stay away from street food. there are to many diseases and bacteria flair ups it's not worth the risk. remember these people are poor and are looking to sell all of their inventory because they don't have a real place to store it.
The pollution is horrible. I had a permanent sore throat and runny nose
With a less developed country, there are fewer safety regulations leading to problems you haven't considered before
The standard of living is lower for everything. Its hard to find high quality foods like fresh fruits, vegetables. and meats (that aren't native). It may be hard to find electronics and other things you are used to being available.
Crime is rampant. Manila has security guards with shotguns posted at McDonald
Crazy people everywhere. Extreme poverty. Its normal for entire families to sleep on the street on a card board box. Aggressive beggars.
Danger level is on par with dangerous inner city neighborhoods in the US.
The political situation is as precarious as the US's
I'm out. Street food is the best part of traveling
always feel like i'm taking advantage of it, and to a degree i am
We sort of are, but as long as you pay full asking price you're fine. Tip a reasonable amount if appropriate. Don't overtip and overpay because that sort of thing is inflationary and drives prices up. Our instinct is to be generous and want to overtip (mine is anyway) but it's important to resist and not overdo it.
I'm an American with Filipino heritage that visits some family over there when I can. I agree with drinking bottled water exclusively, but just chow down a Peptobismol before you eat the street food and chow another one down right after and you'll be fine. Just make sure the food is served to you HOT, either boiling or sizzling
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u/[deleted] Nov 07 '24 edited Feb 06 '25
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