jamiesamui's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello
My name is Jamie welcome to my V.T homepage, I was fairly new to this thing they call travel, having
never travelled outside Australia before 1998.

So far my o/s travel experiences are Thailand,Singapore and the Philippines. I just love these places.

I was born bred & live in Newcastle which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north of Sydney & famous for it`s beaches,Newcastle Knights rugby league team & the vineyards which are only a short drive away in the Hunter Valley, where there are many a fine red & white on offer

In 1998 a friend of mine said "what about we get away for a holiday"I replied "you tell me where & when & I am there", the result was 2 weeks later we arrived in Bangkok armed with basic luggage, return ticket & little idea, a fairly radical thing to do from a person who`s only knowledge of Thailand was hot weather & spicy food, but I didn`t let that stop me, something that I think should apply today given the current world climate.

We booked accommodation at the airport & stayed 2 nts in Bangkok & headed to Pattaya because we had a friend who had been there some years before, we had no idea what to expect & we weren`t disappointed on that score.

While in Pattaya we went to the obligatory Muay Thai night & got chatting to an expat aussie who suggested we visit Ko Samui instead of Phuket because it`s not as commercialised as Phuket (remember it`s 1998) & as they say the rest is history.

I returned in 2002 with 3 mates & did the same trip again because I knew their was so much we hadn`t done especially in Bangkok, where the many wats & the speed of day to day life is just amazing, Pattaya hadn`t changed & isn`t likely to & I couldn`t believe how much Samui had changed.

Of the places I have been in Thailand , Samui is my favourite ( you only have to go to my travel pages to work that out).

I`ve now been to Thailand 6 times , met & fell in love with a lovely(slightly crazy) Thai girl unfortunately this hasn`t worked out but there`s still so much I haven`t done in the kingdom.

I have also visited Udon Thani and have written a brief travel page.

I am a long way short of being finished with this exotic wonderland.

The Philippines is a really lovely place that doesn`t get the reviews or is advertised as heavily as Thailand but there are some really lovely places there.

Most of my time in the Philippines has been spent on Cebu & Cebu City & Mactan in particular due to the fact that this is the area my wife comes from.

The Philippines is a bit cheaper than Thailand but doesn`t really have it`s own culture(as opposed to Thailand) as there have been several influences in their history mainly Spanish,American & Chinese.

Boracay tends to be the place that tourists head for the white sand beaches but there are also some other nice places well worth a look,these include Bohol,Panglao,Moalboal,Kawasan Falls,Bantayan Island to name but a few.

You tend to hear & read people rave about the friendliness of the Thai people,well I can tell you from my experiences (6 times) that the Filipino people are every bit as nice if not nicer than the Thai people.

The Philippines offers a cheaper good alternative to Thailand & I recommend that people take the time or at least consider a holiday there.

MABUHAY!!!!!!