On balance, the Philippines is relatively safe for foreigners. The overall “Safety Index” for the Philippines is ~58/100. That’s actually higher than the U.K., the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and France. That said, there are still safety issues in the Philippines—including some scary ones like terrorism, kidnapping, and deadly natural disasters. And not … Read more
Vietnam is a pretty safe country for foreigners, all things considered. The overall “Safety Index” rating for Vietnam is ~56/100. That’s better than Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Ireland, and France. However, there are still safety issues in Vietnam—and not all cities are equally safe. In this post, I’ll share 3 top safety concerns … Read more
Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon) is one of my favorite places to stay to in Southeast Asia. I’ve returned to Saigon eight times in my digital nomad journey at this point. (And I’ve been to 15 other cities in Asia, so I’ve got a lot to compare it to.) By now, I’ve stayed in … Read more
So far, I’ve stayed 6 weeks in Japan as a digital nomad. I went to Tokyo in 2022, then Osaka in 2023. I’ve explored famous areas, stayed at numerous hotels, worked in cafes, met locals, joined gyms, and tried a bunch of new food. In this post, I’ll share 11 tips from my digital nomad … Read more
Between 1985 and 2019, the average height of Chinese men increased by a shocking 3.5″ (9 cm). So, China is indeed getting taller. More on that below—but first, let’s cover how tall is “tall” in China today. The average height in China is 5’9″ (175 cm) for men and 5’4″ (163 cm) for women. That … Read more
As you travel the world, you’ll notice big differences in average heights (and weights). Generally, East Asia tends to be on the shorter side. But what about Taiwan? What counts as “tall” in Taiwan nowadays? The average height in Taiwan is 5’8″ (173 cm) for men and 5’3″ (160 cm) for women. If you’re 6’0″ … Read more
Did you know: The average height of Singaporean women has grown by over 5 inches (~13 cm) in the last century. So, while many Southeast Asian populations are among the world’s shortest, that’s changing a bit in Singapore. But Singaporeans are still shorter than Americans and most western populations. So, how tall is “tall” in … Read more
When you travel the world, you notice that people come in very different sizes. One of the remarkable things about Vietnam is the low obesity rate, for example. It often ranks as the #1 least obese country in the world. But aside from being thinner, Vietnamese people are also shorter than most western populations. So, … Read more
The average height of South Korean women has increased by a shocking 8″ (20 cm) in the last century. Meanwhile, the men have grown by 6″ (15 cm). These changes point to one of the biggest economic success stories in history. But before we get into all that… How tall is “tall” in South Korea … Read more
If you want to feel taller, Indonesia may be one of top choices of where you’d want to move. The Indonesian people are one of the shortest populations on Earth. But how tall is “tall” in Indonesia, really? The average height in Indonesia is 5’5″ (166 cm) for men and 5’1″ (154 cm) for women. … Read more