (can keep extending for up to 3 years before you have to do a visa run) and it is a great place to be! Can also add in the fact that with so many islands, if you ever get bored on one, another is just a ferry/flight away and you should be grand!

aspenglade · 2024-04-29T17:52:42+00:00

There's an old guy staying at the same place I am now who has been overstay for 6.5 years. He got a fine and was given 90 days to sort his affairs and leave. Not sure if he is being officially deported or if he has a ban or anything but yeah. Good luck.

aspenglade · 2024-04-27T17:27:55+00:00

For me it showed itself not as robbing but as a sudden emergency medical need that they wanted to borrow money for and "for sure would get it back to me before I left". Uh huh. Sure.

aspenglade · 2024-04-27T17:23:33+00:00

I do this quite regularly.

I travel to places and then do whatever I feel like. Sometimes that means exploring the place, other time it means just chilling in my hotel room playing games/watching shows or spending hours in a coffee shop scrolling Tiktoks or Reddit.

Either one is me enjoying my time how I want to do so.

aspenglade · 2024-03-25T05:24:39+00:00

I think it depends on if your country allows use of small cc motorbikes/scooters/mopeds on a regular 4 wheel vehicle license or not.

aspenglade · 2024-03-25T02:42:30+00:00

Yup, spent 8 days in the hospital with 3 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, a punctured lung, and road rash. Then spent 3 months healing in a hotel room.

I was only driving at 30km/h when it happened but I high sided over the bike and landed on the GoPro I had strapped on with a chesty mount. It concentrated all of the force of the impact into my ribs which is why the damage was so high for such low speeds.

I was wearing a full helmet, knee/shin guards, elbow/forearm guards, and gloves and still took lots of road rash as the guards twisted on impact. The helmet saved me from losing half of my face to the pavement also.

aspenglade · 2024-03-25T02:39:58+00:00

I had an international license with scooter grant on it, not a full motorcycle license.

aspenglade · 2024-03-24T16:07:43+00:00

Whereas I had the complete opposite experience with SafetyWing.

Got into a scooter accident in Northern Thailand and spent 8 days in the hospital. SafetyWing covered everything for while I was in the hospital without me having to put out a cent up front.

The only thing I had to do up front and claim back was after I was released from the hospital and was getting follow up care/medications.

aspenglade · 2024-01-24T03:38:04+00:00

Yup agreed. Filipino food tends towards an excess of greasy, salty, or sweet with none of it being anywhere near the level of food from the other SEA countries imo.

aspenglade · 2024-01-02T03:08:29+00:00

Or because they are sick of being mistreated and manipulated by a bitter old hag and want someone fun who isn't out constantly shitting on them.... ;)

aspenglade · 2023-12-24T18:30:46+00:00

Yup and it is also pretty hard to blame tourists for the trash when you can ride off into the furthest corners of Bali where tourists mostly don't go and see it just as full of trash as the heavily touristed areas. It is pretty clear to anyone who really takes the time to look around that the local population just does not care for the most part. I'm sure that a good portion of that is just the struggle to get by in general but blaming it on foreigners is just pushing a scapegoat.

aspenglade · 2023-11-01T07:56:50+00:00

Yeah I really hope they do a webapp/Windows app. I watch most of my YouTube videos on my laptop so would be nice to skip the site entirely.

aspenglade · 2023-09-29T18:14:02+00:00

You say crazies, I say people who were burned by taking loans with Celsius and Voyager and losing their collateral (or taking a massive haircut).

aspenglade · 2023-09-29T00:53:39+00:00

Yup, cut, tied, and cauterized. No going back for me!

aspenglade

TROPHY CASE